I was disappointed to learn that this show was cancelled after the first series. I thought it had many things going for it, despite the fact that it was flawed in places also.
I feel most for Matthew Perry, who is great in the series as the overly- confident (almost to the point of being obnoxious at times) but very likable sports radio presenter, Ryan King, dealing with the loss of his wife, Janie. The supporting cast is strong also: John Cho and Perry work very well together as the workmates/friends. The plot centers around the support group that Ryan attends, reluctantly at first, led by novice guidance councilor Lauren (with problems of her own). Almost all of these members are acted well and have their own quirks: it is a diverse group and their characters are well-written and acted.
I found myself laughing out loud for during the first few episodes, but the laughs became a little less and less as the series progressed. It isn't the most laugh out loud comedy: it is more the quirkiness of the characters that provides humour. There is little doubt the show is entertaining. But there are moments of depth also and underneath it all is the serious issue of dealing with loss. Again, this is acted very well, especially by Perry.
So why did the show get cancelled? Well, there are a few aspects that let it down somewhat. There is a sense that at times, its just not very... real. The mix-and-match group are interesting but almost cartoon-like at times with their quirkiness. But more importantly is the recurrence of King's dead wife Janie. The fact that he talks to her and eventually invents a boyfriend for her lets the show down. Also, the fact that his encounters with her aren't shown to be inside his head make her seem more of a ghost than a figment of King's mind. This is shown when he is talking to a coat-rack in real time when he sees his wife there: this just doesn't happen, King is far from insane and it is just a bad way to describe grieving. Another unrealistic aspect that annoyed me was the fact that he woke up at 1.23am every night, almost to the second. I was tempted to reach into the TV and put the time forward on the clock 5mins just to see would the world end. This is just very unrealistic and a poor way to show his grieving process. Also, the philosophical metaphors King sprouts at the end of the episodes on his radio show, almost describing the lesson of the episode using a sports analogy, is just a little overdone and corny (reminded me of desperate housewives somewhat). Another negative was the fact that there were too many love interests for King. Once he decides to start dating again, he meets a group of very attractive beech volley-ballers, then he has a relationship with a returning group member, who is also predictably out- of-this world attractive. The underlying chemistry between King and his cute assistant Carrie is well done but the one-episode romance with guest Courtney Cox and the continual hinting at a romance between him and the group leader is unnecessary. It is just hard to believe all of these beautiful women are linked to King (his wife Janie was smoking hot too). Its all just a little unbelievable and the direction down that route that the show takes halfway through is a little distracting. The best moments and episodes are probably ones focusing on when the group characters get explored and developed.
Overall it was good viewing and had an interesting context, with very good acting and clever wittiness at times. Perhaps the long-term feasibility of more series was not there: I guess there are only so many times you can share your problems to a support group before the whole thing becomes repetitive. Which is a pity, but such is life.
I feel most for Matthew Perry, who is great in the series as the overly- confident (almost to the point of being obnoxious at times) but very likable sports radio presenter, Ryan King, dealing with the loss of his wife, Janie. The supporting cast is strong also: John Cho and Perry work very well together as the workmates/friends. The plot centers around the support group that Ryan attends, reluctantly at first, led by novice guidance councilor Lauren (with problems of her own). Almost all of these members are acted well and have their own quirks: it is a diverse group and their characters are well-written and acted.
I found myself laughing out loud for during the first few episodes, but the laughs became a little less and less as the series progressed. It isn't the most laugh out loud comedy: it is more the quirkiness of the characters that provides humour. There is little doubt the show is entertaining. But there are moments of depth also and underneath it all is the serious issue of dealing with loss. Again, this is acted very well, especially by Perry.
So why did the show get cancelled? Well, there are a few aspects that let it down somewhat. There is a sense that at times, its just not very... real. The mix-and-match group are interesting but almost cartoon-like at times with their quirkiness. But more importantly is the recurrence of King's dead wife Janie. The fact that he talks to her and eventually invents a boyfriend for her lets the show down. Also, the fact that his encounters with her aren't shown to be inside his head make her seem more of a ghost than a figment of King's mind. This is shown when he is talking to a coat-rack in real time when he sees his wife there: this just doesn't happen, King is far from insane and it is just a bad way to describe grieving. Another unrealistic aspect that annoyed me was the fact that he woke up at 1.23am every night, almost to the second. I was tempted to reach into the TV and put the time forward on the clock 5mins just to see would the world end. This is just very unrealistic and a poor way to show his grieving process. Also, the philosophical metaphors King sprouts at the end of the episodes on his radio show, almost describing the lesson of the episode using a sports analogy, is just a little overdone and corny (reminded me of desperate housewives somewhat). Another negative was the fact that there were too many love interests for King. Once he decides to start dating again, he meets a group of very attractive beech volley-ballers, then he has a relationship with a returning group member, who is also predictably out- of-this world attractive. The underlying chemistry between King and his cute assistant Carrie is well done but the one-episode romance with guest Courtney Cox and the continual hinting at a romance between him and the group leader is unnecessary. It is just hard to believe all of these beautiful women are linked to King (his wife Janie was smoking hot too). Its all just a little unbelievable and the direction down that route that the show takes halfway through is a little distracting. The best moments and episodes are probably ones focusing on when the group characters get explored and developed.
Overall it was good viewing and had an interesting context, with very good acting and clever wittiness at times. Perhaps the long-term feasibility of more series was not there: I guess there are only so many times you can share your problems to a support group before the whole thing becomes repetitive. Which is a pity, but such is life.