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 Worst Week

August 25th, 2008.               Kyle Bornheimer (Jericho), Erinn Hayes (Kitchen Confidential), Kurtwood Smith (That '70's Show) and Nancy Lenehan (My Name Is Earl) star in the half hour comedy Worst Week, coming to CBS on Mondays this fall.

            Sam Briggs (Bornheimer ) will do anything to please his girlfriend Melanie Clayton's (Hayes) parents, Dick (Smith), a stern Judge, and his wife Angela (Lenehan). The up and coming entertainment magazine editor wants to make a good impression, but instead, it seems every time he gets anywhere near them, he becomes a one-man wrecking crew. The first time he met his then girlfriend's parents, he accidentally set fire to their living room. Now Sam and Mel have only one hurdle left to clear as they start their life together. They must break the news to Mel's conservative parents that they have a wedding in the works and a baby on the way. Of course that would be a lot easier if Sam had not arrived at their door hours late for dinner, and naked. Mel's parents are protective of their daughter, and are really trying to let go of the anger they feel toward Sam. But despite his best efforts, every time Sam takes one positive step forward in winning over his future in-laws, he inevitably takes two crushing steps back.

            I just don't get. How are a young couple from New York City going to be in contact with their in-laws from upstate on a regular enough basis to make a sitcom out of it. For that matter, how are they going to create this extremely low-key, dry, one camera drama on a weekly basis and call it a comedy? OK there are a few sight gags. And of course there will be humor in the coming wedding and soon to arrive baby. But that just is not enough meat to sustain this lifeless effort. 

            The actors try very hard to make the pilot episode better, and funnier. But of course, they are at mercy of the script. The basic plot is fine, but the realism called for in the shots by the Director of the pilot, Adam Bernstein ("30 Rock") puts the frame of mind of the audience into "Drama" mode. The result is much more of a dark dramatic comedy than the light, slapstick effort that would be more enduring on weekly television. Series star Kyle Bornheimer creates a very likeable character, and all three supporting actors bring something human and watch-able to their roles, but there is very few places to go from there.

            There is an obvious comparison between this show and the feature film "Meet The Fockers". The difference being that the film was funny. Funny enough for a sequel. But, you will note, not funny enough for a spin-off TV series of the same name. I'm sure that without the talents of Ben Stiller connected to the project, the films would have struggled too.

            The final death-blow for this series will come because it requires the viewer to know what happened last week in order to fully appreciate the next episode. The pilot episode has already created a lot of "Foreshadowing" about coming event in the hope viewers will return in the following weeks. But this will make it harder for new viewers to accept the show, as they will not know what is happening on the show.

            Even the title of this series suggests short term expectations. It refers to a hard week the starring character is having, rather than suggesting that his trouble might be more of a life-long thing that is about to get even worse.

            It's going to be very hard for a viewer to make an investment in this half hour dramatic-Comedy. All the signals are pointing to a quick exit.

 

  -  Editor  - 

 

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