'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!"

'Tis Lousy to Have Loved and Lost... : 2006-2007's TV Casualties Part 9

20 GOOD YEARS

Synopsis: Two aging friends, a judge (Jeffrey Tambor) and a doctor (John Lithgow), face mid-life crises and decide to move in together in an attempt to recapture their youth and finally experience the titular amount of time.

What Worked: In an effort to grab a viewing demographic often neglected by the networks (basically anything above age 35), NBC tried its hand at something old-fashioned and morose in the world of modern sitcoms.

What Didn't Work: Who am I kidding? Of the 25-or-so new shows in the 2006-2007 television season I watched, this was by far the worst. How Tambor and Lithgow can go from "Arrested Development" and "Third Rock From the Sun" (one of which is already a comedy classic, the other a warm reminder of the sitcom heyday of the 1990s) to this utterly despicable piece of shit absolutely boggles my mind. There must have been a really big paycheck involved for each of them, because otherwise these two savvy and very dependable character actors should be completely ashamed. There was not one laugh in this absolute bummer of a show, and this judgement is coming from someone who even found something to like in "Date Movie."

There is a good premise here, no question. Some of my favorite stories, be they TV, film or literature, involve people whose quests for personal contentment and happiness are sacrificed due to decisions made either for their struggles at the time or for the benefit of others, and their last-minute attempts to find that spirit again, start anew, become a new person. It's a simple concept to which absolutely everyone can relate, and it gives its main character(s) a strong amount of empathy other characters in other stories have problems attaining from the viewer/reader/listener.

So what the hell happened here? Why did I despise both characters, why was this show greenlighted, and why was I so pleased when the show was canceled after, I believe, two episodes, even though it might have spelled disaster for the other half of that NBC hour that belonged to "30 Rock"?

What a disaster.

Why Not Enough People Watched: Really, it wasn't anything in the above rant, about how offended I was by the piss-poor execution of a worthy premise or the great actors, because regular viewers have given plenty of time to lousy shows with the exact same problems. I think it falls more under the mentioned aversion of the show toward the 18-34 demographic and the current failure of nearly every sitcom on network television. This show was put out of its misery very quickly, and I'm not sure if people even remember it airing in the first place.

Overall Series: 1 (out of 10)

Final 2006-2007 Neilsen Rating: #106 (5.6 million viewers)

Fun Fact: Tambor sort of considered the cancellation of "Arrested Development" a blessing in disguise, as it allowed him to accept this role that he originally had to turn down to due a prior engagement with one of the funniest shows of all time! Somebody was drunk, it seems.