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'$#*! My Dad Says' review: Lots of Shat
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"$#*! My Dad Says" is the newest addition to CBS' comedy lineup, but unlike "The Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your Mother," we don't think this comedy is the $#*!."Dad" is based on a Twitter account where a son was literally tweeting s*** his dad would say in their every day lives. The dad has been brought to life by William Shatner and the son who started the Twitter account is now Jonathan Sadowski. And while the Twitter account was incredibly funny, it does not translate to sitcom form.
For one thing, the Twitter account does not need a plot. Part of the reason the tweets are funny is because they are out-of-context bon mots. When the bon mots are shoved into a script, they suddenly become unfunny because a lot of why they were funny in the first place is gone.
Secondly, as evidenced by the title itself, the tweets have to be edited for network TV. There is a reason why PG-13 "Die Hard 4" was less funny than its rated-R predecessors. Profanity is not always necessary, but we have a sneaking suspicion this comedy would be at least marginally better on cable.
Finally, the actual tweets embedded into the dialogue are heavy-handed and obvious. Shatner might as well turn straight to the camera to parrot the actual quotes from the Twitter account. One can actually pick them straight out of the dialogue.
There was one laugh-out-loud moment in the premiere and that was when son Henry imitated his father and William Shatner's character remarked that no one can do a good impression of him. Otherwise it was a lot of furrowed-brow staring at the TV when the laugh track roared, wondering what the #*!! they were laughing at.
The best scene of the entire show was when Shatner's character went to the DMV and had a semi-poignant moment with the man issuing his driving test. Funny how that was the one scene pretty much devoid of the Twitter hook.
However, in the day and age of "Two and a Half Men" getting some of the biggest comedy ratings on television, coupled with the fact that "Dad" gets a strong "Big Bang Theory" lead-in, we wouldn't be surprised if it's the new break-out comedy of the season. And that is unfortunate, especially since "Raising Hope" is a funnier half-hour program and best new drama "Lone Star" is facing cancellation.
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I didn't take the DMV scene as poignant or sincere, his gruffness being put aside. The impression it gave me was that he was playing the DMV worker, trying to squirm his way out of a failed drivers test (and it worked).
As for the general quality of the show? Yes, it needs a lot of work. Let's hope it improves. It might have helped if there was someone else in the cast we the viewers recognized or knew besides Shatner.
I'm going to give it more than one shot. I'll more than likely watch it every week as it follows "Big Bang" which is one of my favorite shows...
It's a comedy on CBS. Did you honestly expect it to be good?
First - it wasn't a laugh track. That was a live studio audience. Do your homework.
Secondly - there are those out there that thought it was funny. The critics seem to have banded together in a mutual agreement to pan this show. Step off your podium and take a second look.
The show sux. I love William Shatner,
but after coming off a very well
written show like Boston Legal,
this new comedy is written terribly. Another problem is that
there is NO chemistry between any
of the actors even the two that
were on Mad tv together came off
as incredibly unfunny.
AND YES THAT IS A LAUGH TRACK..
You could tell, the laugh at the
start of the show was the EXACT
same laugh used at the end of the show.
Sorry, Nancy, but I have to agree with the reviewer on every account: I had the EXACT same thoughts while watching it. Don't get me wrong: I really hope things come around. I didn't care for the first few episodes of BBT, either, but now it's my favorite comedy. I'll watch it for a while, hoping it gets better.
This show was horrible. I am a big Shatner fan also, but the writing was horrible, the acting was horrible, and the concept was horrible. I was waiting for the guy to get into an accident and be sentenced to become his butler..
I'm not saying it was great or anything, but this show was better than I expected. They need to come up with a comedy plot that can go on from the set up, and quit trying so hard to make every single thing the father says outrageous, but given some time to work the kinks out, it could be a pretty good show.
Hey Anonymous, you are incorrect. It was NOT a laugh track. The show is filmed in front of a live studio audience. If you heard the same person laughing at multiple points in the show, that's because that person was in the audience the entire time. And if the laugh sounded "the same" to you, that's because a group of 120 people laughing sounds pretty much the same every time.
The writing is bad beyond belief.
Nothing will save this show.
While there was a twitter account of the same name - this show is actually based on THE BOOK of the same name. In the book there was both the out of context quotes as well as stories putting some other quotes in context. I think they tried too hard to translate this to the screen and the result was a terribly written script. I also wonder how they casted this thing, since there is no chemistry between any of the actors - and this was what made the book so good. I suspect this show will be cancelled which is sad since i feel shatner could make this work if allowed to run with it. Check out the book - its a good 'bathroom reader' since the storeis are a page or so long each.