Casting questions

There is a wonderful young actress working (or sometimes working, as it turns out) in Hollywood today. She is clever and cute and has a better grasp on dry wit than any actress of her age I've ever seen. Her name is Laura Marano and she keeps getting fired. 

Or at least it seems that she keeps getting fired. There may be another story somewhere, but the mysterious re-casting of her character Gracie on Back to You was immediately followed up by the recasting of her character Louise on Gary Unmarried. 

This girl is hilarious and for some reason she keeps being replaced. Can someone please explain this to me?

Back to You gets Back to the Funny

The most recent episodes of mediocre classic sitcom Back to You have been a return to the best the show can be. After post-strike changes that resulted in the loss of the weather girl Montana (played by Studio 60's Ayda Field), and the recasting of Chuck and Kelly's daughter Gracie (from spunky and smart to cute and innocent), Back to You came back missing some crucial pieces but making the most out of what they had left. While revered sitcom veterans Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton's stories are always boring and their chemistry forced, the supporting cast and their B stories haven't been failing to make the 22 minutes worth the watch as of late. Josh Gad and Fred Willard are great as the producer Ryan and the sports caster Marsh respectively and, as I've said numerous times when reviewing this show, Ty Burrell shows off his impeccable comic timing time and again as the show stealing field reported Gary Crezyzewski. Burrell is the perfect antidote for the mediocrity that sometimes infects this show. The most recent episode "Hug and Tell" is no exception. When Gary realizes he is the only person whom the security guard doesn't hug, he sets out trying to figure out what it is about him that makes him un-huggable. After withstanding a hilarious scene of abuse from Marsh and Ryan in which they cathartically vent about his unintentionally cold demeanor and arrogance, Gary confronts the security guard, only to find that the animosity stems from a harsh review Gary had written in grade school about a production of Grease in which the security guard had played Kinicki. It's these B stories (Gary being attacked while reporting on a bizarre convention, Ryan and Gary discovering the frightening sexual murals in Marsh's home and Marsh trying to choose a new sign off catch phrase) that make the show anything more than just a bad conventional comedy unworthy of its prestigious cast, crew and creative team. Completely worth a watch just for the sake of the supporting cast, don't discredit Back to You before really giving it a chance. That said, if you feel like making a contribution to television comedy may I suggest inundating FOX studios with letters calling for the return of the original Gracie, a new deal for Ayda Field, less of Heaton and Grammer and MORE TY BURRELL!!!

how many Chucks can a wood Chuck Chuck?

you've heard me speculate on there being more than 1 doctors Shepherd and Burke but how many characters with one name can there be? let's see.

This season 4 new shows premiered with a character named Chuck- not exactly the most common name to begin with.

and yes it did take me this long to notice- don't you judge me.

let's examine:

Chuck Darling- "Back to You"

Chuck (Charlotte) Charles- "Pushing Daisies"

Chuck Bass- "Gossip Girl"

Chuck Bartowski- "Chuck"

Crazy? Oui!

New Sitcom Episodes- YAY!!!

feeling the strike blues?

The CW has a new episode of "Aliens in America" posted entitled "Church". It's the Christmas episode that's only just been posted but it's HILARIOUS. Check out the episode on www.cwtv.com and get into the show if you haven't already, the Tolchuk's are the funniest family on TV and Raja is my favourite new character of the season.

Also, Fox.com has 2 new episodes of "Back to You". They're both pretty good. Ty Burrell shines as Gary, hands down the funniest cast member, and gets featured heavily in both episodes. Check out my podcast review of the episodes, downloadbable on iTunes (search My TV).

Get excited for the return of other sitcom favourites, coming up this month.

Back to You: a return to the classic sitcom

The series premier of Back to You was this week and I have to say.... thank god. This show was lovely. It wasn't innovative, it wasn't memorable, and it wasn't brilliant but it was good and it was familiar. The sitcom King (Kelsey Grammar- Cheers/Frasier) and Queen (Patricia Heaton- Everybody Loves Raymond) together with legendary sitcom director Jimmy Burrows (FRIENDS/Will & Grace/everything else ever) made a show that made me laugh. It was like having FRIENDS back, or Will & Grace or Frasier or Mad About You or any of the other gems from the forgotten 3 camera sitcom genre. I grew up with FRIENDS (it rand from when I was 4 years old until I was 14) and Will & Grace. They were my first favourite shows, the shows that got me into television. Marta Kauffman, David Crane and Kevin Bright were the names of the first executive producers I could recognize. Now I can name dozens and that's what I want to do with my life. I love sitcoms. I love classic sitcoms- everything from All in the Family to Who's the Boss? to Golden Girls to MASH. I grew up in a time when they were everywhere (both first and second generation of the reign of sitcoms) and while in recent years there have been many hilarious new takes on the sitcom (Arrested Development, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Extras, The Class, Scrubs, etc...) there hasn't been anything reminiscent of the old days since we lost Frasier, FRIENDS, Will & Grace and Everybody Loves Raymond in the span of a couple years. Back to You fills that gap. It's not spectacular but it gets in some great laughs and its nostalgic as hell and completely worth the 22 minutes.