TV Quote of the Week

And sometimes you just got to kick back, relax, and enjoy a movie with too many white people in it.
--Patricia Heaton, The Middle, “Survey Says...”

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Last Man Standing: "Pilot"

I was never the biggest fan of Tim Allen in the past and now that I've had a chance to see more than a few episodes of his latest show... I still am not a fan.

But now that The Middle is officially over, Last Man Standing is one of the few sitcoms on prime-time TV that comes even close to having a conservative point-of-view. Unfortunately, it is not as well-written as The Middle. Nor is its main star -- the above-mentioned Mr. Allen -- as generous with the spotlight as his counterpart on The Middle, actress Patricia Heaton.(Ms. Heaton was smart enough to let the rest of her cast -- particularly the actors who played her kids -- have the lion's share of the laughs and the sympathy while Mr. Allen insisted on hogging almost all the good jokes -- and all too many bad ones -- for himself). This is not to say that there aren't parts of the show that are actually watchable (especially the parts featuring actress Nancy Travis, who plays the thankless role of Tim's wife) -- but I keep getting the feeling that the show would be a lot funnier if Mr. Allen would just get out of the way.

Oh, well. The show managed to last six seasons without my support -- and it recently began its seventh season on another network. So obviously someone out there likes it.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

The Middle: "Pilot"

I saw this a few years ago on the recommendation of blogger Ken Levine and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was not half bad. Like some online critics, I tended to like it better when it focused on the three kids than when it did when it focused on the parents but all in all it was not a bad show.

I'm sorry I put off watching it for so long, but then most of the ads I saw for it reminded me so much of the old show Malcolm in the Middle that I thought it was a rip-off. And it did not help that the other show that cast member Patricia Heaton was associated with (Everybody Loves Raymond) wasn't one of my favorite shows either. On the other hand, Neil Flynn -- who played a supporting role on Scrubs -- did a surprisingly good job playing the family patriarch.