Big Lake

There is a reason that New York City filmed sitcoms never do well. It's because shows like Big Lake need support from other sitcoms. NYC sitcoms like Big Lake never have the support of the studio system to help ill what matters. It's not like they have 30 Rock next door to help them out. Anyway, the plot is thin. It's about an adult who returns home to his parents in Big Lake, Pennsylvania. I love the casting of James Rebhorn and Deborah Rush as the parents. James Rebhorn is more well-known for his darker roles on daytime but this Jersey resident is one of the finest actors around and needs for his talent to be shown to the world and the same for Deborah Rush. They take the bad writing and work it like professionals. Jonathan, their adult son, has two friends played by Saturday Night Live Alums, Chris Parnell and Horatio Sanz. I love both of them but they're not being utilized very well. Jeremy is the younger brother who acts more grown up and has a thriving business in reality. He would rather launder money to plan for his film school future. His parents are oblivious to the boy's maturity and brilliance but he's lacking a childhood with friends his own age. There are some moments in this show but not enough to keep it going.

I saw the commercials for this, it didn't really look that funny. Now I'm waiting on The Daily Show to come on and I'm stuck watching this. I thought maybe since Will Ferrell was involved in it's creation, it might have at least a couple laughs. I was wrong. All the other reviews pretty much hit the nail on the head. The idea of the show is...OK, and it could have delivered something good but...it just feels wrong. It seems as though it's trying to be a parody of an 80's/90's sitcom. I have never been a fan of extremely repetitive laugh tracks, and this is no exception. But at least in the older sitcoms, the laugh followed a joke that could actually be considered...funny, and the acting was at least sometimes somewhat believable. As stated before, it just feels like its trying to be a parody of a sitcom and it's maybe..supposed to be kinda fake but it just doesn't work. I will also be surprised if this show sees a second season.

The other reviewers probably like Friends and New Girl. They clearly don't understand real comedy. Every character on this show is hilarious and every episode is a classic. This is a must see for all fans of true comedy.

Outdated just 10 years later, but gethard is the goat and James rebhorn is a national treasure

In short, Big Lake won't last more than one season. What struck me most about the first two episodes of the series is the the show's terrible plot progression. I don't think the show's progression makes sense even on a laugh track sitcom level.

The premise of the show is good enough and unique, but the execution is lacking, and the main character's situation could have led to a much more compelling show.

I was constantly asking myself what the main characters were trying to accomplish in relation to the premise of the show. I was also struggling to remember any of the main characters' names. None of the characters are memorable, save for the history teacher (Chris Parnell) and maybe the main character's (Chris Gethard?) little brother.

I don't think I've ever seen such horrible story progression in a single episode, even in a sitcom.

Finally, Chris Gethard is the most un-funny, annoying character on the show and he's the main character. Who approved this show?

Good parts of the show: Some of Chris Parnell's jokes. A bum history teacher is definitely a great role for him. Um...Horatio Sanz's weight loss? I would rather watch this than George Lopez. Overall, the show isn't obnoxious....like George Lopez.

Comedy Central has never really been able to produce a decent live action show (not based on stand up or sketch comedy) and the trend hasn't changed with Big Lake. I don't see a laugh-track sitcom reaching Comedy Central's demographic.