Pilot Review: Out of Practice

Network & Time: CBS, Monday @ 9:30pm EST

Stars (Out of 10): 8.5

One Word Summary: Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy (Sorry, I had to... it's the Fonz!)

"Out of Practice" Review:

          They say sitcoms are dead. Usually I'd agree with them. Friends, Frasier, and Everybody Loves Raymond seemed to be the last of their kind, leaving a long legacy in the hands of Charlie Sheen (never a good idea) and Two and a Half Men. But whoever 'they” is, they haven't seen Out of Practice.

          Created by the same people that made psychologists funny with Frasier, Out of Practice follows a dysfunctional family of physicians. Ben Barnes (Christopher Gorham, Medical Investigation) is a couples' counselor who fears that his family doesn't respect him because he's not a 'real doctor.” His mother Lydia (Grease's Stockard Channing) has been clinging to him since she divorced his father, Stewart (Henry Winkler, a.k.a. The Fonz, Happy Days), a gastroenterologist who is now dating his receptionist. Ben's brother Oliver (Ty Burrell) is a plastic surgeon, and his sister Regina (Paula Marshall) is an ER doc.

          There aren't many sitcoms that have that kind of fire power in their cast. Stockard Channing is surprisingly and tremendously funny, and even though Henry Winkler hung up his leather jacket years ago, Arrested Development has given him plenty of opportunities to hone his comedic skills.

It's hard to say after one week if a television show is going to make it, but Out of Practice sure looked good. The pilot had a tremendous script, a great cast, and writers who can juice out material for years (Frasier was never that interesting a character). Will it revive the sitcom as we know it? Hard to say. We'll just have to wait and see.

Pilot's Nielsen Rating: 8.7/13