Dear Jay,
Let me start by stating that I think you are a very funny man. I have been following your career for years and you're great. You were wonderful in Jerry Maguire. Of course, you were speaking lines written by Cameron Crowe, so that was a plus, but you delivered the performance. Bravo, Jay Mohr.
That said, I have to talk to you now about Gary Unmarried. Jay, you can make this so much better. Really, you are capable of so much more. Yes, you don't have Cameron Crowe writing for you now. I'm fully aware of that. But you're there.
Gary Unmarried may have started as a formula, and it still has too much of that formula intact. The bitchy, controlling wife/ex-wife? Haven't we seen the Allison character on Two and a Half Men (Judith), Everybody Loves Raymond (Deborah), The King of Queens (Carrie)? Do you see the pattern here? I do.
It's all well and good that Gary's a guy's guy, a working class, sports-loving, barbecue-grilling, girl-chasing man. That's also a typical character, but you can pull it off. I like Gary. I just want you to make him funnier. He needs more Jay and less Gary. Do you know what I mean?
Right now, Gary Unmarried is barely ahead of ABC's The Middle -- another family/working class comedy -- that's in the same timeslot. If you want Gary to survive and thrive, you have to get in the writers' room and kick some butt. Add the Jay Mohr snark and rework the formula before it's too late.
Why not take advantage of Allison being Gary's business partner to give them a joint conflict -- what if a new painter was going after Gary's clients? Allison and Gary would be compelled to fight together, and that'll give you a new foil for the comedy. Why not make them friends instead of antagonists? I know that actress Paula Marshall can play more than a one-note character. Let her.
It's just a thought, but I worry about you, Jay. I'm in your corner. Just please, take this advice to heart and give us something Mohr better.
Yours truly,
Allison J. Waldman
[I love a lot of these clips from Gary Unmarried on SlashControl.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-12-2009 @ 4:24PM
MJL said...
An Open Letter to Allison Waldman:
Dear Allison,
Your "Open Letters" posts are the snobbiest writing on TV Squad...and there's a lot of snobby writing on TV Squad.
Yours Truly,
MJL
Reply
11-12-2009 @ 4:28PM
Joel Keller said...
"...there's a lot of snobby writing on TV Squad."
Some of which doesn't come from the bloggers...
11-12-2009 @ 5:00PM
hotboudain said...
I'm convinced that most of the employees here (and quite a few of the posters!) are frustrated wannabee tv show writers who couldn't get a job anywhere else. I just come here to read the recaps & get tv news; keep your horrible writing ideas to yourself.
The show has been tweaked quite a few times. Gary has had numerous sidekicks, Ed Begley is gone, Gary has a new career....let the real writers do their job.
11-12-2009 @ 4:50PM
nougat885 said...
I don't say this to be snarky or snobby or condescending in any way, but I genuinely feel like you lost your right to give comedy notes when you had a problem with a show just mentioning porn (this week's How I Met Your Mother review).
Reply
11-12-2009 @ 5:24PM
clinton said...
I like Jay soo much in life and on tv. The only thing if fact I didn't like him in was when he was Jeff Foxworthy's hyperactive brother on one of Jeff's sitcoms.
I like Paula Marshall too. I am so glad she got a second season of something.
I like it when he is failing miserably with his kids. They are actually good kid sitcom actors.
The addition of the actor from Madtv was a good one.
I look forward to the first hour of tv on weds. nights with the CBS comedies.
Reply
11-12-2009 @ 6:06PM
Jimmy said...
I enjoy Gary Unmarried (mindless, formulaic sitcom), but I don't think it's nearly as good as The Middle.
As for calling Allison a "bitchy, controlling wife/ex-wife," I think this show has a different dynamic than the others you mentioned: Gary and Allison are divorced but still very much in each other's lives. In fact, it would not surprise me if they ended up with each other before the show ends.
Reply
11-12-2009 @ 7:06PM
Joe said...
I think TVSquad bloggers now let Joel fight their battles for them. Look around other Weblogs, Inc. sites and see if they get such abuse. When you've noticed that they don't, perhaps it's not the people visiting the site that have the problem.
Reply
11-13-2009 @ 12:32AM
Joel Keller said...
The writers here can defend themselves just fine, thank you. As the editor of the site, though, it's my duty to defend the writers and the site as a whole.
