The Michael J Fox Show - NBC

fhs man 2fhs man 2 Posts: 7,591
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXl-krlLoxg

Sounds interesting do you think any broadcasters here will buy it?

What are your thoughts on it?

Comments

  • KrommKromm Posts: 6,180
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    The bad is that it seems to be aiming for cheesy family stuff. The good is that it also seems to be playing with Fox in his sarcastic mode (which is where he's most entertaining).

    Anyone who's only seen him on his old 80s TV show and the Back To The Future movies should check his appearances on The Good Wife out. If he brings even a little of the approach he used on that show to the table here, it will be entertaining.
  • pburke90pburke90 Posts: 14,754
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    My favourite part of the trailer is when he's trying to serve the food (slowly) and is actually managing to do it without shaking... Then Betsy Brandt (playing his wife) grabs it from him and says "Can you not have a personal victory right now, we are starving!"

    I hope this gets picked up by a UK channel, preferably one that isn't pay, but if it does, I'll have to resort to watching it on RTÉ TWO as it will no doubt end up there.
  • NoEntry2kNoEntry2k Posts: 14,969
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    I like Michael J Fox (he was brilliant in Spin City) and the promos make this look like a good, ‘fairly traditional’ comedy so I will be watching.
    I would assume that the fact this stars Michael J Fox will mean a UK broadcaster will pick this up. But then I thought ‘Mr Sunshine’ and ‘Go On’ would be picked up by a UK broadcaster on the strength of Matthew Perry starring in them and they weren’t, so who knows.
  • ukpukp Posts: 480
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    Just watched episode 1 and thought it was ok. I did laugh a few times but sometimes it moves so fast it was confusing to keep up with the story. I'll give it a couple more episodes to see how it shapes up before giving up seeing as it's Michael J Fox.

    If any UK broadcaster were to pick it up I would expect C4 or C5 to do so.. can't really see it fitting in on bbc or itv for some reason.
  • NoEntry2kNoEntry2k Posts: 14,969
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    ukp wrote: »
    If any UK broadcaster were to pick it up I would expect C4 or C5 to do so.. can't really see it fitting in on bbc or itv for some reason.

    Unless it gets cancelled quickly, I’d be surprised if we didn’t see this on UK screens (although as I said above I also thought that about the two recent Matthew Perry sitcoms). If I were to guess I’d say this end up somewhere like Comedy Central, I doubt it’ll get a terrestrial broadcast.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 802
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    I've watched the first episode and I quite liked it, but it's far too self-aware at points which is a negative distraction. I did laugh quite a bit though, and I think there is a lot of room for improvement. However, given how the US networks treat their shows I think it will be very lucky if it lasts a full season, let alone longer than that.
  • PunksNotDeadPunksNotDead Posts: 21,129
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    Watched this and Robin Williams new comedy The Crazy Ones back to back, enjoyed them both. It's great that Michael J Fox & Robin Williams have both made a return to the small screen in strong shows.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 958
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    Zora wrote: »
    I've watched the first episode and I quite liked it, but it's far too self-aware at points which is a negative distraction. I did laugh quite a bit though, and I think there is a lot of room for improvement. However, given how the US networks treat their shows I think it will be very lucky if it lasts a full season, let alone longer than that.

    IIRC NBC had to agree to order 22 episodes to win the rights to the show.
  • G926G926 Posts: 1,094
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    Watched the first episode, laughed out loud at a lot of it. Only MJF could get away with making fun of Parkinsons, this is the kind of show that would never get made in the UK.

    I hope it continues like this, definitely added to my download list. Good to see him back on screen.
  • Matt DMatt D Posts: 13,153
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    My wife and I just watched the first episode.

    Neither of us laughed, not even once.

    Compare that with Modern Family and Parks & Rec, which both make us laugh several times an episode.
  • Metal MickeyMetal Mickey Posts: 1,606
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    I really wanted to like this, but it really didn't "click" for me, though I far preferred the "work" bits to the "family" bits, which had far too much "hugging and learning" in them. MJF himself is still as likeable as ever, and I'm glad this vehicle has been put together for him, but it feels too old-fashioned, and simply wasn't funny enough... I'll give it another episode or two, but I'm not optimistic...
  • NoEntry2kNoEntry2k Posts: 14,969
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    I haven’t watched the first two episodes yet, I’ll be watching them this week, but I think this programmes biggest problem is going to be the fact that it’s on the same time as Two and a Half Men on CBS. And although many will argue (probably me included) that this isn’t anywhere near as good as it was several years ago, it’s still a ratings success and can kill of anything that goes against it. I’m sure that’s why CBS moved it to this day and time, just to try and prevent NBC have a success with The Michael J Fox Show.
  • NoEntry2kNoEntry2k Posts: 14,969
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    I watched the first two episodes last night. It was fairly formulaic, but I enjoyed it, probably largely because of the very likable Michael J Fox.

    The first episode was really just an introduction and to set up the characters, and for me was spoilt by the fact that all of the funniest bits had already been seen in the promos. The second episode was better because it was then when I felt it started to get going.

    I read in a review that this felt like NBC’s attempt at their own ‘Modern Family’, which I would agree with. It’ll take time to become familiar, but I think it has potential. But for me the question that remains is whether it’ll have the opportunity to achieve that potential while going up against the most popular sitcom on television, Two and a Half Men.
  • fhs man 2fhs man 2 Posts: 7,591
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    NoEntry2k wrote: »
    Unless it gets cancelled quickly, I’d be surprised if we didn’t see this on UK screens (although as I said above I also thought that about the two recent Matthew Perry sitcoms). If I were to guess I’d say this end up somewhere like Comedy Central, I doubt it’ll get a terrestrial broadcast.

    If it was cancelled quickly then Comedy Central would be in there like a flash.

    Do BBC even buy imports any-more?
  • NoEntry2kNoEntry2k Posts: 14,969
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    fhs man 2 wrote: »
    If it was cancelled quickly then Comedy Central would be in there like a flash.

    Do BBC even buy imports any-more?

    I’d probably agree. Comedy Central is probably a likely home either way, successful in the US or not. But I wouldn’t rule out the likes of ITV2, Sky 1, and maybe E4.

    As for the BBC, they do still buy US imports occasionally but they are restricted to how many they can show by law. They also don’t have a very good success rate on BBC1 or BBC2, I think the last sitcoms they aired were ‘How I met You Mother’ (BBC2) and ‘Arrested Development’ (BBC2), both didn’t make it past the first season (although ‘Arrested Development’ continued to BBC4). They’ve recently been showing ‘Parks and Recreation’ on BBC4 though.
  • TheCloakroom99TheCloakroom99 Posts: 431
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    NoEntry2k wrote: »
    I’d probably agree. Comedy Central is probably a likely home either way, successful in the US or not. But I wouldn’t rule out the likes of ITV2, Sky 1, and maybe E4.

    As for the BBC, they do still buy US imports occasionally but they are restricted to how many they can show by law. They also don’t have a very good success rate on BBC1 or BBC2, I think the last sitcoms they aired were ‘How I met You Mother’ (BBC2) and ‘Arrested Development’ (BBC2), both didn’t make it past the first season (although ‘Arrested Development’ continued to BBC4). They’ve recently been showing ‘Parks and Recreation’ on BBC4 though.

    Wilfred.
  • FrankieFixerFrankieFixer Posts: 11,530
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    Anyone see him in Curb Your Enthusiasm? His scenes were hilarious.
  • NoEntry2kNoEntry2k Posts: 14,969
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    Anyone see him in Curb Your Enthusiasm? His scenes were hilarious.

    As were his scenes in Rescue Me.
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