I imagine the monkey has a production company and will now have more time to develop and oversee projects.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
First new sitcom to get blown out this year is...
I imagine the monkey has a production company and will now have more time to develop and oversee projects.
How did that interrupting the Olympic closing ceremonies work out for you, NBC?
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, I've had to watch on the DVR lately thanks to postseason baseball.
ReplyDeleteBut Whitney is an improvement?
ReplyDeleteAnybody actually WATCH the show? It wasn't 30 Rock, but it wasn't Two Broke Girls, either. Better than a lot of stuff out there...
ReplyDeleteI saw the monkey this morning, drinking a latte at Starbucks and screaming in his iPhone at his agent's assistant.
ReplyDeleteI saw it at the Olympics showing. It wasn't great, but it showed promise. Reminded me a little of one of those Steven Levitan sitcoms like Just Shoot Me and Stacked.
ReplyDeleteHas NBC promoted it at all? I watch a few NBC shows and had no idea it was on the air.
@Guy
ReplyDelete"I saw the monkey this morning, drinking a latte at Starbucks"
and his hair was perfect.
Saw it during the closing ceremonies coverage on NBC. What an awful scheduling decision; what a tragic excuse for a sitcom. I did laugh once, but I forget the line that prompted it.
ReplyDeleteA terrible pilot plus awful marketing doomed the show. No-one wants to watch "the monkey show", it's an insult to the audience's intelligence.
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest bombs ever due to the sheer amount of promotion NBC gave the show.
I bet nothing happens to the exec that greenlighted it.
I feel bad for Justin Kirk. I've been a big fan of his since ANGELS IN AMERICA and WEEDS. I hope he moves on to something more rewarding.
ReplyDeleteKen, Friday Question:
ReplyDeleteI'm currently watching the US version of Shameless after following the UK version for 5 seasons. I'm 4 episodes in to the first season and it has followed the plot lines of the first 4 episodes of the UK version with some notable exceptions.
When translating a hit show from one country to another, in the case of Shameless, is there pressure to stick to plot lines that are known to work and are already written, just requiring an update to americaneez? And when do you start to diverge into unique story lines? And doesn't that take two types of writing skills: one that can translate vs one that can innovate?
DAMN! My money was on The Neighbors.
ReplyDeleteActual statement from PETA today: “PETA’s staff are celebrating today in response to news that NBC’s Animal Practice has been canceled. The cancellation of Animal Practice sends the strong message that using animals for cheap laughs on TV shows is archaic and uninteresting to today’s viewers, who are sophisticated enough to know that not only is putting a monkey in a lab coat not funny, it’s also cruel.”
ReplyDeleteYes, it wasn't the bad writing or general lameness of the show that killed it; it was putting a lab coat on a monkey. America HATES monkeys in lab coats.
Watch for it on Animal Planet. The monkey will be back with an all-new cast...
ReplyDeleteSorry, PETA, the monkey was gold. Monkeys are ALWAYS gold, especially those little capuchins, and have been since the days of Harold Lloyd. Unfortunately, the monkey was the best thing about the show, which was otherwise middling.
ReplyDeleteHow did Variety tout its cancellation? -- "Bedtime For Bonzo"?...
ReplyDeleteI loved the monkey in the pilot, but it was on opposite other crap I watch Wed., so I missed the rest.
ReplyDeletePETA should have been happy that it was the monkey in the lab coat making people laugh, instead of the people in the lab coats making the monkey cry.
I tried to make a joke, but it made me feel sad instead.
I agree I thought The Neighbors would be the first show cancelled, though.
I never saw this show, but I will never believe anything PETA says again after their mind-boggling claim that a monkey in a lab coat isn't funny. Next, they'll be telling us that cats banging on piano keys aren't funny either, and that runs counter to the entire concept of the Internet.
ReplyDeleteoes anyone know if this bas based on the succesful German series? How can you go wrong when millions of Germans loved it?
ReplyDeleteI'll step aside and let the other do the punchline.
Doesn't surprise me. While the show isn't egregious, it isn't anything special, either. A few laughs, some okay characters... but, well... it just feels like a show no one is watching.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the surprise comes from everybody gleefully jumping on The Neighbors before it even aired. I feel like you should always give the "weird" shows a chance. I'd rather The Neighbors come along and fail than have another CSI/NCIS.
As for The Neighbors... it's kind of interesting. I've seen three of them now, and really, it's biggest problem is not so much the premise but rather: they haven't really delivered any great jokes yet. Some okay ones... but nothing thats rally made me laugh, or feel like telling my friends about the show.
Heh, every week I think, "okay, I'll give it this new episode and then take it out of my TiVo." and every week I think, "hmmm... maybe next week I'll get rid of it."
And the main reason for that: the casting. I really like these actors, especially the alien kids. And as you know, in TV, good casting buys you a lot. And the characters are somewhat interesting, as well.
I don't know... the cynic in me feels like it'll never get much better than this. And likely get cancelled. But not because it's the styrofoam turd it was mocked to be before the season started.
It's just kinda not... anything enough. So far, anyway.
Once you've seen The Hathaways, J. Fred Muggs, and Lancelot Link, no other primate shows measure up.
ReplyDeleteHuh! I saw that monkey when I did my tour of the Paramount lot. Really. None of the staff seemed particularly cheery as our little golf cart drove past and said hi. Maybe they knew the writing was on the wall.
ReplyDeleteTo the fellow who complained that ANIMAL PRACTICE was an insult to the audience's intelligence, being an insult to the audience's intelligence has never, in the long, long history of television, stood in the way of any series attracting an audience or becoming a huge, huge hit.
ReplyDeleteIt's tough to call yourself a comedy show when nothing is funny.
ReplyDeleteIt's not tough to CALL yourself a comedy show when nothing is funny; but is hard to make anyone else believe you.
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody think that the Stunt of putting it in the middle of the closing ceremonies coverage on NBC generated some ill will towards this show (besides the fact that it was mediocre?)
ReplyDeleteI like Justin Kirk, and there were a few good moments. Certainly not the worst sitcom on tv right now.
ReplyDeleteThose humans, always keeping the monkeys down!
Where's Ceasar when you need him?
I was shopping and came across a promo poster for the ROCK OF AGES release on DVD. It turns out the cast includes a monkey admiral, or at least a monkey dressed like one. He must have been very important, given all the ribbons he displayed.
ReplyDeleteI understand the monkey put out a press release stating that he wanted to spend more time with his family.
ReplyDelete