As for us getting more criticism than any other Weblogs (or AOL) blog, I'm not sure that's true. But even if it is, it really has nothing to do with the quality of the writers. I just think that, because everyone watches TV and has an opinion on it, everybody thinks they can do what we do. And they have no problems letting us know that on a daily basis.
And, you know what? You might be able to do what we do. It's a big web out there, with plenty of sites looking for people to write about TV. If you think you can do it, nothing's stopping you from trying to write for them. Heck, we've hired commenters to write for us before and we may do so again in the future. It's a pretty common practice around the web. This way, you can bitch about us and get paid to do it at the same time.
11-13-2009 @ 3:58AM
nougat885 said...
"because everyone watches TV and has an opinion on it, everybody thinks they can do what we do"
Joel, couldn't this analysis of people commenting on your blog posts also be turned around on you reviewers thinking you can do what TV scriptwriters do, especially this post offering notes to Gary Married?
11-13-2009 @ 5:30AM
Thirsty said...
TV Squad exclusive!!
TV networks rework shows with a succesful formula under other titles.
Stay tuned for more on this breaking story.
Reply
11-13-2009 @ 8:23PM
Laughs said...
How to make snobby tv bloggers happy
1. lose tripods, implement single shakeycam
2. talk to the camera, tell the audience how to watch
3. plot: ______ struggles with _______ during _______
Reply
11-14-2009 @ 7:52AM
Glenn Posner said...
"Bitchy & Controlling Ex-Wives?" American men have spoiled women for decades, effectively creating the "bitchy and controlling" ex-wife.
Reply
11-14-2009 @ 8:00AM
duck said...
i think tellling jay to be funny is like teaching a pig to sing
it will waste ur time and annoy the pig, of course the pig won't have a snappy come back but neither will jay. get it......jay sucks, he sucks, not funny and pigs can't sing, get it.
Reply
11-14-2009 @ 9:40AM
jessi said...
THE BEST PART OF ANYTHING JAY MOHR IS IN,IS THE ENDING OF IT.HE SUX,HE ISNT FUNNY AT ALL
Reply
11-14-2009 @ 10:00AM
Melissa said...
I love this show! It is one of the only shows left that reminds me of the great shows mentioned in the article (King of Queens, Raymond etc.) I look forward to watching this show every week. The show "The Middle" does not even come close to this show in terms of being funny. I don't see that one lasting past 2 seasons if that although I do watch it regularly as well. I would be very disappointed if we lost Gary UnMarried.
Reply
11-14-2009 @ 10:59AM
Vaibanez said...
@ Joe Keller...are you really trying to state that people who watch tv religiously can't also write a few short statements about it that are positive/negative? You must have really lost faith in the American people. I guarantee you that many of the people who watch tv every night can tell you a lot more about episodes(bloopers, hidden meanings, jokes) than most of your "bloggers" could. Have you ever been to IMDB and seen the goofs and reviews people write for tv shows? There's more informative information from "MrWinkie283" on IMDB about tv shows than I've ever seen on here. This all being said, this review was hilarious. The woman actually thinks she can give the writers advice on how to change the show when it has already changed 1000x. Leave writing to real writers. CBS Wednesday Night is #1 and CBS plans to leave it that way.
Reply
11-14-2009 @ 3:30PM
YoFrankeee said...
So, just because Allison doesn't think Jay is funny enough, we're supposed to fall in line behind HER? I don't think so. Allison? Let's see you get in front a camera and live audience and recite EVERY line so that some mindless hack thinks YOU'RE funny. Bet you fall on your ass. Betting it's nice, fat and cushy, so you probably won't mind, but the point here is. Not everyone, and from the responses I've read, most, don't agree with you in the least. Your constant deriding of talented actors and comedians is very tired.
Reply
11-14-2009 @ 11:45AM
bthread said...
What's Gary Unmarried?
Reply
11-14-2009 @ 11:36PM
Cletus Peckerspin said...
Jay, I like the use of the same construct that so many other sitcoms utilize, namely, the "shlub" guy and the hot wife/ex-wife. Yea, just like in King of Queens, the fat UPS driver has a smokin' hottie at home, oblivious to the fact that he's a loser-slob. Now, here you are, a stupid-looking guy who's getting balder all the time, and you've got a boinkable woman in your life. True, she's a shrewish ballbuster but she is still hot. Oh, Jay, don't do anything original when the classics are still available. You're the best.
Reply
11-14-2009 @ 12:33PM
andy said...
great show,i miss gary on ghost whisperer.
Reply