The Crazy Ones 1.04 Review: Creative Time Crunch

For all those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of The Crazy Ones, entitled ‘Breakfast Burrito Club’, then I suggest you go and do so now. As always, this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

I love this show. This has probably become my favourite new sitcom of the season, mind you I’ve only watched three, and one of them I stopped watching after two episodes (Brooklyn Nine-Nine). Still, the easy comedy that comes out of these actors, both established and not, is quite lucrative. And the fast paced world of advertising is perfectly placed in a city such as New York.

A few of my favourite comedic moments in this episode were seeing how much of a workaholic Sydney is, and how she was being forced to go on vacation to Hawaii. Her ability to draw flawless circles, which is completely ridiculous in real life, but this is a sitcom, and it’s not completely out there. Also, Zack’s crush on the girl Natalie, feelings he’s not used to having. And then there was Lauren’s psychotic poetry about her ex Charlie. Simple but brilliant comedy, which is what I find is true of the most successful sitcoms.

It was good to see an episode more focused around Sydney, rather than her father Simon. Good to know that this series will be able to revolve around each of these characters, from week to week. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s comedic bones are beginning to shine, and I have to say that I’m liking it so far. This makes me excited to be able to eventually see episodes that focus on Zack, Lauren, and Andrew. While I know Simon and Sydney will pull more attention to them, it’s good to see how great the ensemble cast is.

I have to say that I’m surprised they threw in that moment with Sydney and Andrew this episode. While it was easy to see the weird back and forth chemistry in this episode between them, I really thought this series was going to eventually lead to Zack and Sydney being together. That may still happen in the future, but it doesn’t really seem likely anymore, or even after watching the first episode. I know this is a series about a family workplace environment, but it’s nice to see some kinds of romance popping up every now and again.

This sitcom is definitely my favourite newbie, possibly even my favourite sitcom altogether, although there’s not much competition currently on television these days. I really like to see the family unit these guys fit into the workplace. It’s great to see that not everyone is constantly bickering behind each other’s backs. Really looking forward to seeing this series grow.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“You better be in love with her, after that pointless story you made us listen to.” – Andrew tells Zack.

“Suburban murder-suicide.” – Lauren expresses where she thinks love leads.

“She makes me less tall?” – Andrew questions Sydney.

“We discuss our feelings while we quilt.” – Andrew says of his sisters and him.

“How do I make her stop talking?” – Zack asks. “Marry her.” – Simon responds.

All right, people, that’s all for tonight. Check back in tomorrow for my fifth edition of Best Performances of the Week, and my review of Haven. Otherwise I’m off to let my head dethaw from all this numbness.

The Crazy Ones 1.01 Review: Family is at the Heart of it all

Anyone that has yet to watch the series premiere of The Crazy Ones, and want to do so without being spoiled, now would be the time to exit this review. THIS BLOG MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

I have to begin this review by saying that I liked this pilot episode. It infused heartwarming family values into the fast-paced city life of a busy ad agency in New York. While it didn’t have a strong opening, it did help represent the struggle these people go through behind the camera.

The way this show intermingled shots of the open office space, and cutting in brief glimpses of the city itself was very well done. I liked the fast-paced element to seeing the New York City skyline, and interspersing it with evocative music to help boost up the setting this series takes place in. While I’m not one that tends to like office set series’, the open outline this show appears to have, gives it a less tightly wound feel to it than other shows with cubicle like backdrops. As long as they keep diverse scenes, and don’t stick strictly to filming in the ad agency floor, it will be easy enough to handle.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Robin Williams must be commended for their obvious familial chemistry. They really feel like a father and daughter team that have been in each other’s lives a long time. This very much helps to make this place they work in feel like a family run business, with crazy antics popping up all the time.

The other supporting characters also help to round out this cast. These people all feel like they’ve worked together, and known each other for many years. They mesh well into the unit and craziness of this workplace, and almost create another kind of family feel. Sure, with family comes chaos, but that only helps to produce large quantities of comedy that we’re sure to feel throughout this series.

After watching this pilot, I understand the reasoning behind it’s title. The reason Sydney got into advertising, aside from her dad running this business, was based on the ad Apple ran in the nineties that merely sold an idea. It was a very appropriate title plug-in that helped to lift this pilot off the ground just a bit. Not only does the title symbolize how crazy these people’s lives are likely to be, it was a very real ad commercial.

No, this show didn’t evoke sidesplitting humour, but it did make me laugh, and I do plan to come back again and watch more episodes. This series is reminiscent of how last years Go On made me feel. I know there aren’t actual similarities between that grief sitcom, and this family ad sitcom, but it was more about how each makes this weird kind of unit that make you want to come back and watch. For that reason, though, this series may not get a second season.

My rating: 3 out of 5.

Best Lines:

“You just got knocked out by a girl.” – Simon yelling at his robot after his daughter punched it (possibly a little nod to her previous run as a slayer).

“You remember that baby hippo in the zoo? Maybe it was a dream… Either way it was in my underwear.” – Simon, giving his daughter the run around.

“What major-minor details?” – Sydney, worried about what her father has planned for the McDonald’s ad.

“I’m nuts, who knew?” – Sydney, after going after Kelly Clarkson when her father’s pivoting fails.

Okay, I’m off to watch the two-hour premier of Grey’s Anatomy, and review that after. Then it’s Best Performances time!