Back To You (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

While the "daughter" subplot may not be the best choice, the show needed some emotional gravitas as it entered the second half. Almost every sitcom has good character development or emotional drama happening on which to build the humor. Back to You was feeling too lightweight entering its second half; there was no depth to the host of snarky characters. The daughter thing brings in a serious note to round out the show and characters.

That's why I liked it.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Well said. It forces one note characters to become more complicated.

I also loved Fred Willard as the sportscaster. He's basically playing a more insightful and subdued take on his Buck Laughlin character from Best in Show. And Buck Laughlin was my favorite thing about Best in Show.

 

[EricSchulz]

I also missed it, but iTunes has it as a free download this week.

EDIT: Ooops, someone had already posted that info!

I was disappointed. I usually LOVE Patricia Heaton but found her character to be WAY too shrill and overbearing. Kelsey and Fred were great. Might check out another ep of two to see what happens, but not sure I'll stick with it.

 

[pitchman]

This is a pretty traditional (i.e. "old School") sitcom, IMO. If audiences cozy up to the leads in their new personas, I think it's long-term prospects are good. Certainly not ground-breaking by any means, but technically the Back To You pilot was well executed and did manage to pack in a few genuine belly laffs. In today's sitcom starved landscape, that's probably all it takes to ensure it gets to stick around for a while. Appointment TV? Certainly not, but at the end of the day, you could find worse ways to kill off a half-hour...

 

[Scott Thomas]

I found the pilot to be a little "paint by the numbers", but I liked it enough to give a few more rounds. Seeing Kelsey, Patricia and Fred in one sitcom alone is worth a second viewing. I had no problems with the daughter angle myself. Obviously, it would be a crutch for many episodes in the future.
I have a feeling that the show will boil down to two adults who may or may not decide to have a personal relationship while dealing with parenthood in their own way.

 

[Scott Thomas]

I found the pilot to be a little "paint by the numbers", but I liked it enough to give a few more rounds. Seeing Kelsey, Patricia and Fred in one sitcom alone is worth a second viewing. I had no problems with the daughter angle myself. Obviously, it would be a crutch for many episodes in the future.
I have a feeling that the show will boil down to two adults who may or may not decide to have a personal relationship while dealing with parenthood in their own way.
BTW- that gag about Chuck's monologue after finding out about his daughter was the same kind of joke they used on Fraiser

 

[Alf S]

I didn't really care for the pilot episode....very forced "humor" ....just didn't live up to the high expectations I guess I set for it.

I think I'll give it 2 more tries and if it tanks even further, it's off the list of "must watches".

Somehow I don't think it will be as good as I had hoped.

 

[Mark Starratt]

"I was disappointed. I usually LOVE Patricia Heaton but found her character to be WAY too shrill and overbearing. Kelsey and Fred were great. Might check out another ep of two to see what happens, but not sure I'll stick with it."

Actually I liked Patricia Heaton's character in this way more than ELR. I like her chemistry with K.G. Fred Willard is the only supporting cast member that works for me.

I think that for a show like this to survive, there has to be a very good supporting cast and I don't think that there is one here. I'll check out a couple more episodes, but I have my doubts on this one.

 

[JohnS]

The Fish Story episode was good.
the thing I laughed at most was Marsh's cell phone ringtone "Get it off of me"

Also, Marshs' obsession with the orange trick

Did anyone else find something wrong with the sound..like it sounded in a tin can?

 

[Citizen87645]

The sound seemed okay, but the laugh track seemed particularly overbearing.

 

[Malcolm R]

The ring tone was awesome! Also, Ty Burrell does some great physical comedy. Last week with the umbrella in the rainstorm, this week being tased. I thought this ep was better than last week.

A couple of my other LOL bits:

Marsh pours coffee into the cup with the fish just after the discussion about how temperature extremes are bad for fish.

Kelly: I think Montana should cover the pumpkin festival.
Montana: Oops, sorry! [zips blouse to cover cleavage]
Kelly: I was talking about the real pumpkin festival.
Montana: Oh, OK. [unzips blouse to again reveal cleavage]

Chuck: And the bloodiest day in fish history comes to an end...*bzzzt* [lamp falls into fish bowl].

 

[Scott-S]

This episode was much better than the first.

I actually laughed out loud on a few occasions. Especially the Pumpkin Festival Comment and her reaction.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It's nice to see a really solid traditional sitcom again. The laugh track didn't really stand out to me at all, which is probably a good sign that I was engrossed in the goings on. I was surprised to see the credit for James Burrows; I thought Hollywood agism had forced him out years ago. This episode felt like the kind of work he did on "Cheers," and his stint on "Mary Tyler Moore" can't hurt in navigating a newsroom set.
At its best, the humor is smart like "Cheers" without the pretentiousness of "Frasier". As the show rolls on, hopefully the percentage of time it's at its best will continue to rise.

 

[Patrick Sun]

When you center an episode around magic tricks and dead goldfish, I can't be too optimistic about the show's longevity. But the tasering and the ringtones were funny.

 

[Rhoq]

I agree. I also didn't think this episode was as strong as the pilot, but they must be something something right because every time a fish died, I laughed out loud.

I like the show and plan to watch it up until Fox gives it the axe mid-season.

 

[Malcolm R]

I doubt FOX will be too quick to pull the trigger considering the pedigree of the cast and crew, unless there's a major ratings freefall.

After all, they're still hanging on to "Til Death" and kept "The War at Home" for a couple of seasons.

 

[Hanson]

My wife and I lost it over the tasering. I had to rewind because we couldn't stop laughing. The rest of the show wasn't nearly as funny.

It's good -- just good. Better then meh, but not great. I'll keep watching because it's breezily paced and funny enough, but I just find that it lacks... how shall I say... intelligence? Something like that.

It helps that nothing else is on.

 

[Alan Lee UK]

I enjoyed the second episode - good traditional farce sitcom.

The problem for me is that I can't get the separation from Frasier yet, and not just with Kelsey. Ryan reminds me of Kenny so much that I'm always expecting him to call Chuck "Doc".

 

[DaveF]

I've a similar mind as Hanson, but it was the serial fish killings that got us going. But overall the show doesn't hold my attention. This one is off my regular-watch list.

 

[JohnS]

The First Supper episode is the best one so far.

I LOVED Marsh's sports story about the Steeler's player and switching places with him and the female model he was with.

and Gary Crezyzewski demo reel was hilarious.
Especially liked the "He asks the tough questions"..."How much does this pumpkin weigh?"