Spotting Actual Talent in Terrible Sitcoms C/D

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So I'm unemployed and waiting for a phone interview this afternoon and I'm watching daytime tv, as you do.. and there's this awful sitcom called 'Grounded For Life' on, and my eyes glaze over as the hijinks ensue. But in the middle of all this there's a guy spinning shit into gold, a terrible script but he's totally winning it. His name's Kevin Corrigan and he plays a character called Eddie, turns out he's been in Goodfellas amongst other feathered films.
It's sort of terrible that he's gotta pay the billz this way, cause really..man, it's a bad show. What talent have you seen in murky sitcom hell?

― Nellie (nellskies), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Richard E. Grant was just wasting his talent on the final episode of "Frasier" (although, again, there are worse shows than "Frasier").

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Brian Posehn on Just Shoot Me.

― x Jeremy (Atila the Honeybun), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Jeremy OTM.

― deanomgwtf!!!p%3Fmsgid%3D4581997 (deangulberry), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Phil Hartman on Newsradio (tho maybe memory disserves me and the show itself was good).

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Memory's serving you fine. Hartman was brill, but there was Andy Dick-ery all over that show.

― m.e.a. (m.e.a.), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:32 (twenty-two years ago)

stephen root too, though

― the surface noise of psychotic badassery (electricsound), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:33 (twenty-two years ago)

there's tons of this kind of thing in british sitcoms

but constable goody in the thin blue line is not one of them

― de, Friday, 14 May 2004 02:34 (twenty-two years ago)

newsradio was fine

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:34 (twenty-two years ago)

hahaha he's even worse in "gimme gimme gimme"

(xpost)

― the surface noise of psychotic badassery (electricsound), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:34 (twenty-two years ago)

NIKKI COX

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:35 (twenty-two years ago)

it's not a sitcom as such, but Meera Syal (the grandmother) is far and away the most talented cast member of Kumars at no. 42

― the surface noise of psychotic badassery (electricsound), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Ah, Nikki Cox, an interesting case. Pretty funny, pretty smart, but her admirable attempts to transcend her cleavage were always bollixed by crappy shows and crappy plots.

― m.e.a. (m.e.a.), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Newsradio was awesome. 1000000000x better than the Simpsons or what have you. Andy Dick sucks though.

― adam (adam), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh isnt she just? Shes grate.

er xpost, I meant that for Jim. Nikki Cox is annoying.

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:39 (twenty-two years ago)

lou ferrigno on king of queens

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:39 (twenty-two years ago)

brad garrett (robert) on everybody loves raymond

― the surface noise of psychotic badassery (electricsound), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:42 (twenty-two years ago)

that dude from those whit stillman flix on the now thank god i think it's gone the mind of the married man

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:43 (twenty-two years ago)

no way to brad garrett - that dude's totally full of himself. peter boyle 4va - "PUTTIN ON THE RITZ"

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:44 (twenty-two years ago)

haha i used to have a thing for the blonde girl that was on 'two guys, a girl, a pizza place' AND 'boston common'.

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Everybody Loves Raymond is def. *not* a terrible sitcom, tho.

― m.e.a. (m.e.a.), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:46 (twenty-two years ago)

yes it is.

― x Jeremy (Atila the Honeybun), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:47 (twenty-two years ago)

^^ what he said

― the surface noise of psychotic badassery (electricsound), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:48 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2004/04/12/not_ieverybodyi_loves_raymond/

― x Jeremy (Atila the Honeybun), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Khandi Alexander and Dave Foley in News Radio,

― anthony, Friday, 14 May 2004 02:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Jeremy, that article is one of the most reductionist assessments of Raymond I've ever seen -- as if the show were nothing more than petty squabbles and tee-hee farces about marital sex. When it's on, it's pretty smartly spot-on about how couples and families interrelate. I know its hoplessly square in its setup, but I think it's often been brilliant in its execution.

I'll take your Boston Globe crit and raise you this nicely-put essay by the fine Neal Gabler:

http://www.patriciaheatononline.com/elrarticles/lovingraymondsitcom.html

― m.e.a. (m.e.a.), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:57 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah khandi alexander never got her due on that show and famously left cuz there was nothing for her character to do (haha - there was one great scene though where they showed everyone chatting about friends and her sitting there looking very very bored and isolated)(best dig at friends' racism while it was on the air). maura tierney deserves a shoutout too, stephen root deserves one million shoutouts.

