Thoughts on "Whoopi" and "Happy Family" - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

benjamoon · 09-09-2003, 09:44 PM

For those of you that saw the premieres of NBC's newest comedies, post your thoughts

Here's my review:

WHOOPI
Grade: D

What a disaster. I figured it would be after seeing commercials but it was even worse than I expected. Whoopi was the best part of the entire show because the rest of the cast must have been dozing off in acting class. Whoopi at least had some funny reactions and decent timing. I don't want to use stereotypes, but since this show was ridiculously heavy in them, I will to talk about the other characters. Everyone was too much of what they were, the Arab guy had lame jokes about Iraq and the Middle East while being continuously unfunny. The "fly" white girl and her boyfriend were obnoxious. I swear the boyfriend (who previously worked for Enron, another dumb plot line) was merely reading cuecards. Very poor writing, very poor acting. This will be gone by November sweeps

HAPPY FAMILY
Grade: B-

I actually see potential in this. Christine Baranski and John Laroquette are quite funny in their own right. The chemistry could improve between them though. Christine is such a talent, with great delivery and comedic timing and Laroquette had some moments of his own. The rest of the cast needs to step it up. The youngest son (Tim) is a little funny but just dumb-funny and it doesn't work all that well. The daughter is obnoxious and I can see her being a little too much of the same week to week and the oldest son doesn't act enough. He needs to have a little more feeling into his role. The parts are well written for the most part, the script was a little over the top, but it had flashes of brightness and unless it gets clobbered by "Whoopi" receiving poor ratings, it has a chance

Mr. Television · 09-09-2003, 09:53 PM

I didn't watch Whoppi but I thought Happy Family was very good. If NBC would give it a better timeslot it might be a keeper.

*Pleasant Tomorrow* · 09-09-2003, 09:53 PM

Whoopi:C
It wasn't the greatest, but I got a few laughs out of it. It might improve, you never know.

Happy Family:A-
I really liked it, and am looking forward to the rest of the season. It wasn't lmao funny, but hey it's only the first episode...

Small Wonderian · 09-09-2003, 10:47 PM

My grades:

Whoopi: haven't seen it so no grade as of yet

Happy Family: seen only a little of it, but from what I saw, I give it a B+

musicradio77 · 09-09-2003, 11:08 PM

"Whoopi" had such poor ratings since 1987 when "Full House" debut, the reviews went bad for its first season and the show almost cancelled and came back the following year. Whoopi Goldberg is not quite the same after she left "Hollywood Squares" as the center square. I haven't seen it in reruns on GSN since Friday mornings from 9:00 until noon, three hours of Whoopi on the new "Hollywood Squares".

Madness · 09-10-2003, 01:20 AM

Whoopi I knew would be bad but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I laughed with the laugh track. Happy Family was actually very funny. I am a big fan of John Larroquette and him and Christine Baranski were quite funny, as well as all the kids. I was really chuckling throughout the whole episode. Their timing was perfect and I hope NBC doesn't drop the ball with Happy Family but I'm sure they will. I think Whoopi should be and will be given a chance.

Whoopi-C
Happy Family-B+

*GoodMorningCalgary* · 09-10-2003, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by benjamoon
the Arab guy had lame jokes about Iraq and the Middle East while being continuously unfunny.

Ummm he's Persian. He didn't like it when people called him Arab. I didn't even see the show and I even knew this

*GoodMorningCalgary* · 09-10-2003, 09:30 AM

By the way...How did each of the shows do last night in Ratings??

Christopher · 09-10-2003, 11:52 AM

'Whoopi' was okay. I hope more of the episodes are funnier. I give it a B+

I can't stand John Larroquette, so I didn't bother watching 'Happy Family'

Mr. Television · 09-10-2003, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by *GoodMorningCalgary*
By the way...How did each of the shows do last night in Ratings??

According to zap2it.com both shows did well winning their timelots but they did air against reruns.

felicitylen · 09-10-2003, 12:03 PM

Whoopi: C-
(I laughed a few times but I quickly got bored and changed the channel)

Happy Family: didn't watch but the previews to me looked stupid.

Toukee · 09-10-2003, 03:34 PM

I thought "Happy Family" was awful...Christine Baranski and John Laroquette are both very talented and could carry a series, but they'd need scripts that don't come across like they were written by a junior high school creative writing class.

well...that's pretty much my opinion about "Whoopi" too, but for some reason, I saw more potential in "Whoopi" then I saw in "Happy Family" (which doesn't seem to be the same as everybody else's opinions, I guess) - I just think that the hotel setting could lend itself to more creativity and comic possibilities in future episodes. I'm thinking it has the potential to become another "Newhart" with the hotel setting lending itself to funny guest stars and situations...they'd also need to find people who can actually write humor, though.

