Out of Practice

I LOVE this show!!! I saw previews for it all summer & I thought it was going to be so stupid...but then I watched a few episodes...

Now, I am NOT a sitcom fan. I find most of them so boring and dumb. There are a few I've genuinely loved, like Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond. Out of Practice is a classic in the making.

First of all, the pairing of Henry Winkler & Stockard Channing is BRILLIANT.

Second, the humor keeps me in stitches. Last week I was watching from my gym, where there are about 20 TV's to choose from, and you can plug in headphones to the machine you're using and pick which TV to watch from. I was watching this show & laughing so hard I had people looking at me like I was crazy. I've never seen such great use of irony as a comedic vehicle before. The humor is simply brilliant.

Third, at first glance the characters in the show are pretty generic...the divorced parents, the womanizing son, the "underachieving" son, & the lesbian daughter. But the character development becomes apparent in just a few episodes & each one brings life to the show.

Fourth, being a lesbian myself I REALLY like a gay character being more than comic relief in a show. I relate a lot to this particular aspect of the show because of how MY family reacts to me being gay. In my experience, the reactions from the parents and the siblings are dead on. This being said...I don't think the GENERAL public is ready for a gay themed storyline being this prominent in a sitcom. The majority of the public simply wouldn't understand them & would even see such a prominent gay storyline as "in your face". I REALLY want this show to last several years, so my only piece of advice to the directors would be to cut back on all the lesbian references. Plus, I'd like to know more about the life of the daughter, besides the fact that she's a lesbian.

The bottom line is that this is a great show and is worthy of a look. I honestly think this has the potential to be a GREAT sitcom.

I just finished watching the "Wedding" episode Thursday November 14, 2005. I hope to catch the others in reruns... I can't believe this one slipped by me...

The comedic dialog was Stupendous! I laughed until I had tears streaming from my eyes and my sides began hurting…

I Freaking Hated Every Second of It!!!

It Depressed The Hell Out of Me Since I've Live Every Agonizing Minute of It.

Well Done Henry!!!

I'll be tuning in next week… Thank God CBS is finally discovering talented writers again…. I'm so sick and tired of the same Ole' BS!

Henry's My Hero Again!!!

Go Fonzi!!! (Shouted U Geek Morons!)

Bubba in Wakulla Florida!

I attended a taping of the sixth episode of OUT OF PRACTICE last night. Because the first episode has not aired yet they showed us that one before the taping so we would be familiar with the characters.

Bottom line: This is the show to watch.

I was fairly skeptical, because I find most (if not all) current sitcoms to be completely unbearable. However, this one is the exception. VERY funny AND smart. An interesting sidenote: the first episode that they showed to us last night before the taping did NOT have Jennifer Tilly in it; it had some blonde girl. Apparently once the show actually got picked up they decided to cast Tilly in that role and only recently went and refilmed those scenes with her. Therefore, the version that airs on CBS next week will obviously be different than the one we saw last night in the TV studio.

I've seen every episode of this show it is great. From the start all the actors have you believing they are a family. (a dysfunctional one) The writing isn't ground breaking but it's better than the shows you have to sit through before this one airs. When they argue it's not just cheap shots for laughs. all the characters seem thought out. and the actors are very talented. Christopher Gorham, Paula Marshall, Stockard Channing, Henry Winkler, and Jennifer Tilly fit the characters they play. The show moves around enough that you don't get Bored. Most shows all scenes take place in one or two rooms. I guess it's cheaper that way. One problem is believing that Ty Burrell could attract the women his character is supposed to.

I've watched this show for several weeks and found it enjoyable. There are few Sit Coms on today which are watchable - most of the TV viewing is taken up by reality shows - most of which are re-cycled versions of Survivor, such as, The Apprentice, Martha Stewart, Rockstar, America's Top Model, blah blah, blah. Who even cares !!!!

There are very few Sit Coms on which are watchable (Two and a half men, Still Standing, King of Queens) let alone a night that has a good lineup of TV (without the reality shows).

I say give this show a chance and you will be pleasantly surprised. All the characters are interesting and interact well. Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing are good in the show and Paula Marshall does a great job as the daughter - I recognized her as the reporter from the Seinfeld episode - the outing.