Running Wilde

This show comes very close to pure gold in terms of its premise and casting. Unfortunately it is lacking in fulfilling its own promise. The characters are interesting and well-acted.

The most conspicuously absent part of the show is an anchoring "straight man" a la Jack Lemon or Dean Martin. The zany characters are no good without an accomplished and mature actor capable of acting as a stand-in for the audience. My guess is that the writers intended for this to be Puddle, and while Stefania LaVie Owen is a good child actress, she has not yet developed the nuance and complexity of facial expression and voice intonation to make her more than the show's cute kid.

Another problem that will eventually become evident is that the show can only do so many episodes before its audience loses interest in whether or not Emmy and Steve sack out together. There is only so far that this show can go, and I'm not certain that it will get there.

I love Will Arnett, and really want him to have a stellar show, and maybe if there is room for a sympathetic character along the lines of Michael Bluth in Arrested Development, then these lovable (though not likable) characters will shine and the audience will gain an appreciation for their quirks and a sense of familiarity that is currently lacking. In the meantime, though, I feel like some writers and producers just tried to cram a bunch of far out characters into one show without any hope of development or perspective.

I love Will Arnett who is fabulous as the wealthy guy whose love of his life is played by Keri Russell. Arnett is fabulous as the wealthy but lonely billionaire who lives well-off on a fabulous estate. Emmy is the love of his life played by Keri Russell who lives in the jungle and tries to improve the world with her daughter, Puddle, what a name. Her daughter does a very good job as somebody who wants to escape the jungle and live in civilization. So Emmy reluctantly accepts an invitation where Arnett's character is throwing a party for himself as humanitarian of the year by his own company. Anyway, there are moments when Arnett has what it takes to be a big television star in his own right. Keri Russell is fine as Emmy and the supporting cast does a fine job which includes a neighboring Arab billionaire who has must time and money on his hands as Arnett's character and his assistant and chauffeur as well.

"Can't hear very well under that tree house".... and last night's scene where the butler is looking out at the guys "washing the car" and the butler says "Don't you do a bleeping thing". Hilarious!! I have watched every show and find myself chuckling the next day while I think about a funny line or 2. Give the offbeat humor a chance and don't take it too serious. Great show!!

The butler and the driver are great characters who I hope to see more of. And Fa'ad is priceless. His very presence and accent makes you laugh.

I had never been a huge Will Arnett fan until now. He and Keri Russell have a very unexpected bit of chemistry that really seems to work.

If you are interested in a show that's quirky, offbeat, and will make you laugh the next day, check this one out!

If you like 30 Rock, you'll like Running Wilde - simple! Will Arnett is superb in his niche role of wealthy fop, delivering some laugh-out-loud lines; Keri Russell is a Cutey McFeisty™ providing banter between the two main characters. Peter Serafinowicz is absolutely hilarious too, and every one of the cast is very funny in their own way. The only gripe is that the story lines follow very similar paths week-to-week, being Emmy and Steve trying to out-bluff each other - but hey, it works for House, right? This is the type of show that is perhaps too subtle for the masses to enjoy and thus gets cancelled - so in a time when clever comedies are few and far between, I would urge you to watch it! Highly recommended.

"Running Wilde" is not, and will not ever be groundbreaking television.

That said, it was a funny show with heartwarming moments and some good how-did-they- get-that-past-the-censors gags. Its story showed promise, and while the opposites-attract idea is an overused trope, the idea of a wealthy oil heir who's infatuated with a dyed in the wool environmental activist is a very relevant concept.

Except, you wouldn't know any of this if I hadn't just told you, because Fox did a horrific job of advertising this show.

I am an avid television viewer, and I watch many shows on the Fox channel. How is it then, that I had zero idea as to what this show was actually about? All I knew was that it starred Will Arnett and Keri Russell. That's it. The advertisements for this show never gave me a reason to tune in. Fox showers GOOD ads on "Glee" and "American Idol," but the fact of the matter is that those two have solid fan bases. I mean, really, is Fox THAT worried about "American Idol" losing viewership? They've completely retooled the show twice now, and they still have viewerships in the teens-to-twenties million. Everyone already knows what those shows are about--they are, frankly, overexposed.

Just like with "Arrested Development," which is widely regarded as one of the best shows in television history, Fox screwed the ad pooch and basically condemned its own to eternal damnation in Cancellation Land. To boot, of all the new comedies that debuted last season and were subsequently cancelled, e.g. "Outsourced," "$#*! My Dad Says," "Perfect Couples," et al., this show was actually tolerable. In fact, compared to those listed above, it was Shakespearean.

So do not judge this show based on Fox's egregiously subpar treatment of a decent program. See for yourself and be pleasantly surprised.