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:58 (twenty-two years ago)

woah - patriciaheatononline! yr a braver man than i dude!

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 14 May 2004 02:59 (twenty-two years ago)

The article actually first ran in the NYTimes; the patricia heaton fan site is just where I happened to find it when I went googlin'.

Guess the point is that "Raymond" is one of the few sitcoms I catch myself laughing out loud at, ever since I got into the reruns about a year ago. I was surprised too, because I bought the conventional wisdom that it was dull CBS old-folks crud. But I get the same kick out of Raymond that I got from the Simpsons years back.

― m.e.a. (m.e.a.), Friday, 14 May 2004 03:00 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah i like raymond though i think it's really lost something the past couple of years. waaaaay too many brad garrett plotlines. jumpshark point when they went to italy maybe.

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 14 May 2004 03:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes... no ... hmm...

I think that CBS has a bunch of mediocre, non-offensive, blandish, and inarguable okay offerings that've received un/quote critical acclaim simply because they're as safe as possible: CSI, Raymond, King of Queens. They're all - more or less - a bunch of middle-class white folks jawing about water-cooler nonsense. I agree the Globe article's somewaht shoddy, but I agree with the point: Raymond's schtick is tired, tired, tired. But, to channel Roger Ebert, "There are two things you can't argue in film: comedy and erotica. If something doesn't make you laugh, no one can tell you why it's funny, and likewise, it's hard to argue someone out of an erection."

― x Jeremy (Atila the Honeybun), Friday, 14 May 2004 03:09 (twenty-two years ago)

boy he's on the mark about that last point lemme tell ya

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 14 May 2004 03:12 (twenty-two years ago)

no way to brad garrett - that dude's totally full of himself. peter boyle 4va - "PUTTIN ON THE RITZ"

hahaha my friend was his personal assistant!!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 14 May 2004 04:36 (twenty-two years ago)

NewsRadio was fine, but if you eliminate Andy Dick, the annoying redhead and the dimwitted handyman it would have been perfect.

I'm with Blount on the blonde crush-of-shame. She was on the West Wing for one episode as Sam's ex, too.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Friday, 14 May 2004 04:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Steven Wright on Mad About You

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Friday, 14 May 2004 07:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Apparently Sean Penn is going to guest star on friends! I will cry myself to sleep tonight, the way i cried myself to sleep when he did that 'I'm a disabled dad but it's ok' movie

― Nellie (nellskies), Friday, 14 May 2004 12:02 (twenty-two years ago)

how the fuck is he going to do that?

― Patrick Kinghorn, Friday, 14 May 2004 12:07 (twenty-two years ago)

it's just going to be him on the empty set, doing a monologue

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 14 May 2004 12:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Newsradio was great, people.

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Friday, 14 May 2004 12:08 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm in Australia, it hasn't finished here and i don't watch it. But that's the upcoming episode.

― Nellie (nellskies), Friday, 14 May 2004 12:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Meera Syal was on Bad Gurls last week wasn't she?

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 14 May 2004 12:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Sanjeev Bhaskar on everything ever.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 14 May 2004 12:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I really like Topher Grace (sp?) and Laura Prepon from That 70's Show. I think they both have a kind of charm that transcends the typical sitcom shit going on in that show.

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:01 (twenty-two years ago)

you are right, I really like that 70s show though

― chris (chris), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:04 (twenty-two years ago)

I have a weird split opinion about the cast of That 70's Show. I really like Grace, Prepon, the guy who plays Fez, and Ashton Kutcher, and I really hate the rest of the cast, but especially Jackie and the dad (which is weird, because he was in Citizen Ruth, which is cool, right, but whatever).

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Everyone on Newsradio (pre-Lovitz) (sans Dick) was unimpeachably awesome, as was, to a lesser degree, Spin City (pre-Locklear) (and even post-, for a while). Everyone seems to be spot-on (indie dahling Kevin Corrigan especially, tho I didn't mind that show much @ all - Donal Logue makes me all warm & fuzzy), BUT:

- John Laroquette on Night Court
- the dad on the Nikki Cox sitcom w/ the Bobcat Goldthwait rabbit puppet
- Paula Marshall in what-the-fuck-ever

I think we could rename this thread Actual Talents in Terrible Sitcoms that Guest-Starred on an Aaron Sorkin-Helmed Show.

Don't hate on Boddicker!

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:15 (twenty-two years ago)

How does Richard E Grant have talent to waste? British accent /= talent!

