Nick Swardson's Pretend Time less than satisfying

     I am a fan of Nick Swardson.  I enjoyed his character Terry on Reno 9-1-1 very much.  But I was concerned when I heard he was getting his own comedy central sketch show.  Many great comedians have tried and failed to develop their work into a weekly half hour.  I assumed Swardson would soon join the likes of Louis Black and Jeff Dunham.  But I hoped he would be like Demetri Martin and somehow pull it off.

     Sadly, Nick Swardson's Pretend Time falls into the failure category.  It isn't Swardson himself.  He effortlessly portrays some very different characters, and proves he can handle a variety of scenes.  In fact, he was better than I had dared hope.  My problem is with the writing.  The sketches were just not funny.  From a car that runs on pee, to a botched proposal during a hockey game, where no less than four pucks hit the couple, each bit failed to elicit even a smile from me.

     Three of the segments should have been amusing.  The toddler bucket list, Lady Gaga's cop brother, and the wheelchair cat seemed like good ideas.  I kept wanting to laugh, I truly did.  I can't pinpoint exactly what was lacking in either one of them, but again, it just wasn't good enough.

     I hope Swardson succeeds, I really do.  I will watch again next week in the hopes that perhaps the pilot was just an off episode.  That happens in some shows, though I don't think that would really apply to this one.

     If you'd like to give Swardson a chance, Nick Swardson's Pretend Time airs on Comedy Central Tuesday nights at 10.

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