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Inspector Hammer!
- John Williamson
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I really enjoyed the pilot, it was charming and funny.
Plus, I love that kid's name, I wish my name was Brick.
Definitely be sticking around for this one.
"You have no idea how far i'm willing to go to acquire your cooperation." - Jack Bauer
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Sons & Daughters! I loved that show! I mention it in threads whenever I get the chance. I mentioned it in the Modern Family thread last week.
Of all the new comedies I've seen this year, this was the best of the bunch (well, aside from Community, that is -- I mean, come on -- Community is already funnier than The Office, so it's not even fair to include it in the conversation). Yes, some of the jokes had a staleness to them (a bad driver's license picture being strip mined for laughs will never rise above mediocre) and the "bad family" theme was a mix of Malcolm and Roseanne, but how can you dislike Neil Flynn? And Brick talking to his backpack cracked me up every time -- in fact, everything that kid did made me laugh. If Heaton isn't careful, The Middle is going to turn into The Brick Show. The thing that impressed me most were the production values -- this looked really expensive, and they had little touches and sight gags all over the place. At least the producers care about making a quality show -- I didn't actually watch Hank, but that looks like they just shoved a bunch of shit into a pillowcase. Accidentally on Purpose is that way too.
Eden Sher looks like Butthead from Beavis & Butthead.
Getting out of jury duty is easy. The trick is to say you're prejudiced against all races.
AI Blog and Separated at Birth page
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I just happened to come across it by accident and what a nice find! I enjoyed it quite a bit. It did have that Malcolm in the Middle feel and it was kind of hard to get past Neil Flynn as the Janitor (from Scrubs). But he seems to have that "Dad" vibe about him and pulls it off well. Especially a dad in a mostly dysfunctional family. I'm definitely looking forward to the next episode with the "throbbing manhood" question.
"A human being is part of the whole called by us the Universe. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest --a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for...
- Joined: November 1998
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Second show a letdown. It felt like there was too much piling on with the misfortunes and was kind of a downer. I still like Brick, but the other son's trait of sleeping all the time isn't really that funny. And the daughter is too pathetic to engender any sympathy. The way she's portrayed, she seems more than slightly retarded, which makes it less funny to laugh at her misfortune.
Getting out of jury duty is easy. The trick is to say you're prejudiced against all races.
AI Blog and Separated at Birth page
- Joined: November 1998
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Ugh. I liked Eden in Sons and Daughters, but I just hate watching her in this show. The writing is starting to grate on me, and it's a series of one-note downers with a convenient happy ending. Which reminds me of a quote from Hal Hartley's
Surviving Desire -- "
The trouble with us Americans is that we always want a tragedy with a happy ending." And that's the problem with this show -- it wants to paint and Roseanne-esque portrait of a family barely scraping by, but it can't stop itself from cheering up the audience they've depressed for 20 minutes.
After a really strong pilot, most of the things I liked have been removed, and I don't think I'm going to bother sticking around.
Getting out of jury duty is easy. The trick is to say you're prejudiced against all races.
AI Blog and Separated at Birth page
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There's a listing at IMDB for what appears to be an original pilot for this show from 2007. Apparently Atticus Shaffer also played "Brick" in that pilot (he appears to be the only carryover).
Uncle Joe: I'll never marry you, Selma Plout! You may as well take off that wedding dress and put it back in your Hopeless Chest!
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Hmm... sounds like a Malcolm in the Middle clone with Brick front and center retooled as a Patricia Heaton vehicle.
Kinda think it may have been better before Heaton was brought in. Brick is one of the few redeeming parts of the show.
Getting out of jury duty is easy. The trick is to say you're prejudiced against all races.
AI Blog and Separated at Birth page
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I like the momentum of last night's episode. It never waits or pauses for laughs, it just keep barreling along, demanding that its audience keeps up with them. Kind of the antithesis of "Hank" in comedic style, perhaps due to "Hank"'s 3-camera setup, I suppose.
"Jee-sus, it's like Iwo Jima out there" - Roger Sterling on "Mad Men"
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Inspector Hammer!
- John Williamson
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I'm still enjoying this show very much, I never got into Malcolm in the Middle (don't care for Frankie Muniz) so this type of comedy is new to me.
I also liked that Sue finally spoke up about something. Although I would still like her even if she hadn't, she reminds me of myself at that age, I was painfully shy about stepping on toes as well so I understand her character more than probably most.
Brick continues to thoroughly amuse me almost as much as whomever that tired, aggravated and deathly bored dude is doing the announcements over the public address at the car lot, I never thought i'd laugh so hard at the sound of someone sighing lol.
Much like Howard's mom on The Big Bang Theory I hope we never see him hehe.
"You have no idea how far i'm willing to go to acquire your cooperation." - Jack Bauer
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I laughed so hard I thought I was gonna pee every time they revealed Sue's latest school pic.
I was laughing so at the second one I didn't even hear the explanation for why she was making that face.
Uncle Joe: I'll never marry you, Selma Plout! You may as well take off that wedding dress and put it back in your Hopeless Chest!
--Petticoat Junction--
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Inspector Hammer!
- John Williamson
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- Joined: March 1999
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- Post Count: 10,270
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Adam Lenhardt 
IIRC, she was trying to work a piece of food out of her teeth with the tip of her tongue.
I think she said that she had a sore or blister inside her mouth and was feeling it with her tongue.
Hilarious episode, the family does feel like it's finding a balance between the funny stuff and being stern with the kids.
"You have no idea how far i'm willing to go to acquire your cooperation." - Jack Bauer
