October 11, 2006: Johnny Likes the Ladies
So, I have to admit right off the bat that I'm not sure why I chose to write about
Twenty Good Years. I'm really not familiar with
Jeffrey Tambor's work and I never really liked John Lithgow. However,
Golden Girls was a really funny show. So I like old people in sitcoms. Maybe I'm just hoping for a male version of
Bea Arthur. Whatever the reason, I've been looking forward to this premiere for quite a while. Now that it's happened, I will reserve judgment until the second episode.
You have to hope that a show comes out firing right out of the box, which isn't always that easy to do when you need the entire show to set up the premise for the rest of the series.
The Class did it well and so did
Studio 60 this year - aw heck - I think I've just disproved my own theory. But what I'm trying to say is that this didn't come out guns-a-blazin'. The debut seemed to be almost straight setup with hopes that mayhem will ensue down the road. Either way, the show is about two retirement-age men who decide to live life like they don't have many more good years left, yet inevitably true emotions get in the way. In the first episode they've established John Mason (Lithgow) as the funny one who's teetering on the brink of madness and causes the hijinks, and Jeffrey Pyne (Tambor) as the serious guy who overthinks everything he does. Going forward it seems as if we'll see various crazy adventures as the two friends explore everything they think they missed in life up to this point. Like I said, I'll reserve judgment on the show until at least another episode but you guys can feel free to influence my call with your comments.
Side note: Isn't it weird how so many new characters have the same name as the actor in real life? These two guys do it,
Matthew Perry plays a Matt in
Studio 60,
Tracy Morgan plays a Tracy in
30 Rock. There are probably many others but since I only watch sports and
Cribs, I don't know any more. Another side note; Lithgow's last big sitcom was
3rd Rock and this is airing right after
30 Rock. Neat-o. As you can tell, I'm easily amused.
