This show is GENIUS in how insidious it is. On the surface, it appears to be nothing more than your typical formulaic sitcom that CBS has been trying so hard to resurrect. However, I'd say it's target audience is NOT formulaic sitcom fans. All the jokes are aimed towards nerds! Jokes about Star Trek, comics, etc. The season premiere even featured this gem- "How does Aquaman poop?"
The premise is that a bunch of nerds live together and there's a hot blonde who lives next door. Hijinx, predictably, ensue. And you know what, it works. Sitcoms have had nerds before, but usually they've been on the periphery. They show up, a joke is made about pocket protectors, and then the standard jokes about how men like football and women like shopping resume. BBT takes a hard look about how it is to be a nerd living in society. And they're NOT portrayed as losers; they're generally pretty happy about their lives. Brilliant.
**** My Dad Says (CBS)- One would think this would be a good show for nerds. It's based on a blog, and of the two leads, one was a villain on Chuck and the other is William Shatner. Needless to say, I was looking forward to it. After five minutes, I was looking away from it, disgusted.
**** My Dad Says IS totally a formulaic sitcom. Shatner is basically Archie Bunker, and every word or act is merely a set-up so he can say something that's shocking, offensive or (in theory) funny. Bleh! You know what sums up the show? This...
"It STINKS!"
Fringe (Fox)- I never watched Fringe before, but I'd heard some good things about it, so I decided to check out the season premiere. The premise was that a group of FBI people check out weird happenings using fringe science and solve them. Now, there's some kind of cold war with an alternate universe. It was entertaining enough, but if you haven't seen it before, it's not the easiest to follow.
The Good Guys (Fox)- This show debuted last May, but no one said anything, so I'm sure there were a few people who thought last night's episode was the first. Anyway, it's pretty easy to get into.
Bradley Whitford plays Dan Stark, an 80's cop who still acts like it's the 80's. His partner, Bailey, is a by-the-book type fellow. Together, THEY FIGHT CRIME. It's a silly, mostly enjoyable, action-comedy spoof. It still feels like the producers and writers are trying to find their groove, style-wise; I feel they could've gone a bit more over the top. Still fun though.
Also, TNA's Matt Morgan guest-starred as a large, violent criminal, which is what pro wrestlers usually get cast as. Still, I certainly believed that Morgan was a large man who could kill me with his bare hands, so he at least nailed the character.
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