TVSquad

Last spring, ABC had high hopes for a new sitcom starring TV fave Alyssa Milano. Today, not so much.

ABC decided to dump Alyssa Milano's show, Single With Parents, claiming that there were creative differences between the show's creator, Kristin Newman (How I Met Your Mother), and the rest of the producers. Ouch. Can't we all just get along?

Actually, if there are problems at this stage of the game -- after just producing a pilot -- it might be better for the network to pass on this and consider working with Alyssa on something else down the road. We've seen far too many shows make it to air that should have never gotten the greenlight, so maybe in these tough economic times, caution is wise these days.

(S02E19) That wasn't much of a finale, was it? You can definitely tell that there were a couple more episodes that were meant to be and this one just got tweaked a little. I'm not sure how much else could have changed had we gotten a full 22 installments, but you never know.

As I expected, Dave and Deena's impromptu wedding become the focal point of the episode, while everyone else just ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. That's one of the things you still gotta love about this show. No matter what else is going on, it always boils down to who's sleeping with who.

What About Brian, the show that desperately needs punctuation, has been picked up for a full season by ABC. This is much bigger news than last week's report that ABC just wanted to see four more scripts.

What About Brian is a J.J. Abrams drama that was flying under the radar, but has picked up some momentum in the past few weeks. It even beat out NBC's Studio 60 on a couple of Monday nights. What About Brian is about a lone bachelor in a group of married or attached friends. It's one of those shows that I keep meaning to watch, but keep forgetting about. If you're like me and you want to pick up the show, read Jonathan's reviews. It airs on Mondays at 10 pm.

(S01E05) Boy oh boy, do I love adultery! Let's be honest, we don't want to see shows about things deemed acceptable by society. We want to see buildings collapse, surgeries go wrong, and adultery!

In last night's season finale, we go plenty of it. At least we thought we did. I've got to hand it to the writer's because they tied this one up very nicely, but it still left us hanging. Enough that I'm hoping we see the show come back for a full season next year.

A large portion of the show focused on Dave and his continuing dislike with this whole "open marriage" he reluctantly agreed to with his wife Deena. In part because she seems to be cashing in on the idea while he's not into it at all. When the guys take off for a golf trip, Dave spills the story to them and even shows them the video of Deena and Richard fighting at the party from last week.

(S01E04) What about him? For this episode, they should have changed the title to Everybody Needs Brian. I felt bad for the guy. All Brian was trying to do was have a lazy Saturday full of mindless sex, and the entire day his phone won't stop ringing.

After bumping into Lisa B. at the end of last week's episode, Brian brought her home, proceeded to undress her, and then spent the next 24 hours with her. As I said, his phone wouldn't stop ringing and the problem with that (especially when you have someone new in your apartment), is that they might hear something they shouldn't when the answering machine kicks in. Like what you might ask? Perhaps Marjorie, calling to tell Brian that the two of them need to figure out whatever it is that's going on between them. You do not, under any circumstances, want the girl that you just spent the entire day with hearing a message like that. Goodbye Lisa B.

(S01E03) This is just a feel good show. I watch it and I feel good. Simple as that, no prescription required. Then of course, I wonder what's wrong with me... that a show about semi-consensual adultery, dishonest relationships, lying, sex, and dirty thoughts about your best friend's fiancée is something that eases my mind and puts a smile on my face.

Who am I kidding? These days, that makes me the norm. The status quo. The guy next door. Which means I'm just like you and you should be watching this show too. It's awfully enjoyable and it's going to be a crying shame if ABC gives it the boot because it lacks in the ratings department. Three episodes in and I can say with certainty that no one should be forgetting about Brian.

(S01E02) I love this show. Usually that's a bad omen though. Shows I like get canceled. Take Love Monkey... hooray for the last 5 episodes on VH1 though. Then consider The Unit. I was not a big fan, yet it's getting plenty of rave reviews and lots of viewers. Balderdash I say! Let's just hope that Brian doesn't suffer from the curse of me. What if I say I hate it? Maybe it'll stick around.

Anyway, last night's "premiere" picked up right where Sunday night's "sneak preview" left off. Did anyone understand the point of advertising the two episodes like that? By calling Sunday's episode a sneak preview, at first it made me think that I didn't need to see the episode. Like it was some sort of season overview. I don't know, that whole plan didn't make sense to me. But I'm glad I saw both hours, because folks, this is good television.

(S01E01) If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say ABC is hoping that What About Brian can somehow become this year's Grey's Anatomy. It's coming in late in the season, which means we'll probably only get 7 to 9 episodes if it runs on - just like Grey's did. People will obsess on the few episodes we got. It'll become a huge conversation topic over the summer and by September, What About Brian will be on everyone's must see season premiere list. At least that's what ABC is hoping for.

Well, after tonight's pilot (although, they're calling tomorrow night's episode the premiere which I don't get... it's a new one), I can say that I'm hoping for the same outcome that ABC is. This show has got it. Whatever it is. It's got the quirkiness of Ed along with the "at the end of the day it seems like everyone just wants to get laid" mentality of Grey's. Plus it's funny. That sounds like something that should work... right?