‘Til Death wasn’t the only sitcom to attempt the old married couple vs. newlyweds dynamic… and it wasn’t the only one to fail at it. While Rules of Engagement was technically more successful. Lasting a fairly impressive seven seasons, it was never given a break by critics. While it came out in 2007, it seems Rules of Engagement learned little from its failed predecessor. In fact, its similarity to ‘Til Death was a big part of its undoing.
A critic for The Chicago Sun-Times explained, “Rules and ‘Til Death bear exactly the same ups and downs. The ups: essentially a good cast, plus sporadic funny lines. The downs: many un-funny lines, plus rehashed story-lines from a thousand episodes of married-life sitcoms dating all the way back to The Honeymooners.” While these sitcoms failed for being unfunny, hilarity can sometimes be what heralds in the failure, as you’ll read when we get to 2010.
2005: Ghost Whisperer
It seems 2005 was a good year for terrible TV. The same year that Hawaii flopped on (and quickly off) our silver screens, another disaster was brewing. This one was an attempt to conquer the supernatural mystery genre and it featured 90s scream queen, Jennifer Love Hewitt. Those of you with a good memory will, by now, have the words, Ghost Whisperer, emerging from your minds. While the show fared phenomenally better than most of those to grace this list, critics despised it, right from the first episode. Fortune, though, was shining on the fading 90s star as her fans were persistent enough to allow Ghost Whisperer to last a full five seasons before being canned.
While the idea of Jennifer Love Hewitt hanging out with a bunch of ghosts seems like it could have some merit to it, the premiere failed to draw much interest and then failed to impress many of those who gave it a shot. One of the biggest problems was that people came to the show hoping for supernatural thrills but were instead given sentimental drama. The New York Times insisted that “neither Ms. Hewitt nor her series are malevolent forces, and the producers can feel as good as they choose about a cloying job well done.”
2006: ‘Til Death
With larger than life funnyman, Brad Garrett, at the helm, no one foresaw the terrible demise of ‘Til Death. When the show first aired, in 2006, Garrett was still buzzing from the success of Everybody Loves Raymond. Fans were equally abuzz with Garrett’s character, Robert, being a crowd favorite. When Garrett’s very own sitcom finally went to air though, it proved to be a disappointing flop. The sitcom revolved around a husband and wife who were entering into their 23rd year of married life. Their relationship was contrasted with their newlywed neighbors and, while the writers planned for it to be funny, it left audiences and critics alike with straight faces.
USA Today had a crack at explaining why this happened: “the main structural problem for the show is that neither the couples nor the contrast make any sense…. Still, this being a comedy, the more troubling problem is that no one is funny, starting with Garrett.”
2008: Do Not Disturb
Do Not Disturb was yet another attempt at situational comedy that failed dismally, with fans and critics alike. Set in a New York City hotel, the 2008 “comedy” followed the day-to-day goings on, all from the perspective of the establishment’s employees. While the show featured Jerry O’Connell of Sliders fame, Do Not Disturb was so poorly received by audiences that it was cut after just three episodes had gone to air. It took out the dubious honor of being the first show to be canceled that season.
According to USA Today, Do Not Disturb was “a show that tries to be adult and titillating but just comes across as juvenile and badly paced.” Adding to the air of criticism, The Chicago Tribune described it as being “so bad that it’s not only unpleasant to watch, but it makes you fear for the future of network television.” Now that is one searing indictment!
2009: Mental
Premiering in 2009, Mental was a medical-mystery-drama that managed to cling on for a full season before rapidly hemorrhaging ratings got the better of it. The show’s protagonist, Dr. Jack Gallagher, was like a less appealing version of everyone’s favorite TV doctor: Gregory House. Like House, Gallagher had unorthodox ideas about diagnosis and treatment. He also had a “more than just friends” kind of relationship with the hospital administrator. Unlike House, Gallagher was employed in a psychiatric ward where his mean streak just couldn’t playoff in the lovable way that House’s could.
Actor, Chris Vance, also didn’t stack up charisma-wise compared to the inimitable Hugh Laurie. With all this stacked up against it, the show was an awkward, slow-dying fail. As The New York Times explained, “the creators of Mental couldn’t take Gallagher any further up the mean-spirited scale, so instead they went too far in the other direction and ran smack into cliché.”