Sitcoms are a tricky genre to pull off in 2011, and this fall's mixed bag of offerings are proof. Some went retro, opting to bring back the live studio audience. Others settled for that old and crusty standby, the laugh track. Few continued the bold trend started relatively recently: letting the jokes stand alone. Taken together, this year's debuts range from barely passable to unwatchable.
For months, BET has been relentlessly promoting its second original series, Reed Between the Lines. (I, for one, have learned the Tracee Ellis Ross and Malcolm Jamal Warner soundbytes by heart: "It's this... new idea of what it means to be happily married." and "This man really... digs his wife.")
Like many black sitcom viewers, I'm fond of Ross and Warner, having spent so many years with them via "Girlfriends" and "The Cosby Show". Still, I was skeptical. BET's first original comedy, "Let's Stay Together," was dead on arrival by all accounts*, even as it showcased happily coupled black folks who "really dug" each other.
The success of a sitcom boils down to the writing and the actors' delivery of it. The latter is particularly important for Reed. Because of these stars' former and career-defining sitcom roles, their new characters are a harder sell. Can Tracee convince us that her Carla isn't just Joan, ten years (and another career transition) later? Can Malcolm Jamal Warner sell us, once and for all, on the idea that this character isn't just Theo with a PhD in Lit with a special needs concentration (because come on: you know those NYU students he teaches online are former members of his Cosby-era after-school program)?
The answer for now, for me, is no (so henceforth, I'll be using their new and old character names interchangeably). In fact, this show would've been all kinds of dope if Ross and Warner were reprising their old roles. Then I wouldn't have to make those relentless comparisons between these new characters and the old ones: Carla is as fashion savvy as Joan, just as goofy a seductress, and nearly as insecure in her relationship; Alex is just as bemused, wry, and magnanimous as late-season Theo; you just know this is what he would've turned into after marriage.
But we must let our actors evolve, I suppose -- even if the material they choose doesn't move them too far forward.
As it stands, the series pilot was uneven and overly familiar. Carla feels threatened by a new patient (Robin Givens) who relentlessly flirts with her husband, so she goes '40s pinup on him to put spice in their already well-oiled marriage. Theo then has to insist that Joan is woman enough for him and he's not going anywhere. If this doesn't sound like a "Girlfriends" B-plot, I don't know what does.
There is one interesting bit of exposition in the pilot: the Reed family is blended; apparently, Theo is Joan's second husband (which totally supports my theory that this show should've just had Ross and Warner reprising their old roles; of course Joan would be divorced from Richard T. Jones by now). The teen twins are from her previous marriage, and their dad lives in California (just like Joan did!).
The second episode fared a bit better, with its focus on the couple's younger daughter. They discover, after she gets kicked out of her first sleepover, that they're overindulging her and she's a terror among her peers. I loved their initial resistance to this discovery and their resignation, soon after. They spend the rest of the episode forcing the girl to be more self-reliant.
It's the exact kind of plot the Cosby writers would've given Rudy -- and it works.
Not as likable (or believable) is Joan's work plot. She's miffed that the new sandwich cart guy doesn't flirt with her. You read that right. They resolve it as she agrees to order a more interesting sandwich, namely one with condiments.
So we've established that Reed Between the Lines isn't groundbreaking. That's acceptable, because most sitcoms aren't. But if it wants to retain viewers, a few things need to gel: Joan's work life either needs greater relevance or less focus; Theo's work life needs more focus (having him work from home is a disappointment, even if he is homeschooling the daughter); and the teens need to be more believable. In the span of two eps, they begged to sleep in their parents' bed *and* solicited a bedtime story while crawling onto their mom's lap. I'm not saying teens don't do this; I've seen it so I know they do. But it's usually a rarity, following a school-related trauma or a truly heinous row with a parent. It doesn't cap off all normal nights. Even Vanessa Huxtable stopped crawling into Cliff and Clair's bed after eighth grade.
Final consensus: give Reed a chance. It's better than Let's Stay Together. Ross and Warner have very strong onscreen chemistry. And it's nice to see this supporting cast -- especially Melissa DeSousa, Anna Maria Horsford, and Wesley Johnathan -- working.
*Let's Stay Together is back for another season in January, according to a new promo that aired last night. Who's watching that, even to have gotten it renewed? Is it you?