SPOILER ALERT! Excellent Review of 'Back To You' - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Janice · 04-21-2008, 11:53 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08107/873597-42.stm

TV Review: 'Back to You' is back

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
By Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When the Pittsburgh-set sitcom "Back to You" premiered on Fox last fall, it aired for five weeks, then disappeared for a month, returned for two weeks, disappeared for three months, aired two episodes in late February and has been MIA ever since.

With the writers' strike over, "Back to You" finally returns for five weeks of uninterrupted episodes beginning tonight at 8:30 on WPGH. If you're a fan who's been troubled by the show's inconsistent airing, you're not alone.

Creators and executive producers Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan have been frustrated, too.

"I'm amazed at how, when I tell people what I'm doing, they say, 'Oh, when will that be on?' " Levitan said in a call with reporters Monday. "We believe the show is one where, if you watch it, we hope people will think it's funny."

Ever since its inception, TV observers have noted this traditional, multi-camera sitcom seemed better suited for CBS than Fox, a notion Levitan didn't seem to dispute.

"If we'd been on CBS on Monday nights with a consistent run, maybe we would be in a much better place," he said. "We're trying to get eyeballs on us so we can build. The network is supportive, but we've got to get eyeballs."

The show's fate for fall remains up in the air, but it seems likely to return, especially if ratings for this upcoming run of episodes are decent. (If Fox could renew " 'Til Death" last year, the least it can do is renew the superior "Back to You.")

"Back to You" follows the exploits of pompous news anchor Chuck Darling (Kelsey Grammer), who returns to the same Pittsburgh TV station he worked at in the '90s and is re-teamed with news anchor Kelly Carr (Patricia Heaton). Chuck and Kelly had a one-night fling that produced Kelly's daughter, Gracie (Laura Marano), but the girl doesn't know Chuck is her dad.

Early episodes contained references to Pittsburgh communities and a February episode included a ripped-from-local-headlines plot about an "anthrocon" convention in Pittsburgh. (Costumed furry fans actually have had their annual meeting in Pittsburgh for the past couple of summers.)

KDKA-TV news anchor Ken Rice is an old friend of Levitan's from college, and Rice attended the taping of the pilot last year, offering some suggestions. Writer Abraham Higginbotham grew up in Washington, Pa., and the writers look to him to regularly provide regional flavor to scripts.

"We might at some point have Terry Bradshaw or various things like that, actual Pittsburgh people," Levitan said. "I know you guys have a very young mayor, and that's kind of interesting to us, but we haven't used that yet."

Some days, Luke Ravenstahl's administration does seem ready-made for sitcom fodder. But "Back to You" is less concerned with pleasing Pittsburghers than it is with winning the devotion of American viewers. To that end, after the writers' strike, producers planned to end the season with Gracie learning that Chuck is her father. But network executives wanted to see that plot play out sooner rather than later, so that episode will air next week.

"It's always been a conversation whether Chuck and Kelly's big secret is played best as subtext in the show or if you want to hit it head-on as we did in the episode where Chuck baby-sits Gracie," Loyd said. "We didn't have a clear answer, but the network felt moving up that plot moment was something that could be promoted fairly easily. They also felt the episodes we were doing that hit that head-on were scoring, and they wanted to get [more of] those on as soon as possible."

The baby-sitting episode was one producers envisioned early in the show's development. "It was a chance for the Chuck character to show another side of himself," Levitan said.

"We're feeling that once he's engaged in the daughter relationship, now that he's decided it's something he wants, the whole show has stepped up a notch. Suddenly, he wants something, the audience knows and the audience wants it, too," he said.

"There's no more ambiguity; no, 'Is this right for me?' That doesn't mean it becomes a soft family show, it just means Chuck has a clearer vision of what he thinks he wants."

catlover79 · 04-22-2008, 12:11 AM

Thanks for sharing, Janice. Hopefully the show will find its rhythm and more viewers will tune in.

Brian Damage · 04-22-2008, 02:18 PM

While I do agree that if 'BTY' was on any other network, especially on CBS Monday nights, the rating would probably be so much better. I do realize that FOX wants "eyeballs" on this show, but what else can they possibly do?

They paired it up before and after Amercian Idol, they have two of the biggest sitcom stars there is. What else can garner them attention? Perhaps full frontal nudity OR how about they hire Britney Spears to join the cast?!?

Sonia · 04-22-2008, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

While I do agree that if 'BTY' was on any other network, especially on CBS Monday nights, the rating would probably be so much better. I do realize that FOX wants "eyeballs" on this show, but what else can they possibly do?

They paired it up before and after Amercian Idol, they have two of the biggest sitcom stars there is. What else can garner them attention? Perhaps full frontal nudity OR how about they hire Britney Spears to join the cast?!?

Please God no

For starters they should give them a consistent time slot and stick to it. I also believe they should put the comedies after AI for the whole run. Two episodes after the strike and the long hiatus were not enough. Regardless of the ratings, I have a feeling the show will come back

.

