Miss Guided

This show is fresh, funny and fun to watch. It's refreshing to see something different and creative. So much of TV is the same stuff, but this is a twisted slant on ground well covered. Judy Greer is adorable and kooky. Brook Burns actually does a great job. The love triangle between Becky, Brook and Tim is cute without being mean spirited. That's a hard line to walk, especially in a comedy. They are already showing some different sides of Bruce "Terrytown" Terry, although his psycho-sadistic bent is funny - I swear I had a vice principal just like him in school. Overtime, the characters will develop and become less like caricatures, I'm sure. I'm going to stick with this one and see where it goes - I think it's growing on me.

You can't really miss with a comedy about high-school, and this show doesn't disappoint. It somehow does a better job evoking a real high school experience than other shows like "90210" or "Gossip Girl", and that's probably by focusing more on the teachers; "My So-Called Life" was the only show with a high-school milieu as seen from the kids' angle that I think came close to getting it. "Miss Guided" is a light, funny, smart way to spend a half-hour, a definite notch or two above programs of its ilk, something ABC seems to be showing a talent for lately with other efforts like "Carpoolers", "Notes from the Underbelly", "Pushing Daisies", and even though I'm going to get crap for it, yes, "Cavemen". Judy Greer has a deft comic touch and carries the lead well, but Chris Parnell as the assistant principal steals every scene he's in. Sometimes the episodes seem almost to be written more to his strengths than anyone else's. He's to this show what Alec Baldwin is to "30 Rock".

Over the years there have been any number of TV shows about teachers. Either they go for drama or comedy. Some are clever and some are a miss. Miss Guided is as big a miss as you can get. The show features a collection of misfits who should never ever get close to a school. The humor is both cruel and unfunny. Whoever wrote this stuff must be trying to get back at a sarcastic teacher who humiliated him/her while they were a student. If this if his/her response it is a misfire, a mistake, and a misstep. Please, someone cancel this show now and let it fade into oblivion like Jezebel James. If you like humor try Two and a Half Man which takes some humorous pot shots at schools and teachers and everything else.

Judy Greer and Brooke Burns turn in great comedic performances in the new Ashton Kutcher produced comedy "Miss Guided." The return to high school theme isn't exactly new, but it is funny and well executed. This was an unexpected treat. The visuals offer the physical comedy that Judy Greer does so well. Maybe it's her dance background, but she knows how to move. The dialog is quick with both obvious puns and and sarcastic wit. "Miss Guided" just proves how much of high school stays with us. In the show the high school legacy stays with Judy Greer's character more than most. Regardless of which side of the high school divide you lived through, the show has enough reality to be funny and enough irony to appreciate the other side.

I was tempted to use as a summary line "More 'Miss" than 'Hit'" or something to that effect,but I felt like that might be a little unfair and inaccurate. I've caught a few shows so far and I feel like it has definite potential. The show,centered around Becky Freeland(Judy Greer),a former student at a particular high school(the name of it escapes me at the moment) who returns to work there as a counselor,only to find herself practically reliving the same angst,agita and insecurity she once believed she conquered there from her past,is a near nod to shows like "PArker Lewis Can't Lose" and a short-lived Meredith Baxter-Birney ABC sitcom whose name I THINK was called "The FAculty" (no to be confused with the arch campy horror hit movie from 1998). Employing both a narrative reminiscent of "Arrested Development" and "PArker Lewis" and yet incorporating a sort of "spread-out" omnipotent treatment of conventional shows,this has enough sharp wit and speed to keep this one light and watchable,but it could use some tightening of characters and their relationships. THe supporting cast features some choices that are "choice"--Chris PArnell as a weak-kneed vice-principle--and some that seem more ornamental--the sexy but somewhat buffaloed Brooke Burns as Becky's once and future rival. THis show needs tweaking,but there's something to like here to be sure.