Joey

Did people keep comparing Frasier to Cheers? Of course not. It was a completely different show. I saw the first two episodes last night and was impressed. I like Gina and Michael and I especially like his agent, Bobbie, played with gusto but the ever talented Jennifer Coolidge.

Out of all the characters, Joey stands the best chance of making it alone and I really think people need to let the show move through the natural teething problems that it will have. It's NOT Friends, just the same as Mork and Mindy was NOT Happy Days. To compare the two is asinine. Will it be better than Friends, who knows. Remember that Friends had it's own teething problems in the early days and was not necessarily the greatest show on the planet. Star Trek: The Next Generation was absolutely lousy in the first season. That moved on to spawn one of TV's greatest shows. Hell, The Simpsons was not great in it's first season. However, a show will never work if all people can say is "This is not Friends"!!! Give it a chance. It's worked for Angel from "Buffy"!

"Joey" is better than I thought it would be but still not a great show like "Friends." The main problem is that they took the show's dumbest character, Joey, and have turned him into the lead of a major sitcom.

Joey and Chandler were my favorite characters on "Friends" and their subplots allowed the show to take on a new humorous edge, so that the "main plot" (almost always focused around Rachel and Ross) could be spliced with scenes involving Joey and Chandler.

Their chemistry is what made the show so great, but having just Joey in a show is a bit of a problem since, well, to be honest...he's stupid. I.e. he is so stupid that it's hard for us to imagine him succeeding at anything.

The problem with this is that in "Joey" they change his character very much. He's smarter, a bit different. Still dumb, but not as dumb. And I just felt like I was watching an entirely new person. It wasn't Joey. It was Matt LeBlanc saying funny things every now and then.

To be fair the show is watchable and entertaining. It has some good jokes. But it's a bit too obvious. The lines are too explosive and, yes, unrealistic. Every line of dialogue has a witty comeback remark, or is a setup for a joke.

Like when Joey says he's too old to go to bars any more. "Plus, I have a problem telling if they're gay bars or not. By the way, if Ramone calls, I am not here!" It's too sudden, too obvious. Instead of feeling as if Joey's just stupid and innocent (as he was in "Friends"), I felt as if here he was really stretching to be obvious and make people laugh, which is actually a pretty big problem.

Overall, a good show, but you can tell just by the opening credits that it's in a whole other world apart from "Friends."

Yeah, it's not a masterpiece. I don't really know who would expect it to be. Joey has turned into a bit of a caricature compared to Friends, where he had shown some growth ,but it's still mildly amusing. The supporting cast are decent, particularly the women. Joey's sister is pretty funny and Jennifer Coolidge. I like Alex too. I enjoyed it for some light viewing and a few laughs. Some of it is a bit cringy since times have changed in the last 15 years, but I personally couldn't take it too seriously. It's Joey. Friends was obviously far superior and funnier, but this is okay and doesn't outstay it's welcome being only 2 seasons long. I'm glad I had a chance to see it.

I started watching "Friends" several years into the series, so when the show ended and "Joey" was announced, I thought I would give it a try. I was glad I did.

California is the perfect setting for Matt LeBlanc's clueless Joey, and Paolo Costanzo plays his nerdy nephew, trying to learn to be the suave ladies man from his Uncle Joey, to a T. I look forward to seeing how this show develops.

The weakest link is Drea de Matteo's character, Gina Tribbiani. Although Ms. de Matteo does an admirable job, her character is too abrasive and annoying to become endearing. She almost makes me long for Janice. Hopefully, Gina will mellow a little bit, or better yet, take a few steps back and allow Joey and Michael to shine.

What the guys at NBC have done is take the most laugh-out-loud character from friends and tried to give him his own character. Lets not forget that in Friends he had 5 other main characters to fall back on and countless others. A lot of whats happened in Joey has been a reflection to what happened in the earlier seasons of Frasier. 1) A big move to a new city 2) Previously unseen family members crawl out of the woodwork 3) A new unavailable love interest.

It is obvious to me that the writers have looked to Seattles finest for inspiration, but i don't think so far that they've looked hard enough. When Frasier left Boston he had a change of direction in career which gave us the often hilarious radio phone-ins, the double act with Ros and a score of other brilliant minor characters (Bulldog, Kenny etc.)

Joey on the other hand has the same life more or less just without Chandler and the others. Sequences of Joey on set which once took about 5 minutes of a Friends episodes these now are the basis for whole episodes. His contemporaries extend to his sister, nephew and neighbour and occasionally his agent(played by a horrifically over-the-top Jennifer Coolidge) this means he is continually conversing with the same few characters which can draw repetition.

I only refer to Frasier so much as it it the benchmark for all spin-offs as it became arguably better than the original show Cheers. And for Joey to carry on it needs to flesh out its characters and its story.

However i find no fault in the enthusiastic acting from the regular cast. Joey is the same lovable fool and Drea Di Matteo is brilliant in her role as Gina. Although i criticised the show quite heavily i enjoy every episode and really wish that Joey will be around for a long while. I just know how fickle audiences are and don't want joey to fall into the category of shows that could have done great but got cancelled.

Sean