jwmaglio

As I predicted, many of the reviews are from the "laugh-track haters" who seem to review bomb every new multi-camera sitcom. The reason they switched back to multicam for this show is to give it an identity apart from young Sheldon, just as young Sheldon switching to single camera gave that show an identity apart from The Big Bang Theory.

Admittedly the format isn't for everyone, this show clearly has a lot of heart and great chemistry between Montana Jordan and Emily Osment as the title characters. Will Sasso and Rachel Bay Jones also have good chemistry with each other and the two leads, but I worry Audrey McAllister (Jones) may be too unlikeable a character. If Audrey warms up, she can be salvaged.

My one criticism is of the other characters: Mandy's brother Connor played by Dougie Baldwin and mechanic and Georgie-foe Ruben, played by Jessie Prez. Not much was done with either character and Ruben seems a bit redundant given Georgie's relationship with Audrey.

Given Lorre's track record and what we saw in this first episode, I am hopeful for the rest of this series.

When I saw that Bebe Glazer was appearing in the new Frasier, I was a little nervous. She is a fan favorite, but I was worried that it wouldn't be able to live up to her appearances in the original Frasier. I needn't have worried because this episode hits the mark. Despite the passage of twenty years, Harriet Samson Harris can still play Bebe just as well and Kelsey Grammer still has the great chemistry with her. Without going into spoilers, the manipulative, near sociopathic Bebe Glazer has cooked up another scheme to get Frasier to alter his career plans in a way more beneficial to her involving the history that she and Frasier have together. All in all, this is an episode worthy of the legacy of Frasier (1993) and my favorite of season 2 thus far.

Extended Family has a good cast, especially Jon Cryer and Donald Faison, but it definitely has some issues to work out. There were a few times I laughed out loud (a reverse wedding to announce a divorce was a fun idea).

Cryer and Faison didn't get to interact much, but they seem to good chemistry, as do cryer and Spencer.

The overall talent and likability of the cast tells me this show has potential, but they definitely have not figured everything out. My main complaints were that it was very exposition heavy and the plot felt very disorganized. Some of this is necessarily with a pilot, but it could be a bit difficult to follow.

Despite these issues, I do give them credit for for trying something. The show uses Office-style mockumentary narration, and this has not been tried in the multicam set up as far as I know. I hope they can get it together and make this series live up to its potential.

Speaking of the camera set-up, there is always a lot of hate online for "laugh-track" sitcoms. As a big fan of multi-camera sitcoms when done well, I've learned that first thing you'll read online about them will probably be people complaining about the sound of laughter, whether it is real or fake. Hopefully I have provided a fair review on the show itself.