Brian Damage · 04-22-2008, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by felix

Please God no

For starters they should give them a consistent time slot and stick to it. I also believe they should put the comedies after AI for the whole run. Two episodes after the strike and the long hiatus were not enough. Regardless of the ratings, I have a feeling the show will come back

.

Agreed, besides, if FOX were REALLY smart, they would have shown a couple of episodes of 'BTY' after the Super Bowl.

Scoobiedoo30 · 04-23-2008, 02:04 AM

thanks for Shareing The News Janice

JulieSomoski · 04-26-2008, 02:24 PM

I think the show is so far doing much better at 8:30 than at 8pm, but Til Death definitely is not. As for the comment about CBS Mondays, I actually think the show would do better on FOX. BTY is just so different than any CBS sitcom. - it just wouldn't have fit in. Plus, If you look at it, CBS's new sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" has been getting series lows in it's regular timeslot lately, while BTY has been getting series highs. Just this week BTT got around 7.35 million viewers, while BTY got around 7.3. I would absolutely just love to see BTY surpass BBT in ratings.

I think if it is renewed for next season, FOX will most likely put it back at 8pm on Wednesdays. Airing it after Idol will not be a good thing to do, because we would never know if the show would be getting viewers because people found it funny, or because of a good lead-in. Kind of like Samantha Who?, which seems to only do well with DWTS as a lead-in.

Sonia · 04-26-2008, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roseanne88-97

I think the show is so far doing much better at 8:30 than at 8pm, but Til Death definitely is not. As for the comment about CBS Mondays, I actually think the show would do better on FOX. BTY is just so different than any CBS sitcom. - it just wouldn't have fit in. Plus, If you look at it, CBS's new sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" has been getting series lows in it's regular timeslot lately, while BTY has been getting series highs. Just this week BTT got around 7.35 million viewers, while BTY got around 7.3. I would absolutely just love to see BTY surpass BBT in ratings.

I think if it is renewed for next season, FOX will most likely put it back at 8pm on Wednesdays. Airing it after Idol will not be a good thing to do, because we would never know if the show would be getting viewers because people found it funny, or because of a good lead-in. Kind of like Samantha Who?, which seems to only do well with DWTS as a lead-in.

Actually SW isn't doing that great currently ratings wise even though it follows DWTS.

Brian Damage · 04-27-2008, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by felix

Actually SW isn't doing that great currently ratings wise even though it follows DWTS.

Interesting, I think that is because DWTS is starting to tail off as well.

JulieSomoski · 04-27-2008, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by felix

Actually SW isn't doing that great currently ratings wise even though it follows DWTS.

Exactly. And without DWTS as its lead-in, it only managed to do just a little above 7 million. That's why I can't stand it when Pavan keeps saying it's this season's hottest new comedy - it obviously isn't.

Brian Damage · 04-27-2008, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roseanne88-97

Exactly. And without DWTS as its lead-in, it only managed to do just a little above 7 million. That's why I can't stand it when Pavan keeps saying it's this season's hottest new comedy - it obviously isn't.

Whoa, when did he say that?

JulieSomoski · 04-27-2008, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

Whoa, when did he say that?

He always says it, or something like it. You don't read the blog???

Just in today's blog, for the ratings, he mentioned SW as "the hit sitcom." It gets on my nerves, because that show can't even old 50% of it's lead-in's numbers, yet he calls Back to You still way below normal than what it should be doing with pre-Idol viewers. I just don't see the need to make that comment every single Sunday.

Brian Damage · 04-27-2008, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roseanne88-97

He always says it, or something like it. You don't read the blog???

no lol

Sonia · 04-28-2008, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roseanne88-97

He always says it, or something like it. You don't read the blog???

Just in today's blog, for the ratings, he mentioned SW as "the hit sitcom." It gets on my nerves, because that show can't even old 50% of it's lead-in's numbers, yet he calls Back to You still way below normal than what it should be doing with pre-Idol viewers. I just don't see the need to make that comment every single Sunday.

I gave up on that blog months ago. I'll say this though, that blog kinda makes me chuckle more than Samantha Who does

I noticed something the last two weeks in B2Y forum. After the April 16 episode and the not so great ratings the comments were flowing in the ratings thread by people who, let's say don't comment around here that often. After the second week B2Y got slightly better ratings - Silence, nothing, not even one word. I thought that's kinda funny

Brian Damage · 04-28-2008, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by felix

I gave up on that blog months ago. I'll say this though, that blog kinda makes me chuckle more than Samantha Who does

I noticed something the last two weeks in B2Y forum. After the April 16 episode and the not so great ratings the comments were flowing in the ratings thread by people who, let's say don't comment around here that often. After the second week B2Y got slightly better ratings - Silence, nothing, not even one word. I thought that's kinda funny

