Mike & Molly [CBS - US]

Richard Dower

From the grande master Chuck Lorre (really?) comes a sitcom about fat people (Huge - really?), will this sink or swim?

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/tv-reviews/mike-molly-tv-review-1004115400.story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_%26_Molly

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/mike_and_molly/

I never liked Melissa McCarthy on Gilmore Girls..... :rolleyes:

Basq

You like the majority of Chuck Lorre's stuff, don't you Rich?

Melissa McCarthy is a suprisingly capable little actress.. she does tend to play irritating characters more often that not. But she was quite good in 'The Nines'.

Also, 'Gilmore Girls' was a superbly written show for the first few years until the Sherman-Palladino's left. Far better than most of the comedy-drama dross of nowadays. It's been unfairly criticized by a lot of people who don't take the time to watch it and just dismiss it as "another one of those", but it's really not. Lauren Graham was absolutely fantastic in it.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

I think it'll be decent enough.

JP Liz V1

Promo Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmJdmG8PDC4

phasers

basquille wrote: »

Also, 'Gilmore Girls' was a superbly written show for the first few years until the Sherman-Palladino's left. Far better than most of the comedy-drama dross of nowadays. It's been unfairly criticized by a lot of people who don't take the time to watch it and just dismiss it as "another one of those", but it's really not. Lauren Graham was absolutely fantastic in it.

Ah Basq, you used to be cool.


Nice to see Melissa McCarthy get leading work, she's been playing the "kooky best friend" supporting character for too long now.

Basq

Trust me phasers!

I don't recommend a series like that lightly.. there's far more substance to it than it appears from the outset.

phasers

I kind of want to give it a go now but the daughter is so feckin annoying, I saw her in a film once and she cannot act! She couldn't even cry convincingly. Is it very noticeable in the show?

Earthhorse

I'll go with you on Gilmore Girls, basquille, it's a well written show and unfairly dismissed because "lol they talk so fast lol". Yes, they do talk fast, how annoying for you that you find English a difficult language to follow.

However, that promo makes the show look pretty turgid.

Though Chuck Lorre wrote "French Kissin' in the USA" so it can't be all bad.

iguana

Earthhorse wrote: »

I'll go with you on Gilmore Girls, basquille, it's a well written show and unfairly dismissed because "lol they talk so fast lol".

I think most people in Ireland dismissed it because initially RTE gave it the 7th Heaven off season slot.

Basq

phasers wrote: »

I kind of want to give it a go now but the daughter is so feckin annoying, I saw her in a film once and she cannot act! She couldn't even cry convincingly. Is it very noticeable in the show?

Alexis Bledel is "decent-ish" but the chemistry between herself and Lauren Graham is absolutely superb.. you'd firmly believe they're mother and daughter. Their relationship is so natural!

Kelly Bishop (who plays the grandmother) is an absolute scene-stealer... and Lauren Graham's performances just got better and better as the show went on.

I really can't recommend it enough.. it starts off quite slow but it becomes very good.. it's consistently well written (especially those Friday Night Dinner scenes) for the first few seasons!

As I said though, it took a nosedive after the Palladino's left before the final season.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Really enjoyed the pilot. Reminded me more of King of Queens than the usual Chuck Lorre stuff (ie. Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men)...

JONJO THE MISER

New Sitcom from C.B.S, dunno what to make of it as of yet, first episode 3/10 but will give it another chance, its no king Of Queens thats for sure.

phasers

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

its no king Of Queens thats for sure.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

JONJO THE MISER

Got 12.2 Million Viewers:eek:, 2nd most watched new tv show. I guess its helped by two and a half men which is its lead in.

Basq

Merged with the existing thread on 'Mike & Molly.

seadnamac

CaptainNegative wrote: »

Really enjoyed the pilot. Reminded me more of King of Queens than the usual Chuck Lorre stuff (ie. Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men)...

Phew. Reading your post made it sound like Chuck Lorre was responsible for the very decent King of Queens, which I am a fan of, as well as the like of TBBT and TAHM, which I absolutely deplore. Wiki says he's not though, no need for me to be ashamed of myself.

