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yendiLast night, I just got paid money to be a part of a research panel to watch two episodes of Carpoolers, created by Bruce McCulloch. Which means that I can't, in all honesty, say that the show is so bad that I wouldn't watch it if you paid me.
But I can say that, for watching this show, I most certainly did not get paid enough.
What a piece of crap. A recycled piece of crap. Imagine Jerry O'Connell (a man not meant to set foot in a sitcom) trying to channel Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met Your Mother (only without the wit or charm). Throw in a henpecked husband (played by Jerry Minor, who's normally funnier) with a wife who we never actually see (can we say "Vera?"). Add a young, nerdy guy who's just SO EAGER, with his ditzy blonde wife. And throw in the perpetually employed (for reasons that escape me) Fred Goss as every nebishy, neurotic character (married to a much hotter wife than he deserves, in this case the slumming Faith Ford) ever to round out the lot.
None of that would matter if the writing was good. Or even decent. Or if the plots weren't recycled. We get jokes about vasectomies, sperm counts, marital sex, and other fun stuff. The second episode I saw (which, if the show doesn't get canceled, airs on October 23, according to the IMDB) does have a damned funny opening scene. It sinks to a low point, however, when it invokes multiple stun-gun attacks on the four leads (after a road rage incident) as "humor."
I was worried, when filling out the forms, that I was the sole person in the room who hated it, but I was pleased, when we had the group discussion afterwards, to learn that most folks thought it was either mediocre or bad (and we were the male test subjects; given the clearly-targeted male demographics of the show, I can only imagine the reaction of the women in the other room). The guy next to me, however, gave the show a ten. That's because he "likes comedy stuff." Turns out he's the guy that sitcom writers have been aiming shows at for years.
Best comment: As we were walking out (money in hand), one guy commented that the problem is that he'd have to spend all that money to drink enough to forget Carpoolers.
I wish I could agree, but actually, the show is pretty fucking forgettable on its own. In one month (after it's been pulled pre-Sweeps), I can't imagine anyone remembering that it had even been on the air.
(Aside: I did think Bruce was pretty funny on KitH. I blame his staff writers. Although the IMDB says that this group includes Kevin McDonald, which is also sad.)
But I can say that, for watching this show, I most certainly did not get paid enough.
What a piece of crap. A recycled piece of crap. Imagine Jerry O'Connell (a man not meant to set foot in a sitcom) trying to channel Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met Your Mother (only without the wit or charm). Throw in a henpecked husband (played by Jerry Minor, who's normally funnier) with a wife who we never actually see (can we say "Vera?"). Add a young, nerdy guy who's just SO EAGER, with his ditzy blonde wife. And throw in the perpetually employed (for reasons that escape me) Fred Goss as every nebishy, neurotic character (married to a much hotter wife than he deserves, in this case the slumming Faith Ford) ever to round out the lot.
None of that would matter if the writing was good. Or even decent. Or if the plots weren't recycled. We get jokes about vasectomies, sperm counts, marital sex, and other fun stuff. The second episode I saw (which, if the show doesn't get canceled, airs on October 23, according to the IMDB) does have a damned funny opening scene. It sinks to a low point, however, when it invokes multiple stun-gun attacks on the four leads (after a road rage incident) as "humor."
I was worried, when filling out the forms, that I was the sole person in the room who hated it, but I was pleased, when we had the group discussion afterwards, to learn that most folks thought it was either mediocre or bad (and we were the male test subjects; given the clearly-targeted male demographics of the show, I can only imagine the reaction of the women in the other room). The guy next to me, however, gave the show a ten. That's because he "likes comedy stuff." Turns out he's the guy that sitcom writers have been aiming shows at for years.
Best comment: As we were walking out (money in hand), one guy commented that the problem is that he'd have to spend all that money to drink enough to forget Carpoolers.
I wish I could agree, but actually, the show is pretty fucking forgettable on its own. In one month (after it's been pulled pre-Sweeps), I can't imagine anyone remembering that it had even been on the air.
(Aside: I did think Bruce was pretty funny on KitH. I blame his staff writers. Although the IMDB says that this group includes Kevin McDonald, which is also sad.)