Titus

Okay, this show is the number one show I watch. It is funny, dramatic and did I mention FUNNY! I advise people to watch! My favorite character, as most people may agree, is Papa Titus. He may seem like a hard-ass, but he can make fun of everyone.

Network: FOX; Genre: Sitcom, Dysfunctional Family Sitcom; Content Rating: TV-14 (for language, violence, nudity, strong sexual content, crude humor & dark, adult content); Available: DVD; Classification: Modern Classic (Star range: 1 - 5);

Season Reviewed: Complete Series (3 seasons)

If the sitcom is dying, nobody told Christopher Titus. "Titus" is the spiky-haired comedian's 1-man show, "Norman Rockwell is Bleeding", translated into a 1-set, multi-camera, studio audience sitcom. More than that, "Titus" is a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. It rocks the audience and the genre, breaking rules left and right and turns the mold of the sitcom inside-out in the process.

Like "Everybody Loves Raymond", "Titus" is a post-modern dysfunctional family sitcom in which what may have been the children of television dysfunctional families 2 decades ago ("The Simpsons", "Rosanne", "Married… with Children") have now grown up and are trying to make their own way - unable to shake their parents and upbringing. "Titus" is the autobiographical life story of it's namesake lead who grew up with a drunken, abusive father (Stacy Keach) and a deranged schizophrenic mother (played by a different actress in each season). To help and hinder him along the way are his borderline retarded half-brother Dave (Zack Ward), his effeminate best friend and the show's "normal" character Tommy (David Shatraw) and the grounding support of his fiancé Erin (Cynthia Watros). Most sitcoms pair an average guy with a hot babe without explanation. On "Titus" there is one, but I wouldn't dare spoil it.

Titus breaks the 4th wall and narrates these stories from a bare room furnished only with a wooden chair and overhead light bulb - these scenes filmed in raw black & white. This "neutral space" serves as a metaphorical playground of the mind, representing sitcom Titus' thoughts and self-perceptions. In the tour de force episode "The Breakup" (that will no doubt separate the drive-by sitcom viewer from the show's hardcore target audience) Titus gets into a fight with Erin to sabotage his own happiness and "neutral space" Titus becomes a boxer. When his parents appear to reconcile, his inner child comes out and "neutral space" Titus literally regresses to 5-year-old Titus.

Not to insinuate that "Titus" with it's occasional moralizing and fascinating abundance of psycho-babble is anything really sophisticated. Actually, the show is stupid humor at its funniest. It is fast, shameless and brazen in it's stupidity. There aren't many places where you will see people thrown through plate glass windows or getting hit in the face with a rake handle (twice!) for a laugh, but "Titus" is goofy enough to go there. Sometimes I laugh in spite of myself, sometimes the gags flop on the floor and inspire a cringing wince. But the show is at such a constant fever pitch that duds are quickly lost in the avalanche of lunacy that is heaped into the lap of the audience. Amid the insanity, the scripts are spiked with an acerbic wit.

The skill and chemistry of the cast sell the show in it's more childish moments. Christopher Titus is new to the game and at times it shows, but he bounds around with endless energy, delivers a fresh voice to the TV landscape and displays a rarely seen naked honesty that fills the lead role of this televised therapy session just fine. Shatraw has an impressive skill for physical comedy, throwing his body around in a way that many actors now wouldn't have the guts too. Watros is sublime and gives the show it's biggest anchor of credibility. Keach, of course, is an absolute joy. Ken Titus is an instantly classic character. Watch him liven up any scene with just a look. Everyone here is in pitch perfect harmony with the tone and vision of the show. They all come to the project with a single-minded determination and belief in what they are doing. The show has the look and feel of a play with all the players doing a dance. They are excellent.

The show also pioneers a style of comedy you never see on TV: the cathartic laugh. The story lines herein are made up of such traditionally audience repelling topics as spousal abuse, child molestation, alcoholism, murder, suicide and post-9/11 airline fears. In finding humor in what is essentially a tragic story, it seems that creators Christopher Titus, Brian Hargrove and Jack Kenny have crafted an entire series out the "Very Special Episodes" that would grind any other sitcom to a melodramatic halt. Uncomfortable tension broke with fits of laughter. In the wrong hands, this type of material could easily be a disaster but Titus and Kenny hone the show with expert precision. They do a brilliant thing by wrapping this edgy too-hot-for-Fox material in a stupid-funny sitcom wrapper, giving the audience a tangible chaser to help swallow it all down. Many times a "Titus" episode would end on a note that glued me to the couch in silence for a few minutes, both out of shock at what I'd seen and out of pride and admiration for how well they where able to pull off this high-wire act.