Central Perk · 09-10-2003, 04:20 PM

Both shows were pretty bad imo. I just hope they improve because I have a feeling that both could be cancelled by the end of the season.

Whoopi: D-
Happy Family: C+

GoldenFamilyTies · 09-10-2003, 04:52 PM

From Futon Critic:

1. "Whoopi" (NBC) - 12.5/20
2. "Happy Family" (NBC) - 12.1/18
3. "Law & Order: S.V.U." (R, NBC) - 8.9/14
4. "Frasier" (R, NBC) - 7.9/12
5. "The O.C." (FOX) - 7.2/11
6. "Big Brother 4" (CBS) - 6.6/10
7. "Good Morning, Miami" (R, NBC) - 5.5/8
8. "According to Jim" (R, ABC, 9:00) - 5.4/8
9. "Cupid" (CBS) - 5.2/8
10. "Less Than Perfect" (R, ABC) - 5.0/7
11. "Judging Amy" (R, CBS) - 4.9/8
12. "Eight Simple Rules..." (R, ABC) - 4.8/8
13. "According to Jim" (SR, ABC, 8:30) - 4.3/7
14. "N.Y.P.D. Blue" (R, ABC) - 4.1/6
15. "Performing As..." (FOX) - 3.9/6

SBTB Geek · 09-10-2003, 05:00 PM

"Whoopi" tried too hard to be controversial, but I did find the Persian guy funny. He's the star of the show. "Happy Family" in the other hand is VERY good, and I can't wait to watch another episode. The cast had very good chemistry.

09-09-2003, 09:44 PM	#1
benjamoon Bewitched Senior Member Join Date: Jun 15, 2000 Location: New York Posts: 1,450	Thoughts on "Whoopi" and "Happy Family" For those of you that saw the premieres of NBC's newest comedies, post your thoughts Here's my review: WHOOPI Grade: D What a disaster. I figured it would be after seeing commercials but it was even worse than I expected. Whoopi was the best part of the entire show because the rest of the cast must have been dozing off in acting class. Whoopi at least had some funny reactions and decent timing. I don't want to use stereotypes, but since this show was ridiculously heavy in them, I will to talk about the other characters. Everyone was too much of what they were, the Arab guy had lame jokes about Iraq and the Middle East while being continuously unfunny. The "fly" white girl and her boyfriend were obnoxious. I swear the boyfriend (who previously worked for Enron, another dumb plot line) was merely reading cuecards. Very poor writing, very poor acting. This will be gone by November sweeps HAPPY FAMILY Grade: B- I actually see potential in this. Christine Baranski and John Laroquette are quite funny in their own right. The chemistry could improve between them though. Christine is such a talent, with great delivery and comedic timing and Laroquette had some moments of his own. The rest of the cast needs to step it up. The youngest son (Tim) is a little funny but just dumb-funny and it doesn't work all that well. The daughter is obnoxious and I can see her being a little too much of the same week to week and the oldest son doesn't act enough. He needs to have a little more feeling into his role. The parts are well written for the most part, the script was a little over the top, but it had flashes of brightness and unless it gets clobbered by "Whoopi" receiving poor ratings, it has a chance
	__________________ My Blog: http://benjamonsterstv.blogspot.com/ My Site: peaktvdatabase.weebly.com My favorite TV shows: Bewitched, I Love Lucy, American Dreams, Mary Tyler Moore, The Office, Happy Days, The West Wing, Modern Family, Friday Night Lights, Friends, Mad Men, Parks and Recreation, and Parenthood

09-09-2003, 09:53 PM	#2
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,129	I didn't watch Whoppi but I thought Happy Family was very good. If NBC would give it a better timeslot it might be a keeper.
	__________________ Sonny

09-09-2003, 09:53 PM	#3
Pleasant Tomorrow Member Forum Addict Join Date: Feb 19, 2003 Location: New York Posts: 69,525	Whoopi:C It wasn't the greatest, but I got a few laughs out of it. It might improve, you never know. Happy Family:A- I really liked it, and am looking forward to the rest of the season. It wasn't lmao funny, but hey it's only the first episode...
	__________________ my name is ashlee Welcome! Everything is fine.

