“Til Death” — Performance Anxiety
Ummm…
After reviewing Back To You yesterday, I figured it would only be fair to give the season premiere of ‘Til Death another shot. The last time I watched the series was a year ago when it made its premiere. Honestly, I’m shocked it made it out of the fall, let alone found its way to a whole other season. I hated it then. I still hate it now.
‘Til Death is from the Married With Children family of sitcoms, only without the irony. It’s a show about the hell that is marriage. It suggests all couples in long-term relationships endlessly fight like rabid badgers in a burlap sack while trading insults written by some former Lampoon intern’s kid. It’s not so much that the format doesn’t work (Everybody Loves Raymond mined this territory for the better part of a decade), just that it seems completely derivative and especially tired. A bit more after the jump…
In Wednesday’s episode Eddie Kaye Thomas’ character (whose name is, I kid you not, Jeff Woodcock) was in the dog house for giving his wife a watch that she really wanted – but wanted for completing her thesis, not for her birthday. What? Why would that be a problem? Is this just the failure of a single guy like myself to understand the complexities of modern married life, or perhaps just the notion that that is a completely asinine way to spark conflict? I mean, c’mon ‘Til Death, you’ve only been on for a year and have already burned through the good ways to start a fight?
At the other household Brad Garret and Joely Fisher started telling the other what personality quirks they hated. She didn’t like his celebrity impressions or corny jokes. He didn’t like her random over-singing and excessive cleavage. This might have been moderately relatable (aside from the endless, well timed quips) had it not been for – MY GOD HER CLEAVAGE IS OUT OF CONTROL. Put a shirt on!
I’m getting the feeling that in the wake of Arrested Development FOX has decided to field only classic form sitcoms. I can’t tell if this is a punishment to us for not watching Arrested Development (or any of their seemingly zillions of pretty-good and canceled single-camera comedy fare), or a punishment to them for not being able to get people to watch a fantastic show. It’s like, “If we can’t guarantee an audience, at least we can guarantee an inexpensive production budget.”
Really, it all comes down to the laugh test. A lot can be forgiven if you’re having a good time. Over the episodes 22 minutes, I gave a few whimsical exhales and laughed once, when Jeff complained about how he hated when saran wrap sticks together. Now, that’s relatable. ‘Til Death? Not so much. Between the two sitcoms FOX is fielding in this hour block, I’d have to say advantage: Back To You.
