Michael J. Fox Plans Return with New Comedy Series

[Quasar]

This looks good, but unfortunately they're running the promo to death On Demand, usually back to back.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Anne Heche joins the cast:

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/07/12/michael-j-fox-show-anne-heche/

Ugh, doesn't every TV series with Anne Heche in it never last more than a season and a half?

 

[Sawyer]

http://www.deadline.com/2013/09/com...arents-christina-chang-to-recur-on-nashville/

EXCLUSIVE: Meet Michael J. Fox’s new TV parents. Candice Bergen and Charles Grodin have been tapped for guest/potential recurring roles on Fox’s new NBC comedy series, in which he plays popular New York news anchor Mike Henry who returns to work after years as a stay-at-home dad following a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Bergen and Grodin will play Henry’s parents. On Fox’s previous NBC series, Family Ties, her parents were played by Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross. Grodin will next film feature While We’re Young playing Naomi Watts’ father.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Tomorrow! This should be a good show.

 

[jacobed]

Really enjoying this. Michael J Fox has ridiculously great comedic timing.

 

[danoyse]

I am loving this show.

 

[Spider-Gnome]

Boy, I'm surprised how much I liked this! I forgot how much I enjoy Fox. Funny thing while watching the second episode, my daughter asked if Michael J. Fox was married. Then, lo and behold, he goes upstairs to tell the upstairs neighbor to lower their TV... t:

Between this and SHIELD, I have two new shows I'm definitely watching...

 

[Sawyer]

In the second episode, I noticed they had a few Happy Endings writers credited. Saw one listed in the credits of Brooklyn Nine-Nine a few days ago too. Thank God they're finding work on shows I actually think I might like...

 

[mjdiddy1]

To be honest, I was not feeling this series based on the commercials but I decided to watch it anyways and lo and behold this was a really good show. And when I saw Tracy in the second episode, I was like she's still hot.

 

[Donnie Darko]

I really enjoyed it. The one thing I don't like is how EVERY sitcom seems to do the "talking to the camera" thing. I hope they can move away from that.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I'm glad this had 2 eps, the first was scatter gun and didn't grab me, but the second ep was like the show was in it's third season and had found it's rhythm, pretty unusual. The stuff between MJF and his wife and the scenes with his buddy at the news station are great.

 

[Wheels]

I liked what I saw in the 2 episodes. I actually found the *****ey things the daughter did funny. I think she was kind of like Michael Scott, who is kind of stupid about some things, but doesn't mean any harm by it.

I stumbled upon his negative review that focused on the women. l'm curious as to what female posters think of this review.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/09/michael-j-fox-show-bad-its-women/69899/

 

[Teelie]

All I can say is "if you look for something, you will find it" to that negative critique of the show and it's female cast. It was more about her disliking the female characters for being shallow (a hint, none of the male characters were exactly upholding a high standard) but like I said, she seemed to have a bone to pick exclusively with the easiest one to get readers to look at her article.

I've only seen the first episode, not the second yet (probably tonight) but I thought it was decent and I can easily pick apart her claims of sexism.

Using her example, Fox liked the woman being shorter than him, for being shorter, not because she was female; he'd have quipped just the same line had she been a male segement producer. Despite the outrage, gender had zero to do with that.

It's unheard of territory as far as handling someone with an obvious condition like this (Parkinson's). I can't think of any other series that so prominently used the illness of the main star (or even co-stars) as a basis for the character yet her main focus is the female characters, not the main character who you would expect to be the object of critique for daring to make use of Parkinson's for gags. Her other critiques are easy to dismiss too; remove the gender, replace them with a male counterpart, same result in most cases.

It just so happened some were female therefore it must be sexist, while ignoring anything that happened with male characters (I'd have to rewatch the show to point out all her ignored problems in the male characters but they were there).

About the only valid critique she may have is the daughter, who is more playing a teenage stereotype than a female one and the sister Leigh, who could be seen as a sexist example.

My biggest gripe with her complaints is ironically the most stupid: "Even his wife Annie seems to exist to support her husband, even though she's a teacher herself." Yes, because a man with Parkinson's is expected to be a man and support himself with absolutely no help from anyone else. He doesn't need anyone to assist him at all.

I can find sexist remarks myself if I just look hard enough. Or in that case, just read her article.

It's a flawed show of course but she is tearing into a comedy series because it uses it's main character's disability for laughs (that reviewer must have been appalled they would dare do that in a comedy with the main star who suffers from it fully supporting it, had she not been distracted with all the sexism) but it isn't the awfulness she is depicting.

I'm sure someone will come along and exaggeratedly declare this misogynist all because it dares refutes a woman's rather poor attempt to garner page reads but I really think she missed the mark. If she wants to find something truly sexist on TV then there are more obvious marks but Michael J. Fox's return to television with Parkinson's was too easy a target for her to blast with sexist claims to garner attention.

 

[Wheels]

Thanks for the response, Teelie. I didn't notice her criticisms when watching the show. I wasn't focused on them being role models but just entertaining characters.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I didn't see the sister or daughter as sexist character types, more as cliche's. The daughter is a teenist character more than a sexist one, you could fit the archetype to a male or female. I don't know why his sister has to be both a loser and a desperado, it's like she's a punchline more than a character.

I felt Annie was fine though, she had plenty of good lines and in the second episode I thought she came across as the stronger of the two in the relationship as Mike show's his insecurities.

 

[Teelie]

Thanks for the response, Teelie. I didn't notice her criticisms when watching the show. I wasn't focused on them being role models but just entertaining characters.

I'm not female though so my opinion might be declared invalid by some. Although when I did ask a genuine female what their opinion was it didn't differ any.

 

[TheVileOne]

First episode was pretty terrible.

The daughter re-did her stupid project but really still should've failed. She's talking about her dad being so brave but fails to talk about Grapes of Wrath.

Also, the Mike Henry character needed to be someone like Shepard Smith or Matt Lauer instead of a local news guy. Or even a late night talk show host. Just didn't really buy into all his local celebrity worship being a local news anchor.

 

[Destructus86]

eh...after two episodes I think i'm done. I cracked a smile maybe once or twice during the first two eps but I just found the show boring. :/ I would have turned it off sooner had it not had MJF in it.

 

[Dugath]

I thought it was ok but I did not find it all that funny.
I know humor is subjective and what one person finds funny someone else might not.

I will give it a few more episodes.

But honestly I found the Robin Williams one to be funnier.

 

[Quasar]

I made it halfway through the first episode before I gave up on it. Just didn't find it funny in the least.

 

[Hunter Rider]

The third episode was pretty funny. Standard themes but nicely played, plus it has the shows first Star Wars reference and the end was a nice throwback to some classic MJF.

 

[Hush]

This show is amazing!! I just started watching it tonight, I love it.

 

[Hunter Rider]

This weeks ep was poor and Anne Heche was awful, her line delivery was so forced.

 

[Hunter Rider]

The show is really treading water, this weeks was the weakest episode so far.

 

[Hush]

Christmas episode was frigging awesome.