CBS Monday night comedies have been doing pretty well so far this season, as far as the ratings are concerned. The Big Bang Theory is challenging Two and a Half Men for top Nielsens for a sitcom; How I Met Your Mother is doing as well or better than last year, and the new kid on the block, Jenna Elfman in Accidentally on Purpose, has benefited by being smackdab in the middle of all that established comic success.
Some of you may think that TV Squad is filled with cheerleaders, that we all love TV so much that we rarely pull out our swords and skewer a show. Well, this should change your mind. I tuned in to Cougar Town last night and, I have to say, I was appalled. I thought I had seen what is likely the worst sitcom of the season -- Accidentally on Purpose -- but Cougar Town has surpassed it in badness.
Let me preface the rest of this criticism by saying that I was a loyal viewer of Friends. I liked Bruce Springsteen's video Dancing in the Dark. Scream was a hoot! I've been following Courteney Cox's career for years and I think she's terrific. She's funny and pretty and self-deprecating. I went into Cougar Town with high hopes. In other words, I have good will for Courteney Cox, like Jenna Elfman.
(S01E01) Watching Accidentally on Purpose, thoughts of Seth Rogen danced in my mind. Not Seth, actually, but the film Knocked Up. This is the second year in a row that CBS seems obsessed with that film. Last season, it was Worst Week, with a schlubby Kyle Bornheimer channeling Rogen's goofy lack of grace. It didn't work and Worst Week bit the dust. Now we have Jenna Elfman in the Katherine Heigl role, knocked up by accident after a one-night stand, albeit with a twist. Instead of a schlub, Jenna's fling is a boy-toy named Zach.
And there you have the premise of Accidentally on Purpose. Are you ROFL? Will you LOL? Read on after the jump.
On her new CBS sitcom, Accidentally on Purpose, Jenna Elfman plays a woman who picks up a guy, has a one-night stand and winds up pregnant. It may be a case of being overly practical, but in real life Jenna Elfman has gotten pregnant because, as she put it, "My character's pregnant the whole first season, so I said, 'It's a good time to have another baby, because we won't have to hide it."
Isn't that a good reason to have a baby? Elfman, who's married to actor Bodhi Elfman, is already a mommy. She and Bodhi have a two-year old son named Story. Hmm, you think they're ever tempted to sing, "Here's the story of a kid named Story..."?
Generally speaking, CBS had a strong 2008, developing one bona fide hit drama -- The Mentalist -- even though shows like The Ex-List never found an audience or a critical plaudit. Ironically, I liked The Ex-List based on the screener I reviewed last summer, so go figure. Sometimes a preview can inform you about a show's potential and sometimes it's just the best it'll ever be.
CBS has shared previews for the new season and we've had a chance to take a look. There are star vehicles for Jenna Elfman, Alex O'Loughlin and Julianna Margulies, which would seem logical based on the success of Simon Baker as The Mentalist. CBS is counting on familiar, popular TV stars to win over audiences. Will the strategy work? It's probably too soon to tell.
I was never a big fan of Dharma & Greg (and by "never a big fan" I mean "I really disliked it"), but I'll give Jenna Elfman's new sitcom a shot. It's about a thirtysomething film critic who gets pregnant after a one-night stand. Family and parents groups, you can open your e-mail programs right now if you want to get your media campaign to get this show canceled underway early. Here's a sneak peek at the show.
We're still over 24 hours away from CBS making their official announcements about the new season, but apparently pre-upfront news is as plentiful as upfront news, so here we are with more information about what CBS will be telling us tomorrow. In addition to the already leaked three dramas that are a go -- Alex O'Loughlin in Three Rivers, Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife, and LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell in the NCIS spin-off -- today we've learned about three more new shows.
Jenna Elfman is back on TV with a new sitcom. In 2006, she tried a CBS comedy called Courting Alex that failed to click, but she had a five-year run on ABC with Dharma & Greg. The actress toplines Accidentally on Purpose, playing a film critic (and I hope whatever publication she writes for doesn't go belly-up like so many others these days) who accidentally gets pregnant after a fling with a younger man. I'm laughing already.
In other baby news, actress Jenna Elfman gave birth to a boy last week. She and her husband, Bodhi, named their son Story Elias. He weighed 7 pounds, two ounces.
Jenna has been laughing through her pregnancy and birth. When she was late term, she did this trash-talking basketball video with her belly hanging out. And the official statement about her birth is just as funny. It says Story is already a fan of "classical music, a clean diaper, mom's boobs and long naps. Story wants to give big props to his mom for all her hard work." Cute.
Hopefully we'll be seeing Jenna on television sometime soon. She had a short-lived show, Courting Alex, last season but it wasn't as good as she is.
