Heh, I think many were expecting his show to be terrible and surprised to see it's actually pretty good, so you're not alone. I do agree though that he could tone it down a little. The episode when they were in the car together was a bit much.
Williams' show is written/created by David E. Kelley, one of the best in the medium's history Fox's show is created by the minds behind "Friends with Benefits" and a handful of "Cougar Town" episodes Williams is on record as having signed onto the show for a paycheck but at least he was smart enough to get that paycheck from a guy who has a singular track record of putting out good shows and writing good roles for talented actors. Why Fox, who has successfully worked with writers like Kelley and Aaron Sorkin over the past few year, relegated himself to a couple of B listers for his new show is beyond me.
Michael would have cost a lot. They had to save money somewhere. And really, if they had Michael, in theory he could just be reading the phone book.
The theory that a big name or beloved actor can carry a poorly written show is belied by the failures of shows starring Kelsey Grammar ("Hank," "Back to You"), Matthew Perry ("Go on," "Mr Sunshine") and 3/4 of the "Seinfeld" stars ("the Michael Richards Show," "Bob Patterson" and "Watching Ellie").
The theory exists, I assumed from my tone through out this thread that my subtext was obvious that this theory was bullshit. I remember at the age of 6, being angry when Bo and Luke Duke came back, because Coy and Vance Duke were really getting into their stride. Lets see your list. "Hank," - Bailed after one episode. "Back to You" - They tell me that this was too top heavy, it cost too much to make for the ratings it was getting. "Go on," - This one I liked. "Mr Sunshine" - Construction wise it was a mess. They did not know what story they wanted to tell, but there were some nice episodes. the Michael Richards Show - Never saw. Bob Patterson - My eyes glazed over. Instinct took charge and I changed the channel. I think it was becuase he was fat. It just looked wrong. Almost like he hulked out. These days not only is he back to Seinfeld weight, but he has hair. "Watching Ellie" - I think I liked this. It always ended with a musical number.
To me, I see it as a mix of getting the right writers and the right casting for a show. Frasier worked both because of its casting and its writing, and it was a zinger, and it shows why just getting a big name isn't enough as his two other shows afterwards had failed. I feel this is exactly what happened with Fox's show; it got saddled with uninspired writing and a cast that I feel doesn't really work. And I think that given the chance, it could work with new writers. An idea would be to give the teenage son something new to do instead of the webdesign job he has now, like maybe as a roving reporter for a competing news firm which would show that there's more than one generation of family in the same business.
He dropped out of college to start his own business from his brothers bedroom. The best ting he could do is go back to college and never be seen again. Although revealing that this son is in a secret relationship with the mum's ditzy best friend would add drama.
It seems to me that a big part of the problem is that too many shows are just built around the big name instead of coming up with a good concept and good writers and then attracting the big name.
Yep, agreed. It's a shame that it turned out the way it did as many were expecting much more from this rather than something that feels tired right out of the gate.