Buenos días, Miami

When I first saw the promos for this show over the summer of '02, this show looked like it was going to be a great sitcom. Unfortunately, that's not the case. By the same token, GMM is funny most of the time.

Most of the characters in my opinion needed more development. Almost all of them are likable, but if they developed them a little more, they would've been good. Here's my thoughts on some of them.

Jake Silver: He's likable, has that little boy charm, but he doesn't leave an impression.

Clare Arnold: She was good on this show, but then again I've always liked Suzanne Pleshette back when she was on The Bob Newhart Show, when she played Bob's wife Emily. Clare, is just as abrasive and funny as Emily Hartley (picture an older Emily Hartley with a gambling problem) It's a shame she's not on for season 2.

Dylan Messinger: Very likable. Her character seems to be just right; Develop her a little more and I think she would lose her charm and would be too much.

Frank Alfano: A neurotic "yes man", who tries to do anything to please Jake or whoever he has to deal with. He's almost like what people call the Chicago Cubs; "The Lovable Losers". Keep in mind, I said, almost; Frank isn't that lovable; Just like most of cast, he's likable, but can be a little too much.

Lucia Rojas-Klein: Lousy character. The writers made her too over the top, and when she spoke, her accent, was almost stereotypical and very annoying. The one thing I noticed was the chemistry between her and Frank was excellent. Maybe if they had her and Frank together in scenes more (not necessarily in a romantic way), her character would've been better and Frank's would've been enhanced.

Gavin Stone: A wise-cracking, obnoxious jerk. He could make you mad, but you can't hate him; He too has likable qualities.

Penny: Very similar to Gavin, but reminds me more of Clare. Sometimes I wondered if Jake and Penny were switched at birth, or Clare had a daughter and didn't tell Jake he has a step-sister?

Sister Brenda Trogman: Very disappointing. I thought she had the potential of being hilarious, but the writers gave her lousy lines to recite; Most were either tired cliches' or punchlines to Nun jokes I heard when I was 13. I think Brooke Dillman tried to make the most of what she was given; It just wasn't a whole lot.

Jillian Barberie: Very annoying. We lost Clare for her?? I know she's there for "eye candy", which is appealing to look at, until she opens her mouth. BRING BACK CLARE!!!!!

Victoria Hill: I like Tiffany-Amber Thiessen, but I don't like her character. She doesn't add anything to the show; Hopefully, she'll be dropped from the show soon.

Overall, the show is somewhat entertaining; Just enough if I have the tv on, I'll watch it and enjoy it, but if something better is on, I'll move on.

TV producer Jake Silver (Mark Feuerstein) is new in town to revamp the morning show, GOOD MORNING Miami. Gavin Stone (Matt Letscher) is the pompous, recovering alcoholic anchor. Penny (Constance Zimmer) is the obstinate wise-cracking assistant. Jake was about to leave when he meets the station's hairdresser Dylan (Ashley Williams) but she is Gavin's girl.

The actors are likable but this is nothing more than an unimaginative functional sitcom. It lasted 2 seasons. The second one was really a forgettable disappointment. The first one was not that great either. They were lucky to have 2 years.

The opening episode of this sitcom shows promise: the setting is interesting (if a bit overused lately--see "Life With Bonnie") and the characters seem appropriately "zany" for a successful ensemble show. I like the team of Kohan and Mutchnick who also brought us "Will and Grace" and the underrated "Boston Common." The cast is also good, even if Suzanne Pleshette seems unlikely as Feuerstein's *grandmother.* The laugh quotient wasn't as high as one would like, but the romantic chemistry is fine--which brings me to the first structural problem the show has. It's been packaged and promoted as a romantic comedy. If they intend to keep the focus on this one romantic pairing (Jake and Dylan), they're doomed to failure. Shows centered primarily around the development of one romance ALWAYS fail; once the characters are in a stable relationship the show is dead, yet if you keep them apart too long, the show is likewise dead. The romance must coexist with other appealing elements and compelling characters.

"Good Morning Miami" doesn't look promising on either front. Jake himself is a nice enough fellow, intelligent and attractive, but perhaps a bit dull. This has been a problem with Feuerstein's previous series. I don't know if he has the charisma to be the lead, though he's been fine as a supporting player.

