9JKL - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Your 9JKL Topic!

[OtterMommy]

First look trailer:

[Kromm]

Umm. 

 

 

No. 

[snarkylady]

The purpose of a trailer is to introduce the audience to the show, characters and concept with the aim of making viewers want to see more.  This one fails.  I watched the trailer because I was intrigued by the 9JKL title.   So far -- way way too much Linda Lavin (and I liked her many years ago), and not enough Eliot Gould (loved him in Friends but hopefully he will not try to replay Jack Geller here).  I think the show is going for a Marie Barone character for the mother, make that a Jewish Marie Barone.   Unlikely that I'll be watching in the fall. 

[Kromm]

The only "Smother" who works for me on current or recent TV is Bev Goldberg. And when that kind of character goes wrong, it goes VERY wrong.

[OtterMommy]

Son Knows Best In Mark Feuerstein’s Upcoming CBS Fall Family Comedy Series ‘9JKL’ – TCA

[OtterMommy]

Quote

In the opener of this comedic series, an actor, between projects, moves home to New York to regroup, living in an apartment between his doting, meddlesome parents on one side and his brother, sister-in-law and new baby on the other.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mark Feuerstein  discusses 9JKL

[jodie]

Oh this show is awful. It seems like some bad sitcom from 20 years ago.

Lousy premise. Linda Alvin and Elliot Gould can and have done better than this

[srpturtle80]

Wow, that was really, really bad. I feel like I’ve been violated. *shudder*

Edited October 3, 2017 by srpturtle80

[sonyab]

I LOVED it!!! The episode cracked me up! He tried to get into his apartment but his mother always knows when he is there, and then we find out how she knows! ROFL!

[partofme]

I couldn't get through this, deleted it with 19 minutes left.   It was seriously bad.

[EtheltoTillie]

Really awful.  Waste of Lavin and Gould.  Poor David Walton keeps popping up all over the place, never getting a hit. Hopefully Brockmire will stay on. 

Edited October 3, 2017 by GussieK

[Passing Strange]

I didn't know it was possible to make a show this bad.

[willco]

2 hours ago, jodie said:

Oh this show is awful. It seems like some bad sitcom from 20 years ago.

Lousy premise. Linda Alvin and Elliot Gould can and have done better than this

I thought it seems liked something from 20 years ago also-- and that why I thought it was hilarious ! I really got that vibe, it reminded me of a lot of sitcoms that I used to love. I figured most people on here would hate it and since I'm out of the demo now, my opinion won't really matter. But when you get a little older, you begin to appreciate stuff that reminds you of the past-- for me this show did it. I guess it's a simple thing, but like when Josh was sandwiched between his parents on one balcony and his brother on the other, I found it quite amusing.

 

My guess is, though, that this show won't last long. Shows I like often don't.

[HazelEyes4325]

Hmm, I'm not quite sure what to think of that.  I will admit that there were times that I laughed, and other times when I rolled my eyes.  I think the show could be great and I'm not ready to pass judgment on it based on this episode. 

Strangely, the thing that grated on me the most was Feuerstein.  He just seemed to be trying not to laugh through the whole thing.  I know he's a better actor than that, which makes it frustrating.  Again, maybe he'll settle down as the series progresses.  I was entertained by the family dynamics, even though it felt a lot like Everybody Loves Raymond and reminded me a bit too much of my in-laws (my husband agrees on that one...).  I'll be interested to see how this show develops and holds up.

[OtterMommy]

Quote

Josh's mission to have his first successful one-night stand is derailed when his date, Lily, bonds with his parents the following morning. Also, Andrew is surprised to learn that Eve intended for him to be a one-night stand.

[Big Mother]

What?!! I'm so surprised by the negative reviews here!!!

I was legit laughing out loud and cracking up too many times to count.

I guess being an an 'older' tv viewer - I'm in my 40's - and of a conservative background, I appreciated the old-timey feel of this sitcom, and that the jokes were not overly edgy or raunchy. There was some great comedic timing here, it was legit funny!!!

My only issue here is that the premise will wear thin pretty soon. How many episodes can you have of having meddlesom relatives ruining your life, before it gets boring. All Josh needs to do is move out, or change th elocks on the door, or give his parents/sibs a real riot act, and the premise of the show is over. I really don't like comedies where there's a bit old fat elephant in the room that's keeping the premise alive.

But the actual contenty of the episode was really laugh-out-loud funny, without becoming over the top or raunchy. I liked it.

