Pilot Roundup Part 1: 2 Broke Girls
Let’s do it.
Two and a Half Men
- I know this isn’t a pilot, but I want it in writing: I tried. I really did. I did not laugh once. This isn’t out of some haughty elitism; I watched an episode at a supposedly fresh start and it was terrible. Every joke I expected the show to make it did, and then a few times more for effect.
2 Broke Girls
- How generic is the title card? Geez. I can’t wait for Parks and Rec.
- All of the characters outside of the main two are squarely stereotypes, particularly racial. The boss is only in one scene, but his Asian-ness is confirmed by his accent and a Bruce Lee reference! (And his, uh, looks.) I’d say this is the second-most troubling part of the pilot, and the only reason it’s not is because a lot of shows take time to make sense out of the supporting cast. The main problem is, instead of leaving them undefined (I’m thinking Jerry and Donna) - 2 Broke Girls decides to go with the ethnic route instead, which is far worse.
- While we’re at it, the most troubling part of the pilot are the terrible jokes. There’s a lot of them, and they’re not just not funny - they’re clear cultural references for the young’uns, and speaking as a young’un, there wasn’t a significant cultural reference from the past 5 years. (Not saying this would make the references “good” or anything, but if you’re going for young viewers by lazy pandering, do it right.) The “you wear a knit hat not because it’s cold but because of Coldplay” line is 100% Chuck Lorre crap, and that brand of awful joke is on display at least 8 times throughout the pilot.
- More important in a comedy pilot are the characters, because that’s where the laughs will come from in the best comedies. Max is the best-defined, and Kat Dennings plays her as well as she can. The show takes a fairly basic character trait - she’s dead inside! - and uses it the best it can, which isn’t exactly an endorsement. But it tells me if 2 Broke Girls actually wants to do something better, it could execute.
- Caroline starts as a terribly stereotyped character buts gets a little better in the second half, as she stands up for herself completely against The Douchebag Boyfriend and proves she can do basic math with the episode’s twist. You may be saying to yourself: but wait, nameless blogman, you said the supporting characters were all stereotypes! Aren’t the main characters stereotypes at this point too? I’d say, anonymous reader, yes, they are. But there’s the beginnings of character development, whereas the writing team didn’t even try for the supporting cast. Going for racial stereotypes was the problem there, not the lack of development - it’s only 22 minutes, after all. But with the mains, there was effort, and it’s there, although it’s still at this point buried in the usual CBS sitcom tropes. I think this is the best way to sum up 2 Broke Girls in the pilot - a terrible candy coating, with the possibility of a creamy caramel center in the future.
- I did laugh two times, which is better than most. But I have to emphasize the main thing to look for with comedy pilots - the best predictor is character, not throwaway jokes. Even now I can’t remember what those jokes were that I did laugh at, but I do remember some of the character moments that worked and didn’t. (The worst thing in the entire show, I think, was at the very end, where Max says something to the effect that Caroline, after messing up a customer’s order, “does get some things right.” Bend over much to work that terribly heavy-handed line in there? My cringe cringed at that one. God.)
- The thing that piqued my curiosity the most is the plot twist at the end - the plan is to build a cupcake shop, and their running total cropped up as an end to the episode. It’s something that could be limiting, because what happens to the total if there’s a non-cupcake episode? At the same time, and more importantly, it gives them a sense of purpose, and I think it’d be a great idea to not keep them in the diner forever. Moving into their own shop (or something else) would keep the show fresh and help character development, so I’m all for it. It’s gimmicky right now, but used correctly, it could supplement a solid show.
- Right now, I’m not going to be setting up my Mondays around 2 Broke Girls, but the cast has enough chemistry and the pilot wasn’t terrible enough to keep me away, either. I’ll be checking in and seeing what happens: specifically, if the stereotypes and awful references masquerading as jokes go away. Of course, it will most likely just be another perfectly okay CBS sitcom with some stereotypes and predictable characters, but we can hope, can’t we?
Tomorrow: Playboy Club, and a few of the pilots I missed last week! :o
