Tuesday's New Lineup

I decided to only give two new Tuesday shows a shot, both half hour sitcoms.

Running Wilde. This show is about an activist who moves into a rich man's house with her young daughter. Man, does that sound cheesy. But it wasn't the story that drew me in; in this case, I was going with pedigree. This new show comes from some of the people who made the hysterical and brilliant Arrested Development. It even stars Will Arnett (and had a cameo from David Cross in the first episode), furthering the connection to that awesome show. Plus, Keri Russell has some decent comedy chops of her own. Sounds like a pretty good recipe.

But I think it's a recipe that's going to need to simmer a little longer. There were definitely moments in this episode that made me smile, but nothing laugh out loud funny. Comedy sometimes takes time to find its legs -- last season's Cougar Town being a prime example. Of course, this being on FOX, it's not likely to get that chance if it doesn't pull down decent ratings in its cushy "in the hour after Glee" time slot. We'll see.

Raising Hope. But immediately after Glee was another new sitcom, this time from some of the people behind My Name Is Earl -- which I actually didn't like very much. It's the story of a teenage boy who (through circumstances you'd best see for yourself in the pilot) comes to be raising a six-month-old baby girl with his goofy family. This show wasn't even on my radar until several places named it one of the top new shows of the season. So what the hell, give it a half an hour and see.

So far, so good -- I'd say the reviews were accurate. This show actually did make me laugh out loud. More than once. And while it maybe dipped its toe once or twice into the sort of dumb country hick humor that turned me off of My Name Is Earl, it mostly steered clear. Plus, the cast includes Cloris Leachman, and two solid working actors both more than due a shot at a starring role on a series, Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt.

So anyway you slice it, I think this was better entertainment "bang for the buck." More enjoyment, and in far less time, than in anything I sample last night.