[biakbiak]

I thought this was ridiculously awful. Though I want to be rich enough to own a huge studio with a terrace in NYC just to use as storage space for excess condiments and toilet paper from Costco.

[Ms Lark]

I predict this will be the first show eaten by the cancellation bear this season. If not overall, at very least on CBS!

Edited October 3, 2017 by Ms Lark
NBC is not CBS!

[biakbiak]

23 minutes ago, Ms Lark said:

not overall, at very least on NBC!

It's on CBS. 

 

8 minutes ago, 17wheatthins said:

-I remember him from Trophy Wife

I adored him on Trophy Wife but he was crap here. 

[proserpina65]

Mark Feuerstein was funnier and more likeable talking about the show and its inspiration on the CBS Morning Show than anything in this show.  It was only on my tv because I was doing something else and left it on, and I'm sorry I did.  This was awful.

[Sparger Springs]

Done with this one.

[Chaos Theory]

Yeah this reminded me of sitcoms 20 years ago.  It also reminded me why I never liked sitcoms.   Especially this kind.  I think there is a handful I like.

This isn't one of them.

[Caseysgirl]

The title alone is terrible - I had to check my DVR before I could remember it to come to this forum. I feel really bad for Elliott Gould and Linda Lavin that this has to happen to people at the end of their careers when they want to work. I didn't laugh once and I felt it was more cringeworthy than anything else.

[ae2]

I thought it was okay. I watched with no expectations or knowledge of the show, and it got a few laughs out of me as well as a few eye rolls. 

I'm a sucker for absurd physical comedy, and the whole "sneaking past the mom" thing was terrific. Then we learned how she always knew!

Albert Tsai was great in Trophy Wife, good in Dr. Ken, but sort of annoying and out of place here. But the episode was insanely fast-paced, so maybe once everything has a chance to breathe he will fit better.

It's very, very tough to get the smothering-parents routine just right without it being annoying. Everybody Loves Raymond did it incredibly well. Few other shows do. So far I put this up there with Great News as one of those that fail miserably at it. They need to tone down the mother. Maybe make her more manipulative and less intrusive. 

Hope they explore the stage acting career more than the film acting, as there are fewer shows in that territory and I think it opens a lot of fun story possibilities.

[Barb1959]

Trying to pick out the shows to watch this year........this one is definitely off the list!

Edited October 3, 2017 by Barb1959

[iMonrey]

It's tough, because I really like the cast. But the writing just isn't there. I also didn't understand the premise - do the parents own all three apartments at the end of that hall? Who owns three apartments? And if the brother and his wife are only using one of them temporarily until their house is remodeled how long can they sustain the premise? 

[retired watcher]

I'm disappointed but will give it another shot before I write it off. I really love Marc F but this could get on my nerves.

[BookLuvingBabe]

I want to see another episode before I give up,  I almost always think the pilot is lousy but I this time I was laughing out loud much of the time!

[jalady]

I thought it was pretty bad and agree with many that the premise is cheesy and unsustainable (maybe I'm a bitch but there's no way I'd put up with my parents/sibling traipsing in and out of "my" apartment at will.  Those locks would be changed stat!) but I actually laughed out loud twice.  Which surprised me because that rarely happens with sitcoms anymore.  I can usually tell what the laugh lines are but rarely do the make me actually - laugh.  So if I'm at home at 8:30 on a Monday I'll give it another shot.  And I also thought the Asian kid was supremely annoying . . .

[J-Man]

It was really awful -- especially the horrible laugh track. Did anyone else notice they misspelled poor Elliott Gould's name (as "Elliot") in the opening credits? The man was a major movie star; he deserves better than this! 

[Kimmel77]

It was barely amusing and certainly not funny. The set-up was getting tiresome seven minutes in. It felt annoyingly claustrophobic too, which was probably intentional, as you can relate to the main character but it came off as a senseless predicament to remain in. Plus the supporting cast barely did much. I also didn't take to the lead. I only liked the dad and the kid.

Edited October 4, 2017 by Kimmel77

[biakbiak]

12 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Who owns three apartments?

Apparently Mark Feuerstein parents in real life. Their plan was to combine them into one unit but then their kids ended up staying in them for periods of time. In real life Mark didn't get a divorce but he lived there when filming Royal Pains in NY and his family stayed behind in LA and his brother and family were living in the other for some amount of time during that period. I don't know if his parents have since been able to make their dream apartment.