JONJO THE MISER

Second episode wasn't bad, a few laughs were had.

Richard Dower

^ more fat jokes?

paddyismaddy

i watched this the other night on comedy central mainly for katy mixon there was way too many fat jokes

Basq

It's nothing but fat jokes to be honest..

.. and the black grandmother in the third episode may have well been lifted directly from a Tyler Perry movie.

It's not great, but it's doing very well in the States.

Degag

From any trailers i've seen, it looks terrible.

phasers

This crap does well and Community is risking cancellation? damn it America!

I seem to recall Chuck Lorre swearing it wouldn't be a load of fat jokes, but what else could it be?

ziedth

I just happens to watch this on anytime last night, to set my stall out I generally like TBBT but can't stand two and a half men but I thought this was really painful. Like that's been said already at least 5 to many fat jokes in the opening episode.

When I was sitting there watching it I got think about comedy shows that really made me belly laugh such as south park, 30 rock, the inbetweeners and scrubs in it's day this really doesn't hold a candle to any of them IMHO and by comparison is lazy comedy.

Don't Think I'll give it a second episode tbh. But I guess 12 million odd people in the states can't be wrong.

Basq

The second episode was definitely an improvement on the pilot..

.. but the third was woeful!

JP Liz V1

http://www.marieclaire.com/sex-love/dating-blog/overweight-couples-on-television

The other day, my editor asked me, "Do you really think people feel uncomfortable when they see overweight people making out on television?"
Because I can be kind of clueless — I'm not much of a TV person — I had no idea what she was talking about, so she steered me to this CNN article, about the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly. As CNN explains, "the show centers around a couple who meet at an Overeaters Anonymous group [and] has drawn complaints for its abundance of fat jokes [as well as] cries from some viewers who aren't comfortable watching intimacy between two plus-sized actors."
My initial response was: Hmm, being overweight is one thing — those people are downright obese! And while I think our country's obsession with physical perfection is unhealthy, I also think it's at least equally crazy, albeit in the other direction, to be implicitly promoting obesity! Yes, anorexia is sick, but at least some slim models are simply naturally skinny. No one who is as fat as Mike and Molly can be healthy. And obesity is costing our country far more in terms of all the related health problems we are paying for, by way of our insurance, than any other health problem, even cancer.
So anyway, yes, I think I'd be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other ... because I'd be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything. To be brutally honest, even in real life, I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room — just like I'd find it distressing if I saw a very drunk person stumbling across a bar or a heroine addict slumping in a chair.
Now, don't go getting the wrong impression: I have a few friends who could be called plump. I'm not some size-ist jerk. And I also know how tough it can be for truly heavy people to psych themselves up for the long process of slimming down. (For instance, the overweight maintenance guy at my gym has talked to me a little bit about how it seems worthless for him to even try working out, because he's been heavy for as long as he can remember.)
But ... I think obesity is something that most people have a ton of control over. It's something they can change, if only they put their minds to it.
(I'm happy to give you some nutrition and fitness suggestions if you need them — but long story short, eat more fresh and unprocessed foods, read labels and avoid foods with any kind of processed sweetener in them whether it's cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup, increase the amount of fiber you're getting, get some kind of exercise for 30 minutes at least five times a week, and do everything you can to stand up more — even while using your computer — and walk more. I admit that there's plenty that makes slimming down tough, but YOU CAN DO IT! Trust me. It will take some time, but you'll also feel so good, physically and emotionally. A nutritionist or personal trainer will help — and if you can't afford one, visit your local YMCA for some advice.)
Then again, I guess these characters are in Overeaters Anonymous. So ... points for trying?
Then again, I tend to think most television shows are a kind of junk food for the mind and body. The boob tube gives us an excuse to turn off both our brains and our bodies and probably does a helluva lot to contribute to the obesity problem, over all. So ... I don't know.
What do you guys think? Fat people making out on TV — are you cool with it? Do you think I'm being an insensitive jerk?

