I find very few redemptive qualities in this show. Maybe only one. I watched the pilot episode last night and found it to be a waste of twenty minutes of my life. Perhaps it's suppressed rage, or something else, but I find this show a great excuse to rant about crappy television.
The premise is non-sequitor. We never really find out what the relationships between the characters in the couples are. I think the three guys were college roommates, and two of them are brothers...or really close friends. I honestly don't know. Everything was vaguely alluded to in the show, in a failed attempt to avoid unnecessary exposition, so you never understand why these people are involved in each others' lives.For two producers whose credits for writing and producing include 30 Rock, Community, Friends, and Home Improvement, this show is a far cry from audience-pleasing quality. A quick check on the imdb.com page shows the audience disapproval for it.
The actors, for the most part, are talented in their own right. Christine Woods, fresh off of 2010's unfortunately-cancelled FlashForward, and looking a lot less haggard, I might add, is an excellent actress stuck in soon-to-be-euthanized "comedy" (I use the term loosely, and my the euthanasia comment is merely a wish and not an official announcement--but I'll keep you updated).
The premise: three couples, vaguely connected, struggling to make their relationships work. But apparently the message didn't get through to the writing staff, as the jokes are forced, the laughs non-existent, and the interactions unrealistic, particularly Amy and Vance's, which almost always end in an irrational argument. I don't get it. Nor do I buy Dave's absolute appeasement of Vance's dependence. If it is meant to be charicactured, it is not enough. If it is meant to be subtle, well, it's a failed attempt.
Bottom line: Avoid this show like the plague. It's a waste of time that relies on 90s humor (from which the human race has moved beyond). You will not laugh, and afterwards you will want the minutes wasted watching it back.
Maybe it's bad because the producers were also executives on Joey. Yeah, that's probably why.
Channel: NBC
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-PG
Recommendation: DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!
