Til Death Remains Full Of Life On FOX! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

R.jsheedy · 10-03-2009, 02:36 PM

"'Til Death" isn't the cleverest, most ambitious, most outlandish or even the funniest comedy on TV these days, and it's kicking off its fourth season tonight largely because it understands that.

This is the rare sitcom that grasps the value of understatement. It knows that if you make your basic human relationships believable and sympathetic, you don't have to put on a three-ring circus or rip off everyone's clothes to get people to watch.

Eddie and Joy Stark (Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher) play a married couple who argue and sometimes do and say stupid things, but who also are crazy about each other.

He makes her laugh, she makes him secure. The fact this affection is constantly reinforced makes us like them enough to spend time with them.

Like virtually every sitcom today, "'Til Death" sometimes leans back and lets lazy sex jokes carry the load. The show isn't perfect. But there's enough else going on in tonight's opener to make the half hour pass smoothly.

Specifically, their daughter, Ally (Lindsey Broad), returns home, which sounds like a device several other sitcoms have employed lately, except Ally isn't running away from a relationship.

On the contrary, she and her boyfriend, Doug (Timm Sharp), announce they've gotten married, or sort of married, and they'd like to stay a while.

But they won't be any trouble, because they will just live in their RV, which they have parked in the backyard right where Eddie was planning to finally install his Jacuzzi.

Since Eddie never much cared for Doug in the first place, he's not a happy man.

For TV purposes, however, this simple and not wildly imaginative premise works just fine. Once it's established, it turns the show over to exchanges among the four characters.

These scenes aren't wildly imaginative, but they're amusing, and they aren't served up like hors d'oeuvres on little toothpicks as if we were supposed to admire each one before we laughed.

The characters are a little cartoonish, but we also recognize them as people. That lets "'Til Death" deliver exactly as much as it promises.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...#ixzz0StpC8AOx

FanofRetroTV · 10-22-2009, 12:26 PM

This show has not been funny since season 1

10-03-2009, 02:36 PM	#1
R.jsheedy Member Senior Member Join Date: Nov 06, 2008 Posts: 1,035	Til Death Remains Full Of Life On FOX! "'Til Death" isn't the cleverest, most ambitious, most outlandish or even the funniest comedy on TV these days, and it's kicking off its fourth season tonight largely because it understands that. This is the rare sitcom that grasps the value of understatement. It knows that if you make your basic human relationships believable and sympathetic, you don't have to put on a three-ring circus or rip off everyone's clothes to get people to watch. Eddie and Joy Stark (Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher) play a married couple who argue and sometimes do and say stupid things, but who also are crazy about each other. He makes her laugh, she makes him secure. The fact this affection is constantly reinforced makes us like them enough to spend time with them. Like virtually every sitcom today, "'Til Death" sometimes leans back and lets lazy sex jokes carry the load. The show isn't perfect. But there's enough else going on in tonight's opener to make the half hour pass smoothly. Specifically, their daughter, Ally (Lindsey Broad), returns home, which sounds like a device several other sitcoms have employed lately, except Ally isn't running away from a relationship. On the contrary, she and her boyfriend, Doug (Timm Sharp), announce they've gotten married, or sort of married, and they'd like to stay a while. But they won't be any trouble, because they will just live in their RV, which they have parked in the backyard right where Eddie was planning to finally install his Jacuzzi. Since Eddie never much cared for Doug in the first place, he's not a happy man. For TV purposes, however, this simple and not wildly imaginative premise works just fine. Once it's established, it turns the show over to exchanges among the four characters. These scenes aren't wildly imaginative, but they're amusing, and they aren't served up like hors d'oeuvres on little toothpicks as if we were supposed to admire each one before we laughed. The characters are a little cartoonish, but we also recognize them as people. That lets "'Til Death" deliver exactly as much as it promises. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...#ixzz0StpC8AOx

10-22-2009, 12:26 PM	#2
FanofRetroTV Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 15, 2008 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 292	This show has not been funny since season 1