The Help

The WB does it again! Or should I say, network television does it again. Here we have yet another so-so sitcom laid on us, not overly funny, yet not really a stinker. The story so far is actually a bit interesting, but the problem always seems to be the level of comedy. Maybe it's the overall lame dialog, generally overacted performances, or the annoying studio audience laughing (better than a laugh track, of course, but this one seems to be trying to emulate old Married With Children's). As only the pilot episode has aired as I write this, hopefully there will be a potential realized with the stellar eye-candy cast (Camille Guaty, Megan Fox, Marika Dominczyk, Keri Lynn Pratt, and yes even Brenda Strong), which is what saves this sitcom from a quick death (well, I would hope so, anyway). Plus Tori Spelling guest starring in anything is worth watching, IMHO! So, best of luck to this show. [Show: C - Cast: B+]

The show starts with a girl named Maria in a skimpy French maid's outfit. She continues to complain about how she has to clean for a sad bunch of rich snobs. Camille Guaty has never been renowed for her acting abilities (i.e.Gotta Kick it Up), and lives up(or down as some may view it) to her reputation.

Mindy Cohn plays the bitter cook of the household who well is just there to play the pudgy person who delivers bad comic relief and grosses the audience out by scratching her head in the families dinner. Victoria Spelling of course begged daddy dearest to pay the exec's to get a spot as a quirky dog walker who has teretz or something. Any time her name is called she spews out her true feelings, after the second spew it became old fast.

Then there is the last roundup of stars gone wrong, the worst of all David Faustino. In he walks halfway through the show and the fake audience clap loudly as if he was still on Married with Children, he then burps and goes to the refridgerator to show his true addiction as an alcoholic. Wow this show is getting better as it goes on.

The demeaning of women occurs throughout, with the women being shoved into skimpy outfits and then having cat fights; all the while whoring themseleves off in a cheap degrating matter. Promiscuity run a muck with a continuing gag of the Chauffer screwing around with the Boss'favorite daughter, but that was mostly implied thank god.

The sets looked used with a dab of cheap peach paint to show the true malibu status of the Hamptons (which wasn't even good). The acting and blocking of the actors was horrendous! What I mean is when the actors didn't talk they just stood there. The conflict in the plot was so silly that it made up for the un-funny, un-originale, un-talneted cast and script. If all the shows elements combined and left to stew (i.e. we're subjected to more episodes) it would become a sick soup that would make the viewer want to puke.

Don't watch. From the looks of the pilot the audience must have been held at gunpoint to recieve any laughs for the pathetic jokes. This series has no promise to it what so ever...

~Rube~

First of all, I love this show. This seems to be a unique idea for a sitcom. At the very least, probably an idea that hasn't been explored in a long time. There are two things one can't help noticing. 1) There is a lot of star power on this show. 2) There are a lot of beautiful women on this show.

Here are the characters I love:

Molly the Dogwalker (Tori Spelling). She is a sweet girl who seems to have a schizophrenic side (Jekyll & Hyde) with a mysterious past.

Veronica Ridgeway (the Pop Star daughter) who actually isn't a pop star per se, but raps songs, like a female Vanilla Ice.

And finally, Anna (the Nanny), who is a hot young twenty-something Russian woman who is assigned to "The Baby", who is actually a teenage boy.

I hope this show lasts, because it seems to have potential.

Ok, the pilot episode was mildly funny, which is rare for a pilot. However, my primary concern about "The Help" is the abundance of characters. A cast of 11 will undoubtedly prevent a shortage of material and plot twists, but it will also spell disaster for any kind of familiarity. How does anyone plan on keeping track of all these characters? I have a hard enough time keeping track of 7 strangers on the real world. Besides that, I find it hard to relate to any of these outlandish characters who are seemingly the embodiement of every negative social stereotype imaginable. Even worse, the cast is brimming with has beens and relatively new thespians. The Help will likely be remembered as one of the greatest catastrophes the sitcom world has ever seen. I expect it to be shelfed once the first season is over. Maybe the WB should invest in bringing back the Fox classic "Titus."

I was set against this show from the first time I saw it. What was wrong with it? Where do I start? First of all, the was no storyline. The tagline for this show was, "...the Help get even." Of course, whatever this meant was never specified on the show. So we had no idea where this show was going. Most shows get better after the pilot. The only thing worse than the plot was the characters. I think they were supposed to be funny. The nanny was a tramp, the limo driver was a con man, the trainer was an airhead, and the dog walker was a Jekyll-and-Hyde psycho. The maid was the only character I liked. Every band of weirdos needs a ring leader, and that was the maid. I hope the actress finds a better role.

This show could have been funny, but with no plot, bad jokes and underdeveloped characters, it just couldn't keep its head above water.