LOL

04-21-2008, 11:53 PM	#1
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	SPOILER ALERT! Excellent Review of 'Back To You' http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08107/873597-42.stm TV Review: 'Back to You' is back Wednesday, April 16, 2008 By Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette When the Pittsburgh-set sitcom "Back to You" premiered on Fox last fall, it aired for five weeks, then disappeared for a month, returned for two weeks, disappeared for three months, aired two episodes in late February and has been MIA ever since. With the writers' strike over, "Back to You" finally returns for five weeks of uninterrupted episodes beginning tonight at 8:30 on WPGH. If you're a fan who's been troubled by the show's inconsistent airing, you're not alone. Creators and executive producers Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan have been frustrated, too. "I'm amazed at how, when I tell people what I'm doing, they say, 'Oh, when will that be on?' " Levitan said in a call with reporters Monday. "We believe the show is one where, if you watch it, we hope people will think it's funny." Ever since its inception, TV observers have noted this traditional, multi-camera sitcom seemed better suited for CBS than Fox, a notion Levitan didn't seem to dispute. "If we'd been on CBS on Monday nights with a consistent run, maybe we would be in a much better place," he said. "We're trying to get eyeballs on us so we can build. The network is supportive, but we've got to get eyeballs." The show's fate for fall remains up in the air, but it seems likely to return, especially if ratings for this upcoming run of episodes are decent. (If Fox could renew " 'Til Death" last year, the least it can do is renew the superior "Back to You.") "Back to You" follows the exploits of pompous news anchor Chuck Darling (Kelsey Grammer), who returns to the same Pittsburgh TV station he worked at in the '90s and is re-teamed with news anchor Kelly Carr (Patricia Heaton). Chuck and Kelly had a one-night fling that produced Kelly's daughter, Gracie (Laura Marano), but the girl doesn't know Chuck is her dad. Early episodes contained references to Pittsburgh communities and a February episode included a ripped-from-local-headlines plot about an "anthrocon" convention in Pittsburgh. (Costumed furry fans actually have had their annual meeting in Pittsburgh for the past couple of summers.) KDKA-TV news anchor Ken Rice is an old friend of Levitan's from college, and Rice attended the taping of the pilot last year, offering some suggestions. Writer Abraham Higginbotham grew up in Washington, Pa., and the writers look to him to regularly provide regional flavor to scripts. "We might at some point have Terry Bradshaw or various things like that, actual Pittsburgh people," Levitan said. "I know you guys have a very young mayor, and that's kind of interesting to us, but we haven't used that yet." Some days, Luke Ravenstahl's administration does seem ready-made for sitcom fodder. But "Back to You" is less concerned with pleasing Pittsburghers than it is with winning the devotion of American viewers. To that end, after the writers' strike, producers planned to end the season with Gracie learning that Chuck is her father. But network executives wanted to see that plot play out sooner rather than later, so that episode will air next week. "It's always been a conversation whether Chuck and Kelly's big secret is played best as subtext in the show or if you want to hit it head-on as we did in the episode where Chuck baby-sits Gracie," Loyd said. "We didn't have a clear answer, but the network felt moving up that plot moment was something that could be promoted fairly easily. They also felt the episodes we were doing that hit that head-on were scoring, and they wanted to get [more of] those on as soon as possible." The baby-sitting episode was one producers envisioned early in the show's development. "It was a chance for the Chuck character to show another side of himself," Levitan said. "We're feeling that once he's engaged in the daughter relationship, now that he's decided it's something he wants, the whole show has stepped up a notch. Suddenly, he wants something, the audience knows and the audience wants it, too," he said. "There's no more ambiguity; no, 'Is this right for me?' That doesn't mean it becomes a soft family show, it just means Chuck has a clearer vision of what he thinks he wants."

04-22-2008, 12:11 AM	#2
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	Thanks for sharing, Janice. Hopefully the show will find its rhythm and more viewers will tune in.
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04-22-2008, 02:18 PM	#3
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	While I do agree that if 'BTY' was on any other network, especially on CBS Monday nights, the rating would probably be so much better. I do realize that FOX wants "eyeballs" on this show, but what else can they possibly do? They paired it up before and after Amercian Idol, they have two of the biggest sitcom stars there is. What else can garner them attention? Perhaps full frontal nudity OR how about they hire Britney Spears to join the cast?!?
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04-23-2008, 02:04 AM	#6
Scoobiedoo30 Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Jun 27, 2002 Location: KENNER, LOUISIANA Posts: 27,654	thanks for Shareing The News Janice
	__________________ Who Dat

04-26-2008, 02:24 PM	#7
JulieSomoski Roseanne Reboot - March 27! Forum Veteran Join Date: Nov 06, 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 7,558	I think the show is so far doing much better at 8:30 than at 8pm, but Til Death definitely is not. As for the comment about CBS Mondays, I actually think the show would do better on FOX. BTY is just so different than any CBS sitcom. - it just wouldn't have fit in. Plus, If you look at it, CBS's new sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" has been getting series lows in it's regular timeslot lately, while BTY has been getting series highs. Just this week BTT got around 7.35 million viewers, while BTY got around 7.3. I would absolutely just love to see BTY surpass BBT in ratings. I think if it is renewed for next season, FOX will most likely put it back at 8pm on Wednesdays. Airing it after Idol will not be a good thing to do, because we would never know if the show would be getting viewers because people found it funny, or because of a good lead-in. Kind of like Samantha Who?, which seems to only do well with DWTS as a lead-in.
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