Christina Applegate is miscast as Samantha Who, Life is Wild will need to revamp itself to stay out of trouble. Plus, a review of The Hill, not yet on ABC's schedule
More from the treasure trove of 2007's pilots. ABC hopes to score a comedic hit with Christina Applegate's Samantha Who, and The CW wants another stab at 7th Heaven-like ratings with Life is Wild. But it's a comedy not even on ABC's schedule that comes out the winner.
Samantha Who
A cute idea, but a miscast lead with Christina Applegate. Samantha wakes from a coma to discover that she has amnesia. She doesn’t recognize her overly-doting mother (the wonderful Jean Smart), her ambivalent father, her best friend (Jennifer Esposito) or her boyfriend Todd (Barry Watson got a job after What About Brian!) During the course of this ABC comedy pilot (originally called Sam I Am) , Sam discovers she was a not a nice person in her “former life,” treating her fat-friend (Melissa McCarthy - Sookie from Gilmore Girls!) with disdain and cheating on her Todd with …a bohunk In short, she was a self centered, annoying party girl and Sam is shocked to discover this. Now what?
An interesting set up, very likable secondary characters, but it’s Applegate who doesn’t fit into this tale. She overacts, and seems bored in every scene she's in. She radiates, “What am I doing here?” although it doesn’t come across as Sam wondering , but rather Applegate herself, making a mental note to fire her agent. Lauren Graham or Debra Messing would have been better suited. Still, there is hope for this show if Applegate can settle into the role, and Barry Watson is always watchable.
Life is Wild
Perhaps it’s not fair to review this one, since the pilot is being completely revamped. Nevertheless, the original pilot does give some idea as to the direction of this series.
Essentially, this show is The CW’s new 7th Heaven – this time it’s about a veterinarian (DW Moffet) and his family who ditch New York City for the wilds of South Africa. Except this family isn’t quite as wholesome as the Camdens. First, this is a blended family. The father comes with two kids: teenager Katie, (Leah Pipes, Clubhouse) and 11 year-old Chase (K’sun Ray, Smith) and his second wife (the fabulous Stephanie Niznik from Everwood) has her own two kids: rebellious teenage son Jesse (Andrew St. John, General Hospital) and 7-year-old Mia (Mary Matilyn Mouser, Eloise.) Second, this family doesn’t always get along, particularly Katie and Jesse (who have so much chemistry it almost feels incestuous, despite their not technically being brother and sister). Finally, this is South Africa, not the suburbs. Still, judging from the original pilot, it seems that the message will be the same: Respect your family, respect yourself.
Hopefully a revamped pilot will prevent this show from being DOA.
The Hill
Ok, this is a cheat, since this show isn’t even on ABC’s schedule yet. The cast has had their hold option picked up, meaning that they can’t take another job until the fate of this show has been determined. And let’s hope that it gets picked up because this show is a comedy worth watching.
Eric Christian Olsen (The Loop, Tru Calling) stars as Matt O’Brien, a senatorial aid in Washington DC, who falls in lust with Maggie (the woefully miscast Michelle Trachtenberg), and takes her home for a night of ...well, you know, only to discover the next day that not only is she the daughter of his boss’s biggest adversary in the Senate, but that she is only 18 years old. Now he can’t trust her, and yet also doesn’t trust himself around her. The pilot was a little uneven, although that’s relatively normal for a comedy pilot. Olsen, a Brad Pitt-type, mostly hits his funny moments, Ian Reed Kessler as his friend and office mate David, is decently funny, and Ryan Alvarez as the office intern steals every scene. But Trachtenberg is missing a funny bone, and Wendy Malik, as Matt’s boss, is just phoning it in.
Still, the actors may grow into their roles. What makes this show funny is the sharp writing, even if this is “only” a traditional three camera sitcom. Let’s hope it makes it onto ABC’s mid season schedule.
