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craigpaul
Reviews
The Bill Engvall Show (2007)
Really Bad
I appreciate people saying that if I don't like the show that I shouldn't watch it, and I generally don't. It's impossible, however, to avoid all of the promos and I just had to see if the show was as awful as the promos make it seem - and since they put the funniest bits in the ads, I wasn't surprised to find that it's even worse. The only reason I'm writing this note is because it's really frustrating unfair that so many talented people are out of work when this passes for a sitcom.
One other somewhat unrelated note - this is another in a long line of shows where unattractive men have attractive wives, an obvious result of men being the writers and producers of most of these shows.
It's surprising that women viewers don't object to this. It is, however, consistent with most men's attitudes - I can be a fat slob, but my women have to be hot.
NYPD Blue (1993)
Great show in general - one major complaint
Consistently one of the best shows on television. One of those ensemble shows that can survive the departure of key characters - the producers did a terrific job of replacing great actors with equally great actors. Without question, however, the strongest of the group is Dennis Franz. We were, as viewers, able to learn a great deal about his character, and to follow his life - this would only be possible with the incredibly strong writing on this show, and with the extraordinary match of an actor and a character, and the superb acting skills of Mr. Franz. That said, the show was practically ruined and made unwatchable in the later years by the addition of Mark-Paul Gosselar. His acting was adequate, at best, on Saved by the Bell and in dreadful TV movies. He was uncovered as a complete impostor, however, when put head-to-head with these artists. You could see him acting in every single scene, trying too hard and doing a terrible imitation of Christopher Meloni on Law and Order, a true pro. Shame on the producers for letting this happen. Shameful. Thank goodness he's disappeared for now.
1-800-Missing (2003)
Is the show this bad on purpose?
It must be the director's fault, because every single person, and I do mean every one, does some of the worst acting on TV - the dialogue is terrible, so there's only so much the poor actors can do, but they don't do much. Every single scene looks like a MAD TV spoof. Such a shame - with all the talented people out there trying to get a break, that this kind of money and time is wasted on such an amateurish show is a pity.
Vivica Fox wanders around looking like she's trying to keep her wig from falling off - the one or two scenes where real emotion is called for from her are tragically bad. Her "romance" with the Mark Consuelos character is completely unbelievable. I've seen more chemistry between inanimate objects.
Is this show actually still in production?