ABC Upfront: Fall 2009

[Superbowl]

Originally Posted by JulieSomoski

Romantically Challenged actually looks funny. I mean, come on - it's Alyssa Milano. She's incredible at what she does. I'm looking forward to this show, and I'm more than glad CBS is showing BBT repeats 3/4 of its airings. So, I'll definitely be tuning in on Monday to watch it. Hopefully it succeeds - I'm expecting about a 14 million premiere, although I'm also expecting the BBT repeat to outrate the 2.5 Men repeat.

Just a quick note - I find it interesting how the article you posted listed "Old Christine" as a high point on CBS. It's a good thing ABC is still interested in this show, as it really is one of the best comedies on the air.

Romantically challenged will premiere to great numbers with the DWTS lead in. The show will decline in weeks 2 and 3 as many people will probably decide they do not like it. I have heard from a few others who have seen the pilot as well, and did not like it.

[Superbowl]

Originally Posted by JulieSomoski

Just a quick note - I find it interesting how the article you posted listed "Old Christine" as a high point on CBS. It's a good thing ABC is still interested in this show, as it really is one of the best comedies on the air.

Robert Bianco has always been a big fan of Old Christine. He is a very good critic. He knows his stuff.

[Superbowl]

Originally Posted by JulieSomoski

Why are you being so negative towards Romantically Challenged? As a fan of comedy (multi-cam comedy at that), you should be happy that ABC is giving it such a good show at success. If you've already seen the BBT episode, why watch it again when you could give RC a chance?

I'll say it for the last time. I have never missed a Big Bang Theory episode. New or repeat. Regular time slot or special day. I am not about to start missing that classic show for any other sitcom. Period.

[JulieSomoski]

Originally Posted by Superbowl

Romantically challenged will premiere to great numbers with the DWTS lead in. The show will decline in weeks 2 and 3 as many people will probably decide they do not like it. I have heard from a few others who have seen the pilot as well, and did not like it.

It hasn't been promoted that long, but clearly anyone who watched DWTS knows that RC will be premiering after it on Monday. Either people will stick with it, whether that be because they want to see it or because they're waiting for Castle to come on at 10, or people won't watch.

Still, I'm looking forward to it. I don't see why you seem to be so set against not giving this show a shot. Critic reviews mean nothing. Everyone has their own tastes, and just because on person didn't like it doesn't mean it's a terrible show. "Generic" seems to be the main critical problem with RC. But, let's face it - what multi-cam comedy isn't generic? Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and Old Christine, which are the best in their genre, are pretty average shows. But, it's the acting that makes it so funny, and I bet the same will be the case with RC. With BBT in repeats for 3 weeks, you might as well watch RC.

[Superbowl]

Originally Posted by JulieSomoski

It hasn't been promoted that long, but clearly anyone who watched DWTS knows that RC will be premiering after it on Monday. Either people will stick with it, whether that be because they want to see it or because they're waiting for Castle to come on at 10, or people won't watch.

Still, I'm looking forward to it. I don't see why you seem to be so set against not giving this show a shot. Critic reviews mean nothing. Everyone has their own tastes, and just because on person didn't like it doesn't mean it's a terrible show. "Generic" seems to be the main critical problem with RC. But, let's face it - what multi-cam comedy isn't generic? Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and Old Christine, which are the best in their genre, are pretty average shows. But, it's the acting that makes it so funny, and I bet the same will be the case with RC. With BBT in repeats for 3 weeks, you might as well watch RC.

You may not agree, but I think I have been very, very consistent here. I have always said I would not watch it over The Big Bang Theory, and I meant that. Did you ever see the repeat numbers that Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory put up ? How about the syndication numbers that Two and a Half Men puts up, as well ? Obviously, lots of people like me like to watch these shows multiple times.

I would love to watch Romantically Challenged. ABC needs to find another time slot if I am going to watch.

