TV Show Review - “Do Not Disturb”
GRADE: D
after watching the new FOX TV show “Do Not Disturb” I’ve coem to conclusion that the hilariously sassy talents of Nicey Nash are best used in basic cable. Her TV shows “Clean House” and “Reno 911″ are two of my favorite junk TV staples on my Tivo/DVR Recorder. It’s too bad her talents are wasted on her first primetime sitcom which is filmed in front of a live audience (with the help of a laugh track of couse).
Her recent network TV show outing “Do Not Disturb” is not as smart as high brow primetime fair such as “30 Rock”, but it isn’t as repulsive as the #1 sitcom on TV, CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” (which is not saying much). Sadly, this new sitcom is just another failed attempt by primetime networks to salvage a dying genre pioneered by classics such as “Cheers”, “Seinfeld” and “Friends”.
As fun as it is to watch Nash ham it up and deliver her trademark attitude (ala’ 80’s TV show icon Jackee’ from “227″) it’s Jerry O’Connell who falls flat as the smarmy over sexed hotel manager. Nicey knows how to plow through bad writing and recycled sitcom jokes but O’Connell can’t deliver a joke to save his life. The only thing that makes this show watchable is Nash’s effortless comedic presence.
NICEY NASH
80′S TV SITCOM ICON JACKEE’
The presence of too many supporting characters and the multiple corny “paint by numbers” plots in “Do Not Disturb” confirm the death of the laugh track sitcom. Premature ejaculation, laughing at fat girls, meth addicts, gay men flirting with eachother and sex at work are the kind of jokes the producers of this show think people will laugh at within a half hour show. The humor is childish and crude at best, the sub-plots are convoluted and void of anything funny every time.
It’s almost insulting that this is the only real sitcom out of the 4 main networks that is getting any serious hype. Another show, CBS’s “Worst Week” looks to be more of the same slapstick stuff with a clumsy lead taking hits for laughs. Only NBC’s non-laugh track sitcom “Kath & Kim” has me giddy with anticipation due to the brilliant source material (a hilarious Australian TV show of the same name) and the actresses involved (Molly Shannon and Selma Blair). I thank my stars I have new episodes of “The Office” and “30 Rock” coming back to the air waves later this month to satisfy my adult taste for witty site gags and crafty sitcom writing!
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