The remaining two pieces of ABC's new Wednesday comedy lineup premiere tonight, and they definitely constitute the inferior half. Here's a look at the premiere episodes of Hank and The Middle.
The Pitch: Kelsey Grammer does his typical arrogant-blowhard shtick as a corporate titan ousted from his company and forced to move back to his hometown with his wife and two kids.
Verdict: Grammer is pretty much on autopilot for this standard-issue family sitcom, which makes some overtures toward dealing with the current economic crisis, but mostly just does a typical fish-out-of-water bit with Hank's family adjusting to small-town life in a smaller house. It's predictable and not particularly funny, and stands out in a night of more offbeat shows (it's also the only multi-camera, laugh-tracked comedy in this lineup).
Airs: Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC
Premieres: Tonight
The Pitch: Patricia Heaton stars as a middle-aged, middle-class mother of three in middle America, trying to balance her duties as a mom and a wife with a dead-end job and a sense that life has passed her by.
Verdict: Hey, it's Malcolm in the Middle! Your feelings about this show may be directly proportional to how much you liked the very similar Malcolm, with its frenzied tone, shrill, harried mother and annoyingly quirky kids. I hated Malcolm in the Middle, so this one grated on my nerves from the first moment. It's loud and obnoxious, and Heaton practically yells all her lines. Still, if it calms down a bit, it could end up being tolerable.
Airs: Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC
Premieres: Tonight
Photos courtesy of ABC
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