A Second Look At: Samantha Who?
MITCH HADDAD / ABC
A little background first. I finally bought a new iPod. (Shortly after which, I learned how to fix the old one with a business card from a Vietnamese-sandwich place, so I now have two.) Being the cheap, boring, Consumer Reports-reading, never-buy-first-generation-tech guy, I am, I got a Classic. And this morning I watched my first TV show on it.
First, my review of the iPod. The size of the screen didn't bother me, so I'm satisfied enough for now not to have gotten the Touch. The blurriness of the picture did, but I got used to it. I still have enough self-hating TV shame in me to be slightly embarrassed about watching a TV show on the subway--I swear, I read too! There's a New Yorker in my bag!--but I can get used to that to. This could definitely be a good way for me to catch up on my TV backlog, when (as usual) Writing About TV takes up the time I need for Watching TV to Write About. A standard network sitcom gets me just about exactly from Park Slope to midtown via the F train. ("It made me miss my stop!" could become my new most-blurbable form of praise.)
So: the show I watched was Samantha Who? My first look at it was very cursory, mainly because I didn't expect it to be around long. [Note: Yes, that's the same photo on the old review. While uploading the new photo I stupidly overwrote the one from October, which I gave the same filename. I did not travel in time and break history.]
Lo and behold, it's one of the few relative hits of fall 2007. I'm still not sure why. I liked it, but it has all the signs of a show that shouldn't last. It's a serial sitcom, which tends to be more popular with critics than audiences. It's single-camera, which, ditto. It's the kind of upscale-woman-in-the-city-com that networks have been obsessed with since Sex and the City yet always fail at. And it's very much in the mold of that particular kind of ABC sitcom that's sort of just good enough, different but not really daring, funny but not bust-a-gut so, amusing but not unmissable: think Notes from the Underbelly (still around, for now), Jake in Progress, Big Day.
There's the Dancing with the Stars lead-in, but that's no guarantee of success. I suppose I credit the writing, which is just a notch above the ABC counterparts I mention above. At least a couple times I laughed audibly enough to briefly embarrass myself in public. (In the episode this morning--The Hockey Date--when Sam's ex's new girlfriend discovers that she has amnesia, and starts speaking to her as though she were deaf.)
But mostly it's casting, namely, Christina Applegate as the title amnesiac, rediscovering who she is. (Jennifer Esposito and Jean Smart are no slouches either.) Applegate has a special genius for sitcoms. I don't mean this as an insult, but there are certain actors who, for whatever reason, are nothing special in a big screen or another format, but simply pop when you put them in a half-hour show with punchlines. Her timing is great, her manner is engaging, and she just has this energy: her face sits on the screen as if backlit, quietly humming with electricity.
Or is that just the iPod talking? I haven't detected a lot of Samantha Who? talk at Tuned In, so let me know what you think.
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1
I've chuckled a few times too, but I must say how far can they go with this show - the amnesia thing can only go so far IMO. Great idea for a 2 hour movie, not so much for a TV series.
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2
I didn't start watching this show in the beginning, but my husband downloaded the first several episodes off iTunes a couple weeks ago and I got all caught up. I think it is way better than a lot of silly sitcoms - it is a little over-the-top at times, but a very likable, watchable show. I hope it sticks around for at least a full season, because the actors have all dug in and created interesting, quirky characters, and the show has its own energy.
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3
I'm sure Samantha Who is a lovely show; I've never seen it.
More exciting are the ads promoting Lost coming soon to movie theaters near you! (hope that link works)
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4
William,
I don't think your link worked.
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5
I'm a fan of this show, and not for the record some of the other adequate series that were referenced... and I think you hit the nail on the head with the reasons.
The premise isn't all that, but allows the perfect venue for Applegate to play her goofy side as well as her sweet yet sassy attitude. She means well doesn't she, but clearly doesn't always take the right path to get there, thus the funny. And the supporting cast and the writing keep it all just a cut above what could otherwise be yet another Big Day, ick.
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6
@James - great review. procrastinator and you are right - the reason this show works (as opposed to the others) is the fantastic supporting cast surrounding the amazingly talented Applegate: Jean Smart, Kevin Dunn, Melissa McCartney, Jennifer Esposito, and Barry Watson all fit perfectly into their roles, and bring a lot to the table. Just like Arrested Development (although SW is not in AD's league as far as laughs per half-hour or subversive genius), the talent of the cast here brings a lot to the quality of the show.
I'll be tuning in as long as it's on (or, at least, watching it online at ABC.com)
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7
And once again, the writers are overlooked. This show makes me laugh far more than I expect (as I believe I have posted earlier here). Yes, the performances, but it starts on the page. The creators watched a lot of the UK "Coupling," I think.
Just as a barometer, I prefer Keaton to Chaplin, was an early adopter of Monty Python, and think "CSI: Miami" should submit itself in the Best Comedy category.
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9
And not to forget the sadly small role of Tim Russ, formerly ST:Voyager's Tuvok, as Sam's doorman, exhibiting Vulcan levels of deadpan.
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10
Hey Jon88 - both JP and at least I noted the writing being above par, we all get the actors don't do it alone... But seriously I felt like I needed to reply merely to give kudos to CSI Miami as a comedy, maybe if I look at it that way Horatio wouldn't pain me so...
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11
The bad news is that I like it also which almost guarantees that a show is doomed.
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12
This one got a season pass from me. It's the only sitcom I watch (maybe because it doesn't have a laugh track?). I love the flashbacks where we get to see "Bad Samantha," and then the character's chagrin that she acted that way. Also, any show that helps keep "Sookie" (sorry, don't know the actress' name) on TV is well worth while.
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13
Nice story, but let me notice that the iPod is even better and fun when it's upgraded with a bullet, that turns your favorite player into one of the most discreet adult toys I've ever seen, here
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