Suburgatory

"Suburgatory" is quirky. If you can't get past that statement, then you might not like the show.

But if you can, check it out, because "Suburgatory" is an excellent show featuring lots of talent.

The central theme--as you can tell from the title--is a critical view of suburbia. In the land where consumerism is the primary goal and people are themselves consumed by appearances there lives a high-schooler named Tessa (Jane Levy) who moved from New York to the land of weedless lawns and designer labels with her single father George (Jeremy Sisto). This is no "Who's The Boss". In "Suburgatory" Tessa and George are a complete family in themselves.

Although suburbia is a target of the humor, the show lovingly lampoons all aspects of society, including the central characters, who enter into some questionable relationships. They are far from perfect and the writers allow us to laugh at them and with them.

The rest of the cast is AMAZING. Three or four of them you will probably recognize, but they all rock. Comedy never had a larger cast of funny people.

As for the quirk factor, "The New Girl" wishes it could be "Suburgatory". It is quirky, but it may be too far out there, often substituting silly for insightful. "Glee" revels in the quirkiness of its characters and their actions, but it often feels like it is doing quirk just for its own sake. I only hope that "Suburgatory" keeps its edge. The best episodes have something to say and remind us of the things that are truly valuable, e.g. caring and self-realization.

This show is well-written and really funny. It's silly and campy but also has just enough heart. The lead, Jane Levy, a relative unknown is totally natural and absolutely charming. Jeremy Sisto, an unlikely casting choice for a comedy, grounds the show and is realistic as the "cool city dad." But for me, Cheryl Hines is the one to watch. She hits it out of the ballpark as Dallas Royce.

I love the heightened reality and the way the show pokes fun at the suburbs while also envying those who live there. The stories explore the differences between people raised in different ways but also shows, no matter where you grow up, there are certain universal truths that connect us.

The supporting cast is terrific. I've always loved Alan Tudyk and Carly Chaiken is scene- stealingly hilarious as Dalia. I laugh at these characters while also caring about them which to me is the sign of a really great show.

Having seen the pilot I purchased the Season 1 DVD and have seen most of the episodes. It is great seeing 5 or 6 episodes of short shows like this one in succession without advertisements and the like breaking it all up.

Heck some people over analyse things though. It's just a little TV show.

This is a simple basic comedy with some extreme characters some of which are funny and some not so, some endearing and others much less so. In fact a few of the characters (very few fortunately) are just ridiculous but this is Hollywood fiction so they create the extreme at times.

The writers set out to send up Americans and some aspects of its culture and they obviously had a lot of fun doing so. Why they went too far over the top at times I do not know because the show would work better without some of the occasional stupidity that has been allowed to creep in now and then. Obviously some episodes are better and funnier than others.

Overall this is a cute, second tier, light hearted comedy show which will really make you laugh. After all that is what a comedy is for.(It is not quite up in the same league as some of the very high rated Chuck Lorre comedies though). For the most part it is quite well acted and the 3 principal characters are quite endearing.

If you don't like a good laugh then you probably won't like it that much. Some of it is hilarious but I am sure some of the slick lines they have dropped in there will go right over the heads of some.

As far as ratings go, some of the episodes I have seen from Season 1 are so funny I would give them a 9 or 10 rating.

Give this show a go because when you get into it, for the most part, you will enjoy it. There is nothing like having a good laugh is there?

Back when this show was current I was a teenager. The premiss is not great at all, but there weren't many shows with weird teenage girls as protagonists just yet - and that's why I liked it so much. It made fun of everyone that made fun of me, the quirky girl, such as the suburban mum with its teenage version for a daughter, or the contradictorily concerned-yet-cool single father. Tessa was very relatable and I was sorry when it got cancelled.

Suburgatory has the perfect mix of sarcastic and stereotypical humour. As the show progresses I feel like it just keeps getting better and better. Although I do miss the absurdity and genius of the first two episodes the show would not be able to sustain itself if it didn't develop. Please don't let that deter you from enjoying this show though. I love the fact that it is so over the top and plays up to stereotypes but then again does it really. They may not live in your society but guess what they are definitely out there.

I hope this show lasts for a while as they still have so many areas that can be explored. I feel like they have only scratched the surface of what is a wonderfully colourful and insanely hilarious world.