About a Boy

We enjoyed this episode and are looking forward to seeing the next episode.

Interestingly we enjoyed Dakota (Leslie Bibb) and think that her presence in the audience at the Talent Show could set up an interesting return and reconciliation as Will (David Walton) morphs into a better person. His words at the single parent group made me want to smack him. What a jerk, but that's key to the storyline so it was probably appropriate to develop the character and show his need to change.

Similarly, it will be interesting to see if Fiona (Minnie Driver) becomes less shrill and more centered. At present her character is like scraped nails on a blackboard. Annoying right? You just want to smack her too. Well, that sets up the storyline, and little Marcus is destined to be the change agent. It's a formula that works.

We haven't followed many series on NBC for a long time, and perhaps this signals a new path for them? We certainly enjoyed it and are hopeful for the success of About A Boy.

I watched this show with low intentions. Heck the real reason I watched it is because I've literally seen pretty much every good show released in the last decade. OK it's not Doctor Who or Battlestar Galatica, Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones but despite the budget, the premise and everything I decided to give the show a shot and I'm so glad I did.

This show touched me on many levels. Anyone who feels any sense of entitlement and yet feel lost in a world of so many opportunities will resonate with this show. In fact I think a lot of people can resonate with this show. The show presents and ideology that what we all want, that is people in general just being nicer and warmer to one another. And while this might be a controversial point the fact is since 9/11 American's, especially in the major eastern cities have had a sense of fear instilled in them. Heck from my time in America my opinion was the people were the servants of the Government and not the opposite as it should, and used to, be.

This show may well be in its infancy, but they managed to fit a lot into the devue episode and I think they pulled it off very well. I know a lot of people think the premise for the show has been overused in recent times but I think this show is different enough to break away in future episodes and become truly it's own identity. It's not perfect, but it's good and I highly recommend it to anyone.

As you can see it's not like some of my favourite shows which I listed at the start (all of which have amazing character and storyline development) but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

For those who enjoy this show you may enjoy the slightly darker movie Short Term 12 which has recently come out (about foster children in a short term care house).

I'll finish on that note, which just a quick reminder to not base a show on previous movies but it's own merit. After all a show has opportunities for story and character development which isn't generally available in the Movie time window.

Cheers, Cyn

A very different show, 2 seasons, 30 20-minutes episodes - short & simple.

I'm a Nick Hornby fan, loved the movie, and was shocked to see it come to the US and be made into a TV series. While I thought the source material was geographically re-locatable, I wasn't convinced that the characters would still resonate. Will, especially, is such a great British misanthropic womanizer, I felt sure that that they'd drop the ball with him.

I was really happy to find that my fears were unfounded.

This version of About A Boy retains the laughs and the poignancy of the original. While Hugh Grant was on career best form in the film (and the Badly Drawn Boy music was pitch perfect), David Walton's Will is a well-realized modern man-child with a heart of gold. Minnie Driver is excellent, although she's definitely less out there than Toni Collette's version, and you do get a sense that they may start a "will they/won't they" thing with Will and Fiona, which you always knew was off the table in the novel and movie.

The "boy", Benjamin Stockham, is good, although there are a couple of moments where he seems to strike the wrong notes. But the chemistry between him and Walton is excellent, and that's by far the most important component.

Whenever Al Madrigal and Annie Mumolo show up, they strike a different tone, reminiscent of the Paul Rudd/Leslie Mann combo in Knocked Up. Definitely not a bad thing, and it keeps it from getting too predictable.

They could get a huge amount of mileage out of this show, as Marcus grows up and starts becoming a man. Definitely fertile soil and after the promising start, I'd love to see what these characters get up to.

I have never written a review before for any movie or TV series, but I knew I had to write one for this show. I saw it one time being played and decided to watch it since there was nothing else to watch, and I was instantly hooked. I love the relationship between Will and Marcus, which the actors excel in making it feel real, since it isn't the typical kind of relationship you see in TV shows (between a boy and a man who don't have any other interest in the other except to just be friends). I really enjoyed watching the entire season and was thrilled to hear that the second season will happen. It is hard to pinpoint, but the show has something that makes you want more. It definitely has to do with the acting, the plot, and the realness of the whole thing. I really hope people discover this amazing TV show because I know that for me it has been great to watch.