Joey ready to hit England - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 02-11-2005, 12:27 AM

How You Doin', Joey?
Frasier did it after Cheers, Angel did it after Buffy - but can Joey do it without his Friends?

Matt LeBlanc's highly anticipated spin-off series is about to air in the UK on Five - but the lad's still got a lot to live up to after the huge success of Friends.

Matt himself is happy with the role. "When you are lucky enough to find a character that somehow connects with viewers the way they connected with Joey Tribbiani, I think to come back as a completely different character is just asking a lot of an audience," he told Zap2it.

Frasier model

"Obviously, we're following the Frasier model, where a familiar character continues without a break, just in a different context.

"If you look at the arc of Joey's character on Friends vs the other characters on that show, Joey was actually the least-developed character."

Joey's being doing OK for NBC in America, although not as well as Friends. Some 18m viewers tuned in for the premiere back in September, equating to a 24% share of the audience.

TV's black hole

That made it the top-rating show instantly, although it went on to lose around half its audience over the next three months. It IS the top-rating new sitcom on US TV, although that's fairly manageable when there's a dearth of good new programming.

It's a bit of a gamble for Five, who've used Joey to kick off a Sunday comedy night. They paid what is understood to be in the region of £5.5m for Joey and Charlie Sheen comedy Two And A Half Men.

Frasier - a successful spin-off
Spin-offs are not an easy game to play and Joey has the odds stacked against him. Most of them have disappeared into TV's black hole: remember After Mash? Thought not.

Big time

Of course, we wish our simple-minded Friend the best of luck with his show - and there's no reason why Joey shouldn't make the big time.

After all, if Knotts Landing can do it after Dallas, then he's in with a good chance.

And who are we to judge? It's always possible that Joey will become a mega-show - perhaps even bigger than Friends, dare we say it! Then again...bigger than Friends? Maybe not.

slackermonkey · 02-11-2005, 12:44 AM

At first, I thought this was a spoiler for an England-themed episode, which would have surprised me.

barwars · 02-11-2005, 02:38 PM

Nice to see the nod to Frasier.... which this show is definitely modeled after.

Race's Girl · 05-23-2005, 12:44 PM

It's here and Joey is as hot as ever

02-11-2005, 12:27 AM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Joey ready to hit England How You Doin', Joey? Frasier did it after Cheers, Angel did it after Buffy - but can Joey do it without his Friends? Matt LeBlanc's highly anticipated spin-off series is about to air in the UK on Five - but the lad's still got a lot to live up to after the huge success of Friends. Matt himself is happy with the role. "When you are lucky enough to find a character that somehow connects with viewers the way they connected with Joey Tribbiani, I think to come back as a completely different character is just asking a lot of an audience," he told Zap2it. Frasier model "Obviously, we're following the Frasier model, where a familiar character continues without a break, just in a different context. "If you look at the arc of Joey's character on Friends vs the other characters on that show, Joey was actually the least-developed character." Joey's being doing OK for NBC in America, although not as well as Friends. Some 18m viewers tuned in for the premiere back in September, equating to a 24% share of the audience. TV's black hole That made it the top-rating show instantly, although it went on to lose around half its audience over the next three months. It IS the top-rating new sitcom on US TV, although that's fairly manageable when there's a dearth of good new programming. It's a bit of a gamble for Five, who've used Joey to kick off a Sunday comedy night. They paid what is understood to be in the region of £5.5m for Joey and Charlie Sheen comedy Two And A Half Men. Frasier - a successful spin-off Spin-offs are not an easy game to play and Joey has the odds stacked against him. Most of them have disappeared into TV's black hole: remember After Mash? Thought not. Big time Of course, we wish our simple-minded Friend the best of luck with his show - and there's no reason why Joey shouldn't make the big time. After all, if Knotts Landing can do it after Dallas, then he's in with a good chance. And who are we to judge? It's always possible that Joey will become a mega-show - perhaps even bigger than Friends, dare we say it! Then again...bigger than Friends? Maybe not.

02-11-2005, 12:44 AM	#2
slackermonkey the big yellow joint Senior Member Join Date: Oct 05, 2004 Location: Earth Posts: 1,779	At first, I thought this was a spoiler for an England-themed episode, which would have surprised me.
	__________________ ...Derek TV on DVD Checklist: 05/09 - Scrubs: The Complete Third Season 05/30 - Joey: The Complete First Season 06/13 - Cheers: The Complete Eighth Season 06/13 - Frasier: The Complete Eighth Season 06/20 - Justice League: Season 2 07/25 - Animaniacs: Volume 1 10/?? - Scrubs: The Complete Fourth Season 12/06 - Animaniacs: Volume 2

05-23-2005, 12:44 PM	#4
Race's Girl Miss Tremendous Forum Celebrity Join Date: Jan 26, 2005 Location: On Fonzie's bike in front of Arnold's Posts: 23,390	It's here and Joey is as hot as ever
	__________________ Girls rock so there, boys.

02-11-2005, 02:38 PM	#3
barwars .. Forum Star Join Date: May 04, 2002 Posts: 13,273	Nice to see the nod to Frasier.... which this show is definitely modeled after.