'Running Wilde' - 'Pilot': Can't find a better man?
What did everybody think about the new comedy from the "Arrested Development" team?
(Horse) size matters for Peter Serafinowicz and Will Arnett in the "Running Wilde" pilot.
Credit: FOX
I reviewed "Running Wilde" yesterday, and was very disappointed in the reunion of so many "Arrested Development" people. I had hoped that perhaps I was just burned out on hearing the same jokes repeatedly through multiple viewings of multiple versions of the pilot, but then episode two showed up in yesterday's mail and wasn't very funny, either.
What did everybody else think? Did you laugh? If you didn't, do you hold out hope that this can work down the road, given the number of talented people involved?
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
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Next 43 Commentschudleycannonfodder
September 21, 2010 at 10:06PM EST Reply to CommentI laughed at a few things, but not that much. I agree that it wasn't AD, but I was able to make it through the pilot and am willing to watch another episode, which is a lot more than I can say about Sit Down and Shut Up.
September 21, 2010 at 10:06PM EST Reply to CommentI had read all the bad reviews, and went in expecting to be underwhelmed. But I loved the pilot. It's not as great as AD, but it really is like a Gob spinoff with some other funny characters. I'm going to keep enjoying it.
September 21, 2010 at 10:31PM ESTCrumdawg97 Agree. Hearing Alan talk about it beforehand, I wasn't even interested in watching and then BOOM...suddenly my wife flips the channel to Fox just as it's starting and before I know it we're both laughing out loud...repeatedly. Will definitely give it a few weeks to see what they can do, though certainly not expecting it to be the second coming of Arrested.
September 21, 2010 at 11:47PM EST
September 22, 2010 at 11:57AM ESTThis sounds bad out of context, but loved the rappers/rapers joke. Classic Cross delivery.
Caitlin
September 21, 2010 at 10:08PM EST Reply to CommentHonestly, I thought it was a cute enough pilot. I'm sticking around for at least a couple more episodes.
Loved the Huge Mistake shoutout!
adam I laughed out loud at the huge mistake shout out.
September 21, 2010 at 11:21PM ESTThat might have been the best part of the show.
Ed W
September 21, 2010 at 10:09PM EST Reply to CommentAll the critics saying it isn't that good must have sufficiently lowered my exceptions because I found it pretty decent. It wasn't hilarious but it was better than a lot of other comedies on the air including the entire ABC lineup. I think if tweaked a little here and there over the coming weeks it could work out fine by the end of the season.
Scheer_Power
September 21, 2010 at 10:10PM EST Reply to CommentIt wasn't laugh out loud funny, just amusing, but entertaining. I'll tune in for a while longer.
DirtyKash
September 21, 2010 at 10:11PM EST Reply to CommentI loved it. Will Arnett is a god and had great chemistry with Puddle. Several laugh out loud moments with the indigenous tribe in the pool, and the self-playing piano. I'm in for the long haul.
September 21, 2010 at 10:20PM ESTAnd hey, if it gets even better I won't complain, and that's all I can see it doing with a production team this strong.
September 21, 2010 at 10:15PM EST Reply to CommentIncredibly boring. Had trouble getting through it. Virtually none of the jokes connected. What a bust.
Dan F
September 21, 2010 at 10:22PM EST Reply to CommentLow expectations, not disappointed. I'm happy to keep watching out of loyalty to Arnett and Hurwitz.
By the way, I feel that "Sit Down, Shut Up" is unfairly maligned... I caught the whole run on Hulu while Fox was burning it off last fall, and frequently laughed my ass off. But I know I'm in the minority, because it was as big a flop on Comedy Central as it was on Fox...
Thom_not_Tom
September 21, 2010 at 10:22PM EST Reply to CommentI thought it was pleasant, and I laughed a few times. I feel like this show could end up like Parks & Rec if given the time. Too many talented people not to be decent -- it just needs some time to separate itself from AD and figure out its own thing.
Andrew
September 21, 2010 at 10:23PM EST Reply to CommentI enjoyed it. It wasn't AD, but really can we get that perfection again? Also I may be the only fan of Sit down Shut up. Thought it was tremendously funny. I have hope for Running Wilde.
