My Boys

There have been many sitcoms about mixed-gendered groups of friends (e.g. Seinfeld, Friends, etc.) and most of them centre on the relationships between the individual characters, and the group as a whole. The group of friends formula has worked so well because people can relate and make comparisons between TV characters and their own friends. We can't forget that this is a "formula" and so there have been many failed attempts at getting the chemistry right between characters and sad attempts at spin-offs (e.g. Joey).

My Boys is a new version of the "friends formula" and it works! The story lines centre around a group of friends (mostly men) in Chicago and the protagonist is PJ - a tomboy working for the Chicago Cubs. When I first saw the previews for this show, I thought, "Please, not another 'Friends' spin off!" I decided to give "My Boys" a try and was pleasantly surprised.

The relationships between PJ and her friends are interesting because of the fact that guy-girl dynamic is not overtly sexual as it can be on other shows. PJ and "her boys" are genuinely friends, not men and a woman who hang out with each other because they secretly want to be together. It's refreshing to see a sitcom where the female character and her male friends aren't trying to pursue a sexual relationship with one another (or where the back-story was that they did in the past and it failed).

On top of the great dynamics between the characters, the story lines themselves are funny! I don't want to spoil any of the story lines here but there are some pretty hilarious scenarios between PJ and men who aren't part of her group of friends - because she isn't your typical female (i.e. acts like "one of the boys"), some of the guys she comes across are baffled by her.

"My Boys" doesn't attempt to be edgy or over-the-top (like "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" - which I love by the way). It's just a good, solid comedy with interesting characters and story lines. Hopefully the writers stay true to this and don't attempt at turning the show into something it's not (another "Friends"). There's a lot of potential material for this kind of premise. Stay tuned!

I must say that this show is refreshing. It moves along at a good pace with excellent writing and the ensemble cast does a really good job. Though I am not as much a sports enthusiast as Jordana Spiro's character I must say I "get" her character way more than some of the other "females with friends" shows. It is nice to see a show about an attractive female that is not a clothes horse or obsessed with shoes. Also I love Kyle Howard and have since he starred in House Arrest. The rest of the cast is just as wonderful to watch. The writing is witty and well done and I hope this show lasts for a little while. It is nice to see a show about inter-relationships when the girl has a lot of guy friends that are friends. That really does happen you know.

I'm very excited about this show!! I love the first two episodes. Witty, pretty and sporty. I've been in withdrawals since HBO has nothing new or (even renewed) this season. The network stuff is mostly flat (except Thursdays) and tries too hard now to be like HBO, then each show ends up as another rehash of either Friends, Thirty Something or XFiles.

In this new comedy series, the actors are all fresh, not yet famous faces, but well versed in TV appearances. The writers are also fresh and seemingly not jaded, while both the directors have excellent resumes that juxtapose each other well with TV drama and comedy experience.

PJ is the girl that is just one of the guys. She's easygoing, sporty hip, smart and sexy in an ungirly kind of way. She's kind of a tomboy Kate Hudson. PJ (Pamela Jo, Paula Jean?) hangs with the guys mostly and also works in a guys world (sportswriter for the Chicago Sun Times), PJ does have her girlier best friend, Samantha, on the side (she doesn't really hang with PJ's "boys" it seems) who probably will do the advertising for all the hipster clothing (and apparently plug internet dating sites).

I assume the poker games happen every week, so it's a way to keep track of the time going by?

All the"boys" characters are okay so far--real enough (believe me) and two of them cute enough to keep me watching. I hope each guy character does not get too contrived or personalities get too over the top to fall into typical sit-com guy stereotype (it may be too soon to tell though). OK, so the brother character is that already, but...I still laughed. PJ's bro, Andy, is also the most recognizable and experienced of the cast so he may be there as the grounding force of the group.

So... certain things still often can happen to a girl that hangs with the guys--especially when a couple of them are pretty hot. There should be enough material there to spread out over many seasons and I think they've made a good establishing start of it. I look forward to the next 7 shows and if material gets thin, I can probably get plenty enough for another season out of my journals!!!

I hope there are enough girls like me out there that can relate enough to keep this show going and enough guys out there that can hang as well.

Husband had one comment though--he wonders if the show will play too much on the sexual tension/unrequited lust that is the nucleus of, for example, The Office, and he hopes the show doesn't rely so much on that between PJ and Bobby. We want to see PJ keep movin' on and thru experiences, but not just a tomboy Carrie, please.

I also the love all the underground music references such as the Waco Bros. Nice to have a good forum to turn people on to something better than mainstream music. There is always the danger of sliding that bar too far ( I quit liking U2 and REM around 1988), but it's a good thing that people figure out there is more music out there than the Billboard Top 100 and classic rock.

My Boys has great potential--it's my new favorite show.

