I've watched all five episodes of CBS' new comedy Rules of Engagement, mainly because I'm already watching Two and a Half Men at 9. I also watch because Patrick Warburton and Megyn Price are two sitcom actors that I like, and I'm always hoping they'll land in a successful show. But I've got to tell you, the show is barely above average. I chuckle once or twice per episode, mostly in reaction to Warburton's droll line readings. And don't even get me started on the bland "young" couple played by Oliver Hudson and Bianca Kajlich and the sight of David Spade aging before our eyes as yet another version of Dennis Finch.But for some reason, the show is attracting a pretty good audience. In the LA Times article Bob linked to yesterday, it was noted that Rules is holding on to much of Men's lead-in audience, averaging 13.5 million viewers per week.
This is the exact same thing that happened when Old Christine took over the 9:30 slot last year, earning the show a renewal and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss an Emmy. But at least that show was marginally funny at the start, and got better as the season went along. Rules? I'm not seeing much of an improvement. Which makes me wonder why people are continuing to watch.
Maybe the Nielsen folks are like me; since there's not much on that starts at 9:30, they just leave their TVs on after Men and watch Rules. Maybe people genuinely like the show. I don't know. What I do know is that Rules is likely going to get a second season, and it may all be the product of the timeslot it's in.
I wonder how bad this makes the producers of Out of Practice and Courting Alex feel. Those two shows "bombed" in the same timeslot last year, before Old Christine came along to stabilize things. But, in reality, they both got good numbers; their performance just wasn't satisfactory enough for CBS to keep them going. That's what happens when you follow a hit show; if you're not retaining the audience, you are given the heave-ho pretty quickly. However mediocre it is, Rules is holding the audience. So I guess that means another year of counting the bags under Spade's eyes.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on 'Faces of America' and the Beer Summit
Six Reasons Why '24' Has Jumped the You-Know-What
The Super Bowl Commercials: The Best
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-06-2007 @ 2:46PM
Bill said...
The same thing happened in the 90's Thursday NBC lineups. Sometimes the crappy show in the 8:30 or 9:30 timeslots (between Friends and Seinfeld and ER) got ratings, sometimes it didn't. For every Caroline in the City which lived to suck for sevearl seasons, there was a Jesse which sucked only briefly and got cancelled.
I haven't watched Rules of Engagement (or any comedy on CBS in a long while), so I won't declare it lousy (and I do love Patrick Warburton), but I would never put any faith in the general public's taste. They watch a lot of junk while ignoring the Battlestar Galacticas and Veronica Marses of the world (Marses? Is that right?)
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com
Reply
3-06-2007 @ 2:47PM
Todd Beggs said...
Interesting. Yes, that's kinda why we keep it on. It's brainless fun, well, for the two characters you mention, they are worth it. The others. We'll see. However, maybe like the Class, they'll start to gel better. And Spade sleeping with his grandma ... eww ... ewww.
Reply
3-06-2007 @ 3:30PM
SpaceVenus said...
Oliver Hudson and Bianca are horrible, but love Patrick Warburton.
Out of Practice had potential, but Courting Alex was abysmal.
Reply
3-06-2007 @ 3:28PM
TomB said...
This isn't a very good show, but I watch it. I can't help it - I just like David Spade (Dennis Finch - again) and Warburton's deadpan.
My brain tells me I shouldn't be watching it but my gut makes me DVR it anyway.
I just can't explain it. :-)
Reply
3-06-2007 @ 3:47PM
Mel said...
Eh...aren't you answering your own question in your first paragraph?
"I've watched all five episodes of CBS' new comedy Rules of Engagement, mainly because I'm already watching Two and a Half Men at 9."
I understand the failed lead-ins but Spade has a following from the traditonal sitcom fans.
Reply
3-06-2007 @ 4:29PM
Danny Cohen said...
I think CBS is paying off Neilson, and has been for the last 15 years.
Reply
3-06-2007 @ 4:20PM
Nate said...
I think it's definitely the Warburton factor. Every time I see his face I start chuckling, there's just something eminently watchable about the guy. Certainly, it's enough to make me tolerate the intolerable young couple on the show. I really hope they improve over time, because right now they are simply excruciating to watch.
Reply
3-06-2007 @ 5:11PM
VitoTheTiVo said...
Not groundbreaking, but more enjoyable than "Til Death" and more hurtful because it covers similar story territory.
I laugh at it, and I do love Arrested, Battlestar and the like...
Reply
3-06-2007 @ 6:44PM
Michael Canfield said...
Maybe it has Kenny Banya appeal. On Seinfeld, Jerry discovered that George actually liked hack-comedian Banya's act. "I like stuff you don't have to think about too much," was George's defense.
I'd probably check it for Warburton too, if I wasn't watching Heroes at that time. And tivo-ing "Rules" seems excessive.
Reply
3-06-2007 @ 9:28PM
Mattias said...
barely above average?
Thats the nicest thing I could even imagine anyone saying about this show...
Reply
3-06-2007 @ 9:22PM
Elizabeth said...
Yeah I think it is terrible but Patrick Warburton just steals the show, and that is the only reason I watch it
Reply
3-06-2007 @ 9:30PM
judi said...
yeah 'rules' sucks, but man o manowar--Out of Practice! That feels like such a blast from the past! I would SO much rather that show now...well, no, actually I'd prefer Christine. Of course, I'm probably not remember my own negative rants about OoP...
Reply
3-07-2007 @ 12:32AM
aw said...
The second episode of Rules was pretty funny, but that's the only one I've caught to date.
As far as Two and Half Men.... I don't understand why anyone watches that show. I've tried. It's just not funny.
Reply
3-07-2007 @ 7:00PM
Brent McKee said...
The thing about "Out Of Practice" is that I seem to recall that it actually got better ratings than "Christine" in that Monday timeslot. I don't think that the show got respect from CBS because the mainstream critics didn't like it. So I have a suspicion that people watching "Two and a Half Men" just stay on to watch what follows.
Reply
6-04-2007 @ 10:16AM
shows4me said...
In my opinion, the rule of understanding creative works is that you must apply the correct level of analysis to each work that you see.
Trying to understand 'Rules' as anything other than program intended to make us laugh and entertain us on a very visceral level is ludicrous.
IMO, sitcoms exist to make us laugh and make us feel life part of our culture. Rules succeeds. Period.
Reply