Kelly Bundy's back! Of all of the new shows premiering this season,
Samantha Who? ranked high on my must-see list.
Although comedy bigwigs like Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton also resurfaced on network television this year, I have been waiting to see more from
Christina Applegate ever since her role as the rival reporter and love interest in
Anchorman, in which she played opposite industry heavyweights Will Ferrell and Steve Carrell. Now she's back, proving yet again that she is more than just that ditsy blonde from
Married with Children.
Samantha Newly wakes up in the hospital with no recollection of the people at her bedside. Her mother (played by
24's former first lady
Jean Smart) is using her tragic state to get on
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. She can't remember a thing about her life and her parents can't seem to grasp the concept of her state: retrograde amnesia. They try shouting in her face and outlining the family tree in an attempt to jog her memory. Right out of the gate in her new life, it's clear to her that her parents are off their rockers. She spends the next several days learning about who she is and meeting the other people in her life, including her boyfriend Todd (
Barry Watson) and her apparent best friend Dina (
Gilmore Girls'
Melissa McCarthy).
Upon leaving the hospital, she actually has to convince her parents to take her home with them, and when they do, she arrives home and finds her actual best friend, booze-loving Andrea (
Jennifer Esposito). The way things are shaping up for her, Samantha may have been better off staying in that hospital bed. It turns out the old Samantha wasn't exactly Little Miss Sunshine.
As Samantha learns more and more about her old life, it turns out she was a pretty awful person. Her boyfriend's friends seem to have hated her and she's having an affair with a married man. She also learns that Dina, the friend who stayed at her bedside throughout her hospital stay, is actually a girl that she suddenly became too cool to hang out with back in school. All in all, she's a pretty heinous person. With a new lease on life, however, Samantha decides to use this opportunity to start fresh as her memory starts to come back piece by piece.
Overall, the pilot was a good introduction to what we can expect in the series to come. I didn't find many laugh-out-loud moments but I did enjoy some of the banter between characters. I hope to see a lot more interaction between Sam's friends Andrea and Dina. I'm also very excited to see more of Jean Smart throughout the show. I'm not so into her relationship with Barry Watson's character but I suspect she'll start finding new potential romances as she embarks on her new life.
Memorable moments:
" Mama Newly wanting to reshoot Samantha's wake-up for the
Home Makeover people
" Old Sam slipping out telling a bar patron her street corner would still be there
" Andrea "forgetting" to remind Samantha that she's a recovering alcoholic
" Bad Sam flashback at the coffee shop
Check out clips of the show in our
Online Video Guide.
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Kelly Bundy's back! Of all of the new shows premiering this season, Samantha Who? ranked high on my must-see list.Although comedy bigwigs like Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton also resurfaced on network television this year, I have been waiting to see more from Christina Applegate ever since her role as the rival reporter and love interest in Anchorman, in which she played opposite industry heavyweights Will Ferrell and Steve Carrell. Now she's back, proving yet again that she is more than just that ditsy blonde from Married with Children. Samantha Newly wakes up in the hospital with no recollection of the people at her bedside. Her mother (played by 24's former first lady Jean Smart) is using her tragic state to get on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. She can't remember a thing about her life and her parents can't seem to grasp the concept of her state: retrograde amnesia. They try shouting in her face and outlining the family tree in an attempt to jog her memory. Right out of the...
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