....Do Us Part

On a recent Wednesday night watching American Idol, I got sucked into a classic TV ploy. I stayed with Fox and watched the show that followed Idol. There are countless TV shows in history that have become hits primarily because people were too darn lazy to change the channel. That theory, of course, worked better in the dark ages, better known as pre-remote control. In 2007, if you are too lazy to change a channel, I would recommend a list of cemetaries for you to consider....immediately.

Anyway, all of the above is a long way of saying how I wound up watching "'Til Death" starring Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher. I had never before sampled a single frame and I figured that Brad Garrett, who I mega-enjoyed on "Everybody Loves Raymond," wouldn't be involved in crap.

I over-estimated Brad Garrett. This show was a mess. Not a single laugh. And what was more painful for me was watching somebody, whose work I thoroughly relished on what was arguably one of the top 10 sitcoms ever, labor so badly in a premise that was clearly designed to play off his success in his former series. Watching Brad cavort in this fuel spill actually tarnished some of the good memories I had of him on Raymond.

There is nothing worse than an actor trying to catch creative lightning in a bottle. Any truly legendary comedy series is a product of its times and, indeed, the perfect blending of cast, writing, directing, and even craft services creates a moment of sheer serendipity. People keep trying and it never ever works.

Let's consider all the superstars of TV sitcoms. How many folks can you think of actually managed to have weekly success more than once? The answers are on the fingers of my right hand only.

You might say Lucille Ball. And I will tell you that, after "I Love Lucy," she enjoyed rating success but certainly not creative nirvana. Except for the first season (black and white) of "The Lucy Show," Lucy was on fumes. All people were seeing was rehashed plots and everybody was essentially waiting to see if they could see where her facial skin was taped up under her orange wig.

Mary Tyler Moore did it with "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and her own MTM series. Even Dick Van Dyke couldn't do it twice: his second sitcom limped along for three seasons and nobody noticed. Both of Mary's series would be on my top 10 sitcom masterpiece list. Bob Newhart managed to achieve it as well.

You could argue that Bea Arthur and Betty White hit sitcom paydirt twice. But, except for "Maude," their shows were certainly not built upon or reliant upon their specific casting. And Andy Griffith had a hit sitcom followed by a long running hit drama, which I think is being piped into every assisted living and nursing home facility in the country.

So, you can see that it doesn't happen more than Haley's Comet. But, at the same time, actors will keep trying and trying it. There's a hot sitcom pilot that Fox may be airing in the fall. It's from the writers of "Frasier" and "Don't Shoot Me." It will pair none other than Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. Their legacies are renown. I am hoping and hoping this will be a quality project. But, history does stack a deck against them. The networks announce their new Fall schedules starting on Monday. Let's see how many of our former friends get "recycled."

But what do I know? I wish I had an Emmy that was tarnishing on my bookcase.

Dinner last night: Roast Beef Sandwich from Clementine.