By the way, you can call The Big Bang Theory average if you like, but we are witnessing the next great sitcom that will live in syndication for years and years to come. It is very far from average.

[JulieSomoski]

Originally Posted by Superbowl

You may not agree, but I think I have been very, very consistent here. I have always said I would not watch it over The Big Bang Theory, and I meant that. Did you ever see the repeat numbers that Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory put up ? How about the syndication numbers that Two and a Half Men puts up, as well ? Obviously, lots of people like me like to watch these shows multiple times.

I would love to watch Romantically Challenged. ABC needs to find another time slot if I am going to watch.

By the way, you can call The Big Bang Theory average if you like, but we are witnessing the next great sitcom that will live in syndication for years and years to come. It is very far from average.

I did not call Big Bang Theory average. I think it's a very above average. But, the show is one big cliche. The storylines are ones that have been done numerous times before, and the writing is usually nothing more than average. But, it's the acting and the constant jokes that make it so great. I completely agree that BBT is the next big sitcom (it's already the top rated sitcom on television), but who says RC can't be also? I'm just saying that you can afford to miss a BBT repeat. Like you said, it'll be seen again on DVD, and it'll be played in syndication for years to come. DVR it if you'd like. You may be consistent, but you're also being pig-headed about this.

[mtlguy]

It's quite alright if you don't watch superbowl, but no need to try putting the show down, before you even see it to try making your point. Just watch TBBT and enjoy, but I will watch Romantically Challenged and will probably enjoy it too.

...and I will also watch TBBT when it return in original, I have arrived a long time ago in the age where you don't have to choose one over the other. You can easily watch both...There's time shifting, DVR's, Online viewing...no need to miss anything anymore, have you heard?


And since TBBT original episode on May 3rd is now moved to 9:00pm, RC will have 3 weeks against TBBT repeat before being against an original.

[Pavan]

Superbowl you're just stubborn and insecure. I don't understand why either. It's not like Romantically Challenged is going to smash Big Bang Theory to pieces. You wanted to watch the show, but then ABC placed it against Big Bang--a big no-no for you, I know. Now Big Bang is in repeats for the first three airings of RomChallenged and you read one review and won't watch. If that is a reason not to watch, then it is a very stupid one. It makes no sense at all, like you don't have a mind of your own. Sorry, but that is a weak excuse.

And when you said, "I have heard from a few others who have seen the pilot as well, and did not like it." That is pure bull****. If it was bad why was it picked-up?? They have gone through so much to pick this show up. I know for a fact. Please stop making up things. And you said, "I would love to watch Romantically Challenged." Then why do you keep ripping it here? The only reason the fourth episode was scheduled first was because it best introduces Alyssa. That is all. I was baffled myself why ABC decided that, but it is good they have come to their senses and will air the real first episode first. I think it is a good move and while it won't be in time for critics to review, I'm sure millions didn't read USA Today or Variety anyway.

And since you said you watch EVERY single Big Bang airing, that is fine. That's being a good fan. But there is an old-fashioned thing called a VCR if you don't have a DVR in your room to watch RomChallenged if you really did want to watch it.

[Superbowl]

Originally Posted by Pavan

Superbowl you're just stubborn and insecure. I don't understand why either. It's not like Romantically Challenged is going to smash Big Bang Theory to pieces. You wanted to watch the show, but then ABC placed it against Big Bang--a big no-no for you, I know. Now Big Bang is in repeats for the first three airings of RomChallenged and you read one review and won't watch. If that is a reason not to watch, then it is a very stupid one. It makes no sense at all, like you don't have a mind of your own. Sorry, but that is a weak excuse.

And when you said, "I have heard from a few others who have seen the pilot as well, and did not like it." That is pure bull****. If it was bad why was it picked-up?? They have gone through so much to pick this show up. I know for a fact. Please stop making up things. And you said, "I would love to watch Romantically Challenged." Then why do you keep ripping it here? The only reason the fourth episode was scheduled first was because it best introduces Alyssa. That is all. I was baffled myself why ABC decided that, but it is good they have come to their senses and will air the real first episode first. I think it is a good move and while it won't be in time for critics to review, I'm sure millions didn't read USA Today or Variety anyway.

