Neighbors from Hell

So far the first three episodes have been enjoyable. Granted it is not the best show ever, but the characters have potential and it definitely has its worthwhile moments. Unlike the only other review so far, I actually prefer this to Family Guy. But I also prefer the Simpsons and American Dad over FG, I dunno maybe I am just too old for fart, puke and poop jokes. I really enjoy Tina and her lush-ness, Balthazar's dad isn't bad either by way of funny randomness. I could do without the dog-golf, but despite my love of dogs and hatred of anything that even resembles animal abuse, I still enjoyed the episode, and that has to count for something. Although I will forever miss King of the Hill, and Dale is by far the best character ever created. Throw in Balthazar's bolo tie and it adds up to a good Monday night.

The only good thing that came from this series is that Will Sasso and Molly Shannon's flailing careers are finally over.They are two people who are barely funny and only tolerable in short doses.Which explains why all their movies are terrible.Don't get me wrong, I went into this thinking it was going to be hilarious.I didn't have much faith in the stars but I was sure that Patton Oswalt and Kurtwood Smith would help the show and I was right about that last part.They are the only reason to watch this mess.They supply the only real comedy, even though I had to rewind almost every time Oswalt speaks because his character's voice is not very easy to understand.This is only the second show since Curb Your Enthusiasm that I couldn't finish and there were only ten episodes of this crap.I was actually able to muscle through ten episodes of stupid gum jokes on Curb.I'm just glad this wasn't on Comedy Central because they would have let it run for five seasons.

I really wanted to like this show. The previews looked as though it could have been genuinely funny, a clever mashup of traditional family sitcom clichés and "demons on earth" craziness. Sadly, after catching an episode or two, I have to report that this is not the case. The commercials boast that NFH is produced by the studio that brought you Family Guy. However, when the similarities between the two shows are so glaring, it may not be a great idea to point that out. If you've seen one episode of Family Guy, you know who these characters are supposed to be: fat, stupid "relatable" dad; hot, sometimes-caring-and-sometimes-amoral mom; self-centered teen daughter; younger-version-of-dad son; talking dog; "wacky", flamboyantly gay and inexplicably British-accented final family member. Wow, they're all here! Even cast member Patton Oswalt, who's normally great, sounds like he's channeling Family Guy's Mr. Herbert when voicing family mutt Pazuzu. (Not that Family Guy isn't equally guilty of recycling sitcom tropes, but not usually this blatantly.) Unfortunately, the jokes and the supporting cast, which often save Family Guy from mediocrity, are not nearly as strong and produce few laughs. If there's one saving grace of the show, it's the animation, which is better than the average cartoon fare and more textured and nuanced than the "McFarlane House Style" (which I actually love, but that's not the point.) If anything, the decent animation serves to remind us of the disappointment of the other aspects of the show, and makes us wish someone took the same care and effort writing the comedy contained within. Neighbors from Hell is anything but groundbreaking, and only mildly and sporadically entertaining.

As soon as it started and heard the opening dialogue, I got a bad feeling. Not much of what happened the beginning of the show grasped my interest, and up to the end I realized, it never did. I actually guessed the torture scene with Britney Spear's "I did it Again" song. It gave me chills, to predict such a lame attempt at mocking someone. Last time I viewed a reference to someone being tortured to Britney Spears music was YEARS ago, where kids voicing a flash animated show did the EXACT same thing this show did. "How could it be?" ... I asked myself in disbelief.

I watched the whole thing. I always give shows a chance, especially when 2 people in it I am a fan of(specifically Kurtwood Smith and Patton Oswalt). But, it didn't help. I admit I uttered laughter at ONE line Kurtwood Smith's character said at ONE point. And the rest was just terrible. Too slow, not interesting, and lame references back and forth. I have never sat trough a show and feel shame/embarrassment just for watching it. This was me most of the show(confused facial expression) --> 0-o' . Maybe it's just the 1st episode that completely lacks interesting characters, dialogue, story, fails landing jokes and in more than one instance, is highly predictable. That said, I believe my last sentence is me being overly generous and optimistic.

This show sucked, and it was amazing how much so it did.

Despite the promo "from the studios that brought you Family Guy," this formulaic and unfunny show falls far short of Seth MacFarlane's clever work.

"Neighbors from Hell" is my signal to get up and do housework until the next show comes on. It's a weak message piece ("oil is bad") trying to fly on the coattails of the likes of Family Guy, couched in unsophisticated and sometimes even scatological humor a 10-year-old would find boring, and voiced by veteran comics who I believe are painfully aware of how poorly this thing is premised and written. What a shame.

On the upside, however, each week my house is 30 minutes cleaner than it was before!