Listen Up

A TV series treatment of Sportswriter and ESPN commentator Tony Kornheiser's articles and essays is the basis for this show,which pair's Seinfeld's sharp comedic loser extraordinaire Alexander with jovial sitcom vet Malcolm Jamal Warner as very thinly disguised surrogates of Kornheiser and his co-host on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" columnist Michael Wilbon,respectively.

There might be fertile room for comedy here,and Alexander seems a little better fit for this than the previous "Bob Patterson",but this show couldn't relay to you enough how completely out of control he was with his family. Sure,his wife(Wendy Makkena)is sweet and basically supportive,but their kids,particularly the daughter(Daniella Motta) but I suppose even the son(Will Rothar)to a lesser degree,seem to regard their dad with an unrelenting source of aggravation. To make matters worse,at work,he is almost constantly falling behind his popular co-star in terms of respect or attention. All of this may not SOUND like bad elements for the show,but the show seemed to kind of hammer away at the same note,episode after episode,and it becomes pretty tiresome in a hurry.

Not a terrible show,but could've been better.It seems like of late,other than "Duckman",he seems to be more comfortable in guest roles("Monk","Friends" to name a few). I honestly believe Mr.Alexander has a pretty good show left in him A.S.(After Seinfeld),but as of yet,I haven't seen it.

This based on the writing of Tony Kornheiser or the Washington Post, ESPN and ESPN Radio. If you have not read his columns or seen his show Pardon the Interruption or had ever listened to his old ESPN radio show you probably will not see the inherent humor. I personally enjoyed the episodes shown so far as I have read, seen and heard the previously mentioned media outlets. The sit com is not dead, just misunderstood, we as a society are taking things too literally and seriously. Keep an open mind and just enjoy a show like this for what it is simple fun and pretty darn clean humor and not try to find some great social meaning or political statement in it.

I have watched all the "Listen Up" episodes to date. It started, as most TV sitcoms, rather slowly, but now the cast have hit their stride. The teenage son, Mickey, played by Will Rothhaar, has gradually become a main character of the ensemble cast. Rothhaar is a gifted comedian with truly inspired deadpan delivery. He's on his way to becoming a Major Talent, someday! The show's episodes are now well-crafted plots acted out by cast members who are really "clicking" together. In one recent episode, Mickey dated a girlfriend who turned out to be into Civil War Reenactment; she took him to Gettysburg in full 1860's regalia, and when he walked into the room dressed as a Confederate soldier, I nearly fell out of my recliner laughing. The look on his face was perfect! The boyfriend who can't believe he's really doing this for his girlfriend. Every show is a gem, now. Watch "Listen Up!" regularly and you'll find yourself becoming a delighted fan.

The Cubs Curse, The Red Sox Curse....and now again the Seinfeld Curse. OK, I admit it. I watch Pardon the Interruption on ESPN. Or the show with the Yelling Guys, as my wife calls it. But I watch it for the sports info. Not because Tony Kornheiser is funny. Which he's not. Although he seems to think he is. He also seems to be under the delusion that he's clever. But all he's really good at is being loud. A sitcom based on him, and the characters he's created, would seem doomed. Especially a sitcom dogged with the tired writing, cardboard characters and banal situations of Listen Up.

On one level, I can see where the casting of Jason Alexander as the Kornheiser character (similar types) makes a certain kind of sense. But, of course, that still begs the question as to whether it was worthwhile to develop this stale show in the first place. And while the character of George Costanza was often hilarious as a cog in the big Seinfeld machine, Jason Alexander, now carrying the whole load on Listen Up, is forced to trot out all his old tricks. But, in the end, all he's really good at is being loud.

This is by far the worst sitcom, since My Mother the Car. Jason Alexander is a fine actor, but his George Costanza routine does not work outside of Seinfeld. It's grating and more embarrassing than funny. I tried to give the show a chance, but after four shows I gave up on it. It gets old, seeing the same idiotic, unbelievable behavior show after show

This is the First Monday night CBS sitcom I have refused to watch in many years. With their tradition of excellent sitcoms, it's beyond comprehension why they put this clunker between such fine shows as Still Standing, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Two And a Half Men. I prayed that the show wouldn't make it past mid-season, but my prayers weren't answered. One can only hope that somebody at CBS comes to their senses, and realizes that there is absolutely no substance to the show, and that it is "not" entertaining.