If you've been searching the Web today trying to find video of a pregnant woman playing basketball, I'd like to say, "welcome."
At the bottom of this post, courtesy of Funny or Die, is a short clip featuring actress Jenna Elfman taking part in a game of B-ball, complete with trash talk and everything. That might be kinda humorous, but add in the fact that she's also pregnant and I'd say that's pretty damn funny. Elfman has a lot of great lines, but my favorite comes toward the end as she's walking off the court and tosses the ball away.
I'd love to see a whole series done this way, with Elfman playing a different sport in every video. I've always been a fan of Elfman's, though I never really liked Dharma and Greg. Funny, that.
Anyway, check out the video below. It does contain some bad language, so be warned.
(S01E19) Meh. I really like Brothers and Sisters and I am a really big cheerleader of this show. But this episode wasn't really stellar. I am a big enough geek that I have done some background research on the show and I know that the episodes don't all have the same writers, and perhaps that explains some of the unevenness in the episodes. I guess they aren't going to let me come and hang out with them in LA if I say that this episode wasn't the best example of writing, are they? No, wait, that's not fair. It was just a fairly contrived episode.
CBS has a lot of confidence in Jenna Elfman. Her comedy, Courting Alex, didn't even last for half a season on CBS, but the network is already creating another show just for her. She has reportedly signed a development deal with CBS and is now searching for a scriptwriter.
Is Elfman worth it? She's hot and funny and, according to Joel, she's "sexy in a non-threatening way". Is she worth hanging onto?
Now that 2005 is behind us, we can look forward to new and returning favorite shows all this month on television.
What will you be watching?
South
Beach(Wednesdays, UPN) Two hot, New York City working-class bachelors leave the big city behind to
follow one of their girlfriends to South Beach, FL, only to discover that she has a new boyfriend. They get mixed up
with the rich and famous in the club scene. After viewing a sneak preview on UPN's website, it looks like a guilty
pleasure like The O.C., except with more sex and no high school. Jennifer Lopez is the executive producer and
it co-stars Vanessa Williams as a club owner and mother to one of the main characters. South Beach premieres
on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 8 pm.
If you've been watching CBS a lot lately (especially if you're watching
football), you probably haven't been able to avoid the ads for Courting Alex, a new sitcom starring Jenna Elfman. You
don't really learn anything about the show, as the ads only show Jenna dancing in hot pants and a bikini top, hair and
make-up done up to the maximum. Then as the dance music blares and she wriggles around, Jenna stops and says, "Why
am I dressed like this? I play a lawyer!" and she flirtingly walks off-screen.
CBS Monday night comedies have been doing pretty well so far this season, as far as the ratings are concerned. The Big Bang Theory is challenging Two and a Half Men for top Nielsens for a sitcom; How I Met Your Mother is doing as well or better than last year, and the new kid on the block, Jenna Elfman in Accidentally on Purpose, has benefited by being smackdab in the middle of all that established comic success. 
Some of you may think that TV Squad is filled with cheerleaders, that we all love TV so much that we rarely pull out our swords and skewer a show. Well, this should change your mind. I tuned in to Cougar Town last night and, I have to say, I was appalled. I thought I had seen what is likely the worst sitcom of the season -- 
On her 
Generally speaking, CBS had a strong 2008, developing one bona fide hit drama -- The Mentalist -- even though shows like The Ex-List never found an audience or a critical plaudit. Ironically, I liked The Ex-List based on the screener I reviewed last summer, so go figure. Sometimes a preview can inform you about a show's potential and sometimes it's just the best it'll ever be. 
We're still over 24 hours away from 
In 
If you've been searching the Web today trying to find video of a pregnant woman playing basketball, I'd like to say, "welcome." 
(S01E19) Meh. I really like Brothers and Sisters and I am a really big cheerleader of this show. But this episode wasn't really stellar. I am a big enough geek that I have done some background research on the show and I know that the episodes don't all have the same writers, and perhaps that explains some of the unevenness in the episodes. I guess they aren't going to let me come and hang out with them in LA if I say that this episode wasn't the best example of writing, are they? No, wait, that's not fair. It was just a fairly contrived episode.
CBS has a lot of confidence in Jenna Elfman. Her comedy, Courting Alex, didn't even last for half a season on CBS, but the network is already creating another show just for her. She has reportedly signed a development deal with CBS and is now searching for a scriptwriter.
Now that 2005 is behind us, we can look forward to new and returning favorite shows all this month on television.
What will you be watching?
If you've been watching CBS a lot lately (especially if you're watching
football), you probably haven't been able to avoid the ads for 
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