September 21, 2010 at 10:32PM EST Reply to CommentI enjoyed it more than I thought I would, maybe because the reviews I've read set me up to be disappointed. Was it great? No. But I laughed a few times and think it has some potential. I'll watch it again, mostly because of Arnett and Cross, but did enjoy it
Ben
September 21, 2010 at 10:34PM EST Reply to CommentI agree with most people, my expectations were low, so I found it somewhat amusing. Most of the jokes fell flat but I still like having new content with a semi-AD feel to it. I don't fully agree that Keri Russel is just playing Michael Bluth, more like a combination of him and the non-materialistic aspects of Lindsay. A lot of the comedy in the pilot seemed as if it was just their attempt to use the same things that were funny in arrested development, and that won't work for long if at all. I may tune in next week but it doesn't seem as if it'll ever be appointment television, or get to a second season.
Joseph
September 21, 2010 at 10:35PM EST Reply to CommentI wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. I laughed a few times, and the relationship was somewhat charming. This show might work once it gets into a rhythm.
40 Degree Day
September 21, 2010 at 10:41PM EST Reply to CommentMy favorite parts were some of the subtle visual gags that were a hallmark of AD. Best of them was the invitation that read "Humanitarian of the Fiscal Year." Blink and you missed it, but if you caught it, very funny.
briggsy I agree. I was sad going in to have low expectations, but I laughed several times and was pleasantly surprised. The funniest parts were the subtle gags throughout. I agree with crits who said that Will and Keri didnt have much chemistry, so I'm hoping that that relationship and the whole show can improve and come into its own, yep, like Parks and Rec. I wouldnt have believed that Parks and Rec became what it did after its first few episodes of the first season, so I have hope.
September 22, 2010 at 12:41PM ESTAndrew
September 21, 2010 at 11:00PM EST Reply to CommentUntil the last 3 minutes, when it turned into a very awkward and direct statement of the thesis of the show going forward, I found the pilot much more entertaining and engaging than I expected from Alan's review and the critical consensus. Those last 3 minutes were so awkward and an on the nose description of the sales pitch of how this becomes a series that it detracted from the overall pilot.
All in all, it wasn't a very good pilot and nowhere near the same league as the Arrested pilot, which has to be one of the few greatest comedy pilots of all time. Like Parks & Rec or 30 Rock, I could see it getting better, if it has the time to do so. But this wasn't as strong of a pilot as either of those two.
September 21, 2010 at 11:02PM EST Reply to CommentI liked it. I laughed a half dozen times, I'd say, which is good for a pilot. I don't know, Alan, I think you are wrong on this one.
Rinaldo
September 21, 2010 at 11:16PM EST Reply to CommentI didn't feel the spark of life anywhere. It's a reminder (once again) how the elements of a great series (like AD) are sort of miraculous happenstance. The very same people can try again and come up with something lifeless and forgettable. It's no disgrace, nobody can produce a winner every time. But I doubt I'll be watching again; life is short.
Nick Completely agree. Frankly, I'm shocked that most of the feedback here is positive. Just shows you how subjective comedy is. Whereas nearly everything worked in Raising Hope for me, absolutely nothing did here. Not one performance, not one joke, and certainly not that cringeworthy narration. Just a real bummer.
September 21, 2010 at 11:23PM ESTCross and Arnett will also be in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret which starts in a week or so. Hopefully that one delivers because I so badly want to see these guys be funny again.
M The first episode of "Todd Margaret" is up on the IFC website. I think it's sort of similar to this show--amusing in spots, but not laugh out loud funny.
September 22, 2010 at 9:21AM ESTRyan
September 21, 2010 at 11:22PM EST Reply to CommentLike others I went in expecting it to suck but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I don't think I've laughed that hard at any show this year, but I suspect it's because I wanted so badly for it to be funny.
September 21, 2010 at 11:29PM EST Reply to CommentI am going to dare to disagree Alan. It definitely was rough in a few patches, but overall, very funny. Thom_Not_Tom has it right-it needs to figure out how to separate itself from AD, but I think a complete separation is unnecessary. There is nothing wrong (to me at least) with Arnett repackaging elements of Gob, since Gob was hilarious, and as you point out, only one cog in a very big engine. Needs a few tweaks, but I am excited to see where it goes.
September 21, 2010 at 11:36PM EST Reply to CommentI was unimpressed and changed the channel after the first four minutes.
Chrissie
September 21, 2010 at 11:54PM EST Reply to CommentMaybe it's because it's been a few years since I've revisited "Arrested Development," but I had no trouble judging "Running Wilde" on its own merits. Coming off of what I found to be a very *over*rated "Raising Hope," I thought "RW" had many more LOL moments.
