ABC (Fridays, 9 p.m. ET)
My favorite scene in this sitcom's Sept. 26 premiere is the one where Hope (Faith Ford) and Faith (Kelly Ripa) take a brief break from their sibling war and sing "High Hopes." Oh, their duet isn't much good, but I liked the Mahatma Gandhi poster on the wall behind them. Not only is it a pretty funny idea—most rare for this show—but it gave me a peaceful thought to cling to during a terribly frantic half hour.
Ripa, of Live with Regis and Kelly and All My Children fame, plays an Emmy-winning former soap-opera star whose twin characters were killed off. Now she's flat broke and forced to live in the Midwestern home of her sister and brother-in-law, Charley (Ted McGinley), and their three children. When Charley describes Faith harshly but accurately, Hope flares.
"Don't call my sister an idiot."
"Why not? You do it all the time."
"That's different. She's family."
I waited for the punch line till I realized that was it. Hope then follows standard sitcom procedure and informs her frustrated hubby that she will not grant him sex.
The pilot makes it abundantly clear that Faith and Hope are opposite personalities—impulsive Hollywood diva vs. controlling suburban supermom. Conflict is inevitable, but did there have to be an all-out food fight in the first episode? However long this show runs, I pray they never top the moment when Faith squirts whipped cream into her mouth and spits it in Hope's face. (Hope, no pacifist, strikes back by screaming that Faith has "fake boobs.")
The problem with going to extremes so early is that you have to pull back mighty fast. Two scenes later, Hope is calling Faith "a really good person" instead of throwing her on the next plane to La-La Land. And that's too bad, because this comedy would have more potential if Ripa's over-the-top character were chewing up a soap-opera set rather than running amok in a Middle American kitchen.
COMEDY
ABC (Tuesdays, 8:30 p.m. ET)
If you didn't know this fluffy new sitcom was loosely based on co-creator Chris Henchy's courtship of wife Brooke Shields, you might assume Henchy took notes on Notting Hill. Like that Julia Roberts-Hugh Grant movie, I'm with Her concerns the romance between a famous actress and a charming nobody.
Film star Alex (Teri Polo from Meet the Parents) clicks with high school English teacher Patrick (David Sutcliffe, Rory's absentee dad on Gilmore Girls) after her dog bites him on the backside in the Sept. 23 premiere. I'd have found it funnier if Patrick had howled for a lawyer and a tetanus shot, but he and Alex do make an attractive couple. Trouble is, each has been stuck with an annoying foil. Patrick's buddy Stevie (Danny Comden) is a fellow teacher in a tragically advanced stage of adolescence, while Alex's sister Cheri (Rhea Seehorn) is a sour mix of envy and sarcasm.
COMEDY
CBS (Wednesdays, 10 p.m. ET)
David E. Kelley has produced his share of series featuring the pretty young faces TV favors—Ally McBeal. The Practice, girls club—but credit him with taking a risk by building this one around three overweight, middle-aged men. The small-town Shaw brothers—police chief Hank (Randy Quaid), mayor Garrett (John Carroll Lynch from The Drew Carey Show) and jobless Waylon (Chris Penn)—are wont to sit in their favorite diner and hash over their numerous problems. Hank has a discontented wife (Mare Winningham) and a tendency to beat up citizens. Garrett is trying to keep his spouse (Elizabeth McGovern) and the public from learning of his long-ago infidelity. Waylon has an inferiority complex. There's way too much "What are we gonna do?" talk in the first two episodes (Sept. 24 and Oct. 1), but the strong cast—especially Winningham and Larry Miller as a prickly businessman—gives us reason not to lose patience.
DRAMA
WB (Tuesdays, 9 p.m. ET)
"Why did you just tell me all that?" a girl asks a boy in the Sept. 23 debut of this teen drama. Because there's back story to cover, baby.
Cool, sensitive Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) is a playground hoops whiz who has never gone out for the high-school team. Nathan (James Lafferty), his half brother, is the arrogant, spoiled star of the squad. Lucas lives humbly with his single mom, Karen (Moira Kelly). Nathan lives high with his rich dad, Dan (Paul Johansson), who dumped a pregnant Karen in their youth. As well as having a father in common, Nathan and Lucas share the hots for Peyton (Hilarie Burton), a beautiful cheerleader with a punky side. Once the thick exposition is out of the way, the half bros play one-on-one to see who's really got game, but old grudges won't be settled so easily.
Murray is more interesting here than in last season's laughable The Lone Ranger, but the writing—like the basketball scenes—is junior-varsity stuff. Lucas actually says, "This is for my mom" before sinking a shot over Nathan.
BIGGEST ALL-STAR CAST
Emmy Awards (FOX, Sept. 21, 8 p.m. ET) HBO brought in a bumper crop of 109 nominations. How many wins will it rack up? Sorry, all we know for sure is that Bill Cosby will take home the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
MOST BLATANT CASE OF NEPOTISM
All of Us(UPN, Sept. 23, 8:30 p.m. ET) Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are the exec producers of this new sitcom, so they have a perfect right to find guest-star roles in the second episode for Will's boys Trey, 10, and Jaden, 5.
BEST REASON TO HAVE AN EVICTION PARTY
Big Brother 4 (CBS, Sept. 24, 9 p.m. ET) Two housemates remain in the finale, and this place ain't big enough for both of 'em.
HOTTEST HOOKUP
Friends (NBC, Sept. 25, 8 p.m. ET) In the first episode of the final (sigh!) season, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) get very close in steamy Barbados while their old pals eavesdrop.
- Contributors:
- Terry Kelleher.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
