Up All Night

It's surprising that two of the best recent sitcoms both feature actors who first came to fame through that horrible 80's thing call Married With Children. It's even more interesting that they are both mining somewhat the same vein in their new shows - a sendup of the modern family.

Christina Applegate is wonderful in this role, unafraid to be unattractive and conveying the tribulations of new motherhood with an odd, but realistic, combination of grit, excitement, wonder and denial. Hers is the most believable portrayal of motherhood I've seen in a long time. Even Will Arnett (who was in that other show that explored modern families and that remains astonishingly over-rated)is at his best.

Considering the talent in this show I had higher hopes. But sadly most shows centered around being new parents and a baby are usually failures. This show continues to rehash the same themes of new parenthood (ie finding time for each other, no sleep, loving/hating your child, etc). Which is too bad because Will Arnett is wonderful but still has yet to do anything better than his character Gob in Arrested Development. A show so far superior to this one that I'm afraid to mention them in the same sentence. Christina, well, yeah, she has had more sitcom failures than any one person cares to admit. I'm not sure this is really a reflection upon her. Just poor projects that come her way and poor writing. And lastly Maya Rudolph who was hysterical in Bridesmaids does a very made for TV portrayal of Oprah. Her character is cringe worthy in nearly every scene. It is kind of like her very own worst of SNL reel put into a role. Painful.

Sadly this show could have had potential due to the people involved. But this recycled material was destined for failure because apparently the writers are trying as hard as Maya Rudolph in this show resulting in a painful and predictable show. I wish it was better but it's not.

franciscoraposo72 you're from "F"ing Portugal. Of COURSE you don't think it's funny. You don't understand the nuances. The tradition. The LANGUAGE. HA KIDDING. Sort of. Anyway Will Arnett and Christina Applegate are perfect. But Christina Applegate shines the best she's ever been. She's one of those that keeps getting more beautiful. Maya Rudolph almost drives me nuts, but now it's like she's just hysterical. A little crazy even to Their mostly sane world. I didn't think I would even like the show when the first episode was them having a baby. Never works. But this did. One of those shows when it eventually is over(years from now), will suck! humm I have to fill a 10th sentence here. OK well I guess that did it.

I love this show. Will Arnett and Christina Applegate are hilarious as new parents adjusting to life after the 20-something party years. Will plays a stay at home Dad trying to stay sane while his wife becomes the primary breadwinner as a television executive for a talk show on the down slide, Ava. Ava (played by Maya Rudolph) is the shows one weakness. While Maya Rudolph is a fabulous actress, Ava is a one note character that makes the show somewhat awkward. This show is really unique. There have been tons of shows about families with lots of kids and parents that have been together for ages and there are lots of shows about young love, but what happens in between? This take on the family sit-com reaches to capture a younger audience, but is still likely to trigger memories in the 40+ demographic category. Check it out on hulu. I can't wait to see what's next.

Reagan Brinkley (Christina Applegate) and Chris Brinkley (Will Arnett) are a couple of hard partying professionals who were surprised into parenthood and suburbia. Ava Alexander (Maya Rudolph) is a host of her own show and Reagan's boss/friend/dependent.

This is a show led by SNL veterans like Emily Spivey. And surprisingly it's just not that funny. The leads Christina Applegate and Will Arnett have some good chemistry together. They have some good exchanges. Maya Rudolph is a one note character, and never gets much depth. They try various characters to add as support like the loser brother played by Luka Jones. Most of these efforts end in failure.