'Are You There, Chelsea?' - 'Pilot': My sister, myself
What did everybody think of NBC's new Chelsea Handler sitcom?
Laura Prepon in "Are You There, Chelsea?"
Credit: NBC
I posted my review of NBC's "Are You There, Chelsea?" on Monday. Now it's your turn. For those of you who watched, what did you think? How do you feel Laura Prepon did channeling a younger Chelsea Handler? Did you appreciate Handler's presence playing her sister? (And were you predisposed to liking Chandler ahead of time?) Did you enjoy Lauren Lapkus as the wacky new roommate Dee Dee? Appreciate Dot Marie Jones' cameo as Chelsea's cellmate? Did you laugh much? Did you like it more or less than "Whitney"?
Have at it.
Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
News From Our Partners
-
Beyonce Pregnant Again? Sources Confirm 'Epic' Star Is Carrying Baby No. 2
'Hangover 3' Red Band Trailer: Take a Walk Down a NSFW Memory Lane (VIDEO)
Why 'Man of Steel' Didn't Use 'Superman' in the Title
-
How Far Will 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Boldly Go At Box Office?
'Star Trek Into Darkness': The Secret Behind The Mystery Villain
'Pacific Rim' Trailer Surfaces: Watch Now!
-
Weekly Ketchup: Will Smith to Star in Wild Bunch Remake?
Critics Consensus: Star Trek Into Darkness is Certified Fresh
Red Carpet Roundup: Star Trek Into Darkness Edition
-
The Future Of Olivia And Fitz, And More Season 3 Scoop
SPOILER ALERT: What's Ahead In 'Nikita' Season 4?
Google Glass Does Porn
-
Cannes Film Festival: Cannes 2013, Day Three: Cheers for the young stars of The Selfish Giant, jeers for the new films by Hirokazu Kore-eda and Arnaud Desplechin
Hear This: Destroy This Place shows how press releases can get it right
Watch This: With Beavis And Butt-head Do America, Mike Judge skewered the idiocy of cinematic adventures
-
The Telefile - The Most Heinous Person on Reality TV This Week
The Telefile - Modern Family: The Best Lines of the Night
The Telefile - Fall TV 2013: What's On When
-
What to Watch This Weekend: The Season Finales of Nikita, Doctor Who, The Simpsons, and Family Guy
The Office Series Finale Review: That'll Do, Show. That'll Do.
Syfy Renews Warehouse 13 for a Fifth and Final Season
-
'Anchorman 2′ Teaser: Stay Classy, Fat Face!
Team Fortress 2′s Robotic Boogaloo Community Update Adds Even More Hats
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D to Launch with L.A. Zoo's Party Animals
Get Instant Alerts on What's Alan Watching
Latest Posts
-
Dan and Alan also discuss the recent finales of 'Survivor' and 'The Amazing Race'Friday, May 17, 2013
-
Dwight gets married and the staff revisits the documentary in a lovely farewellThursday, May 16, 2013
-
Lecter becomes interested in a local killer, and Will begins hearing thingsThursday, May 16, 2013
-
A show that shouldn't have worked instead became a great, popular, influential oneThursday, May 16, 2013
Recent Activity on Facebook
Most Popular on Facebook
Top Stories From Around the Web
Comments
Option 1
Comment instantly as a guest GuestOption 2
Option 3
Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupJordo
January 11, 2012 at 10:21PM EST Reply to CommentMy brother and I watched the entire episode with facial expressions like a doctor just informed us that we have lupus.
thenightstalker It's never lupus!
January 11, 2012 at 10:53PM ESTlztouchthedream "... with facial expressions like a doctor just informed us that we have lupus."
January 11, 2012 at 11:14PM ESTSo...sexual arousal and a hint of confusion? Or is that just me?
sepinwall All of these jokes are funnier than anything in this pilot, btw. Good job, people.
January 11, 2012 at 11:26PM ESTPunky
January 12, 2012 at 12:17AM EST Reply to CommentPainful from start to finish. I can't believe this was what they came up with for the pilot. Thank god for Amy Poehler and Tina Few because Whitney Cummings and Chelsea Handler set the women's comedy movement back in a big way this year...
Punky
January 12, 2012 at 12:19AM EST Reply to CommentPainful from start to finish. I can't believe this is what they came up with for the pilot. Thank god for Amy Poehler and Tina Fey because Chelsea Handler and Whitney Cummings set the women's comedy movement back in a big way this year...
Punky
January 12, 2012 at 12:20AM EST Reply to CommentWrite a comment...Painful from start to finish. I can't believe this is what they came up with for the pilot. Thank god for Amy Poehler and Tina Fey because Chelsea Handler and Whitney Cummings set the women's comedy movement back in a big way this year...
