I find myself questioning my own sense of humor, since both critics and viewers seem to think Carpoolers (ABC) is nothing to laugh at. What I see as one of the funniest shows since Arrested Development (at least critics recognized the brilliance that was the Bluths), seems to peak with ‘has potential’ among critics.

It’s one of the few shows out there that has more to do with character development and interaction than it does its premise. That may be the problem, though. People just don’t know what they’re watching. “Shouldn’t they be in the car?” might be a common question.

Fittingly, the show centers around four carpoolers, each with distinct personalities: Laird (Jerry O’Connell, ‘Sliders’ -that’s right, ‘Sliders’) is a narcissistic dentist who, on the surface, cares more about his hair than his friends, but can usually be coerced into doing the right thing. Grayson (Fred Goss, nothing I’ve watched) is Laird’s best friend, and they’ve got a bit of a symbiotic relationship. Grayson is mature, responsible, and married, whereas Laird is none of the above. Each pulls the other in the right direction.

Aubrey (Jerry Minor, ‘SNL’ and ‘Arrested Development’) has what can only be described as a large family and an unhealthy respect for authority. Dougie (Tim Peper, new to me) is the new guy in the pool, and his seemingly perfect marriage and child and apparent naive innocence are only covers for his actual perfect marriage and child and naive innocence.

Those are the title characters, but no sales pitch for the show would be complete without an account of Gracen’s son, Marmaduke (T.J. Miller, ‘Cloverfield’). Marmaduke seems to be a dangerous combination of Gob and Buster Bluth, with a touch of Tobias Funke mixed in (yes, I describe people in terms of Arrested Development characters, and if you don’t like it, you’ve probably got too much Kitty in you). His life experiences are highlights of the show, whether he’s learning sign spinning from a ‘magic’ dwarf or getting caught up in the great ‘Take a Penny Industries’ scam of 2008.

While the show is almost certainly cancelled due to weak ratings and the writer’s strike (wait, why didn’t I open with that? It could have saved us both a lot of time.), it’s still worth a watch, either online or on the eventual DVD release, which will likely be priced to capitalize on disenfranchised fans like myself. ABC Tuesday, 9:30E/8:30C. Don’t be afraid to watch it.

Popularity: 1% [?]

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 10:21 pm and is filed under TV.