Go On (NBC) season 1 thread (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

NBC aired the pilot after the Olympics tonight. Way better than I thought it would be. Not a lot of laugh out loud moments, but it strikes exactly the right balance between the drama and the comedy. It knows when to laugh at these people's tragedies, and it knows when to take them seriously. The reveal of how Perry's character's wife died has all the elements of a comic set piece, but it's not funny because Perry plays it dramatically. There's a visceral element to his performance here that gives the show more weight than "Mr. Sunshine" and "Studio 60." If there's anything I'd like to see changed, I hope that we get more from John Cho as Perry's character's boss and Allison Miller as the assistant who's just as caustic and emotionally unavailable as he is.

 

[WendyCR]

I'll be honest: Even as a fan of Matthew Perry since "Friends", I thought this was going to suck. A lot.
But I was rather pleasantly surprised at how engaging it was. Sure, there were some bumps, but...it is a pilot. I'm willing to give this a chance in its regular time slot come 9/11. (And how odd/eerie that a show about a guy that loses his wife has such a premiere date!)
But...is it me, or was the female lead (the "therapist") sort of a Courteney Cox lookalike? Just seemed a bit ironic.

 

[Matt Hough]

Originally Posted by WendyCR /t/322906/go-on-starring-matthew-perry-nbc#post_3960125
But...is it me, or was the female lead (the "therapist") sort of a Courteney Cox lookalike? Just seemed a bit ironic.

I don't think it's at all a coincidence that Laura Benanti was cast, and as I was watching at lunchtime today, all I could think is that they'll eventually become an item on the show if it runs any length of time at all. They're not going to keep him without a romantic interest for too long, I'll bet.

I loved the early scenes with Perry getting them up off their chairs and engaged in something to take their minds off their troubles. And the group was quirky but endearing enough (like the group in Bob Hartley's old group on The Bob Newhart Show) to make us want to know more about them all.

 

[TonyD]

I really liked it, but I'm a sucker for Perry. I love his style.
The therapist was the star of Palyboy Club and was the on,y good thing on that show.

 

[JohnS]

I watched this a few weeks ago when they reaired it and I really didn't like it.
I thought it was boring and unfunny and almost at times a little annoying.
It's been my first new tv show of 2012-2013 casuality.

 

[NY2LA]

I like Matt. Never got into Friends. LOVED Studio 60. Thing is, he's not been in anything good since.

 

[Garrett Adams]

Based on the frequent promo clip NBC ran I thought it was going to suck big time. However, after the first 5-10 minutes though I thought, "this is pretty good." There's a lot more meat on this bone than I expected.

 

[Malcolm R]

Nothing in the promos seemed the least bit funny, so I've avoided it so far. If it sticks around, maybe I'll have to watch an episode.

 

[Stan]

I think Matthew Perry is another one of those "celebrities" that simply plays "Matthew Perry" in whatever role he does. No particular talent, just a nice, likeable guy. He's seems perfectly decent and has made loads of money, but he'll forever be stuck playing "Matthew Perry" roles, hardly a stretch for an actor.
Read another opionion, maybe on this forum, about the "Rachel" talent. Same story, everything Jennifer Anniston does is just "Jennifer Anniston" being herself, no talent needed.
Give either one of them heavy drama or something that really requires some talent and skill, I'm quite sure they'd choke on it.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Watch Perry on "The Good Wife", and I think you'll feel differently. His psychopath on that show is bone chilling in a subtle but terrifying sort of way.

 

[Stan]

Watch Perry on "The Good Wife", and I think you'll feel differently. His psychopath on that show is bone chilling in a subtle but terrifying sort of way.

I did see the repeat episode last week with him as an Internal Affairs police judge. All I got was a "mad" Matthew Perry. Anybody could have played that part.
If I missed some episodes and he guest stars like Michael J. Fox on a few this next season, I'll definitely watch. Hopefully he can show a little more range as an actor.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I did see the repeat episode last week with him as an Internal Affairs police judge. All I got was a "mad" Matthew Perry. Anybody could have played that part.

It's his second episode that's really something special. Not Michael J. Fox good, but definitely not Matthew Perry playing Matthew Perry.

 

[Stan]

It's his second episode that's really something special. Not Michael J. Fox good, but definitely not Matthew Perry playing Matthew Perry.

I'll be on the look out for it. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Stan]

It's his second episode that's really something special. Not Michael J. Fox good, but definitely not Matthew Perry playing Matthew Perry.

I apparently missed the end of the season for "The Good Wife" last spring. Just watched the second episode with Matthew Perry and he was surprisingly good. Psycho suits him well.
I hope they show the rest of the season before the new season starts running. Must have accidentally deleted the DVR timer and never noticed, but pretty good drama with the mother, Peter, Alicia, Kalinda, Eli's ex-wife etc... Not sure how many episodes are left from last spring but they're setting up a lot of cliffhanger moments. Looking forward to another season.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Two episodes in, and it's becoming clear how criminally underutilized Allison Miller was on "Terra Nova". She's doing some really terrific stuff here as Perry's character's assistant.
The standout characters so far, though, are Julie White's very angry lesbian and the great Bill Cobbs's cantankerous blind geezer. I'm enjoying pretty much the entire cast, though, except for the therapy group leader and the cat lady. John Cho got a lot of mileage out of his character being mistaken for a black guy.
The ending, with Cobbs's character teaching Perry's sports commentator how to experience basketball, was a thing of beauty. People always talk about how people who lose one sense have heightened other senses, but it's more than that. They learn how to use their remaining senses more comprehensively.

 

[Matt Hough]

I disliked the second episode quite a bit with its overdrawn, exaggerated characters (the cat lady story was ridiculous and the assistant being asked to stay long past working hours not funny and way past any point of realism). The episode had the wonderful Bill Cobbs stealing every scene, but that's about the only thing I can say I found in its favor. The show gets one more episode from me to win me to its side. Otherwise, I'll be sticking with Happy Endings at 9 p.m. once it returns.

 

[David Weicker]

To me, this is a keeper. I, too, loved the basketball description. And this weeks episode with the hockey game was a lot of fun.
David

 

[Matt Hough]

I didn't much like this week's episode. I found the comedy attempts overdone (like the second episode with all the cats), and it wore me out quickly. Plus, I didn't laugh. But I haven't thrown in the towel yet. I hope they'll continue to explore the personalities of the other members of the grief group.

 

[WendyCR]

I really am liking this show. It may not be laugh out loud funny, but the characters have great potential and the show has "heart".

 

[AlexF]

I just blitzed through episodes 2-4 tonight. I really enjoyed it, and find myself giggling inappropriately quite often.
Consider that the first nail in its coffin.