The other characters and the milieu of an ineptly produced morning television show reveals another problem. What is funny about it is also why it can't sustain a long-running sitcom. If Jake does his job well, he will either fire the other characters or eliminate the quirks that make them funny characters. If he fails at his job, he will be fired. Either way, "Good Morning Miami" is on borrowed time.

I can't see how the creators expect this show to last more than half a season.

Good Morning, Miami is attempting to be a romantic comedy and a workplace ensemble comedy at the same time (the sideplot between Jake and his grandmother is actually pretty good, but it barely intersects with the rest of the show, so let's ignore it), but failing miserably at both.

First, as a romantic comedy, this is a subpar clone of the Ross/Rachel relationship from Friends. Jake, like Ross, is such a jackass it's embarassing to watch. Dylan, like Rachel, is completely undeserving of Jake's obsession (and Jake, like Ross, even knows this). Rachel is a walking haircut--with Dylan, this is even made explicit (not only is she a not-particularly-exceptional hairdresser for a living, but twice people have referred to her as "the haircut" in Jake's presence, with no objection from him).

In fact, as much of a buffoon as Gavin is, it's easier to root for him and Dylan. For a guy who's both as needy and as superficial as Gavin, Dylan is perfect. And, while the codependent validation that she gets from Gavin may not be healthy, it's at least a step up from what she'd get from a guy who's obsessed with her for no other reason than that she's teddy-bear cute.

Besides, once Jake and Dylan get together (as, the ads tell us, all of America is rooting for) after half a season, where can the show go? This isn't Sam and Diane, or Dave and Lisa--this isn't even Monica and Chandler. The romantic comedy plot pretty much ends when Jake gets his prize.

On to the ensemble workplace. In this case, the source is clearly News Radio. Jake is Dave, the young boss trying against all hope to do a decent job with a hopeless staff. Gavin is Bill, the pompous newsman who has no idea how pathetic he is. Frank is Matthew, the most incompetent and pathetic man on the planet. Penny is Beth, the weird, tough-but-ditzy secretary who never does any work but seems to be the only one who can understand the others' relationships. (Lucia and Sister Brenda are such ridiculous stereotypes they didn't have to be ripped off from anywhere.)

This kind of ensemble worked in News Radio because the writers were brilliant enough to make us relate to the characters even though they were ludicrous and unsympathetic. Will and Grace has followed the same path.

But Good Morning, Miami has made no attempt to take that road; instead, the writers seem to be already trying to "humanize" the characters to make them sympathetic (what a dying show of this type usually does in its last season), while at the same time playing them for one-off laughs.

More importantly, the relationships between the characters that News Radio, Will and Grace, and other shows successfully developed made their stereotyped characters funny for years. Without Karen's relationships with Jack and Grace, or Matthew's relationships with Bill and Joe, neither one of them would be worth watching by the end of the first season. While there's been a half-hearted attempt to show Frank and Sister Brenda interacting on the sidelines, there's no humor whatsoever there. Lucia and Sister Brenda were both played out by the third episode.

"Friends" is like a great aging football dynasty. It had its glory, but now its getting old and predictable. Good Morning Miami is one of the many attempts for NBC to capture the glory of making good sitcoms. The show started out terrible and could have easily been a 3 episode wonder, but NBC came into the huddle and saved the day.

Constance Zimmer is one of the best characters I've seen on sitcoms. Although she's a bit lazy and smart alecky, she can definitely put anybody in his place. She is definitely more complicated and more human than some of these other assisants portrayed on other shows. She's funny, cute, smart, and knows more than you expect. She's the type of women that many men like. I just can't believe she's going with Gavin on the show. I wished that she dated Jake for more than one episode. I think they would have been and interesting couple. Jake really needs a challenge like her.

I like the additon of Tiffany Theissen and Jillian Barberie (she's everywhere like Kelly Ripa). I can almost bet Kelly Ripa will appear on one of the episodes.

This sitcom has alot of potential. As long has NBC pumps good ideas in the show, I think it will be successful.