Die Millers

After watching TV's top rated sitcom The Big Bang Theory, CBS has another sitcom hit it the new show The Millers. Greg Garcia, the man behind such shows as Yes Dear and My Name is Earl, not only created and produced The Millers, he also wrote the pilot.

The pilot turned out to be a very funny episode, though it resembled Everybody Loves Raymond with the bickering parents premise.

The casting is outstanding. Will Arnett, a sitcom veteran from Arrested Development and Up All Night is great as Nathan, recently divorced from his wife and trying to adjust to singlehood. But then, his mother Carol, played by Margo Martindale, moves in and brings a Doris Roberts with a southern accent touch to the show. It's Martindale's first sitcom and she handles the format well. She is also very funny, especially in the scene where she tries to eat ice cream with a spatula. She could be considered for an Emmy nomination if the show stays on the rest of the season. I hope it does.

Beau Bridges is also hilarious as the dad, who has trouble with the remotes in Nathan's sister's home. He also handles his first sitcom well. Also contributing to the hilarity are JB Smoove and Jayma Mays, who also plays Emma on Glee.

Big Bang Theory fans don't need to change the channel when the episode ends. Stick around for The Millers. It's going to be a hit.

A disappointing waste of a talented cast. Margo Martindale and Beau Bridges are two terrific actors that who have been handed dialog that makes them come off as bad actors. Quick! Get new writers! I could not believe that hateful fight scene between Margo and Beau. Divorce isn't a particularly funny subject but it's going to need special handling when the script is centered around a couple who has been married for more than 40 years. When Debra's parents decided to divorce, on another sitcom with Raymond in the name, after being married a long time the writers didn't stoop to adding venomous conversations between the two partners. The Millers writers obviously thought the mutual attack scene was funny. I found it sad.

Quick! Get new writers - please!

I was really looking forward to this show because of the great cast, but it just didn't seemed to catch on with the the first couple of episodes so I supposed it might get cancelled. After the holidays I gave it another chance and in the last couple of weeks and I saw two episodes worth watching. With the focus off the mom/dad haranguing, I saw a sitcom with scenes and line deliveries which kept me laughing. One of the episodes involved the sister's hidden diary, but I thought better of tonight's episode about Nathan stealing his mother's rants to fuel his own TV segments. It certainly had some real belly laughs. Lately it seems the pacing and use of the supporting cast is improved. No hamming or mugging from anyone, just enough well timed involvement to keep the laughs coming. It is easy to see the cast is loaded with talent and let's hope the scripts are worthy of them.

It's a perfectly watchable show. The writing is not too shabby and it is actually pretty funny. J. B. Smoove again proves he can't act or speak, but other then him the acting is good. For the second season they decided that they needed a gay character and that kind of messed up the show.

Occasionally, you find a show that takes a while to find its groove, like Scrubs. The Millers seems to think it has found it from the start. The talented cast seems ready and willing to dive headfirst into the roles with abandon, herein lies the big problem.

Almost everything here is so overblown that it is almost reaches farce level. Kinda like watching Scrubs, sans the whimsy, and the charm and the clever banter and smart humor and the likable characters. If the 1980 cult turd Flash Gordon was to be serialized, it would be and apt comparison to the tone of this mess.

Lets be honest, when Will Arnett is the actor showing the most restraint you either have a horrible idea or have no directorial control over the cast. Director Kevin Smith once mused that he was not strong enough to control Ben Affleck during the making if Dogma. The Millers leave you with similar feelings.