And since you said you watch EVERY single Big Bang airing, that is fine. That's being a good fan. But there is an old-fashioned thing called a VCR if you don't have a DVR in your room to watch RomChallenged if you really did want to watch it.

You people are a joke telling me what to watch, and what not to watch. I said months and months ago I would not watch the show if it was up against The Big Bang Theory. Did you ever hear me say that if it was up against a Big Bang repeat that I would watch it ? I told you I watch The Big Bang Theory new or repeats. I enjoy the show very much in repeats. Judging by the repeat ratings, many other people like the repeats, too.

I never came here and bashed Romatnically Challenged. It was Robert Bianco who bashed it. And as for the other people who have seen it, there are several critics and/or bloggers on twitter that saw it, and hated it, too. I never commented on the show. I have not seen it, and thanks to ABC scheduling it against my favorite show I probably never will see it.

[Superbowl]

Just so people like Pavan here don't think I am making it up to bash Romantically challenged here are two reviews of Romantically Challenged from The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. THESE ARE NOT MY VIEWS. THESE ARE THE REVIEWS OF CRITICS WHO HAVE SEEN THE SHOW. I am just posting so people can read, and not think I am making up what I said in previous posts about many critics not liking the show.

"Romantically Challenged" Not Likely to Win Hearts
By Barry Garron


LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - With "Friends" long gone and "How I Met Your Mother" approaching veteran status, America must certainly be yearning for a new comedy about young, attractive friends who meet frequently for beverages and whose conversation spans the gamut of subjects from dating to sex to relationships to sex to physical characteristics to sex.

Could the nation be thirsting for "Romantically Challenged"? Probably not, at least based on the episode made available by ABC. Still, one could see a few good reasons for developing this multicamera sitcom, which premieres Monday (April 19).

First and foremost is executive producer/director James Burrows. Not only can he get more out of a so-so script and a weak premise than just about anyone in the studio-laughter business, but he proves it here. (It's not that the script from Ted Cohen and Andrew Reich lacks jokes. To the contrary, it substitutes laughs for character and story development.)

Brooks papers over these defects to a degree with his eye for camera angles, keen sense of timing and breezy pace. As a result, the premiere is much better than anyone has a right to expect it to be. And with Burrows at the helm, the four co-stars -- Alyssa Milano, Kelly Stables, Kyle Bornheimer and Josh Lawson -- are nearly pitch-perfect in their delivery.

Milano plays Rebecca Thomas, newly divorced after 15 years of marriage. Stables is her younger sister, Lisa, a walking encyclopedia on hooking up. Bornheimer, unforgettable as the luckless newlywed in "Worst Week," plays Perry Gill, a workaholic financial planner and a romantic. Lawson is his freeloading friend and roommate, Shawn, an aspiring novelist.

To sum up, we've got a drop-dead gorgeous star who has no confidence and no idea how to meet men, a would-be writer enjoying a middle-class existence with no visible means of support, an extremely eligible financial planner with a taste for romance and a celibate lifestyle, and a woman whose chief cause is the advocacy of one-night stands amid a real-life epidemic of STDs.

Granted, no one would accuse "Friends" or "How I Met Your Mother" of dead-on realism. Still, their vision of love and friendship struck a chord with viewers, most of whom could relate to at least some of their travails.

"Challenged," on the other hand, seems preoccupied with keeping the beat for a steady rhythm of jokes, even as it challenges viewers to ignore the implausibility of its premise.

It will get a boost by airing right after "Dancing With the Stars." It will need it.