"Titus" had a high hit-and-miss ratio. Dave's ability to get a dog to drink milk from his mouth ranks as a low (or high) point. But warts and all it is the soul vision of it's creator - and how unique is that? It was a NASCAR series before NASCAR fans became a political voting block. It is a serrate look at modern America that took the gloves off and left marks. It is the dysfunctional family sitcom updated and on steroids. "Titus" wasn't quite perfect, but it pushed the limits of the sitcom further than anyone has before. Based on Fox's cowardly reaction we will not likely see something like it any time soon.

* * * * ½ / 5

Ah, Fox... The company that built itself on controversial, hilarious comedy sitcoms such as "Married... With Children" and "The Simpsons." This is the same network that did its best to get rid of "Titus" for being too edgy?! How did this happen? Ah, I know... Somewhere along the line, Fox completely sold out. It's all about ratings now - and strangely just having good ratings isn't enough! That's why instead of seeing quality comedies like "Titus" you'll be subjected to "American Idol 2," "Temptation Island 4," or "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire Who Really Isn't But Has Some Checkered Past That We Can Exploit 7." (Stay tuned for Celebrity Boxing XII!)

"Titus" never had bad ratings. It was launched successfully, and stuck around for 3 great seasons until it was cancelled. Throughout it all, it never lost its originality or its razor sharp wit. This, despite Fox doing everything within its power to destroy it during the last season. Frankly, it deserved better; Christopher Titus deserved better - but someone high up at Fox obviously didn't agree with that, and buried the show. You can still find a few episodes floating around online if you're lucky, and you can be sure the Chris Titus will be back and successful once more. Ride those reality shows for all they're worth while you can, Fox. But when this ridiculous fad is over and you wonder where your audience went, remember that you dug your own grave.

In one of the episodes of Titus, Christopher Titus tells us that the LA Times has announced that 70% of American families are dysfunctional. I wonder why the networks have never noticed this before.

Coming from a family of alcoholism and mental illness myself, I must say that Titus is probably the most accurate and intelligent portrayal of the American family in quite some time. I don't watch sit-coms, because their sugar-coated family life and staged, lame humor do not appeal to me. Titus gets through all that, he tells jokes and presents situations in the way that most people from my economic background do. You have to be able to laugh at the horrors of the world you end up.... well, you just don't end up.

Yes, at times it seems mean-spirited, but I must be honest I find the show cathartic. To see that someone else had as lousy a childhood as myself, and can laugh at it (like myself) just makes me all warm and toasty inside. I love this show, and hope to see it for years to come (although I doubt it). The show is intelligent, funny and, at times, touchingly poignant.

Titus was one of the best shows Fox has ever produced. Where other shows seemed to center around problems such as "Oh no, the landlord of my giant, rent-controlled 2-bedroom apartment has died and the new landlord isn't nice at all because he raised my rent by 5 dollars and now I can't afford that 5th I-pod I've always wanted", this show tackled real problems with some great humor. I can't say that my family was as messed-up as Titus' was (in real life or in the show) but through what I've seen happen to some of my childhood friends who did have to live with that I can honestly say that if you're not able to shake it off and laugh about it you're going to be sucked down. And the way this show uses humor to shake off their problems is phenomenal! The fact that they were able to discuss alcoholism, drug abuse, abortion, spousal abuse, child molestation and god knows what else while having me fall of the couch with laughter is amazing. Sometimes I even had to rewind the tape because I had missed several minutes because I couldn't stop laughing. Yes, there were the occasional duds and stupid or obvious jokes, but when show employed such a high tempo you can't expect every joke to be a classic.

I regret that this show has been canceled but I do understand why Titus didn't want Fox to get involved. If you ever get a chance to see a rerun watch it, I can't guarantee that you will like because the humor is too dark for some people but most people won't be disappointed.

11/10 (yes 11 out of ten, it's that good).