TVSquad

What was Stockard Channing thinking when she signed on for this depraved, completely unfunny show? Did she not read any of the scripts? Despite the warnings of our own Ryan j Budke, I caught part of Out of Practice last night. And part... well, let's just say if I hadn't been trying to escape my husband's bad mood (he had four loads of laundry to fold), it would have been far less than the 15 minutes I watched.

Not only was the script not funny, Stockard Channing's acting is bizarre to the point where I wonder if she is actually insane. She seems to be channeling a sixteenth-century opera singer - she tries to project all her emotions and reactions to some imaginary audience half a mile away. We can see you, Stockard! This is 2005, you're on TV and (trust me) this dialogue was not written by Christopher Marlowe.

What happened to the poor, misguided Ms. Channing? She's so classy in her role as the First Lady on West Wing. She's understated, elegant, witty. She's won Emmy and People's Choice and SAG awards, and been nominated for numerous Tony awards. Here - she's a caricature of a terrible sitcom actor, as if she just wrapped up Acting 101 at some Staten Island community college. I'm confused. I'm bewildered. I'm hurt. It was on Channing's aura of good taste that lured me in. And oh, what a cruel trick it was. How could she have done something so awful? I just don't get it.