2008 Woodie Awards
Will Joey survive the curse?
Kara Agostino
Issue date: 9/22/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
It was possibly the biggest build up this summer, airing commercials every time slot since the Friends series finale. To be frank, it has been quite annoying and all the hype has been over nothing. We do not need to see Matt LeBlanc ten times a day to remember that he now has his own show. With all the publicity you would expect an Emmy-award winning performance, but that, in fact, is not the case. The question that is now on everyone's minds is does our friend Joey have what it takes to make it?
The show finally aired on September 9th and yes, it did provide a few good laughs, but they are not numerous enough to make the show last, let us say, ten years like its predecessor. How long can we keep laughing at the same jokes about how Joey is not the sharpest tool in the shed? It seems there is not enough about his character to sustain a long show. Most are predicting it will be off the air by Christmas-the dreaded curse of the spin-off. However some diehard fans are choosing to believe otherwise. Who knows what will happen, but critics believed the same for Frasier and yet that lasted...dare I say it, longer than Friends.
The premiere episode was fairly decent. Joey's sister, Gina, seems to be a good match to play opposite him. Her son, the rocket scientist, even seems to be a reasonable character as well. The three characters, however, do not mesh very well together. There is some friction that does not make the show run smoothly. The trio plays a family and yet it appears to be forced, because the truth of the matter is that this program is just another way for NBC to make a quick buck off of Friends' popularity and success. Seriously, what do Joey and a rocket scientist have in common?
Many people have tuned into Joey because they were faithful viewers of Friends. Some are intrigued as to what will happen to him as time progresses. Yes, of course Friends was an amazing show, but does that mean that people will watch this show week after week because of their faithfulness? Will everyone subject themselves to mediocre television just because they sympathize with Matt LeBlanc's career? Or will NBC's "Must See TV" backfire in their face?
Joey is not an original show that we can adopt and grow to love; it resembles so many others that are just not interesting. There is nothing unique. To be blunt, its been done. My apologies to Joey; it looks like this will not be your week, month or even your year... As much as we would like to be "there for you" Joey, we are simply going to have to bail.
The show finally aired on September 9th and yes, it did provide a few good laughs, but they are not numerous enough to make the show last, let us say, ten years like its predecessor. How long can we keep laughing at the same jokes about how Joey is not the sharpest tool in the shed? It seems there is not enough about his character to sustain a long show. Most are predicting it will be off the air by Christmas-the dreaded curse of the spin-off. However some diehard fans are choosing to believe otherwise. Who knows what will happen, but critics believed the same for Frasier and yet that lasted...dare I say it, longer than Friends.
The premiere episode was fairly decent. Joey's sister, Gina, seems to be a good match to play opposite him. Her son, the rocket scientist, even seems to be a reasonable character as well. The three characters, however, do not mesh very well together. There is some friction that does not make the show run smoothly. The trio plays a family and yet it appears to be forced, because the truth of the matter is that this program is just another way for NBC to make a quick buck off of Friends' popularity and success. Seriously, what do Joey and a rocket scientist have in common?
Many people have tuned into Joey because they were faithful viewers of Friends. Some are intrigued as to what will happen to him as time progresses. Yes, of course Friends was an amazing show, but does that mean that people will watch this show week after week because of their faithfulness? Will everyone subject themselves to mediocre television just because they sympathize with Matt LeBlanc's career? Or will NBC's "Must See TV" backfire in their face?
Joey is not an original show that we can adopt and grow to love; it resembles so many others that are just not interesting. There is nothing unique. To be blunt, its been done. My apologies to Joey; it looks like this will not be your week, month or even your year... As much as we would like to be "there for you" Joey, we are simply going to have to bail.