This is a show with Kevin James in it. If you don't like him, then you're probably not going to like it. But even if you do like him, you may notice the fact that his schtick still doesn't change. I can't recall a single episode that wasn't fueled at least in part with his "fat idiot" routine that he uses in everything he's ever been in to my knowledge. In other words, if you marathon the show, you're going to notice it getting very repetitive.
Leah Remini plays the abrasive wife. I'm not as familiar with her, but episodes don't seem to be based around her brashness quite as much, which is a shame, albeit a justified one as her character has no friends. That's not to say her acting ever rises above passable, as I'm just as often bored out of my mind watching her as James.
The one who steals the show is, of course, Jerry Stiller as the crazy father, whose over the top antics are frequently enjoyable to watch, but that's a bit of a double-edged sword in that it just reminds me how much I'd rather be watching Seinfeld. Speaking of which, I do think part of this show's problem is expecting us to care about either one of the half-wits that comprise its main cast when one is a complete tool and the other is an annoying bitch, but that's a sitcom for you.
The remainder of the cast are generally okay, but other than Deacon, they all suffer the same problem as the main cast, though their quirkiness usually does make up for it... when they bother to show up at all. Another problem I have is that the show doesn't ever, to my knowledge, take advantage of its setting in New York City, an enormous and culturally diverse city steeped in histoy. The show could be set practically anywhere and it wouldn't make a difference, despite the very title referring to the fact that it's set in New York.
Now I haven't religiously watched the show as you might imagine, so I can't comment on how it changed from season to season, but when every episode I ever watched seemed to revolve around Doug/Arthur/Carrie doing something stupid and trying to fix it, can you blame me?
Bottom Line: Dull premise, dull acting, and overly repetitive. If a rerun's on, do yourself a favor and change the channel.
Don't bother
This is a show with Kevin James in it. If you don't like him, then you're probably not going to like it. But even if you do like him, you may notice the fact that his schtick still doesn't change. I can't recall a single episode that wasn't fueled at least in part with his "fat idiot" routine that he uses in everything he's ever been in to my knowledge. In other words, if you marathon the show, you're going to notice it getting very repetitive.
Leah Remini plays the abrasive wife. I'm not as familiar with her, but episodes don't seem to be based around her brashness quite as much, which is a shame, albeit a justified one as her character has no friends. That's not to say her acting ever rises above passable, as I'm just as often bored out of my mind watching her as James.
The one who steals the show is, of course, Jerry Stiller as the crazy father, whose over the top antics are frequently enjoyable to watch, but that's a bit of a double-edged sword in that it just reminds me how much I'd rather be watching Seinfeld. Speaking of which, I do think part of this show's problem is expecting us to care about either one of the half-wits that comprise its main cast when one is a complete tool and the other is an annoying bitch, but that's a sitcom for you.
The remainder of the cast are generally okay, but other than Deacon, they all suffer the same problem as the main cast, though their quirkiness usually does make up for it... when they bother to show up at all. Another problem I have is that the show doesn't ever, to my knowledge, take advantage of its setting in New York City, an enormous and culturally diverse city steeped in histoy. The show could be set practically anywhere and it wouldn't make a difference, despite the very title referring to the fact that it's set in New York.
Now I haven't religiously watched the show as you might imagine, so I can't comment on how it changed from season to season, but when every episode I ever watched seemed to revolve around Doug/Arthur/Carrie doing something stupid and trying to fix it, can you blame me?
Bottom Line: Dull premise, dull acting, and overly repetitive. If a rerun's on, do yourself a favor and change the channel.