TVSquad

What the heck is going on with Still Standing on CBS right now? The match up of the sound with the mouth movement of the actors is off by a split second. It's like watching a Godzilla movie, only with a laugh track and more jokes about beer.

Very strange.

I'm really glad they kept around the character of Perry (James Patrick Stuart), the guy with the fake accent who's in a Foghat cover band. It really looked like they were going to have Linda suddenly realize (in typical sitcom fashion) that she didn't really love him and would listen to Judy and call off the wedding. But they threw a curveball and had Perry convince Judy that he really loved her. So there was no season-ending cliffhanger with her either calling off the wedding or maybe having a freeze-framed on her "I do." But it wouldn't have been a season-ender anyway, since it was the first of two season-ending episodes, and the real last episode of the season was on after. 

Not to sound cruel, but Sally Struthers looks like she's been eating all the food that should be going to those kids overseas. OK, I'm sorry about that. I guess it's just a shock to see her so changed from her All in the Family days. On Still Standing she plays Bill's mom, and Bill and Judy are always trying to get away from her, to not spend time with her, to pawn her off on someone else because they don't want to be around her. Which I've never understood. Sure, she's a little clingy and know how to guilt people, but she seems like a pretty great mom to me, and a really nice person. Here, Judy and the other females in the family plan their annual tea at the Palm Court and Bill suggests that his mom go along as well. To make a long story short, Judy accidentally stabs her and she ends up at the hospital. Oh, she then accidentally pushes her down the stairs. Funny line: "Ohhhh, high tea at the Palm Court! That's really fancy. I'll have to take my Beano."  

I think that Still Standing - and this is a big statement, I know - is the most underrated sitcom on television right now. For some reason people assume that it's just another lame sitcom and they quickly lump it into the Listen Up/Yes, Dear category. It's actually quite funny, with some terrific one-liners and a great cast. Tonight was Typical Wacky Sitcom Chaos, as a teddy bear with pot inside is accidentally given to a doctor who is heading a toy drive. Sure, we've seen it before, but there are so many cutting lines and witty asides going back and forth that we realize that plot is the least unimportant of aspect of storytelling. Bill and Judy try to explain to daughter Lauren that they smoked pot in high school, and Lauren said she already knew that because Bill still wears a t-shirt that says "Doobie University Rolling Team." And I laughed out loud when they finally got into the kid's room to look for the bear with a drug-sniffing dog (it's a long story), only to discover about 400 other bears on the shelves, and the little girl learns a new word, which she starts to sing over and over: "bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong!" The B-plot has Brian helping Linda sell her old car she's named Mr. Puff-n-Chug. I guess there was a "puffing" theme to tonight's episode.