Titus

Titus is a fresh and funny show. The commentaries on Titus' past are hilarious, like the father giving swimming lessons. Priceless. On the outside it would appear like a Seinfeld rip off (It's Like, You Know...), but Titus certainly is not. Titus is good and ranks up there with The Simpsons and That '70s Show.

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.

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.

Although I may not be as experienced in the television field because of my young age, I have seen many, many comedies and Titus has got to be the best I've seen in years. Not only is the material original and unpredictable, but the humour is so fast moving you'll never be at a loss for laughs. In fact, if you tone out for more than 30 seconds you'll miss a hilarious squeal from Tommy(David Shatraw) or a silver-tongued comment from the charming Christopher.(Chris Titus) I love the way the show has "real life stuff" in it, completely different from the hit shows "Growing Pains" although that was supposed to be realistic and take a gripping hold on teenage life. I should know, I'm a teenager, it didn't. Don't get me wrong though, I'm a big fan of Kirk. Anyway, I think that Titus in undoubtedly one of the funniest comedies in the current line. Especially for Fox.

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).