Four Kings: One Night Stand Off

Last week I said that this was a good show, a welcome addition to the NBC Thursday night lineup, but I'm wondering: was it just a fluke? Was it just a really good pilot episode? Was it because it was directed by James Burrows? Because in its second week, this show got kind of...sitcommy.

Not that last week's wasn't very much a sitcom as well, it's just that this week its sitcomness really irritated me. The whole A plot - Ben gets an assignment writing an article for Maxim about one night stands and takes the guys to a hip bar - just wasn't very funny, and the B plot - Barry's ex drops off her two kids and vanishes - wasn't any better. And is it just me, or was Seth Green too over the top in this episode? (Not as over the top as Bobby though - he gets my vote as most annoying character of the season, so far anyway).

There's a great sitcom in here somewhere. I'm not even sure if the whole premise is going to work, unless future episodes showcase some great writing. It seems to me that this might be better if they concentrated on just two of the characters and retooled it - maybe have Ben and Jason as the roommates, or possibly Ben and Barry. 

It's interesting how a show like Friends can have even more central characters vying for attention, but not come off as forced and let's-shoe-horn-in-the-jokes-for-the-whole-cast as this is. But it's only the second episode, so we'll see in the coming weeks if it's "must-see" or...well, The Single Guy.