Help Me Help You: Pilot (series premiere)

(S01E01) It's kind of surprising, in a fall season that has so many buzz-worthy pilots, that a new comedy staring Cheers legend Ted Danson is getting very little attention. It might be because his new show, Help Me Help You, is in a no-win slot against procedurals like NCIS and L&O:CI, and, after the playoffs, House. But overlooking the show is a mistake because, while the premise isn't exactly fresh, its still a pretty funny show. Why? It's all in the writing and execution, my friends; the right choice of actors and writers can overcome any shortcomings that the actual idea behind the show may have.

There are veteran comic actors on this show, and the pilot episode exploits their strengths. First, of course, you have Danson; he plays Dr. Bill Hoffman, a noted psychatrist with twelve degrees (how do I know? He tells everyone within earshot). He conducts a therapy group that consists of people with varying emotional ailments: Michael (Jere Burns), an angry guy who was ordered to therapy by a judge; Jonathan (Jim Rash), who's gay but keeps denying it; Inger (Suzy Nakamura), a young millionaire who has problems relating to other people; Dave (Charlie Finn), a seemingly benign office worker who calmly jumped out the window after being denied a promotion; and Darlene (Darlene Hunt), who has myriad problems, the most serious of which is a too-close attachment to therapy and her therapists. He dispenses advice to all of them, making people think he's a miracle worker and svengali all at once.

Problem is, Bill's life is a mess. His daughter is dating her psychology professor (the fact that her boyfriend has a man-crush on him will come out more in the second episode), and he is separated from his wife Anne (Jane Kaczmarek), who is dating the guy that sold Bill his last car.

The interesting thing is, the laughs come from both sides of Bill's life; when he drunkenly wanders into his former house and flops in bed with Anne and her boyfriend, you laugh because you know Bill's in deep now. Inger's relations with her JDate ("I just find Jewish guys to be a lot less threatening because I'm not attracted to them.") are funny, especially when a drunken Bill tells her over the phone to talk about herself. So she ambushes her date with every oddball and scary fact about herself, then finishes by saying "I haven't had sex since I was 19. Want to have sex?" Jonathan's denial is laugh-out-loud funny, too, especially when he's "not flirting" with a cafe worker, promising him seats to a Knicks game (to his ticket broker: "Floor seats? I don't want to sit on the floor... oh... why didn't you say courtside? Well, I don't understand your terminology!"). And Jere Burns is funny no matter what he's doing; given the fact that he did a group therapy sitcom in the Nineties (Dear John), he knows what he's doing here.

Know who else is funny? Kaczmarek, who does a great job as Bill's estranged wife. When Bill tells her he flopped at her house because his subconscious wanted him to be home, she shoots back, "Well, your subconsious is a jackass!" She's in fine form here, and a good foil for Danson; I'm glad she's signed on as a regular now.

So, will I keep watching it? Maybe. I liked both of the episodes ABC sent out for review, though the second one showed a little too much of Bill's evil side for me; Hoffman's not supposed to be overly likable, but he can't keep being a Homer Simpson-like jackass and have this series succeed. It's in a tough timeslot, like I said; once House hits 9 PM, I'll likely watch that (or when NBC finally throws Scrubs there, Help Me and The Knights of Prosperity will be out in the cold). But I may drop back in on this one occasionally, since it's just too well-done to easily dismiss.