Welcome to a new Wildcard Wednesday! This week, I’ve got another Sitcom Potpourri, featuring brief commentary on a few short-lived series and recommendations for appropriately reflexive episodic samples. For this post, I’m looking at four single-season multi-cams from the 2000s decade that all featured notable, better-than-the-material stars in their casts.
WHAT ABOUT JOAN (March 2001 – October 2001, ABC)
Premise: An eccentric Chicago teacher navigates an increasingly serious relationship.
Cast: Joan Cusack, Kyle Chandler, Donna Murphy, Kellie Shanygne Williams, Wallace Langham, Jessica Hecht, Jeff Garlin
Writers: Gwen Mascai, David Richardson, Jon Vitti, Michael Price & Chris Downey, Charleen Easton & Gloria Ketterer, Robin Epstein, Katherine Green, Chuck Tatham, John Levenstein, Michael Price, Michael Platt, Cynthia Greenburg
Thoughts: This Chicago-produced multi-cam was a vehicle for the delightful Joan Cusack, a quirkily funny performer who, in a running theme for this entry, is easily the best thing about her own show, which casts her as a lovable goofball navigating a new but increasingly serious relationship. Although this dynamic forces her beau (Kyle Chandler) into the role of “straight man” and therefore keeps him criminally under-defined, Joan‘s relationship stories prove to be a conduit for rich comedy that showcases her well and justifies the very existence of her sitcom. Accordingly, that part of the situation works. Unfortunately, it’s barely used after the first few entries, and everything else around it never comes together as well – like her friend group and job as a teacher. Simply, stories about the school are things we’ve seen before, with nothing original offered, and scenes set in her classroom or the teachers’ lounge feel far too removed from the relationship-forward aspect of the situation that plays best, with Joan an awkward kook. What’s more, the supporting cast never gets up to her level. Despite a few capable performers around, specifically Broadway diva Donna Murphy as her assured psychiatrist friend, and Kellie Shanygne Williams as her straight-talking fellow teacher, nobody feels comedically distinct and thus story-providing (even those two). Wallace Langham (Larry Sanders, Veronica’s Closet) plays a smarmy instructor who’s secretly dating, and then marries, another one of Joan’s colleagues — portrayed by Friends’ Jessica Hecht — but the two lack chemistry and their subplots aren’t funny. In fact, Season Two finds the show dropping Hecht and replacing her with Jeff Garlin as the bartender at a new local hangout that’s established as a place for Joan and her crew to gather, further merging her personal and professional worlds. But by this point, the series has become quite dispirited and lost all of its relationship-sparked comic energy. It’s a disappointment – for Cusack especially, as she’s someone who could have made good here.
Episode Count: 21 episodes produced over two seasons (13+8), only 11 of which were broadcast (9+2)
Episodes Seen: All 21
Key Episodes: #1: “Pilot” (03/27/01)
#4: “Joan Meets The Parents” (04/17/01)
Why: Several early episodes explore Joan’s awkwardness in her new relationship but #4 is one of the funnier samples, even with its narrative clichés, for she’s got more of an established character by this point, with recurring details that therefore make this somewhat specific to her and the situation she upholds. As for the pilot, it’s simply the most promising, for Joan Cusack as a sitcom leading lady is a revelation — if only the rest of the show were up to her level.
CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE (October 2004 – January 2005, CBS)
Premise: A middle-aged husband and father is the nucleus of his entire extended family.
Cast: John Goodman, Jean Smart, Olympia Dukakis, Diedrich Bader, Melinda McGraw, Spencer Breslin, Ed Asner
Writers: Mitchel Katlin & Nat Bernstein, Bruce Rasmussen, Eric Zicklin, Brett Baer & Dave Finkel, Alan Kirschenbaum, Billy Van Zandt & Jane Milmore, Shira Zeltzer
Thoughts: A capable cast stacked with funny, memorable performers is let down by a generic domestic setup anchored by Roseanne’s John Goodman, whose only primary suggestion by this series’ situation is that he’s the “center” of his family’s “universe” and therefore the one they turn to for solving all their problems. Unfortunately, that elemental notion is nebulous in weekly story after the opener, and there aren’t any unique ideas that comedically show off the talents of these performers, whose characters are, crucially, vaguer than they need to be. In fact, I’d say Center Of The Universe proves to be a real nothing-burger overall, particularly given these raw ingredients… Okay, I’m going to try to look on the bright side and say… uh, at least it’s funny that Goodman and Smart play characters who think their son is incredibly lame. That’s the most comedically interesting detail in the entire series, which needed more individualized setups like this to drive laughs and story in genuinely specific, entertaining ways.
Episode Count: 15 episodes produced, 10 of which aired.
Episodes Seen: The ten aired episodes.
Key Episodes (of Seen): #1: “Pilot” (10/27/04)
#10: “The New Neighbors” (01/19/05)
Why: The pilot is the only half hour that effectively displays its “center of the universe” premise, while episode #10 is the funniest, with a centerpiece that sees Goodman and Smart at a club and a story that acknowledges their harsh view of their awkward, goofy son.
CRUMBS (January 2006 – February 2006, ABC)
Premise: A closeted screenwriter returns home to deal with his mom who just left an insane asylum after trying to kill his dad.