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Dude, Donal Logue is AWESOME! The Tao of Steve yo!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:33 (twenty-two years ago)

I have perpetual love for Donal Logue since he has a cameo in a Chavez video (he was their guitarist's roommate).

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:34 (twenty-two years ago)

I almost had my roommate convinced that he was the red-haired kid on Salute Your Shorts.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Ha ha, awesome.

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:37 (twenty-two years ago)

The first Norm Macdonald sitcom, the one on ABC, was brilliant, had a great cast, great writing, and Nikki Cox. The recent Norm Macdonald sitcom on Fox was complete ass.
Wasn't Scott Thompson on one of those Touched By An Angel type shows for a while?

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Chandler's roomate Eddie, and Phoebe's brother. Friends, obv.

― don (don), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Let me guess, he was the really flamboyantly gay angel.

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:58 (twenty-two years ago)

He was the florist down the road. I can't remember what the show was, but it was one of those soft-lit, Jesus-y shows. Dynasty, maybe?

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Friday, 14 May 2004 14:01 (twenty-two years ago)

i think the parents are the best thing about that 70s show!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Without a doubt. Topher Grace and the parents are the only ones with any discernable acting skills.

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:40 (twenty-two years ago)

But Jackie's kinda hot.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually, in reference to the original sitcom referenced in this thread, I felt the same way seeing Kevin Corrigan in Grounded for Life as I did seeing Chris Eigeman in on It's Like, You Know, since it seemed like both were in a gazillion indie films in 1998.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:45 (twenty-two years ago)

I know what you mean, dude.

I find the redhead hotter than Jackie. I think it's Jackie's voice and weird huge eyes that freak me out.

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:46 (twenty-two years ago)

And the redhead's giant boobies!

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Meh.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I have already come to the realization that I am alone on this one (this one = Kunis > Prepon).

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:51 (twenty-two years ago)

only on ILX, Jaymc. I think that the real world agrees with you.

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Naw, my friends think I'm crazy, too.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Jaymc's got a shrillness fetish.

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I've got to shill for fish.

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:58 (twenty-two years ago)

To be perfectly honest, I think it's the "weird huge eyes."

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:59 (twenty-two years ago)

And you'll understand when you meet my girlfriend tomorrow tonight. Hey-o!

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:59 (twenty-two years ago)

She better not be Fran Drescher.

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 14 May 2004 16:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Anyway, Mila Kunis has an excuse for her talentlessness; I think I read she didn't speak English until she was like 9 years old.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 14 May 2004 16:00 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.c4vct.com/kym/sg/snaps/zingor1.jpg

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Friday, 14 May 2004 16:00 (twenty-two years ago)

OMG.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 14 May 2004 16:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, and Van Gogh never spoke English. Talk about talentless!

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 14 May 2004 16:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, I thought Van Gogh was especially poor in that episode where Kelso couldn't find his stash.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 14 May 2004 16:05 (twenty-two years ago)

i was wondering when i saw the thread title if this would turn into discussion of the size of various actresses' "talent"....

― amateur!st (amateurist), Friday, 14 May 2004 16:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Sheridan Smith.

― Markelby (Mark C), Friday, 14 May 2004 17:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I dig her "weird huge eyes" too. I have a thing for "weird huge eyes". Donna's a'ight.

― oops (Oops), Friday, 14 May 2004 17:35 (twenty-two years ago)

They should have Nikki Cox on there playing Donna's cousin!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 14 May 2004 17:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Or lover!

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Friday, 14 May 2004 17:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Or both!

...What?

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 14 May 2004 17:54 (twenty-two years ago)

That 1870s Show!

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Friday, 14 May 2004 17:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Fox execs are already reading this thread and getting devious ideas.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 14 May 2004 18:10 (twenty-two years ago)

devious ideas = cancelling Arrested Development, I bet.

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Friday, 14 May 2004 18:12 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www3.lehigh.edu/images/userImages/keh6/Page_2128/Hal-Holbrook-as-Mark-Twain-.jpg
"What are you children doing down there in the cellar?"

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 14 May 2004 18:13 (twenty-two years ago)

"Is that a stovepipe hat on your lap or are you just happy to see me?"

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Friday, 14 May 2004 18:26 (twenty-two years ago)

I dunno guys, I think the humor would fade after they lynch the perverted foreign guy.

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 14 May 2004 18:42 (twenty-two years ago)

And that's why you are not employed in the entertainment industry.

― oops (Oops), Friday, 14 May 2004 18:47 (twenty-two years ago)

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