Fall Axe, Fall

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 19, 2006 11:13PM

Apparently, Maureen Ryan isn't the only one who's hating on "Happy Hour," the new Chicago-set sitcom. If you check out TV Death Watch '06 you’ll find that, at the moment, it's the one new show everyone’s betting will get axed the fastest. Having just watched the 2nd episode online we’re eagerly rooting for its demise. Does TV really need another witless show with main characters who are either bland or just plain annoying? It’s the kind of show we’d only watch if it was showing on the plane and we’d read the SkyMall catalog a few times already. There seems to be approximately one genuinely funny joke per commercial break segment. Perhaps there’s a wartime humor-rationing program in place that no one bothered to tell us about.

But what really gets our goat is that in “Happy Hour” we have yet another example of a “Chicago” show that’s produced in … Studio City, Los Angeles, California. The sets are so nondescript that they were probably left over from Fox’s last cancelled sitcom (they include the Bar set, the Living Room set, and the Office set). About as much local color as a Pottery Barn showroom. Even worse? Unlike “ER” or “Chicago Hope,” for example, there aren’t even any 2nd unit location shots of Chicago! Instead they’ve created linking animated segments. All of which feature the ‘L,’ because of course the ‘L’ is everywhere in Chicago, right?

It’s enough to make us pine for the days of "What About Joan." Sure, it wasn’t really that funny, but it was locally produced (at the former Chicago Studio Center on West Taylor). And if it had been a success, Joan Cusack probably wouldn’t be in all those dumb U.S. Cellular commercials. Maybe one of these days someone will create a decent Chicago sitcom that will actually be made here too. Until then, we’re all too ready to try for that 37” flatscreen HDTV.

Thanks, Rob!