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Did anyone else watch the premiere of Men of a Certain Age on TNT? No? Just me? It certainly felt like just me. I’m pretty sure that halfway through the opening scene of last night’s episode a tumbleweed blew through my apartment. (Tumbleweeds are the international sign for crickets. Or vice versa.) It definitely was lonely out there. Even the cast of Men of a Certain Age probably had better things to do than to actually watch Men of a Certain Age. But maybe more people should have been watching, because this show is not bad! I’m not saying that I love this show, or that I want to delete everything on my DVR in order to make room for this show and only this show, both new and repeat episodes, save until there is no more room. I’m not even sure that I will watch this show again. But that is still a more solid endorsement than I would have expected to make going into it. I’m changing Men of a Certain Age from a Sell to a Do Not Buy!
Here is why:
Kind of Funny: the humor is gentle, and it is dad humor. But, you know, cool dad! There are jokes about Goji berries for heaven’s sake! Your dad has his own Hotmail account and everything. This show is not just about middle aged men, it prides itself on being for middle aged men as well, which means that it is kind of thick around the middle and a little out of touch. And I don’t know if you know this, but there are literally millions of middle aged men in this country! I don’t know the exact number, but I think it’s something like 132,288,120,973,405,686. Something like that. If this show was a sweatshirt it would say FMADBMAD (For Middle Aged Dudes By Middle Aged Dudes. I figure you already got that, but in case there are any middle aged men actually reading this, middle aged men like having their jokes gently explained to them. That is just one of the things I learned about middle aged men on last night’s premiere episode of Men of a Certain Age).
Lots of Heart: I mean that! Sincerely! This show had the decency to have actually put the work in to create interesting, three-dimensional characters (even if two of those dimensions are “being a little bit old”), so we can at least give this show the respect it deserves. The three main characters (Ray Romano, Scott Bakula, Andre Braugher) have misadventures and love to banter, but they also are going through genuine personal crises that seem pretty spot-on. Romano is in the midst of a divorce due to his gambling addiction. Bakula is perpetually single and running on the fumes of his glory days, and Braugher struggles to earn the respect of his father at the car dealership where he works passionlessly in order to support his family. It is life, jump into life, indeed!
Scott Bakula: Who doesn’t love Scott Bakula? Everyone loves Scott Bakula. Although, he should tell his doctor to cut down his dose of Old Pills. Or maybe even cancel the prescription all together. Apparently, Scott Bakula is the Taylor Lautner of Men of a Certain Age, except that he put on 30 YEARS in his FACE. (XOXO, Scott Bakula!)
Of course, the show is imperfect. For one thing, it is trying a little bit too hard to be “cool.” It definitely feels like Ray Romano Presents: The Garden State at times. And clearly one of Ray Romano’s children introduced him to single-camera sitcoms and the awkward pauses of alternative comedy, which they try to recreate here, except it never quite works. The uncomfortable silences are entirely comfortable, so that instead of pregnant pauses full of (funny) human discomfort, there is just…peaceful quiet. Which means the show kind of drags, and gets a little boring at times. But that’s OK! What else would you expect from a bunch of dads? They do the best they can. All they want is for you to love them, Sport.
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Oh shit, I switched from the beginning of this to ‘The Departed’ last night. Maybe I should have stayed. But, I was drunk, (SHOCKER) and ‘The Departed’, even though I’ve seen it, seemed like a better bet.
maybe. maybe not. maybe go fuck yo’self.
Maybe PAH!
I am a doooly appointed federal old person.
I bet if you grabbed Scott Bakula’s eyebrows and pulled them down in an attempt to un-wrinkle his forehead, you could tuck them snuggly under his chin.
NO Face!
gabe you must be so happy to finally find show for which you are the intended audience
I don’t think they make shows for 180 year olds.
Bakula should have gracefully retired after Quantum Leap. He could learn a lesson from Ziggy, who hung it up after the show went off the air and moved to Boca Raton with her husband Lenny, a universal remote control.
I grew up in Boca Raton. UPVOTE AWAY!
My dad would love this comment. And so do I!
Huh? I thought this was the episode of Quantum Leap where Sam jumps into a retarded person. Though it explains the lack of Dean Stockwell.
It bothers me that none of the characters in this show would understand a Hampsterdam reference….
Frank Pembleton might. Oh, wait…
I played a rousing game of B-Ball (that’s what we call it – B-ball) with my gym buds, but when i got home, I was super sore. So, I laid down with the heating pad on my legs for a while, content to enjoy some good CNBC programming. I then scolded my teenage daughter for her irresponsible money habits and unwillingness to open up to her dear old dad (when she came to hit me up for money so she can go “hang-out” with her friends). MLIMOACA
{Doubtful I did this right at all…}
I liked it.
I didn’t know Wild Hogs was made into a TV series without motorcycles.
Do you guys eat, like, 50 pieces of cornbread whenever it’s chili night? Man, I eat so. much. cornbread. MLIMOACA
I think I’m gonna call up Dale and go catch that new Sandy Bullock movie. MLIMOACA
Let me give you a nickel’s worth of free advice: you don’t need to pay for toothpicks ever again! Just take a bunch when you leave Applebee’s! They’re just sitting there! MLIMOACA
INTERESTING FACT: if you are going to make a tv show that is FMADBMAD, you should not put it on at the same time as Monday Night Football. Because duh.*
*tribute to Gabe, I don’t usually talk like this.
Are you sure it wasn’t a cricket riding a tumbleweed through your living room?
Did any of the characters spend half the episode in the bathroom with the Sunday paper? No? I call bullshit.
In the ninth grade biology class I teach, there is a boy named Scott Bakula and a girl named Ray Romano. I have paired them up for every lab assignment we have had so far in this year in hopes that they will get to a certain age. I even asked my supervisors permission to hold a mid-life crisis testing day. MLIMOACA
Sorry everyone… I blacked out for a few minutes. Oh shit! I posted a bunch of weird comments!
I was trying to think about what elements of middle-aged-mannishness this show must include for verisimilitude, but that led to reflecting on how soon it will be until most of the men I know are middle-aged, and now I’m Depressedbecauseofaginggum.
(I know I know, MLIT)
Aw, c’mon everyone, it’s really not that bad, trust me. 40 is the new 35!
Boo-ya, Gabe!
“Middle aged men like having their jokes gently explained to them. That is just one of the things I learned about middle aged men on last night’s premiere episode of Men of a Certain Age.”
Psh. Unless age has finally started to addle your brain (unsurprising, considering you’re well into your 70′s), you should be able to remember what your sense of humor was like “back in the day.”
It’s really alright. I enjoy it mostly ’cause my step-dad is THE target audience and he likes it. I enjoy his enjoyment of it more than the show itself I think. Kinda like watching Toy Story with your little nephew or something. But I owe him for making him watch It’s Always Sunny.
Haven’t seen this yet but I hear Syracuse, my alma mater (literally from the latin: alma, meaning place, and mater, meaning where I went to school), is featured prominently so I will check it out.
Andre Braugher, you say? Well, then, I may have to check this out. He was a fine actor on the Homicide. MLIMOACA
You’d think Scott Bakula could morph himself into the future but no, that’s been clogged with all the Sliders out there.