Mr. Big Meeting, A Sitcom Failure

Hello all,

So I watched the latest episode of Welcome to the Captain today and wow, I did not think this show could get any worse! The plot is that the main character, Josh Flug (played by Fran Kranz) has an interview to pitch his new screenplay to the president of Paramount Pictures. The secondary character, Uncle Saul (played by Jeffrey Tambor) decides to help Josh prepare for his pitch. The B-plot is that Jesus is allowed into every apartment to check the fire alarms. While in Josh’s room, he stumbles upon the screenplay and he must read it, much to the dismay of Hope, Josh’s flame.

So, let’s start with Josh’s screenplay pitch. The pitch was developed with the help of Uncle Saul, who has pitched many a screenplay in his time, since he was a writer for Three’s Company (T-Co). The coaching basically consisted of Saul reminising about his old pitches and a story involving a monkey throwing a pillow at him.

Once on the Paramount lot, Saul sees an old partner of his. This partner, Mickey Tittle, played by Bob Einstein, of Super Dave fame, supposedly stole Uncle Saul’s pitch for Housemates, a series which has become a huge hit. This entire sequence has completely removed my love of Super Dave, especially after Uncle Saul attacks Mickey Tittle and beating him in a fit of rage. The acting was horrible, the plot was annoying, and the direction was lacking for a sitcom on network television. The actors are not utilized, the emphasize is put on characters that cannot carry the show, while other better know actors are pushed into the background.

The secondary plot involves Jesus reading Josh’s screenplay. I will be honest, I tune out Jesus as his character is the most annoying character I’ve ever seen on television. Hope, played by Joanna Garcia, walks in on Jesus and ends up reading the screenplay as well. Both adore the screenplay and cannot stop from reading it. At the end, Josh catches them and Hope tells him that they two characters have to get together at the end of the film. This is just a small piece of the overall story of Josh and Hope’s sexual tension. In the beginning, I wanted them to get together, but now, I’m just sick of the entire series. Hope, while cute, cannot act and does not deserve to be on television. The plot line from the previous episode was completely absent, as Josh was making Hope jealous by asking out another girl from the building.

Raquel Welch is completely wasted in this show, though she is well past her sex-appeal prime. her character is basically a token female for this cast as Joanna Garcia cannot carry this show as the sole female. Wait, I forgot about Astrid, played by Valerie Azlynn. Astrid is the biggest ditz on the show and I cannot stand watching her. Her character is an actress that isn’t on television, so basically an unemployed LA actor, a walking cliche.

Overall, this show is terrible. I believe that the entire reason this show ever saw the airwaves is because of the Writer’s Strike of ‘08. If any of you want to watch a terrible sitcom, with horrible acting from the main characters, but entertaining moments from the secondary actors, specifically Uncle Saul, who really does carry this show.

The latest show has made me feel a bit nostalgic. So I end this with a Super Dave Osbourne reference, watching this show makes me require medical attention.

Ryan ‘Piece’ Levy