At this writing, the show has been canceled by CBS. It's possible, technically, it could be picked up by another network, cable or entity (being video delivery today is quite vast). But most likely, you got ahold of old videos, privately made or released by some syndicator, and so we're talking about a show that 'used to be on.' I was interested in this show more to see a Matthew Perry, in another comedic transformation. It tackled the familiar. The adaptation, in some ways, was impressive. This original storyline is fifty years old and was updated to modern familiarities. Oscar doesn't write sports for a newspaper, but runs/hosts a satellite radio sports show. Cell phones and social media are all around, and he still bets on sports, with a live ticker in his living room. Check out the 1968 movie version and see how they've made the transformation.
However, some things were lost. The comedy then, 1968, was more subtle and allowed time to develop and pop; today, we have machine gun delivered jokes. That's a bad one, wait...another one is loaded in the barrel. In this way, this modern show fits contemporary TV humor, which I'm not a fan of. This show didn't capture the middle age blues as well as Matthau and Lemmon did in '68. Perry's Oscar was more akin to college frat boy who never grew up than the one we knew from past lives. Lennon's Felix captures the neurotic and fussiness we're familiar with, but it competes with other modern fictional characters which are familiar; Dr. Niles Crane (Frasier) or Dr. Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory).
The show didn't give time to allow the principals to really develop, to where we knew them well enough, to add to the comedic recipe. If we really know and empathize with the character, we can survive through bad writing or even poor comedic timing...for a time. All three, of course, hit it out of the park, this show rarely, if ever did that. Towards the end, and last season, Lennon's Felix was a standout, and his girlfriend, paying the cute/lovable girlfriend, helped add to the show. It might have been better to have started this off at the beginning, during the introductory phase of the show. Perry's Oscar never developed on his own, and ran the risk of turning Charlie Harper bunking with Dr. Sheldon Cooper.
The show suffered from general bad writing, poor development and uneven performances, not necessarily because of the talent. Out of total control of the creators was the network, which only ordered 12/13 episodes a season, changed the time slot and crammed each season over a couple of months. For viewership to develop, takes consistency, even in today's fragmented world, we are still creatures of habit. Sure, we can tell the Tivo to record ever episode of a show, but some program for the week and the casual viewer can quickly lose track of what day/time a show is on and can't find it on the grid. The first season of this show had more viewers than the first two seasons of the Big Bang Theory.
Lastly, art is subjective and timing is critical. There are no absolutes. This show appears to be in the morgue, at least for it's 'first run.' Remember, 'Friends' was never a big hit with high brow critics, which found it to be too cutzie. But, it won the support of viewers, and survived for that reason on the network for ten years. Even if the writing wasn't always spot on, the characters and their relationship with the audience carried the day. Bob Newhart, took a standup act in the 60's, of a deadpan expression, mellow guy and turned it into a character type who survived two shows, in different backdrops over two decades on TV. 'Mama's Family' was sketch comedy on 'The Carol Burnett Show' and went on to become a national sitcom for six years, two with NBC, four with 'first run syndication,' (where today's TV talk/game shows come from). Not to mention 'Mama's Family' was a great template for future 'senior stars' of the later 'Golden Girls.' Mr. Perry's current floundering, from his stardom on 'Friends' is not new, nor is the last chapter written. Jason Bateman, was a child star who crashed in the 80's while his sister shined on the hit show 'Family Ties.' But, he came back and is quite busy over the last 15 years. Some Perry fans, knowingly or otherwise, want their Chandler Bing back, either consciously or subconsciously. Whether or not to resurrect Mr. Bing, or something similar, remains to be seen. But, much of the recipe is also timing. With better network support and better organization, this show could have survived and gained viewers. Never a 'breakout hit,' but enough viewers could have warmed to it, not to mention attracting viewers looking for something a little more understated over the 'edgy humor' today's critics are hyper about.
However, some things were lost. The comedy then, 1968, was more subtle and allowed time to develop and pop; today, we have machine gun delivered jokes. That's a bad one, wait...another one is loaded in the barrel. In this way, this modern show fits contemporary TV humor, which I'm not a fan of. This show didn't capture the middle age blues as well as Matthau and Lemmon did in '68. Perry's Oscar was more akin to college frat boy who never grew up than the one we knew from past lives. Lennon's Felix captures the neurotic and fussiness we're familiar with, but it competes with other modern fictional characters which are familiar; Dr. Niles Crane (Frasier) or Dr. Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory).
The show didn't give time to allow the principals to really develop, to where we knew them well enough, to add to the comedic recipe. If we really know and empathize with the character, we can survive through bad writing or even poor comedic timing...for a time. All three, of course, hit it out of the park, this show rarely, if ever did that. Towards the end, and last season, Lennon's Felix was a standout, and his girlfriend, paying the cute/lovable girlfriend, helped add to the show. It might have been better to have started this off at the beginning, during the introductory phase of the show. Perry's Oscar never developed on his own, and ran the risk of turning Charlie Harper bunking with Dr. Sheldon Cooper.
The show suffered from general bad writing, poor development and uneven performances, not necessarily because of the talent. Out of total control of the creators was the network, which only ordered 12/13 episodes a season, changed the time slot and crammed each season over a couple of months. For viewership to develop, takes consistency, even in today's fragmented world, we are still creatures of habit. Sure, we can tell the Tivo to record ever episode of a show, but some program for the week and the casual viewer can quickly lose track of what day/time a show is on and can't find it on the grid. The first season of this show had more viewers than the first two seasons of the Big Bang Theory.
Lastly, art is subjective and timing is critical. There are no absolutes. This show appears to be in the morgue, at least for it's 'first run.' Remember, 'Friends' was never a big hit with high brow critics, which found it to be too cutzie. But, it won the support of viewers, and survived for that reason on the network for ten years. Even if the writing wasn't always spot on, the characters and their relationship with the audience carried the day. Bob Newhart, took a standup act in the 60's, of a deadpan expression, mellow guy and turned it into a character type who survived two shows, in different backdrops over two decades on TV. 'Mama's Family' was sketch comedy on 'The Carol Burnett Show' and went on to become a national sitcom for six years, two with NBC, four with 'first run syndication,' (where today's TV talk/game shows come from). Not to mention 'Mama's Family' was a great template for future 'senior stars' of the later 'Golden Girls.' Mr. Perry's current floundering, from his stardom on 'Friends' is not new, nor is the last chapter written. Jason Bateman, was a child star who crashed in the 80's while his sister shined on the hit show 'Family Ties.' But, he came back and is quite busy over the last 15 years. Some Perry fans, knowingly or otherwise, want their Chandler Bing back, either consciously or subconsciously. Whether or not to resurrect Mr. Bing, or something similar, remains to be seen. But, much of the recipe is also timing. With better network support and better organization, this show could have survived and gained viewers. Never a 'breakout hit,' but enough viewers could have warmed to it, not to mention attracting viewers looking for something a little more understated over the 'edgy humor' today's critics are hyper about.