Punky Whoa, sorry for the triple post!
January 12, 2012 at 12:21AM ESTr1pvanw1nkl3 Hey, at least it's a good post.
January 12, 2012 at 5:57AM ESTSimon H.
January 12, 2012 at 12:22AM EST Reply to CommentAre You There, Chelsea? It's me, the laughs that were conspicuously absent from your show.
Ted Schmoesby BOOM! roasted
January 12, 2012 at 3:51PM ESTHaik Mendelovich
January 12, 2012 at 12:23AM EST Reply to CommentDid I like it more or less than "Whitney"?
Well.
That's like deciding whether one prefers being drowned or electrocuted. Each has its advantages, but the end result is the same.
I will say that Chelsea lived up to every expectation, and is exactly as witty and polished as Whitney.
Although they both have a ways to go before they match the multidimensional hilarity of 2.5 Men.
Speaking of multi-dimensionality, is it true that Kabletown will roll out a revamped "Kommunity" in May?
Rumor is that it'll be essentially the same show, except that everyone is now a promiscuous drunk, and Chevy Chase is a cross-dresser.
Sweet.
JB
January 12, 2012 at 1:05AM EST Reply to CommentI'm trying to decide if this show is slightly better - or worse - than the dreadful "Whitney" show. Also: the only reason I know that "Chelsea" is supposed to take place a decade earlier (in 2002) is because I saw mention of it in one of the previews I read. But nowhere in tonight's episode did they make a reference to the year. And to make matters worse, they ended with a scene with all the girls dancing to a KATY PERRY song from 2011. Ugh....this poor show probably doesn't even have a competent showrunner.
NJMark Was it literally 2002? Or is it that it's a current-day fictionalization of what Chelsea Handler's life was like 10 years ago?
January 12, 2012 at 1:47PM ESTGiovanna Is it just me or Laura Prepon seems to always star in shows set in the past?
January 12, 2012 at 6:48PM ESTThe Other James D.
January 12, 2012 at 1:30AM EST Reply to CommentPlease tell me NBC will have enough sense to overlook the Chelsea factor, as much as I love "..Lately", and shitcan these comedic drecks while bringing "Community" back to TV, since it actually deserves to see the light of day.
Greg
January 12, 2012 at 2:03AM EST Reply to CommentIt's awful. I kinda like Chelsea Lately, but it's a whole different kind of humor from this show. Everything here is so uninspired. It feels like the writers didn't put any effort in those painfully unfunny punchlines. Also, Laura Prepon felt very stiff to me. She doesn't have at all the spontaneity that Chelsea Handler has. But Chelsea Handler herself was not good, so maybe it's just the writing's fault.
MARK_MC
January 12, 2012 at 5:38AM EST Reply to CommentCan't really be bothered getting around to watching this, but just wanted to know if Laura Prepon continually broke and started laughing like she used to do during That 70s Show?
Greg Yep. She does that all the time here.
January 12, 2012 at 12:40PM ESTr1pvanw1nkl3
January 12, 2012 at 6:00AM EST Reply to CommentI'm glad that NBC didn't put this on Thursday nights, and instead their (slightly) better Up All Night is getting a shot at some more viewers.
I won't be upset when this Wednesday night block gets terrible ratings.
srpad
January 12, 2012 at 8:02AM EST Reply to CommentBreaking: Vodka just walked off the set due to "creative differences".
deb I really did just laugh out loud, thanks srpad
January 12, 2012 at 1:48PM ESTMaggie Q
January 12, 2012 at 8:28AM EST Reply to CommentDuring the whole bit with the red-headed date, I couldn't help remembering how much prettier Laura Prepon was as a red-head in the early years of "That 70's Show."
I also really hated the best friend/side kick. I'm probably too used to sitcoms where only one drunken slut is allowed per group of friends, since in real life it would make sense that her closest friend would be just a slightly less interesting version of herself.
Meggie
January 12, 2012 at 10:52AM EST Reply to CommentWrite a comment...I thought it was a pretty solid pilot. I don't know if I would really watch the next one, but I didn't hate it as much as I expected to. I agree that the ending was a little forced, and I would have liked it better if they had just shown Chelsea and her sister hugging instead of adding dialogue.
I liked the sister until I realized that it was actually Chelsea Handler, and then it was distracting. I can probably get used to it though. it's a cute thing to have her cast as her own sister.
(Sidebar -- does she have a sister, and if so, how does her sister feel about Chelsea playing her?)
I think that 2 Broke Girls should take a note on how to make a very short person funny without being deeply stupid and offensive.
I really liked the crazy roommate. I liked that Chelsea embraced her, as opposed to being wigged out by her. That's what most tv shows would have done, and I loved that AYTC when in a different direction.
