By BrianTT
Created Apr 6 2009 – 7:15am
CHICAGO – ABC [1]’s “Surviving Suburbia [2]” was initially presupposed to air on The CW however the community that discovered a house for “Stylista,” “13: Worry is Actual [3],” and “Topped: The Mom of All Pageants” determined to go away this Bob Saget sitcom off their schedule after their take care of the present’s manufacturing firm fell by way of.
It ought to have ended there. “Surviving Suburbia” may have been one in all many unaired pilots and the world may have moved on. However ABC swooped in and picked it up. The one query price asking is why anybody at ABC determined to offer this horrible present a second likelihood and what number of weeks it is going to be on earlier than it goes again into the event hell it ought to have stayed in all alongside.
I’m nearly tempted to advocate “Surviving Suburbia” simply so you possibly can respect what different sitcoms do properly. It’s not “so-bad-it’s-good” like a tacky film however generally it’s wholesome to see junk like this or “Kath and Kim,” so one can respect the cleverness of reveals like “30 Rock [4]” and “The Massive Bang Idea [5]” extra fully.
“Suburbia” is the form of sitcom that you’d see in the midst of one other sitcom or film for example of cliched, ridiculous, terrible tv. It’s so laugh-free and cringe-inducing that you simply’d be forgiven for considering the entire thing was an elaborate hoax.
Reportedly deliberate as a male “Roseanne” (though the present options none of that present’s extremely plausible household dynamic or blue-collar relatability), “Surviving Suburbia” stars Saget as Steve Patterson, a grumpy outdated man with a spouse (Cynthia Stevenson) who barely tolerates him, two kids (Jared Kusnitz & G. Hannelius), and an obnoxious neighbor (Jere Burns).
“Surviving Suburbia” walks that fine-line between old school and out-of-date, falling distinctly into the latter class. If it weren’t for the references Steve’s younger daughter makes to Zac Efron, one may simply suppose that this was the present that Saget went into instantly following “Full Home”. After making an attempt raunchy humor, Saget is again in “family-friendly” mode as if TV hasn’t modified within the years since “Full Home” went off the air.
The cynical male lead, the affected person spouse, the children who converse with the grammar of TV writers – we’ve seen the whole lot in “Surviving Suburbia” earlier than, one thing the creators of the present will surely acknowledge. This isn’t groundbreaking tv. So, the success or failure of a present like this one comes right down to execution and consider me after I let you know that the premiere episode of “Surviving Suburbia” is 100% laugh-free. Not even a chuckle.
And to make the laugh-less half-hour extra painful, the producers have turned the snigger observe as much as 11. Even the slightest punchline is accompanied by amusing observe that feels like individuals have simply heard the funniest joke of their whole lives. It’s extremely annoying.
Within the premiere episode, airing Monday, April sixth at 8:30pm within the candy post-“Dancing With the Stars” timeslot, Steve is pressured to feed his neighbor’s (Dan Cortese) fish and by chance lights the place on hearth. When he’s dubbed a hero for placing out the hearth that he himself began, Steve faces a disaster of conscience.
“Surviving Suburbia” is cookie cutter tv in a time when sitcoms like “30 Rock,” “How I Met Your Mom,” and even one other ABC providing, the comparatively underrated “Samantha Who?” are attempting to interrupt the mildew. I can’t think about audiences will likely be drawn to this present for too lengthy, particularly as soon as it leaves its prime timeslot, so if you wish to see the worst new present of 2009, you higher set your DVRs.
