Center of the Universe aired from October 2004 until January 2005 on CBS.
Beefy John Barnett ( John Goodman) ran Barnett security, a successful private security company, and had been happily married to Kate ( Jean Smart), his loving, sensible wife for more than 20 years. Miles ( Spencer Breslin), their son, was good at academics but pretty much a nerd when it came to anything else. The eldest of 3 children, John's life would have been good were it not for the rest of his family-he was an island of normalcy in the middle of a sea full of crazies. He had just hired his younger brother, Tommy ( Diedrich Bader), an incompetent flake who couldn't keep a real job, and was already regretting it. His divorced, single-parent sister, Lily ( Melinda McGraw), was a therapist who was incapable of maintaining a functional relationship and his parents weren't much better. Art ( Edward Asner), John's combative father, complained about almost everything and Marge ( Olympia Dukakis) , his spaced-out mother, was in a world of her own.
A Review from The New York Times
TV REVIEW | 'CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE'
Something About the Show Is Familiar, Ray, er, John
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Published: October 20, 2004
Network sitcoms are a little like Broadway plays or republics of the former Soviet Union: their survival is so precarious that it seems unfair to scrutinize them too closely.
And it is obvious that CBS tried really, really hard to make "Center of the Universe," as good as "Everybody Loves Raymond," the hit series now entering its ninth and final season.
"Center" is exactly like "Raymond'' except for one thing: it lacks a creative spark. The strength of "Everybody Loves Raymond" lies mostly in the fact that the show is, as the credits explain, "based on the comedy of Ray Romano." The weakness of "Center of the Universe," is that it too seems based on the humor of Ray Romano.
Its star, John Goodman, is a wonderful performer, but he is an actor, not a stand-up comic with a compelling stage persona. He plays John Barnett, happily married to a sharp-tongued but tender wife, Kate (Jean Smart), and less happily surrounded by his kooky family, which is eerily like Ray's: John has a meddlesome mother, Marge (Olympia Dukakis), a cranky father, Art (Ed Asner), a bizarre younger brother, Tommy (Diedrich Bader).
On "Everybody Loves Raymond," Amy, a friend, is the neurotic spinster; on "Center," it is John's sister, Lily (Melinda McGraw), who is nutty and unmarried. And John has a child who, like Ray's children, remains mostly in the background.
A result is a copycat sitcom in which some of the most accomplished actors on television are swaddled in constricting roles that leave little room for improvisation or character development. "Center of the Universe" has some lively moments and a few funny lines, but mostly the show demonstrates how difficult the sitcom genre is, and how seemingly arbitrary the path to success. Mr. Romano had a hit with a similarly talented cast and the same formula, bent around his idiosyncratic stand-up comedy. Yet all the high-caliber actors, highly paid comedy writers and tightly honed one-liners cannot lift "Center of the Universe" off the ground.
Center of the Universe
CBS, tonight at 9:30, Eastern and Pacific times; 8:30, Central time.
Alan Kirschenbaum, Mitch Katlin, Nat Bernstein, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum, executive producers. Produced by Warner Brothers Television Production Inc. in association with CBS Productions.
WITH: John Goodman (John Barnett), Jean Smart (Kate Barnett), Diedrich Bader (Tommy Barnett), Melinda McGraw (Lily Barnett Manning), Spencer Breslin (Miles Barnett), Ed Asner (Art Barnett), Olympia Dukakis (Marge Barnett) and Holmes Osborne (Minister).
This photo gallery contains pictures for sitcoms of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and today, as well as dramas, soaps, reality shows, cartoons, game shows, variety shows, talk shows and late night tv photo galleries.
Please note that all pictures uploaded between August 6-31, 2009 were lost in a database crash. While the photos are still on the server, the information (title, description, number of views, who uploaded them, etc.) attached to each photo was lost. In addition, any photo edits, moves or any other account changes from this period were lost. Our apologies to all members who are missing photos and for the downtime. We appreciate you taking the time to share them with us. Click here for archived files by category which are no longer in the database. We would appreciate it if the original uploaders could re-upload them when they have the opportunity. Thank you.
To upload photos, please choose the appropriate category and login with your existing
message board username and password. If you are new, you will need to
register before
uploading any photos. Only ".jpg" files will upload - ".jpeg", ".gif", ".png" or any other image
format will not work. You will need to convert them to ".jpg". Please upload only sitcom
and tv related photos.
To request any photos be removed, please use the "Report Photo" link that is the bottom of
every photo if you are registered and logged in. This is the quickest and easiest method. You can also
send an e-mail with the url of the photo(s). We will also gladly credit or
link to any site that is the original source of any photos.
If you have any questions, comments, requests for new categories, etc. - please contact us.
All images, logos, and other materials are copyright their respective owners. No rights
are given or implied.
Powered by: PhotoPost PHP Copyright 2004-2012 All Enthusiast, Inc.
