No Need to Meet THE MCCARTHYS

Article first published as THE MCCARTHYS Review on Seat42F.

I usually complain about CBS being the home of the very tired crime procedural, done to death and copied over and over again by the network. In today’s review of their new comedy, THE MCCARTHYS, I get to complain about CBS redoing the very tired family comedy. Does that count as a change-up?

THE MCCARTHYS centers around Ronny McCarthy (Tyler Ritter, John’s other son), a gay man living in Boston. Dwelling very, very nearby are his parents, Marjorie (Laurie Metcalf, Roseanne, The Big Bang Theory) and Arthur (Jack McGee, Rescue Me, The Fighter), as well as his brothers, Sean (newcomer Jimmy Dunn) and Gerard (Joey McIntryre, from the band New Kids on the Block), and his sister, Jackie (Kelen Coleman, The Newsroom). Most of the together-all-the-time, overbearing clan is obsessed with sports, but Ronny and his mother still enjoy The Good Wife together, the family finding a happy balance.

That is, until Ronny decides to upset the balance by accepting a job in New Hampshire. Much of the pilot involves his family trying to make him feel valued so he will stay. I believe viewers will be able to guess the outcome of this, but THE MCCARTHYS does a decent job with the emotional arc that gets Ronny realistically to his decision.

The dynamic of family is both complicated and familiar. Every group has its own chemistry, with each member relating to every other person in a variety of ways. But the overall picture of love and acceptance, even when there is a lack of understanding, is the most traditional, recognized version of this. It’s not always realistic, but it’s what we all wish for and have become very comfortable seeing on our television screens.

THE MCCARTHYS is not a bad example of this. McIntryre and Dunn seem a little weak for now, but are good for a punchline now and again, and may improve in time when they get used to the format. Ritter channels his father, which earns him nostalgia that can only help most of the audience’s impression of him. Coleman has popped up on quite a few shows recently for good reason, as she’s terrific, and McGee is a reliable man. Metcalf, easily the best of the group and certainly the most recognizable, gives the kind of performance we expect from her, making for a decently strong ensemble.

But the writing just feels dated. In a time where Modern Family, About a Boy, and even, to a lesser extent, The Millers, have illustrated that the traditional family unit is no longer the only answer, seeing six individuals biologically linked together might almost be a novelty, if it hadn’t been down six thousand times in the decade prior. Plus, last year already saw the revival with The Goldbergs and others. The gay son is their nod to the present era, but it’s just that, a nod, not a primary focus, which is nice to see, but makes the show more mundane. THE MCCARTHYS doesn’t have anything new to say. Television has moved on from this stock image because it’s been worn out, so resurrecting it now is without benefit to the viewing community.

THE MCCARTHYS is funny; I’ll give it that. I didn’t get bored watching it, and some of the over-the-top stuff that the characters do actually seems genuine to these eccentric personalities. Perhaps there really isn’t a family like them out there, but if there was, this is how they’d be. The characters are consistent and the jokes, while often unoriginal, have good delivery. There are a handful of relatively compelling hooks involving Arthur’s basketball team and Jackie’s secret that ask watchers to tune back in. Which means that THE MCCARTHYS has a chance at finding an audience and sticking around.

I just mourn the loss of opportunity. Why not try something different that we haven’t seen before? Or at least put some kind of new twist on it. It’s good, not great, and when the TV landscape is as crowded as it is currently, full of high-quality, ground-breaking stuff, good is just not good enough.

THE MCCARTHYS airs Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

The Greater Fool rules The Newsroom

HBO's The Newsroom presented a season finale this week entitled "The Greater Fool." This episode is so layered, and jammed with so many references, that it's surely worth watching repeatedly to catch everything. The gist of the plot: Will (Jeff Daniels) loses hope, Mackenzie (Emily Mortimer) tries and fails to cheer him up, Charlie (Sam Waterston) saves the day in more ways than one, Neal (Dev Patel) oversteps and makes things worse, the Jim (John Gallagher Jr.) / Don (Thomas Sadoski) / Maggie (Alison Pill) love triangle comes to a head in an unexpected way, and News Night finds its voice. So, basically, another fantastic episode, written amazingly, visually pleasing, and with wonderful acting that sells the piece.

As "The Greater Fool" begins, we learn Will is in the hospital and wanting to quit the program. Interspersed are flash forwards showing him in a tour de force tear down of RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) on the air. At first, I want to gripe that The Newsroom kills the suspense of the drama they're trying to build up. But upon reflection, every viewer tuning in knows that Will will get back on television. This in of itself ruins any suspense. So why treat the audience like they're dumb? Fans know Will will rally and this episode will show what it takes for him to do so, so there's no reason to pretend at anything else. The Newsroom knows its viewers are smart, and acts accordingly.

One of the awesome things about "The Greater Fool" is all of the callback to the first episode of the series. The Don Quixote comparison returns in a big way, Will finally realizes that Mackenzie was actually at his college speech, and the girl who asked the dumb question that day is hired as an intern. Nearly a year and a half after it began, there's a pleasing symmetry that ties this freshman run up in a neat bow.

Of course, there are some things left hanging. Can Will admit that he still loves Mackenzie, as we're pretty sure the voice mail says, when he's not high? Is someone really going to try to kill Will? These are questions left for season two, which I cannot wait for!

People who regularly tune in to The Newsroom often do it to be inspired. It paints a picture of what reality could be, if we're lucky. There are naysayers, of course. Charlie and company's effort to turn Leona (Jane Fonda) around to their way of thinking, breaking through her cynicism, speaks to that nicely. In "The Greater Fool," we get to see Leona begin to give her blessing through a combination of blackmail and canoodling. Are the methods worth the outcome? Absolutely. Good has beaten evil, and News Night 2.0 will be allowed to go on. Talk about inspiring!

I like that The Newsroom does not feel confined to play by all the rules of the traditional television love triangle. In any other show, Maggie would wake up to Jim's interest in the season finale, finally ditching Don, who is an inferior mate. But that's not the way it plays out in "The Greater Fool." Sure, there's the terrific Sex and the City scene, where Maggie and Jim find each other. But as Sloan (Olivia Munn) points out, Don is not a bad guy. And when he makes a grand romantic gesture, Maggie stays with him, as most girls would. Jim's decision to keep things going with Lisa (Kelen Coleman), whom he likes but doesn't love, much as we've seen in Don with Maggie, makes Jim no better than Don. Though Don chooses to commit himself to Maggie in a real way, perhaps making him just a little bit man than Jim. For now.

These are merely the highlights of "The Greater Fool." It would be easy to go on for page after page about this episode, the meaning of the title, all of the supporting characters, breaking down each action or word for meaning. The Newsroom is designed to be chock full of substance. But who has time to do that? And even if I did, aren't I just robbing you of the joy of figuring these things out? So in keeping with the show's theme of knowing your audience is smart, I'll leave it here for now. Feel free to comment on the article, or tweet me @JeromeWetzelTV and I'll be happy to discuss any element further.

The Newsroom, my favorite show of the summer, will return to HBO in 2013.

Article first posted on TheTVKing