Cast: Fred Savage, Eddie McClintock, Maggie Lawson, Reginald Ballard, William Devane, Jane Curtin
Writers: Marco Pennette, David Walpert, Regina Stewart, Hayes Jackson, Heide Perlman, Joel Stein, Sung Suh, Les Firestein, David Grubstick & Roy Brown
Thoughts: This is a fairly typical dysfunctional family comedy with adult children, but it’s inflated to comedic extremes, largely thanks to Jane Curtin’s role as the matriarch. In the pilot, she’s taken out of the insane asylum that she had been forced to enter following a nervous breakdown in which she attempted to kill her estranged husband (William Devane). He had just left her for a younger woman (the recurring Illeana Douglas) – a younger woman who, as discovered in the pilot, is also now pregnant with his child. It’s nothing new really, but the mother’s emotional instability, which leads to impulsive actions of exaggerated flair, remains quite funny as a hook, and helps compensate for the more traditional and/or weaker aspects of the series. One of those weaker aspects is an arc about the main character hiding his sexual orientation from the family (he’s gay, obviously) – an idea that I think is supposed to ratchet up the concept of their premised dysfunction but, even for 2006, feels a bit like a narrative gimmick for this first season only, with limited life once everyone finds out. That is, it doesn’t set up a lot of comic ideas in the long-term, as it’s less about his fundamental characterization and more about what he can contribute, temporarily, to story. Nevertheless, Crumbs never had a chance to worry about the long term anyway, because the network didn’t even air its whole 13-episode order. That’s a shame, for the show – though not excellent – has its moments, with Curtin, again, elevating the proceedings with laugh-earning glee. Her character is a gimmick as well – you know, the whole insane asylum backstory – but as long as she could remain an overly-reactive and self-destructive obstacle, she’d always be helpful for both laughs and plot. And on the basis of that potential, I consider Crumbs pretty decent for a short-lived mid-’00s sitcom.
Episode Count: 13 episodes produced, five of which were broadcast.
Episodes Seen: All 13
Key Episodes: #9: “The Gift Of The Magpie” (Syndication Only)
#11: “A Loon Again, Naturally” (Syndication Only)
#12: “He Ain’t Hetero, He’s My Brother” (Syndication Only)
Why: Episode #9 is a quintessential dysfunctional family episode with Curtin’s character forcing her clan to celebrate Christmas with her because she missed it while locked up; #11 is fun because it guests Rhea Perlman as Curtin’s rival from the institution, with whom she remains in fierce competition; and #12, though not as fun as the other two, notably guests Teri Garr as the ex-wife of Curtin’s new beau (also notably played by Elliott Gould).
HANK (September 2009 – November 2009, ABC)
Premise: A former New York City executive is forced to downsize to small-town Virginia with his family.
Cast: Kelsey Grammer, Melinda McGraw, David Koechner, Jordan Hinson, Nathan Gamble
Writers: Tucker Cawley, Bill Martin & Mike Schiff, Jackie Filgo & Jeff Filgo, Ilana Wernick, DJ Nash, Steve Skrovan
Thoughts: As with the other shows in this post, Hank’s strongest asset exists in its casting – specifically, star Kelsey Grammer, making his second attempted post-Frasier comeback (after Back To You). Although this show ended up being quite a flop, I think it at least gave its lead a characterization that has both narrative legs and comic juice: he’s a former big-city corporate executive who’s forced to retire to small-town suburbia. And these smart writers – including alums from Everybody Loves Raymond, 3rd Rock From The Sun, and That ’70s Show – managed to come up with episodic ideas that genuinely explore the premise as suggested by his character, yielding the kind of textbook sitcommery that’s worthy of recognition, particularly since it’s basically funny, enlivened by these scribes and this cast. (It’s so much better than Center Of The Universe!) No, nothing here is great, but in only ten episodes, it’s always hard to find greatness, for the sitcom genre is predicated on satisfying established expectations, and that requires having had enough time to establish expectations in the first place. On that front, I think Hank would have continued to improve if given the chance. Of course, nothing around Grammer is as smart or as amusing as he is. And the show could have used a little extra help there – a few more premised particulars that could enable situation-approved (and comedic) story. I’m thinking perhaps of some kind of community organization with a greater ensemble of players whom Hank could both befriend and annoy beyond just his immediate family. That is, another place where Hank could more reliably show off his situationally central depiction as a frustrated ex-exec jonesing to take charge of something… But that’s just an idea. As a ten-episode turkey that never got a chance to fly, Hank‘s perfectly fine, and better than most.
Episode Count: 10 episodes produced, five of which were broadcast.
Episodes Seen: All ten, but “Got It” wasn’t in English, so I must asterisk it!
Key Episodes: #3: “Drag Your Daughter To Work Day” (10/14/09)
#5: “Hanksgiving” (11/04/09)
#8: “The Pryor Name” (Syndication Only)
Why: Episode #3 does the best at exploring the premise via Hank’s frustration with being out of work and needing something to do with all of that now-furloughed energy, while #5 has a dysfunctional family Thanksgiving that guests Swoosie Kurtz as Hank’s mother-in-law, and #8 boasts the funniest use of Hank as a nuisance to his family.
Ultimately, CRUMBS is the only interesting show here, but WHAT ABOUT JOAN also boasts a few good moments, and HANK probably had unrealized potential as well. But if you want to read more of my thoughts on other (sometimes better) short-lived forgotten sitcoms, pick up my new book — Great American Sitcoms of the 1950s, available now!
Come back next week for another Wildcard! And stay tuned tomorrow for more Big Bang!