It's official. I'm addicted. Yeah yeah, some people may say they don't understand why other people find this show to be funny, but I don't understand how anyone wouldn't. I suppose humor is a very personal thing, and everyone has his/her own style, but this show hits me square on the funny bone. And hard.

I've seen every episode (thanks to my DVD-R), and I have laughed out loud, several times during each. I love the concept of this show. Maybe it's because I have always been a gal with many guy friends, and I can somehow relate, but I love the relationships PJ has with "her boys". The dialogue between them is extremely witty and smart. Each "boy" in the group has a very distinct personality, and the actors play them all very well. The facial reactions, body language, and tone and timing of responses are all spot-on. The guy who shows up in some episodes, to play "Trouty" is so fabulously, irritatingly obnoxious -- he plays the character SO perfectly. Man, he makes me laugh. PJ's lone girl friend is fun too, and even the "guest" characters are great. Watching everyone give each other "advice" on dating and whatnot cracks me up, because none of them seems to be content in their being single (or married, in Andy's case). Even the ringtones used for each person's phone add to the understanding of the characters. Jordana Spiro comes across as a "real" girl -- approachable, likable, fun and smart. I think she was a perfect choice for this role. She's adorable.

I have to say I am very impressed with TBS for putting this show on. It is the type of show I would generally expect to see on one of the major networks -- I typically look to TBS for fun movies and such, but I don't think of them when it comes to sitcoms. This show's tempo seems much like "Sex and the City" to me (I know everyone says that, but there's a reason) -- although it was all women, and this is almost all men, the ensemble works really well together: the banter is quick and sharp, the relationships solid and distinct. It's a truly fun show to watch -- it makes me feel like if they were real, I'd want to hang out with them at Crowley's, or on poker night.. or even at (come on, whisper it...) Streeeissssand.

The *only* thing I don't like about this show? The match.com plugs. Having them write in a scene where they have to mention they are on match.com just breaks up the otherwise fun flow, plus, it's just kind of annoying. Hey, if you want match.com to sponsor the show, great -- just have 'em double-up on advertising time -- during the *commercials*. Not cool, man. It detracts from the show.

In summary, "My Boys" is "my" new favorite show. I am really hoping this gets picked up for years to come, because it is a smart, funny, light show that makes me laugh, and I look forward to watching every new episode. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, gang! Much success to everyone involved in its production!

TBS's "very funny" new comedy, "My Boys," may be the best new comedy on television since "Everybody Loves Raymond" -- certainly, since "The Office." After a middling start, the show is beginning to really gel, and so is the cast. In fact, the ensemble program is the first worthy successor to the storied "Friends." Its premise is both straightforward and modestly subversive. P.J. is a beat writer for a Chicago newspaper, covering the Cubs. But -- and here's the interesting part -- she's a girl. (And, btw, far more masculine than any of her costars. In a good way.) She lives in a cool but not unrealistically over-sized (in a refreshing departure from most television sets) "bachelor pad," complete with comfy chairs and the primary feature, a decked-out poker table.

Her pals -- old college buddy and possible flame Brendan ("Brendo"), a heavy-metal deejay; heart-on-his-sleeve Mike, a sports public relations flunkie; somber, mildly neurotic, romance-impaired Kenny; and the newest addition to the gang, Bobby, a fellow Cubs reporter -- and P.J.'s older, wiser, melancholy brother, "Fun" Andy, perpetually complaining about his ball-and-chain half-existence... and she are inseparable, going to dinner together, hanging out at Crowley's (a cross between Bennigan's and Mother's) together, and, most importantly, playing poker together. A lot. P.J. is, though she'd never admit it, both "den mother" and social glue to the gaggle of late-twentysomethings. P.J. is also best friends, improbably, with would-be debutante Stephanie who, like Brendo, first knew "Peej" at Northwestern, where Stephanie seems to have studied men, mostly.

The show is laugh-out-loud hilarious, and getting better as it goes on. The chemistry between the cast is exceptional, and after a sometimes inconsistent beginning to the first season, the male costars and their characters -- particularly Andy, but also Brendo and, surprisingly, the reserved Kenny -- are beginning to come into their own. Nominal series "star" Jordana Spiro -- unfortunately, btw, saddled with a voice that's part Swedish Chef, part Terry Griffith from "Just One of the Guys" -- but otherwise pretty damned hot -- generously allows her "boys" to snag more than their fair share of exceptional lines and pratfalls. It seems that ad-libbing is encouraged on the show, and becoming even more so, and that's a very good thing. Clichéd zaniness is kept to a minimum -- these are "real" people, here -- and that's also a very good thing. Much of the credit, of course, needs to go to the writers, but the cast makes their characters -- and the show -- appealing, delightful, lovable.

Let's hope "My Boys" has a long, successful run. It deserves it. Bravo.