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Growing Up Fischer Season 1 (1 Viewer)

DaveF

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Enjoying this late-season comedy, starring a favorite Law & Order recurring actor, J K Simmons.It's something of a modern Wonder Years, with grade school kid narrating growing up in a broken family, mother Joyce going through a second adolescence and father Mel pushing on. The hook is Mel is blind, but so willfully, brazenly, rehearsedly competent at mundane activities that most people don't realize it.I thoroughly enjoy it so far. It is just this side of believable, almost pushing Jenna Elfman's perfectly played self-absorption to impossible fantasy. Mel's skill at navigating the world verges on Daredevil superhuman skills, but so far is consistently funny and believable enough. I enjoy it, and watch with enthusiasm. Hope it stays strong.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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I'm enjoying it too. I'd like to see Mel's blindness fade into the background more over time, though. Not that it shouldn't be a consistently portrayed part of his character, but that all of his plotlines don't revolve around his blindness.I like that the son and daughter are fundamentally good kids.
 

DaveF

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Greg Kettell said:
I enjoyed it at first, but Jenna Elfman isn't working for me. Way too goofy.
I understand. The character pushes my limits for tolerance. She risks being too narcissistic.
Adam Lenhardt said:
I'm enjoying it too. I'd like to see Mel's blindness fade into the background more over time, though. Not that it shouldn't be a consistently portrayed part of his character, but that all of his plotlines don't revolve around his blindness.I like that the son and daughter are fundamentally good kids.
I think for the show to succeed into a second season, Mel's blindness as plot motivator has to go away. There's only so many gags possible. And I think the show has the foundations to do that: good and interesting characters with plenty of life situations to encounter.Also, the son's best friend is a good supporting character.
 

DaveF

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Mel isn't infallible, but Joyce is as foolish as ever. A cute episode, but it seemed out of order. This should have preceded the earlier episode where the daughter made her grand speech at the school play defending her dad. This episode, being uncertain about standing up for herself was retrograde. I sometimes wonder how far ahead shows are recorded, and whether they are shuffled in broadcast order at the last minute for reasons trumping character continuity.
 

DaveF

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This was strange. The episode promo'd during About a Boy is not what aired. What did air referenced the unaired episode. And this episode seemed like it should have been before the last one with Katie breaking up with her now going-to-the-dance boyfriend. And all of this should have been before her big show.

I don't need a canonical timeline for a sitcom, but the obviously erratic character interactions distract from the otherwise enjoyable show.

If I can set aside these logistical problems, I still enjoy "Growing Up Fischer".
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Cancelled by NBC

I'm pretty surprised with this one, since it got better ratings than some of the shows that NBC renewed. The network must feel that it was just riding the coattails of "About a Boy."

Not a show I'll mourn the loss of, like "Believe", but it's still a shame. A generally solid cast with likable characters.
 

DaveF

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I'm bummed it's canceled. I've dropped Crazy Ones, because I always choose this comedy first to watch. I always enjoy JK Simmons. But I also enjoyed The MJF Show and didn't get the appeal of The Mindy Project, so there's something askew in my sense of comedy vs mainstream.
 

DaveF

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TiVo missed the end of the first. Storms caused TiVo to miss the start if the second. So we're in limbo trying to finish the show.
 

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