'Tis Lousy to Have Loved and Lost... : 2006-2007's TV Casualties Part 7

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

Synopsis: Four depressed thirtysomethings who were all classmates in high school find their lives entwined and realize they fucked up somewhere along the way toward general happiness.

What Worked: Good Lord was this a bizarre show. I wasn't entirely sure I was going to be tuning in, despite the presence of likable actors such as Jonathan Silverman ("The Single Guy") and Greg Germann ("Ally McBeal"), until I saw that the pilot was directed by John Favreau ("Swingers"). Now, I know that this show would be a far cry from his recent Hollywood outings such as "Elf," "Zathura" (great movie if you have a chance) and the upcoming "Iron Man." Instead, it would harken closer to his disaster of a film "Very Bad Things." Now, that film is kind of terrible, but it's also completely haphazard and unforgettable, so it seemed he could have an eye for the small screen. (Yes, I know that Peter Berg directed "VBT" and Favreau only acted, but I'd like to think Favreau is involved by proxy.)

That's basically what it turned out to be, very haphazard, not at all likable, but still kind of hard to ignore. Only in this show would they have Kelly Hu play a former valedictorian who now jacks men off at Asian massage parlors to get ahead, and have it seem funny that self-help guru Germann tries to binge-eat himself to death after his wife makes off with all of his money.

I don't think the show was very funny, more amusingly depressing, but I tuned in week after week, fascinated by a sort of new direction for ABC sitcom--the pity comedy. By the time David Carradine made an appearance as a cult leader who brainwashes women, I knew I was in for something quite interesting.

I did, however, enjoy Silverman's constant need to burgle from his ex-wife whenever he visited. It didn't make a whole lot of sense, and the character himself was baffled at his own neurosis, but it had this kind of rhythm and nonchalance that really cracked me up.

What Didn't Work: It's all kind of been spelled out already. The show was very very very weird and very very very pathetic. They ran out of steam very quickly, and the subplot regarding the suicidal David Arquette ("Scream") and his crush on a soon-to-be-married doctor never worked, but it was still better than critics said.

Why Not Enough People Watched: Bad placement by a network that never gave it proper promotion, combined with, well, everything I've already said sent it to the sitcom graveyard very quickly.

Overall Series: 5.5 (out of 10)

Final 2006-2007 Neilsen Rating: #119 (4.8 million viewers)

Fun Fact: Uh...I just got a job for July.