UPDATE: I would really like to apologize for the insensitive things I've said in this post. Believe it or not, I never wanted anyone to feel bullied or ashamed after reading this, and I sorely regret that it upset people so much. A lot of what I said was unnecessary. It wasn't productive, either.


 I know a lot of people truly struggle to lose weight — for medical and psychological reasons — and that many people have an incredibly difficult time getting to a healthy size. I feel for those people and I'm truly sorry I added to the unhappiness and pain they feel with my post.


 I would like to reiterate that I think it's great to have people of all shapes and healthy sizes represented in magazines (as, it bears mentioning here, they are in Marie Claire) and on TV shows — and that in my post, I was talking about a TV show that features people who are not simply a little overweight, but appear to be morbidly obese. (Morbid obesity is defined as 100 percent more than their ideal weight.) And for whatever it's worth, I feel just as uncomfortable when I see an anorexic person as I do when I see someone who is morbidly obese, because I assume people suffering from eating disorders on either end of the spectrum are doing damage to their bodies, and that they are unhappy. But perhaps I shouldn’t be so quick to judge based on superficial observations.

 To that point (and on a more personal level), a few commenters and one of my friends mentioned that my extreme reaction might have grown out of my own body issues, my history as an anorexic, and my life-long obsession with being thin. As I mentioned in the ongoing dialogue we’ve been carrying on in the comments section, I think that's an accurate insight.

 People have accused me of being a bully in my post. I never intended to be that — it's actually the very last thing I want to be, as a writer or a person. But I know that I came off that way, and I really cannot apologize enough to the people whom I upset.

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00036380.html

Some controversy and more media attention for the show

vibe666

lol, well i guess it's funnier if yer fat and i imagine that makes it *more* popular in the US.

i actually quite like it. there's some dodgy jokes in there, but the two leads are pretty good and her sister does well too as a vacuous airhead imho.

Richard Dower

Has anyone been keeping up with the show?...has it got better?, it's ratings have been very very strong, it's second all season now to 2.5 Men in ratings, i saw the pilot and it didn't grab me....did it get better?

Basq

It's not great, it's not terrible.. somewhere in between!

It's certainly miles better than that 'Two And A Half Men' garbage.

Unfortunately, it's humour is wearing a little thin. The same jokes are churned out regularly and stereotypical characters are just being hashed out when necessary:

• The "Tyler Perry-esque" grandmother - "ooooh, sugaarr.. tell me your best not be dating that lovely girl.. mmmm-hmmm"
• The nymphomaniac mother - "my <insert witty name for vagina here> hasn't been probed in hours... hoo-wee!"
• The stoner stupid sister - "do you mind if I blaze up a doobie, Mr Officer Man?"
• etc.

The fat jokes are still coming thick and fast.. not as often as they once were, but it's all still quite lazy!

Don't get me wrong.. sometimes it can be quite funny, but it's just sub-par Chuck Lorre. So par with his other stuff!

vibe666

i haven't watched any tyler perry stuff, but the grandmother aslways reminds me of the old woman in the tom & jerry cartoons.

i actually quite like it, i think its certainly got potential if they can tweak it a bit to sort out a few small things.

my wife really seems to like it a lot though, i think she get a bit of a friends vibe from it and she's been waiting years for something that could replace it.

NOT to say that it's on a par with friends, but i can see why she gets that kind of feeling from it. ii think part of it is that she's been looking for something to fill that half hour comedy hole that friends left so long ago and it makes her laugh.

i definitely find it watchable anyway, there's a lot worse out there that seems to be able to keep going season after season while lots of good (and some really great) shows are getting cancelled left right and centre.

Colmo52

TV3 have got the irish rights to this and will air it starting Friday, January 7th, 2011 at 8pm

Richard Dower

Season.....3?, eh....don't care!....out.

paddyismaddy

Richard Dower wrote: »

Season.....3?, eh....don't care!....out.

does anyone watch this crap even the sister april couldnt keep me watching

don ramo

paddyismaddy wrote: »

does anyone watch this crap even the sister april couldnt keep me watching

yeah but her rack looked good in episode 1;), and to answer your question 9.45 million people watched it live,