I'll probably watch all the episodes of this season illegally over the internet sometime when I get bored, and enjoy it. But I doubt that I'll be watching it week to week.
Jake
January 12, 2012 at 10:56AM EST Reply to CommentI remember seeing preview footage way back when, before the retooling, back when Natalie Morales and Jo Koy were still in the cast, and the new versions of those same bits are less funny. I have no idea what the thinking was.
Was that Michael Cassidy in a wig?
JedyKnight
January 12, 2012 at 12:15PM EST Reply to CommentI dont love Chelsea Handler comedy, i also dont hate it.. for me is always hit and miss.. and i have always like Laura Prepon.. so i really wanted to like this, her first high profile leading role.. but that was painful 30 mins of TV to go through, because it was 80% or more of unfunny (forced) jokes.. and i didnt mind Chelsea's character and didnt mind much the virgin roommate.. but the main character is badly written and the best friend, worse. i really think whoever wrote this was really drunk with vodka, and maybe that is the only way i could watch it and find it funny, which i dont expect to happen anytime soon. :(
Bob Loblaw
January 12, 2012 at 12:23PM EST Reply to CommentTrying to tread carefully, and no offense intended if I screw up the terminology. Is Ali Wong also a little person/someone with dwarfism? I know she was clearly taller than Todd (Mark Povinelli), but she looked like she was under 4'10". A quick google search didn't yield anything. Maybe Prepon is just soo big that it made her look more like a little person? I don't know.
pamelajaye little person is what i understand to be the correct terminology. I did not look to see if he was for sure and i am not an expert.
January 12, 2012 at 3:30PM ESTI liked the silly roommate
i would also like it if Virgin was not a slam. diversity should extend to virgins too.
also, good to see a little person (if he was) somewhere that is not TLC.
I was going to post earlier but the first posts are all so funny!
I've stopped watching New Girl so the only question is - do I keep DVRing this one too - or just give up (I should have watched Mike & Molly and also The Middle probably. I like Neil Flynn... well, I liked him on Scrubs)
My schedule is far less crowded than it was in years pagst.
Chris
January 12, 2012 at 1:59PM EST Reply to CommentSo, this dreck is essentially what bumped Community off the air?
pamelajaye maybe Chelsea is a bigger star on E than The Soup (brain block) guy? Joel
January 12, 2012 at 3:31PM ESTwatt d fark Seriously...what is wrong with this timeline?
January 12, 2012 at 3:51PM ESTAlden
January 13, 2012 at 1:17PM EST Reply to CommentHm. I didn't think it was particularly funny or good, but at the same time it feels like a show that can develop into something really good once the writers figure it out. After all, Parks and Recreation and Community both had pretty weak pilots and took a while to figure themselves out. I liked the cast chemistry (especially the Prepon/McDorman dynamic), and I'm willing to wait a few episodes to see them figure it out. Definitely not nearly as bad as the toxic Whitney.
So. Bad pilot, but enough potential I'm willing to wait it out. It's too bad this is in the way of Community coming back, because it's got a lot of angry people waiting for this to fail.
monchilde
January 14, 2012 at 10:33PM EST Reply to CommentJust because Chelsea and Whitney are friends in real life doesn't mean one show has anything to do with the other. I didn't find Whitney Cummings very funny on The Chelsea Handler show, but unlike most of the posters here, I kept an open mind for her sitcom --and was very pleasantly surprised. "Whitney," the sitcom, is actually very funny. The supporting cast is awesome and the writing is smart and often hilarious. This is coming from someone who loves Community and Parks & Recs, not According to Jim. Pilots are often awful, but the good ones offer glimmers of hope. Are You There, Chelsea?, not so much. But if you judged "Whitney" on just the pilot, I challenge you to check out this week's episode (1/11/12: Private Parts). My husband and I laughed our butts off!
Fal
January 18, 2012 at 3:27PM EST Reply to CommentHorrid. Absolutely horrid. The only time I cracked a hint of a smile was at the quirky roommate...and I think that was just out of relief because it meant LP or CH weren't talking.
Fal
January 18, 2012 at 3:28PM EST Reply to CommentHorrid. The only time I cracked a hint of a smile was at the quirky roommate...and I think that was just out of relief because it meant LP or CH weren't talking. I wish I could get that 30 minutes of my life back...
Fal
January 18, 2012 at 3:45PM EST Reply to CommentHorrid. The only time I cracked a smile was at the quirky roommate...and I think that was just out of relief because it meant CH or JP weren't talking. I wish I could get that 30 minutes of my life back...
Fal
January 18, 2012 at 3:52PM EST Reply to Commentsorry for the triple post!