Article first published as DADS Review on Seat42F.
FOX’s DADS seems to be a recipe for
success. Take two very talented young, but experienced, actors, mix them
with a couple of screen veterans, toss in some wonderful supporting
cast members, and have Seth MacFarlane and a couple of his Family Guy
pals turn it into a father-son sitcom. It’s a no brainer, right?
Well, unfortunately, not so much. At
least in the “Pilot,” none of the jokes land and the story feels
predictable and stale. Familiar situations are milked dry, and
performances are wasted on paces that an amateur could walk through. The
result is not at all pleasing, and not likely to be long-lived.
The two central characters are Eli (Seth
Green, Robot Chicken, Austin Powers) and Warner (Giovanni Ribisi, Ted,
Friends), long-time best friends that run a video game company together.
This is a young, hip profession that should appeal to the prized young,
hip, male demographic, one would think. After all, what’s better than
hanging out with your buddy playing games all day? Add to that a hot
Asian assistant named Veronica (Brenda Song, The Suite Life, The Social
Network), whom the boys get to dress up as a Japanese school girl to
impress Chinese investors, and it’s an adolescent’s dream.
First, just to get this out of the way,
the controversy over Veronica’s outfit is a non-one. She is presented as
a strong, assertive woman who is working to get ahead, and will
definitely be rewarded for her devotion to the team, or else. The
costume is a visual gag, no more, and does not demean her in any serious
fashion.
But, neither is the business environment
a solid concept. For one, little time is spent focusing on the work, so
their company could produce anything and the premise would be the same.
If DADS is going to go to the trouble of creating the fun environment,
then they should be using it. Also, Veronica seems to wear the pants in
the office, so the guys don’t even appear to be in charge. It’s all a
waste.
Warner is currently struggling with his
father, Crawford (Martin Mull, Clue, Arrested Development), moving in
with him. Warner’s wife, Camilla (Vanessa Lachey), and two children
don’t appreciate the inconsiderate intrusion, but Warner can’t bring
himself to confront Crawford about anything. Things get worse when
Crawford, ever the “entrepreneur, ruins a business deal.
The problem isn’t the avoidance of any
type of confrontation, as that is a reasonable, interesting dynamic, but
rather that Crawford could possibly be so horrible and still be loved
by his son or viewers. Mull is a gifted actor, but struggles to make the
character the least bit sympathetic. He hams it up for a laugh,
including in a scene with the other dad, who we’ll get to in a minute,
but it makes the emotional stuff seem thin. It just doesn’t work.
Also, Camilla is a one-note stereotype
and the kids are completely unseen, despite a party scene at Warner’s
house. Again, an opportunity to flesh out the world is traded for set
dressing.
Single, care-free, man-whore Eli is
judgmental about Warner’s situation until his own father, David (Peter
Riegert, Damages Animal House), blows into town and ruins Eli’s life.
Eli and David have the opposite relationship of Warner and Crawford,
frequently yelling and acting out. Again, this is played to the extreme
in such a way that it’s hard to care about the pair.
The best work of the entire half hour is
done by Green, who does overdo it with the physical pantomiming, but
shows a soft side when finding out about David’s bad luck. It’s at least
a relatable performance amid the more cartoonish ones. But it just
doesn’t cut it in any otherwise boring installment.
The problem is, by and large, than
instead of concentrating on what makes these four men tick and how they
relate to one another, the writers try to deliver bit after bit. That
may work for an animated series like Family Guy, but does not for a live
action show, unless it’s the caliber of Childrens Hospital, which this
is not. Things that are supposed to be funny, such as a
fighting-over-a-check scene and a portrait in Eli’s apartment, are
definitely not. Sadly, DADS is not on my list of recommended new series
this fall.
I must mention that DADS puts Tonita
Castro back to work, as she deserves to be, but sadly, it likely will be
a quicker gig than she had on Go On.
DADS premieres Tuesday, September 17th at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
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