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Forum namePass The Popcorn Archives
Topic subjectI would say Curb
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=23&topic_id=32301&mesg_id=32357
32357, I would say Curb
Posted by SoulHonky, Tue Sep-27-05 07:43 PM
"Can one of the people that say Jason Batemen's character doesn't work because he's the only normal one, give examples of other sitcoms with the same style?"

The style doesn't matter. The issue is substance and all shows are similar at their core. If the relationships don't work, then the audience won't buy into it.

I would say AD is (with fewer storylines) Curb if Cheryl was the main character, was only dating Larry, and the shit he pulled was 100% worse (like blowing up a yacht). After a while you'd be like, Why the hell does she stay with him? In Seinfeld, if Jerry was normal and always talking about ditching his friends, you'd be like "Do it already!" But he was as crazy as them and they had a connection that they couldn't really make with others.

In AD, nobody really likes one another. They have a thin bond of family which supposedly keeps them together. The issue I have is that is the ONLY time that supposed bond comes into effect. The entire show is about the family screwing one another over but inexplicably at the end, Michael adheres to his sense of family and stays. IMO that's a cop out. Imagine being in a pitch meeting, "Why does the main character stay after his family shit on him?" "Um, he's spineless and has a screwed up sense of family." That doesn't really seem to work. If they aren't going to act like a family, you really can't use family bond as a reason why they stay together.

While many people might overlook this and say it doesn't matter, I would say that it matters for most viewers, and it is one of the reasons why the show doesn't register with many viewers.