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!
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