Romantically Challenged

(Series -- ABC, Mon. April 19, 9:30 p.m.) Filmed in Los Angeles by Candy Bar Prods. and Warner Bros. Television. Executive producers, Ricky Blitt, James Burrows; producer, Tracey Ormandy; director, Burrows; writers, Ted Cohen, Andrew Reich.

Rebecca Thomas - Alyssa Milano
Perry Gill - Kyle Bornheimer
Shawn Goldwater - Josh Lawson
Lisa Thomas - Kelly Stables

By BRIAN LOWRY
Variety

In the interest of truth in labeling, ABC's "Romantically Challenged" should rightfully be titled "Comedically Challenged." The allure of watching Alyssa Milano in this four-character ensemble sitcom provides small compensation for a litany of tired, warmed-over sex jokes. By beginning with the fourth episode, moreover, the network not only creates some confusion about the relationships among the central quartet but causes the mind to wander regarding just how bad the first three must have been. It will take considerable fancy footwork from a "Dancing With the Stars" lead-in to conquer this challenge.

As best as one can tell, Milano's Rebecca is newly divorced and testing the dating waters again after a 15-year marriage. Functioning as de facto guides for this unmarried woman are her sister Lisa (Kelly Stables, who had a recurring stint on "Two and a Half Men") and pals Perry ("Worst Week's" Kyle Bornheimer) and Shawn (Josh Lawson).

The four receive roughly equal screen time, with a subplot involving the discomfort felt by Shawn -- a wannabe writer living rent-free with Perry -- over how financial inequality shapes their interaction. This triggers a string of prison rape jokes, and really, you can never have enough of those.

Indeed, despite the presence of sitcom director supreme James Burrows, "Challenged" is almost painfully on-the-nose with most of its gags -- repeating the few decent ones as if the audience might have somehow missed them. (The showrunner is Ricky Blitt, whose credits include "Family Guy," which is actually less of a cartoon than this is.)

Renowned for her sex appeal, Milano certainly looks terrific as the single mom (whose kid just kind of magically appears part-way through), but her angst over one-night-stand etiquette in this introductory airing makes "Cougar Town" seem intellectually demanding. All told, it's as if "Will and Grace" sired a straight, particularly unfunny child with "It's Like, You Know … "

While 90 minutes of "Dancing" should funnel scads of female viewers in the show's direction, those who dare linger will find little to glom onto among these characters. Indeed, a last-minute postponement of the premiere only appears to be prolonging the inevitable.

Rebecca's confusion about dating is summed up near the episode's end (a moment already blown in the on-air promos), when she says, "That's how you scare a guy away." And viewers, too.

[tvcrazed]

ABC is rearing a LOST ep on apr 27th. Its a great ep but with all that competition on Tues and a New V at 10p, I question it.

My first choice would be for them to air a new clip show that explains everything. When they did last year on the same week it got close to a 3. Now with 5 hours left they can sell it as the 10 most important ques for LOST going into finale.

If they dont do that, Id rather they put the rerun at 8p and DWTS at 9p. They are doing something similar with PP this week. I just feel it will help an original of V more. DWTS would not haver to face IDOL that week either.

I dont expect them to do this, but this is what I would do.

[yankeesrj12]

Originally Posted by JulieSomoski

I did not call Big Bang Theory average.

Your quote:

But, let's face it - what multi-cam comedy isn't generic? Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and Old Christine, which are the best in their genre, are pretty average shows.

On another note, Old Christine should not be included in the same category as Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. Old Christine is down with Gary Unmarried in terms of being closely related.

[Pavan]

Originally Posted by Superbowl

Just so people like Pavan here don't think I am making it up to bash Romantically challenged here are two reviews of Romantically Challenged from The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. THESE ARE NOT MY VIEWS. THESE ARE THE REVIEWS OF CRITICS WHO HAVE SEEN THE SHOW. I am just posting so people can read, and not think I am making up what I said in previous posts about many critics not liking the show.

