'Tis Lousy to Have Loved and Lost... : 2006-2007's TV Casualties Part 10

ANDY BARKER, P.I.

Synopsis: A newly relocated accountant (Andy Richter, "...Controls the Universe") finds that his new office was once the headquarters for a private eye (Harve Presnell, "Fargo"), and takes on the bizarre cases that literally walk through his door.


What Worked: As usual, Richter himself. Since his departure from "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (who is also a producer on this show), he's struggled with ratings for his own shows, but he has always been a top-notch comedic actor, whose power lies in the fact that he underplays everything so much that he comes off not as an actor, but as a friend that happens to be on television. A lot of very strange things happened on this show, and it was approached
with a very hard-to-identify kind of nonchalance that made the show original and different.

The cases always had a fucked-up twist to them, but they also gave the show a lighthearted shrug quality that seemed to intentionally alienate viewers used to CSI zooms and body wounds and shit. The cases weren't the point, but the quirks of the individual characters, such as the sudden violence of Presnell's character or the drier-than-a-desert delivery of Richter's secretary or the so-horny-as-to-be-creepy vibe of video store clerk Tony Hale ("Arrested Development").

What Didn't Work: Honestly, though, I was very confused when this show got all the praise it did, especially from Ain't It Cool News' Herc, who declared it the funniest show he'd ever seen. I smiled more than giggled, and I only got one big belly laugh out of the entire series. (Andy is investigating a chicken meatpacking conspiracy, and during a footchase scene he grabs a stray chicken, puts it in a warehouse and assures the chicken that it'll be safe. As he closes the door, it is labeled "Chicken Slaughterhouse.")

The rest of the time, the nonchalance I praised the show for also was a tad too forced, as I stopped caring about the cases altogether. That's fine, but it made the plot-heavy sequences kind of pointless, as if the writers are just treading water until they can come up with another weird joke about "an emergency thermos of bisque."

Why Not Enough Viewers Watched: Say it with me.

1. No laugh track.

2. Weird, difficult and quirky humor.

3. No bankable stars.

4. Bad advertising.

I was also extremely put off that the best episode of the series, "The Lady Varnishes" starring the absolutely hilarious Amy Sedaris, was only available online. Way to believe in a show from your future "Tonight Show" host, NBC.

Overall Series: 6.5 (out of 10)

Final 2006-2007 Neilsen Rating: #112 (5.4 million viewers)

Fun Fact: I am mildly glad that the show isn't around anymore for one very particular reason. Now that series regular Marshall Manesh is not attached to the show, he can appear as often as he fucking wants on "How I Met Your Mother" as taxi/limo driver Ranjit!

"Hit it, Ranjit!"