 

6 hours ago, J-Man said:

Did anyone else notice they misspelled poor Elliott Gould's name (as "Elliot") in the opening credit

I took this out of the delete folder just to see for myself, this is legit unfathomable. Not only because he is a famous but it's a freaking real television show on an actual network. How on earth could that possibly happen. Maybe he realized how crappy it was but that was as close he could get to a fake name.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

I laughed when Linda Lavin was talking about the shape of the baby's head, because the back of his head was noticeably flat.  That's more common these days now that babies have to be put to sleep on their backs, but it was still funny.

[msrachelj]

this was really bad. and disgusting. i did not think the "off color" "jokes" were in the least bit funny. the mother telling the son "i've had those little balls inside me" etc. i can't remember the others. just gross. deleted after 15 minutes. hope it gets cancelled and something better replaces it.

[eurekagirl mOo]

I loved it. I'm another one who's too "old" for me to count. It remained me of Everybody Loves Raymond. Loved Elliott Gould and Linda Lavin.  It's just fun and it's fluff. After CNN all day I NEED this break! 

[Jillybean]

Also in my 40s and thought this was really bad. I didn't know about it until I saw a commercial and I tuned in for Linda Lavin. Yikes. The laugh track was terrible.  And we also loved Albert Tsai on the very funny Trophy Wife but he's no longer a cute little kid. This was as unfortunate as the show's title.

Edited October 4, 2017 by Jillybean

[iMonrey]

Quote

The laugh track was terrible.  

{Sigh} Apparently I have become the laugh track police because this is the third show forum I've had to explain this. There is no laugh track. The show is filmed in front of a live studio audience. For some weird reason a lot of people seem to think any sitcom where you hear laughter has a laugh track but that's really not the case anymore. I guess audiences are getting used to more sophisticated single-camera sitcoms that are not filmed in front of a live audience so whenever they see a traditional 3-camera sitcom they think there's a "laugh track." Or - maybe today's audiences don't understand what a laugh track actually is?

Old sitcoms in the 50s and 60s were not usually filmed in front of a live audience and "canned laughter" - i.e. pre-recorded audience reactions taped at other live shows - were added to the soundtrack in post-production. That's what a "laugh track" is. But few shows use them today. You might see one added to a kid's show on Nickelodeon or an imported Brit-com, but that's about it. Any major network show is either single-camera without a studio audience, or three-camera with a studio audience. 

In other words, if you are under the impression that the live audience laughing at the dialogue is a "laugh track" you do not understand what an actual laugh track is.

{/rant}

[biakbiak]

8 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Apparently I have become the laugh track police because this is the third show forum I've had to explain this. There is no laugh track.

Even shows that are filmed before a live studio audience often "sweeten" responses with a laugh track.

[iMonrey]

True - the laughter is often augmented because if there are multiple retakes the audience has already heard the joke several times. But I don't think all the references to "laugh track" mean that. I think either people don't understand what a laugh track is or they assume any laughter they hear is canned laughter. I keep seeing these complaints about the terrible "laugh track" over and over for shows that are filmed in front of live audiences.

[Jillybean]

I really don't care whether it is filmed in front of a live audience or it is a laugh track. I would prefer not to hear it.  I honestly don't care enough to research which the show is using but thanks for the lecture. 

[shksabelle]

Stereotype much???

[OtterMommy]

I think we've talked all we can about the laugh track.  Let's bring it back to the episode.  Thanks!

[msrachelj]

On 10/4/2017 at 11:26 AM, eurekagirl mOo said:

I loved it. I'm another one who's too "old" for me to count. It remained me of Everybody Loves Raymond. Loved Elliott Gould and Linda Lavin.  It's just fun and it's fluff. After CNN all day I NEED this break! 

really? i found this nothing at all like elr. 

[candall]

I thought it was okay.  The montage of him trying to get past the door was very funny.

It depends on how far they branch out in future episodes from "loving but annoying family invades man's personal space."

[ItCouldBeWorse]

So, Lily wore the same clothes for 2 days straight?

[Brian Cronin]

Liza Lapira, David Walton and Elliot Gould are soooooooooo good (Linda Lavin is generally good, but she's a bit much here) but there's so little for them to work with here. It's kind of sad.

[jewel21]

David Walton is the only reason I'm watching this show. I miss "About A Boy."

I'm not really feeling the lead yet.

[TheOtherOne]

Yes, the cast is good, but wow, the writing is bad. I skipped the pilot since the clips were terrible, but decided to watch this episode. The show is terrible.

What is that accent Linda Lavin's doing? And why?