Andy Barker, P.I.

APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!!

Actually,this show has only run three episodes so far(so for all I know,this show might go downhill after all),but after having seen these shows,I LIKE like like the potential this show has.

Likable accountant Andy BArker(Andy Richter,returning to NBC as himself,somewhat)moves his business into an empty lot in a strip mall,only to find out that the business that was there--a Private Investigator's office--still seems to draw clientèle. Presented with the chance to earn extra money to supplement his secure accounting job,he casts aside his apprehensions and misgivings about chasing leads and following clues and takes on being a "Private Dick".

The group of people helping him out are a motley bunch: Simon(Tony Hale,great in "Arrested Development"),a wildly imaginative video store manager,WAlly(Marshall Manesh),the owner of a nearby deli who is a surveillance whiz,Nicole,the secretary he "inherits" when his first case gets her fired from her previous job and Lew(HArve Presnell,gruff one-time musical leading man),the P.I. himself,a gruff old gentleman who's retired but still around to mentor the accountant-cum-gumshoe. In the background is supportive but pensive wife Jenny(Clea Duvall),who seems to lose her apprehensions about her hubby's newfound side work as quickly as he has.

Produced by Andy's old sidekick/pal Conan O'Brien,it really has the LOOK of something that would have Mr. O'Brien's sensibilities:absurd situations,dry-to-madcap humor and plenty of situational background music that sounds lifted STRAIGHT out of 70s detective/cop shows. Since I've always appreciated Conan's show,this is good. Given the fact that Andy's last two shows were punched out early,here's hoping that NBC(And given their current love for Mr.O'Brien,I can't see why not)will give this show as long a chance as possible,because this sitcom has a great,funny ironic attitude,something that non-animated T.V. comedy seems to be in short supply.

I don't know much about Andy Ritcher, but I do recognize a funny character. Usually you see him in other chummly actors like the late John Candy and so forth. Basically his character is a mild mannered accountant who's bored with his day job a bit and decides to be a Private Eye, after being mistaken for one. He therefore have adventures solving eccentric crimes with a middle eastern restaurant owner, a neurotic video store owner/movie buff, and a bored female African American assistant. I think this show has potential its like The secret life of Walter Mitty meets Delirious meets The Michael Richards Show. Its a bit slow at times but it picks up and goes uphill with the hilarity. I highly recommend this show! A great night on Thursdays with Ugly Betty, Scrubs, and this show.

Andy Richter set a high bar with the turn-of-the-century series "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" (about a writer working in a nowhere job who replays bad scenes in his life). "AR Controls the Universe" had a perfect cast and was full of laughs. One episode, "Gimme a C," was the sitcom episode I laughed at more than any in history. It's still one of my favorite TV shows.

"Andy Barker P. I." is another great idea. Andy Barker (Andy Richter) is an accountant with a very normal life, with a nice wife, and he's taking an exciting step by opening his own firm. But his new office was formerly occupied by a private eye who is now in a rest home (or is he?) and Barker gets drawn into private eye work on the side.

The series is dotted with hilarious moments, though the characters apart from the Barkers are overdrawn.

I think the problem with both Andy Richter shows is that they have great ideas for movies rather than continuing shows. Still, this show has its laughs, and Richter is always likable. But it's not the classic "Controls the Universe" is.

Andy Barker (Andy Richter) is a mild-mannered Certified Public Accountant who moves into a professional office. The previous tenant was private eye Lew Staziak (Harve Presnell) who has retired. Clients keep coming to hire a P.I. and Andy starts taking on cases. Andy's wife Jenny (Clea Lewis) at first disapproves. He befriends Simon (Tony Hale), the manager of a local video store, who wants to be his partner. Wally (Marshall Manesh) is the super-patriotic Afgani restaurateur.

This is playing with the noir hard-boiled detective genre. This show tries very hard to be wacky. Somehow much of it fails to connect. The jokes don't come off quite so funny. It is more awkward and uneven than anything else. The cast is a nice funny group, but they are all sidekicks. Like it or not, this needs a pretty leading man type to solidify the center. Andy could play against that type of character while still being the lead.

This show is great, but so was Andy Richter Controls the Universe and that didn't make it. Conan O'Brien is an executive producer so hopefully it won't get immediately canned if the ratings' falter early. The plot feels formulaic and always ends with the likable Private Eye/ Accountant Andy involved in a chase sequence followed by a gun in his face. But the story plays with the expectations of the audience(often homaging movies), and is secondary to laughs that are naturally generated from this talented cast, especially Tony Hale. There are lots of dry and absurd humor that will fit in well on NBC Thursday Comedy Night, and also that Andy Richter is so damn lovable.