Gary Unmarried pilot review

Gary Unmarried


recently divorced dad copes with kids, ex-wife, new girlfriend and her kid



Type of Pilot: Sit-com.


Similar Shows: Two And A Half Men (irresponsible rogue as parent-figure), Old Christine (hero copes with life after marriage), It's Not Easy (single dad plus ex-wife, her new husband and lots of kids running around),


The Inner Light: Divorce is funny.


Strengths: Jay Mohr.


Weaknesses: It's a dumb, only-on-TV, premise, and we've seen it lots of times before in other failed sit-coms.


Impressive Characters: None of them.


Impressive Actors: Jay Mohr is the best thing about this. His wonderful snarky persona manages to raise laughs from even the weakest of lines. Imagine if he was in a well-written sit-com?


Less-Than-Impressive Characters: They are stock TV characters: The teenage son is afraid of girls, the teenage daughter is prissy and bossy, the ex-wife is a hateful shrew, and - in the middle of it all - you have the lovable rogue we are supposed to like and cheer for: Gary. None of them seem like real people, and it's hard to imagine that this was a real marriage at any time in the recent past.


Less-Than-Impressive Actors: Who knows? The material is unfair to everyone.


Continuity: None.


Rewatchability: None.


Other Info: Creator Ed Yeager's previous credits include stuff like: Still Standing, Dharma & Greg and Suddenly Susan.

One Thing I Really Like About This Pilot:

Jay Mohr

Three Things I Really Don't Like About This Pilot:

It's a dumb premise.

We've seen it before lots of times.

Paula Marshall and Ed Begley Jr. are wasted in average fare like this. Two great performers and nothing they do here is amusing or interesting, yet I've seen enough of them in other/better shows to know what they can do when given the material.

Miscellaneous Comments:


I might watch again for Jay Mohr.

GRADE: B