Skip to main content

5 Ways to Improve "The Crazy Ones"

Image
By

5 Ways to Improve "The Crazy Ones"

First of all, I love "The Crazy Ones". When the CBS sitcom premiered in September 2013, I fell in love with it. Robin Williams is a legend, Sarah Michelle Gellar is delightful, and David E. Kelley is an expert. The perfect combination of people to make a great show. Although I have to say more recent episodes haven't been the best. I think the show should makes some changes, and then it'd be fantastic.



1. Drop the Sitcom Aspect.

Yes, I know this show is a sitcom, but it really shouldn't be. It should be a one hour comedy-drama, similar to "Ally McBeal" and "Boston Legal". Williams is an Oscar-winner, Gellar is known as a dramatic actress, and Kelley can do it all, so a sitcom seems like a bit of a waste of their talents. It's holding them back, and the main reason the show's not perfect.

2. Add Some More People to the Mix

The cast is one of the greatest parts of the show. But after a few episodes, things are starting to seem a bit crowded. Adding some interesting supporting roles to shake things up would really help move stories along. Brad Garrett is a nice start, but let's get more. Also it's been less than 20 episodes and they've already tried every possible romantic combination between the main cast.

3.  More Shots of the City Set to Music

This was one of my absolute favorite parts of "Ally McBeal", overhead shots of Boston set to some song sang by the insanely talented Vonda Shepard. "The Crazy Ones" does this in their own way for maybe a couple seconds each episode. Part of the reason is that there are time constraints, which goes back to Number 1. "TCO" doesn't have a Vonda, and consequently doesn't have the same contemplative emotional feel that some of Kelley's earlier hits had.

4. Redress the Set

This is a minor thing, and the production design team does a wonderful job, but a couple of things really bug me. The gigantic portrait of Williams that on the wall next the elevators. What's the point of this? It's almost as obnoxious as the giant portrait of Gellar in "Ringer", but at least that was intentionally obnoxious. Also the random fake tree in the middle of the office, and the huge robot in William's office really make it hard to take the show seriously.

5. Have Kelley Do Most of the Writing

Usually, Kelley does most of the writing on his shows. He didn't write or co-write like three of "Ally's" 112 episodes. But he has only written 2 episodes of "TCO". And those two just happen to be the best of the series. Those are the pilot and "Dead and Improved". They had a really strong balance between humor and heart, which is something the other writers seem to miss the mark on. While this is most likely Kelley's choice, in my opinion, he should step up and do the heavy lifting. That's where his strengths lie.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Leave a comment!

Popular posts from this blog

The Ten Best Films of 2020

By
2020 was an odd year for movies. Many of the ones scheduled to come out in 2020 were delayed due to movie theaters closures brought on by the pandemic. And many of the ones that did actually come out were released digitally. In 2019, I saw 44 films in a movie theater. In 2020, I saw only 11, all during the first two and a half months of the year. While watching movies at home on my laptop or TV is far from the ideal cinematic experience, I still saw a number of great films. Here are 10 of them.  10. I'm Your Woman  It took a few days after watching this crime drama, directed by Julia Hart, for me to really appreciate the sly magic it worked. Starring Rachel Brosnahan as the wife of a criminal in the 1970s who, after her husband goes missing, learns more about the criminal world in which he lived. It finds a unique perspective on a generic story and upends the tropes of the genre by focusing on the moments that would happen offscreen in a typical crime drama. Available to watch...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Seventh Annual Timmy Television Awards

By
The Timmys annually honor the best in television from the past season. Winners are in bold. Best Comedy Series: Veep (HBO) Mom (CBS) The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix) Search Party (TBS) Shameless (Showtime) Best Drama Series: American Crime (ABC) Bloodline (Netflix) The Leftovers (HBO) Stranger Things (Netflix) This Is Us (NBC) Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Katy Mixon - American Housewife Drew Barrymore - Santa Clarita Diet Minnie Driver - Speechless Emmy Rossum - Shameless Anna Farris - Mom Allison Janney - Mom Sutton Foster - Younger Best Actor in a Comedy Series: William H. Macy - Shameless Aziz Ansari - Master of None Gael Garcia Bernal - Mozart in the Jungle  Donald Glover - Atlanta Timothy Olyphant - Santa Clarita Diet  Ted Danson - The Good Place Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Anna Chlumsky - Veep Carol Kane - The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Bernadette Peters - Mozart in the Jungl...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Ten Best TV Shows of 2019

By
Best of TV 2019 10. BH90210 (Fox) What an unexpected delight this show was. While the original Beverly Hills, 90210 was before my time, I found plenty to enjoy in this funny and shiny reboot. The premise sees the cast playing fictionalized versions of themselves preparing to reboot the '90s teen drama that made them famous. Their willingness to poke fun at their images made for a great satire of celebrity culture. 9. The Great British Bake Off (Channel 4 in the UK, Netflix in the US) In its tenth year, this show is old news. Nothing new or surprising can be evinced from this format. So why on Earth did this season nearly bring me to tears multiple times? I don't have an explanation, I just know how it made me feel. Perhaps it had something to do with this crop of contestants, but the nicest reality competition there is made for some for most pleasant viewing experiences of the year.  8. Mrs. Fletcher (HBO) Based on the Tom Perrotta novel, Mrs. Fletcher charts...
Post a Comment
Read more