09-09-2003, 10:47 PM	#4
Small Wonderian Back From a Long Hiatus Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 23, 2003 Location: in Redskin Country!!!!!!! Posts: 20,316	My grades: Whoopi: haven't seen it so no grade as of yet Happy Family: seen only a little of it, but from what I saw, I give it a B+
	__________________

09-09-2003, 11:08 PM	#5
musicradio77 Disney Expert Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 14, 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY USA Posts: 6,475	"Whoopi" had such poor ratings since 1987 when "Full House" debut, the reviews went bad for its first season and the show almost cancelled and came back the following year. Whoopi Goldberg is not quite the same after she left "Hollywood Squares" as the center square. I haven't seen it in reruns on GSN since Friday mornings from 9:00 until noon, three hours of Whoopi on the new "Hollywood Squares".
	__________________ Musicradio77 Productions

09-10-2003, 01:20 AM	#6
Madness I call it the rocket Senior Member Join Date: May 03, 2000 Posts: 2,047	Whoopi I knew would be bad but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I laughed with the laugh track. Happy Family was actually very funny. I am a big fan of John Larroquette and him and Christine Baranski were quite funny, as well as all the kids. I was really chuckling throughout the whole episode. Their timing was perfect and I hope NBC doesn't drop the ball with Happy Family but I'm sure they will. I think Whoopi should be and will be given a chance. Whoopi-C Happy Family-B+

09-10-2003, 09:30 AM	#8
GoodMorningCalgary Banana Hammock! Senior Member Join Date: Dec 02, 2002 Location: Sacred Heart Hospital Posts: 1,225	By the way...How did each of the shows do last night in Ratings??

09-10-2003, 11:52 AM	#9
Christopher The OG Core Four Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 15, 2001 Posts: 14,833	'Whoopi' was okay. I hope more of the episodes are funnier. I give it a B+ I can't stand John Larroquette, so I didn't bother watching 'Happy Family'

09-10-2003, 12:03 PM	#11
felicitylen Keep Austin WEIRD Senior Member Join Date: Apr 17, 2003 Location: Hook 'em Horns Posts: 1,606	Whoopi: C- (I laughed a few times but I quickly got bored and changed the channel) Happy Family: didn't watch but the previews to me looked stupid.

09-10-2003, 03:34 PM	#12
Toukee Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 10, 2003 Posts: 16	I thought "Happy Family" was awful...Christine Baranski and John Laroquette are both very talented and could carry a series, but they'd need scripts that don't come across like they were written by a junior high school creative writing class. well...that's pretty much my opinion about "Whoopi" too, but for some reason, I saw more potential in "Whoopi" then I saw in "Happy Family" (which doesn't seem to be the same as everybody else's opinions, I guess) - I just think that the hotel setting could lend itself to more creativity and comic possibilities in future episodes. I'm thinking it has the potential to become another "Newhart" with the hotel setting lending itself to funny guest stars and situations...they'd also need to find people who can actually write humor, though.

09-10-2003, 04:20 PM	#13
Central Perk ~~~~~ Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 10, 2002 Posts: 4,553	Both shows were pretty bad imo. I just hope they improve because I have a feeling that both could be cancelled by the end of the season. Whoopi: D- Happy Family: C+

09-10-2003, 04:52 PM	#14
GoldenFamilyTies Por siempre tú Senior Member Join Date: Jan 15, 2002 Location: United States Posts: 1,329	From Futon Critic: 1. "Whoopi" (NBC) - 12.5/20 2. "Happy Family" (NBC) - 12.1/18 3. "Law & Order: S.V.U." (R, NBC) - 8.9/14 4. "Frasier" (R, NBC) - 7.9/12 5. "The O.C." (FOX) - 7.2/11 6. "Big Brother 4" (CBS) - 6.6/10 7. "Good Morning, Miami" (R, NBC) - 5.5/8 8. "According to Jim" (R, ABC, 9:00) - 5.4/8 9. "Cupid" (CBS) - 5.2/8 10. "Less Than Perfect" (R, ABC) - 5.0/7 11. "Judging Amy" (R, CBS) - 4.9/8 12. "Eight Simple Rules..." (R, ABC) - 4.8/8 13. "According to Jim" (SR, ABC, 8:30) - 4.3/7 14. "N.Y.P.D. Blue" (R, ABC) - 4.1/6 15. "Performing As..." (FOX) - 3.9/6

09-10-2003, 05:00 PM	#15
SBTB Geek Smooth Moderator Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 21, 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 6,004	"Whoopi" tried too hard to be controversial, but I did find the Persian guy funny. He's the star of the show. "Happy Family" in the other hand is VERY good, and I can't wait to watch another episode. The cast had very good chemistry.