Wow. Right? Who has that “wow” feeling right now, after having watched the pilot episode of Men of a Certain Age? I do, and I’ve already seen it once before. Then again, I also hit my allowable good cheer for the year in my preview, and smiling this much is making my nose scrunch up in a way that’s bound to leave a mark.
But I should still really say … oh, what the hell; this is a great addition to the television landscape. Nothing riveting or heart-pounding, but a show that’s breaking some new — or lightly tread — ground, and doing it well. I really hope you’re tuning in.
Anyway, to the pilot. I only covered the basics in my preview of the show, and was careful to leave the plot points for our review discussions. So let’s get to it, shall we?
Joe (Ray Romano) is a somewhat sad character, who doesn’t ever really seem so. In a good way; that’s not to say that Romano does a poor job of it. The guy needs to hold it together, and he still believes that he and his ex still have a shot at making it. Sure, there was the fantasy lady, but she’d be the fantasy lady even if he was happily married.
Although clearly his gambling is still not under control — I worry that Joe may go the route of “losing the store” that is rather transparent in these types of situations. Or at least that his raiding of the cash box will attract someone’s attention. But MOCA does seem like the type of show to break free of conventions, so maybe this is going somewhere else. Wherever that may be, I hope Joe brings Bert Manfro (Jon Manfrellotti) along.
That possum thing was kind of weird, especially since it was never explained, but it was funny. And totally unexpected, particularly when Joe and Bert went back to find it in the woods. And what was up with the cairns? Unlike Ray Barone, I think Joe was written weird, not goofy, and I think Ray seems more natural at the former. I definitely see something really awesome coming from him soon. He’s divorced and may potentially be in financial ruin soon … do you think Romano is ready for a heavy emotional scene? I do.
We didn’t see much of Terry (Scott Bakula) in this episode, but I do really like his character. And as I’ve mentioned before, I love his relationship with Annie (Carla Gallo), one that I will tell you only continues to grow (she’s a permanent cast member, so that’s not really a spoiler of any sort). I’m thinking that Terry may be the rock on this show, both for Owen and for Joe, which leaves the question of who will provide a shoulder for him when he must face the realities about acting. I think the description of Terry as an actor/temp worker is going to turn out to be the most incomplete, or misleading, of the three profiles. And Bakula is better than he’s been since Quantum Leap.
I’m now very sorry that I don’t have prior experience with Andre Braugher (Owen). I’ve been looking for Homicide: Life on the Street repeats ever since I fell in love with The Wire, but I have yet to see a cycle starting. Hopefully soon. Meanwhile I can enjoy Braugher right here.
At the word go, Owen’s story exploded onto the stage, as the combination of rejection by his father at work and the pressures from his wife Melissa (Lisa Gay Hamilton) at home combined to make him the biggest loser. I was appalled at his father for referring to his diabetes as an embarrassment … what kind of a person is he?
I imagine it was that attitude that led Owen to be lackadaisical about his sugar levels. I had friends in college who were diabetic, and they were totally regimented about checking their sugar and injecting insulin. You have to be. But Owen collapsing did allow a distracted Joe to break Owen’s nose when Joe stopped short in his car on the way to the hospital. That was very amusing.
Which is pretty much the show’s MO. Like with the possum incident, there are light moments interspersed with the regular tensions of life. Maybe it’s a little too much of a perfect world than a realistic one, but there’s nothing pratfall-ish or outlandish about the gags, if you can even call them that.
And these three guys are just great. Like old friends who’ve been playing this game a long time, Romano, Bakula, and Braugher have found a rhythm that is really intoxicating. If you’re on the fence, do yourself a favor and check out next week’s episode … like I said in my preview, this show needs two episodes to get into.
No, next week isn’t a reboot, or a change in direction — it’s just that the premiere needs to set us up before it can really start running. Trust me … by week two you’ll feel like you’re hiking with old friends.
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Dec 07, 2009 @ 23:00 EST5EDT
Was it me, or were the commercial breaks just a bit too long for this show? I was getting miffed at them because they broke up the show’s momentum.
Anyway, good start. While it was interesting to see Ray Romano in a more dramatic role, it was Andre Baugher’s role that I connected with most. Who hasn’t worked at a job just to make sure there’s food on the table while they tried so hard to live their dreams. Frankly, if I was Andre’s character, and my father talked to me like that, I would’ve punched him in the face.
Looking forward to next week’s episode.
*POST AUTHOR*
Owen’s (Baugher) a really interesting character, and I think he has the most growth potential of the three. Joe (Romano) will develop as Romano gets more comfortable with the acting that the show calls for, and I believe he will get there and surprise us all. And I think Terry (Bakula) is going to have a rather dramatic life-altering arc involving whether or not to call the acting thing a failure and move on.
This show has tremendous potential.