Image Credit: Richard Foreman/ABCRomantically Challenged premiered last night, bringing with it characters who say things like “mansicle” without a trace of irony. While watching, I couldn’t help but wonder: Why do comedies that get dating-folk wrong grate on my nerves so much? Is it because I miss Sex and the City still, despite its foibles, like that ex-boyfriend you know wasn’t perfect but seems darn near it once you let him go? I know there are just as many bad sitcoms about married people as there are about singletons, but I guess I just take it more personally when they get the single ones wrong. Or maybe it’s because the ones that get it right are so right — after all, we still have How I Met Your Mother, which, while more about the friendships among the characters than the titular search, is pretty all-around stellar. (And I still look back with amused recognition at, say, the episode when Robin doesn’t shave her legs to stop herself from going too far with her date, then ends up trying to shave her legs in the ladies’ room halfway through the evening.) Maybe it’s just the focus-grouped feeling these ensemble-full-of-commitmentphobes-and-divorcees-ha-ha-ha shows have when the chemistry isn’t there (see: American Coupling). Maybe I would feel the exact same way about terrible married-people shows if I were married.
What do you think, PopWatchers? What did you think of Romantically Challenged? Which singleton-sitcoms get it right?
I don’t even know if I think SATC got singles right. I enjoy the show but if everyone is really that slutty in their 30s, thank GOD I got married at 25.
I do think Robin on HIMYM plays a pretty realistic single lady and
I love the episodes that showcase her dates!
Girlfriends on UPN actually did a pretty good job representing singles I thought. Good job Kelsey Grammar haha
Single life was best portrayed on LEGEND OF THE SEEKER – watch as Kahlan and Richard try to fight off their feelings for each other, knowing that the Seeker can never be with the Mother Confessor without dire consequences.
I love Legend of the Seeker !!! First time I see it mentioned on EW. Thanks Zed !! ;o)
Seinfeld. No other comes close.
Seinfeld got it absolutely right. Most everything else tries too hard and fails as a result.
You think Sex and the City got it right? Not even close, not where I live anyway.
To everyone who watched this show only b/c it was in between DWTS and Castle – next week do yourselves a favor and switch over to the Big Bang Theory instead. That’s what I did and it had me laughing out loud. Nothing like a little Sheldon sandwiched in between Maks’ dancing and Nathan Fillion’s total hotness!
I liked the show and thought it was funny. Was it the best thing I ever watched… no… but it was a nice mindless half hour while I waited to watch Castle. I think it could grow into something more. The first few episodes of Friends weren’t the best either.
Wow. There’s a good reason to watch a show….Mindless time-killer waiting for another show. Do you own any books? Read for a half-hour. Or switch it over to Big Bang Theory, though if you’re mindless, that show might give you a stroke. It’s people watching TV because they want something mindless that keeps crap like According To Jim on the air for nearly a decade while Arrested Development, Freaks & Geeks, and Undeclared get the immediate axe. The terrorists win again! Thanks Erin…
I lament the loss of great programming as much as you, Ian, but Erin isn’t a terrorist because she didn’t hate ‘Romantically Challenged’.
All “singleton” shows get it wrong because they are populated with the type of people who could never exist in the real world. So they never feel “right.”
I wasn’t jumping off the couch but I thought I was pretty good. I wouldn’t have watched had it not been sandwiched b/w DWTS and Castle but I imagine that helped it last night. Not sure if it’s strong enough to last. The guy being afraid of the girl who wanted to be spanked was a little stupid. I hope no man is that big of a wimp! And being ashamed to tell the guy her kid was 12 rubbed me the wrong way too. And Alyssa Milano does not look anywhere close to old enough to have a 12 year old! I’ll give it another chance and hope it gets better.
Actually it’s worse than 12. Alyssa is playing the mother of a 15 year old.
single people shows are also off because they usually show people trying really hard to find dates & get laid or find their perfect match. HIMYM has a good mix and seinfeld was amazing.
Yeah I think that’s a big problem. I’m single but my main goal in life is not to find a man. I just like having fun with my friends. I also have a career that takes up quite a bit of time. But most singleton shows make it seem like single (women especially) only care about and talk about one thing: men.
Agreed. I’m single, and I’m the same as you. I just wish that for once, Hollywood could depict single women as competent, happy people who are not desperately seeking love the way they all do on these TV shows. So not the way things are in reality. There is nothing “wrong” with being single – really, I promise.
I liked it. It made me laugh out loud. I wasn’t expecting that.
I wasn’t impressed by the pilot, and it did have to do with the group chemistry… it didn’t come out. I think it has some good potential if they can get it right, because I think it’s somewhere in the middle of How I Met Your Mother and Cougar Town (two sitcoms I really enjoy!), I’m gonna give it 2nd episode trial before I write it off.
http://www.orble.com/teevee-romantically-challenged-premiere/
I thought it was horrible. Only watched because it was in between DWTS and Castle. What the heck is up with Alyssa Milano’s smile? It pained me to watch her do it. I think I’ll be channel surfing or wandering to the kitchen for a half hour next week.
Glad someone else noticed her weird smile — are her veneers too big for her mouth? She was creeping me out last night!
lol, so true ! I also thought something was wrong with her mouth…
Not really a show, but I’ve always thought that the scene in Bridget Jones’ Diary when Bridget sits down to dinner with all the couples is ON TARGET. Actually, lots of the Bridget details are good, particularly the “granny underwear” (akin to the ladies’ room leg shaving). Singles are not all about dates; we have jobs, hobbies, family, and friends that take up the bulk of the time. I think that’s what a lot of these shows get wrong.
Exactly. The more I think about it, that’s why I like Robin on HIMYM. Because she dates, and hangs out with friends, and while her work is played for laughs, you know she is serious about.
about *it.
Zoe – i completely agree with your comment! Bridget Jones, HIMYM with its various types of singletons are more on the mark than other shows. I also agree with the person who said the first few eps of Friends weren’t that good either… so who knows.
I agree with dan, Seinfeld.
Absolutely hated it, I gave it a shot because I liked Alyssa Milano in Castle but the show wasn’t funny and the writing was awful.
I totally agree with that. I’m not going to watch it again.
I can’t say a sitcom has offered anything close to reality on being single but maybe that’s because the focus is too narrow- finding a date. As for married shows, I really liked King of Queens. I used to have the re-runs on in the background when I clean but then I noticed how close it came to my life without being too depressing.
The script was weak and honestly only saved by the actors, Kelly Stables being my favorite in this episode. It felt rushed and seems to have had a major character rewrite prior to the series being picked up and filmed. I’ll give it another shot or so to at least see if the writers figure out how to write for the talented actors they have. If they do that, this may actually end up being a successful sitcom.