Living Biblically

I really really really wanted to love this show. Camryn Manheim is a goddess and truly the only solid actor in this show. Everything else just lacks.....well.....everything! The dialogue is cheesy and much of the acting is wooden. But the canned laugh tracks are the straw that breaks the camel's back -- just horrible. They overuse the laugh tracks and even manage to misuse them in spots that should be without.

So very very very disappointed. Hopefully, the producers will see the divine Ms. Manheim and give her a show of substance.

This isn't the worst sitcom I've ever seen (that honour would probably go to the deservedly short-lived "Work It") but it is a pretty generic one-liner-based show. There are moments that may make you smile, but I'm fairly sure you will rarely laugh at the cardboard characters and contrived situations.

The book is funny, infornative and thought provoking and when I read it was being turned into a TV show I thought it may be a documentary. But no, it's a sit com with the worst additive to sit coms invented - the laugh track. The show is not awful, but doesn't work as the subject isn't fit for light relief - it needed to be sharp and witty and clever - a la Curb Your Enthusiasm, or a documentary - a Tim Allen style sit-com simply does not work, oh and did I mention? Its 2017 and it has a laugh track!!! A laugh track which drives you mad! I can't think A J Jacobs would be happy with this - as affable and easy going as he seems. I'm going to stick with it though - maybe they will iron out the negatives as it goes along - hopefully starting with getting rid of the laugh track!!

I posted a very low rating earlier mainly because I hate hate hate the very loud laugh track & how it affects the acting, timing, etc. I have to rethink the rating i gave because a 1 implies that it is among the worst. It is not. There are several truly awful shows that are very popular and get renewed many seasons. This show has some really enjoyable actors. I loveJay R Ferguson & think he makes everything better. I so enjoy David Krumholtz and Ian Gomez. I think their acting is great and they function as the voice of reason that is just not grasped. There are many great elements to the show. I just feel the show could be so much better and that it really needs to start with losing the loud laughtrack.

After the death of his friend Ray, Chip Curry (Jay R. Ferguson) is struggling. Like Ray, he had faded from his religious attendence. His wife Leslie (Lindsey Kraft) reveals her pregnancy and he decides to live biblically for the nine months. Co-worker Vince (Tony Rock) is his friend. He seeks counsel from Father Gene (Ian Gomez) and Rabbi Gil (David Krumholtz). His boss Ms. Meadows (Camryn Manheim) gives him a column to write about his new experiences.

It's very simple. I didn't laugh. The question becomes why. This is a traditional network sitcom based on a non-fiction book of how A.J. Jacobs spent a year living strictly by the bible. I don't think this high concept idea fits easily with the laugh-track infused network sitcom genre. Dealing with religion is tricky. Mostly, I don't find these characters compelling. The actors are mostly functional although they are missing the wacky friend character. Maybe Gomez and Krumholtz are set up to be a comedy duo but it's hard to laugh at a rabbi and a priest. At least make them walk into a bar. Oh yeah, they do that. While I'm fine with the actors, I don't find their characters that appealing. This is not a good show and it didn't get much of an audience. I would have pitched a bet between the devil and god about Chip living biblically in the form of a single camera dramedy.