"I'm gonna go get my thing!"
ZacharyTF
September 22, 2010 at 12:43AM EST Reply to CommentThis was bad. I love Arrested Development and Kerri Russell is always a welcome presence on the small or big screen, but this wasn't funny at all.
The only laugh was from the big mistake line and if it wasn't for it being a reference to AD, I probably wouldn't have laughed at all.
Through 2 nights, the networks have delivered one goof show (Lone Star) and two others that I might keep an eye on (Mike and Molly and The Event).
rcgiff
September 22, 2010 at 12:47AM EST Reply to CommentI think of all the things that went wrong with RW (and there are a lot--awful pacing, awful comic timing, surprisingly weak characterization) what it's really missing is the faux-documentary format of AD. I think that the doc format was what made everything for AD click. It gave it the absolute perfect atmosphere in which to tell its ridiculous stories about ridiculous people. It gave the show a brilliant self-awareness and capacity for meta-humor that, along with the pitch-perfect music, sold the absurdity and made it all plausible and immersive in a way that wouldn't have worked without the format (in the same way 30 Rock wouldn't work if it didn't wink knowingly at the audience regularly, or The Office wouldn't work if it lacked the documentary aspect, although neither one has been working even with those aspects recently). Running Wilde has at the same kind of absurdity, but played without the wink-nudge self-awareness of a faux-doc format, it all falls flat.
The other thing Running Wilde needs: a deeper cast of characters. AD had the whole Bluth family just for a main cast, plus an excellent array of supporting characters. This meant that even one-note characters never really got old, because they could always be put in new situations with different characters to play off of, keeping everything fresh. (Tobias, for instance, was really only good for one joke, his lack of self-awareness. But he was still hilarious all the way through to the finale.) Running Wilde has to work from a much weaker position, in terms of characters, with only two leads and a handful of one-note supporting players.
Also, quickly, on the narration: less is more. Ron Howard never felt the need to explain a punchline to the audience, and neither should Puddle.
Still, there were a few good jokes ("Humanitarian of the Fiscal Year," the auto-piano) and the David Cross petroleum-bomb gag was exactly the kind of delayed-payoff joke that worked so well on AD. I'll stick with it for a few weeks just out of loyalty to Hurwitz, Vallely, and Arnett--they've earned it.
DougMac
September 22, 2010 at 1:34AM EST Reply to CommentLike a lot of other posters, I thought it was much better than I had heard. It was pretty good but not great. I loved seeing Kerri Russell back on tv and Arnett and David Cross are always good. It was good enough to keep watching, especially with that cast and creative team behind it, but it needs some work.
September 22, 2010 at 2:11AM EST Reply to CommentI'm adding my voice to the chorus. I was surprised how much I liked this. I only laughed a handful of times, but two of those laughs were big and meaningful. I want it to get better, but I already see potential. The humor here is sharp.
I didn't like Will Arnett here. He's not a very appealing actor. He comes off as sleazy most of the time. Maybe that's by design. But Keri Russell and the little girl were great, just wonderful.
As a side note, I also saw Raising Hope. Didn't laugh once. Not even a smirk.
no cease fires
September 22, 2010 at 4:04AM EST Reply to CommentLiked this quite a bit. Laughed out loud a couple times. Then watched it a second time with my girlfriend (who also enjoyed it) and picked up on a few more gags.
I dunno. I'm gonna have to go against the critical grain on this one.
belinda
September 22, 2010 at 9:24AM EST Reply to CommentI want to like it more, and I'll probably try to watch a few more weeks of it because I like the cast and crew, but nope, didn't laugh once. Most of the time, it felt like they were trying way too hard to shape the comedy a certain way, but it doesn't feel right so it's almost slightly painful each time a joke doesn't land.
September 22, 2010 at 11:27AM EST Reply to CommentJust terrible. I turned it off after 10 minutes. Don't waste your time. This show isn't going to last.
September 22, 2010 at 11:29AM EST Reply to CommentDefinitely thought it was funny but with plenty of issues. Hopefully the pilot is just laying groundwork for a lot of great things to come. But I will admit most of my enjoyment came from the fact that is like an AD spinoff. Hopefully David Cross is involved a lot more.
Jeff
September 22, 2010 at 2:09PM EST Reply to CommentSo unfunny, I just couldn't handle it. It just hurt to see people I like in such a misguided project.
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