DeathWatch Watch

Review: Happy Hour

October 11, 2006

BBCancelled: Comatose. And before that, "Happy Hour" was number one in the Deathwatch sweepstakes to be killed first. But did it deserve to die so soon? Yes.

"Happy Hour," the new FOX sitcom, has a rare distinction. It possesses the most obnoxious laugh track ever. It’s as if the producers sat in the editing room and goosed each line with laughter. And it’s not just ordinary laughter: They skipped over the “polite titter” and “gentle ha-ha” buttons on the machine and went straight for the guffaw.

It’s the sitcom equivalent of the online abbreviation “LOL,” appearing after each and every line.

There’s nothing new here (besides the abuse of the laugh track). Nice guy Henry Beckman (John Sloan) loses his entire life in one morning: His girlfriend, Heather (Brooke D’Orsay) breaks up with him, causing him to lose his apartment with her and his job with her uncle. He moves in with a sleazy, alcohol-obsessed roommate, Larry (Lex Medlin), in the same building and ends up taking a job with Larry’s friend, the “been around the block a few times” Amanda (Beth Lacke), whom he also sleeps with. Rounding out this group of totally unlikable characters is the uptight couple who visits from time to time, the shrewish Tina and her fiancé, wimpy Brad. (Every bad sitcom has a shrew and a wimp as a couple, right?)

At times, the scene shifts to an actual bar. We’re guessing they were hoping for the charm and atmosphere of Cheers, but sadly, there isn’t a single memorable character on this show. Much drinking ensues, and when they’re not drinking, they’re talking about drinking. After sitting through just one episode of "Happy Hour," you’ll find yourself longing for the old days at FOX, when they offered uplifting, life-affirming, cultural shows like Married With Children. Either that or you’ll turn off the TV, walk down to the corner bar where everyone knows your name, and sit for a half-hour or so, until this whole show blows over. Sit long enough and it just might be cancelled.

Comments

Debbi wrote:

Why does Fox keep setting lame "sitcoms" in Chicago?? I live there, and I am sick of the thinnest storyline ever (remember "The Loop"?)...I watched the first episode, and cringed when the canned laughter was put in for no reason. I'm also not a fan of "Til Death"...

posted at October 11, 2006 05:56 PM

Amanda wrote:

This show definitely did deserve to die. It was extremely unfunny and somewhat confusing.

posted at October 11, 2006 07:04 PM

L.C. wrote:

I had to laugh when I saw these posts. I was asked to write a "Why You Should Watch [Television Show]" for a content page and I knew everyone would write about the great ones. I figured,why not write about a terrible one? It was before it's (ahem) hiatus that I wrote it. If you want another chuckle over this show read this:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/65420/why_you_should_watch_happy_hour_on.html

posted at October 12, 2006 01:13 PM

William French wrote:

"Happy Hour" was mess to begin with. The men were great, but the main lady was terrible. The lines written for her were very Jamie Gertz (Still Standing & Twister) like. Gertz would have been a much better choice seeing that the female lead could not pull off the dialogue with any kind sense of reality.

posted at October 12, 2006 08:30 PM

A. White wrote:

I thought Alec Baldwin was great and totally watchable. The writing was pretty good but it seemed as if there were too many supporting characters with nothing to do, and definitely nothing funny to say.

I think they should cut the cast by a third and ditch any stories with live animals. That always strikes me as a big apology for thin story structure. Plus it always leads to some really dumb screwball situation...boring.

posted at October 12, 2006 10:12 PM

TVGuru wrote:

Happy Hour has not been cancelled. It is coming back Nov. 2nd. And it's aired 3 episodes - stop beating up on the pilot. Pilot's always suck.

posted at October 18, 2006 04:42 PM