New TV Show: Sons & Daughters

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Was I the only who watched this on Tuesday night?
Opens with a disclaimer: "This show is partially improvised" a pre-emptive excuse for suckiness that I think helped, because I was expecting it to suck. It didn't, but it wasn't quite excellent. Maybe just below Scrubs-level of funny, which means that I'll watch it if the TV accidentally turns to it, but I probably won't plan on watching it again.
Definitely in the wake of Arrested Development (but closer to Christopher Guest, really), but with likable characters, I guess.
Fred Goss as the centrepiece has Steve Carell eyebrows, which helps. Max Gail is pretty good. The kids are all okay, and deftly sidestep the cliches that, at first, they seemed bent on. The girl with the glasses is pretty funny, because, well, she seems EVIL.
Amanda Walsh, former MuchMusic obnoxio-bot, is surprisingly good.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Thursday, 9 March 2006 14:46 (twenty years ago)

and I think it's far less improvised than they'd like us to believe, which is not necessarily a bad thing, just hoodwinkery.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Thursday, 9 March 2006 14:47 (twenty years ago)

I thought this show was great! I was surprised that the narrative between the two episodes they showed was so closely linked together but that was a pleasant surprise.

All of the kids are outstanding. The films!

― Dan ("My Dad Crushes Life") Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 9 March 2006 14:50 (twenty years ago)

i watched it. it was OK. pilots are usually just OK, so we'll see. the kids and the sexless sister and whitey were the best.

Opens with a disclaimer: "This show is partially improvised" a pre-emptive excuse for suckiness that I think helped, because I was expecting it to suck.

yeah that was weird. it just made me think curb yr enthusiasm is improvised, scriptless and doesnt suck at all. no excuse.

― sunny successor (katharine), Thursday, 9 March 2006 14:50 (twenty years ago)

The sexless sister is totally hot. I thought she was nerd-girl's sister.
Another gripe (though not much of one): there's a lot of characters, and there were a few times that I really had no idea who they were talking about.
Whitey and Son are great, as was Mrs. Unwed Whitey retort to her boss asking her out: "I like badasses."

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Thursday, 9 March 2006 15:07 (twenty years ago)

The show continues to be charming, but I was hoping it would step up the funny a bit this week. Though maybe that'll happen when they start airing shows from the next production cycle???
I'm not sure what I think about Amanda Walsh's character development/revelations. Is she supposed to be stupid?
Dee Wallace killed though. And Steve-Carell-Eyebrow-Man is really growing on me.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 14:42 (twenty years ago)

It's like, it sorta borrows the frenetic pace and layering of Arrested Development, but doesn't pile on the jokes and gags. I guess it probably has a similar joke ratio as yr average sitcom, but it's like, it feels like there are too many long stretches without jokes.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 14:48 (twenty years ago)

i missed this, they promoted it a lot before the debut last week and all the jokes seemed like they should be funny, but just weren't (except for "she's forever hitler"). if it doesn't get cancelled I'll try to catch it next week though

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 15:01 (twenty years ago)

The one that made me snort was when Carell-Brow-Man's was picking up the kids from their grandmother's house and grandma (Dee Wallace), reported on the youngest's potty transactions, and said that she did number one twice, but no number two. Then the little girls says: "I did number two, but nobody found it yet."

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 15:06 (twenty years ago)

SIGNIFICANT OTHERS WUZ ROBBED

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 15:50 (twenty years ago)

I loved significant others!!!!

― teeny (teeny), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 16:03 (twenty years ago)

I've never even heard of it!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 16:08 (twenty years ago)

That's because it was on Bravo! As a mid-season placeholder! Your Carell Brow Buddy was on it. It was an "improv" sitcom revolving around 3 / 4 couples in marriage counseling & their coupling shenanigans. It lasted about 8 episodes (if that), but it was great. And it was, of course, shitcanned.

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 16:22 (twenty years ago)

My nan preferred The Young Doctors IIR.

― David Orton (scarlet), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 16:28 (twenty years ago)

Oh, maybe Canadian Bravo (which is much closer to Cdn A&E, really) will air it next year.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 16:42 (twenty years ago)

urgh, wish they had more quotes: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395410/quotes

― teeny (teeny), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 16:45 (twenty years ago)

three weeks pass...

i saw this finally, tonight, it was pretty funny; the first episode (with the old lesbians) more than the second one, but that one was good too.

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 5 April 2006 05:30 (twenty years ago)

sons and daughters was an early 80s aussie drama

― electric sound of jim (and why not) (electricsound), Wednesday, 5 April 2006 05:31 (twenty years ago)

"Sons and daughters/Love and laughter/Tears of sadness and happiness" went it's excellent theme tune. It wasn't as good as Young Doctors or Prisoner though.

― Raw Patrick at work, Wednesday, 5 April 2006 06:50 (twenty years ago)

The only thing I remember about the Young Doctors was the ending, everytime I turned the telly on coming in from school.

― Ste (Fuzzy), Wednesday, 5 April 2006 08:46 (twenty years ago)

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