And those are reviews for the fourth episode ("Rebecca's One Night Stand") that was originally slated to air first. They are NOT airing that first anymore! They changed the episode to the first one taped now (the pilot titled "Don't Be Yourself"). And you still said people said that episode was bad ("I have heard from a few others who have seen the pilot as well, and did not like it."). No one had ever said that. Here is some feedback from the ACTUAL first episode that is NOW airing first and no critic has seen: http://www.imdb.com/rg/title-tease/b...nest/156459851 I guess you let critics decide what you watch or think is good? And I spoke to Brian Lowry of Variety and he is updating the review to reflect that this is not the episode airing first anymore.

And I see you use Twitter and read blogs, but you can't watch two shows that air at the same time? You keep saying you would watch the show if it aired in another slot. If you really wanted to watch it, you can easily watch it, even if you watch Big Bang live. You could use the old-fashioned VCR since you don't use DVR or watch on the internet. Why don't you just say you don't want to watch anything that is up against Big Bang? That would be more truthful and I'd understand. I'll be watching both shows (well not Big Bang repeats, I rarely watch any repeats unless nothing is on).

EDIT: Here is my review if you missed that since you're posting reviews: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/blog/20...antically.html All of the reviews online are irrelevant now anyway, since ABC changed it to the actual first episode ("Don't Be Yourself") and no one has seen that episode unless they went to the taping on Jan. 28. And by the way, all of the trade reviews only base it on "Rebecca's One Night Stand," my review was based on TWO episodes "Rebecca's One Night Stand" and "The Charade" (which is, as of now, still slated to air second). And all the complaints, like underusing Bornheimer, made no sense because he was GREAT in "The Charade." I think the only other person here to have seen "The Charade" is probably tvcrazed, and I think he would agree.

[JulieSomoski]

Originally Posted by yankeesrj12

Your quote:


On another note, Old Christine should not be included in the same category as Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. Old Christine is down with Gary Unmarried in terms of being closely related.

What is with all the hatred here today? Seriously, if you continued reading what I said, I said that if it wasn't for the brilliant acting on BBT, it would be an average show. It is an average show, with the generic storylines and average writing, but the acting and the great comedic timing lift it above average.

And if you would actually watch Old Christine, you would know that is a very funny show. Sure, it has its dry episodes, but when it's funny, it's hysterical, and at the top of its game. Just because it gets bad ratings doesn't mean it isn't one of the best shows in its genre.

And I agree with Pavan - Superbowl, you are being so closed-minded it's almost hard to believe. Seriously, you can't give up a repeat of BBT for one week? You want to watch RC, but you refuse to because it's airing up against a repeat of BBT? Give me a break . . .

[Pavan]

Originally Posted by tvcrazed

ABC is rearing a LOST ep on apr 27th. Its a great ep but with all that competition on Tues and a New V at 10p, I question it.

My first choice would be for them to air a new clip show that explains everything. When they did last year on the same week it got close to a 3. Now with 5 hours left they can sell it as the 10 most important ques for LOST going into finale.

If they dont do that, Id rather they put the rerun at 8p and DWTS at 9p. They are doing something similar with PP this week. I just feel it will help an original of V more. DWTS would not haver to face IDOL that week either.

I dont expect them to do this, but this is what I would do.

I agree. A recap/special would be best on April 27. Or I was thinking two repeats of LOST enhanced from 9-11pm and air that V on Wednesday, April 21 (instead of Cougar Town repeats), calling it a two-night event.

And I agree with Pavan - Superbowl, you are being so closed-minded it's almost hard to believe. Seriously, you can't give up a repeat of BBT for one week? You want to watch RC, but you refuse to because it's airing up against a repeat of BBT? Give me a break . . .

I understand if he wants to watch Big Bang repeat live, but he can easily watch RomChallenged if he really wanted to on VCR/DVR/internet. It's not that hard. Even in 1985 people were recording on VHS.