What About Brian

(S02E09) I've gotten to the point where I'm overly critical of this show because it used to be really good. So I'm trying to make an effort to like it again. The five season one episodes were just such a welcome surprise last spring and I even speculated that this show could become the next Grey's Anatomy if ABC handled it right. Well guess what? They didn't handle it right.

For the longest time I've been lobbying for the return of Marjorie. After last night's episode, I realized something. I don't think Marjorie's return will make a difference at all. Adam is too proud to take her back and Brian is too smart at this point to throw it all away on her again. Besides, I'm starting to enjoy their respective new storylines and Bridget and Heather make nice additions to the show.

(S02E08) Well this was certainly an improvement. If anything, I say that only because the show did some things that I actually didn't expect to happen.

It's interesting with shows like this, especially ensemble shows. If often becomes easier to predict what certain characters are going to do next because they get put on a path of sorts. So it's always nice when they deviate from that path and you don't see it coming. I like surprises.

(S02E07) Lately I feel like a broken record when I talk about this show. I still love it, but you have to agree with me here -- things are feeling a bit stale. There are a few things I want to discuss, but before I dive into that, I've noticed a lot of commenters asking about the show's theme song lately. It's titled "Calling All Friends" and it's by some small band called Low Stars. I've never heard of them before and wasn't able to find a site where you can download an MP3 of the tune, but then again I didn't try too hard. So if anyone knows a site, please fill everyone else in. However, you can stream the whole song from the band's MySpace page if you're dying to hear the entire thing.

(S02E06) What about Brian? What about him indeed... I'm officially enjoying every other storyline way more than Brian's. There's just so much going on and Brian almost seems like an afterthought at this point.

The entire Adam/Heather relationship is great. Here's my fear though. What if she's playing him? It wouldn't be too hard to imagine, especially now that they've eloped (did not see that coming). She said her mother was a stripper too and that she basically grew up in the back of a club. It's not crazy to think that she heard of or knew some other women who used a man for money. She is going to med school too and could probably use the extra bucks. Regardless, if they stay together for a while, it'll set up some fireworks for Marjorie's return. Unless (I just thought of this), what if Marjorie comes home and she's married too? Ooohh...

(S02E05) Going into this episode, I wasn't too excited about it. Funeral for Angelo? I figured it would just be sort of cheesy as the writers officially wrapped up his story. Turns out though, this was a great episode. Probably the best one of the season so far.

Wasn't it weird to not have Marjorie there for any of this though? If there was a logical time for her to make an unannounced return, this certainly would have made sense. Despite everything that happened, she really should have been there for a friend's funeral. But at the same time, if she did come back, with everything else that's going on? Things would have gotten messy. Her absence really stood out during the end of the episode, especially when the whole group went to spread Angelo's ashes at the pier. At this rate, everyone is probably going to be a little ticked off at her when she finally comes back.

What About Brian, the show that desperately needs punctuation, has been picked up for a full season by ABC. This is much bigger news than last week's report that ABC just wanted to see four more scripts.

What About Brian is a J.J. Abrams drama that was flying under the radar, but has picked up some momentum in the past few weeks. It even beat out NBC's Studio 60 on a couple of Monday nights. What About Brian is about a lone bachelor in a group of married or attached friends. It's one of those shows that I keep meaning to watch, but keep forgetting about. If you're like me and you want to pick up the show, read Jonathan's reviews. It airs on Mondays at 10 pm.

ABC wants to know what's ahead for What About Brian. The network has ordered four additional scripts, on top of the initial 13-episode order it made for this fall season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. What About Brian is about a lone bachelor among a group of 'attached' friends. It barely got a second season after just five episodes last spring, but viewership is growing. The hour-long drama has consistently placed third in its Monday 10 pm time slot, with an average of six million viewers. Last week, however, it edged out Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip to rank second in the ratings.

ABC has also ordered four more scripts from Men in Trees, Help Me Help You and The Nine, on top of the 13-episode commitment. The only new show on ABC this fall that hasn't received another script order is J.J. Abrams' Six Degrees (What About Brian is also an Abrams production). The network has not yet given a greenlight for the extra scripts to actually go into production, but the order is a good sign.

(S02E04) Is Marjorie being written out of the show and I just missed reading about it? Sarah Lancaster is still in the opening credits as part of the cast, but she's barely been in the show since she skipped out on her own wedding and last we saw her it was Minneapolis or bust. At this point, I'm thinking she will be back but it might be a few more episodes and the writers will spring her on us at the moment we least expect it. The only question that remains is who will she come home for, Brian or Adam?

Regardless, I'm kind of liking the show without her. It forces everyone to keep doing what they're doing with the possibility that she isn't coming back looming over their heads. And what better way to start the post-Marjorie era than with a contest between Brian and Adam? At least that's what Ivy suggests. The first one to get laid doesn't have to pay for the damages they caused in last week's bar brawl.

Interesting piece in Slate today, on all of the TV shows on ABC that writer Troy Patterson calls a "nauseating lineup of yuppie dramas."

Which shows is he talking about? You can probably guess: Men In Trees, Brothers & Sisters, What About Brian, and Six Degrees. I think that Patterson's whole viewpoint can be summed up with this paragraph:

These shows share a view of the human mind modeled on Dr. Phil's and an aesthetic sense shamelessly cribbed from a Pottery Barn catalog. When you watch them, you're mostly watching people feel bad over beverages. Despite it's pseudo-literary ambitions, the genre's got a certain soap-operatic streak, and the soap's an orange-lavender bath wash.

Ouch.

(S02E03) This episode worries me. After a really strong start to this season, I thought this was kind of a drop down. However, the same thing happened when Grey's Anatomy first premiered and we all know that show bounced back. The reason I make that comparison is because Grey's isn't solely about Meredith anymore and What About Brian is shaping up to be more than just Brian now. But that makes sense I suppose. To work in the long-term (and I hope What About Brian will), a show needs to have multiple story-lines with multiple characters. Brian is still going to be the focus of this show but it looks like we're going to start getting a ton more info on everyone else. This week was a whole lot of Dave.

(S02E02) I'm impressed. This show was good last year but the changes made in the off-season were all for the better. Even some of the little things that other shows might not take the time to tie up, What About Brian goes and takes that extra step to keep it's own little world intact. Take the Angelo storyline. The actor (Raoul Bova) has been released from the show, but rather than do what some shows would have done and just forget his character even existed in the off-season, he's still "there." Nic has daily phone conversations with him until it becomes clear that he won't make it back in time for Adam and Marjorie's wedding. It just makes Angelo's transition from being on the show to being off it that much smoother.

(S02E01) I'm so glad that ABC renewed this show. Now we can only wait and hope it gets a full season order. Might be tough though, especially since it's going up against CSI: Miami and Studio 60. What About Brian is good though. It's not the best thing on televison but it is a great drama (with plenty of funny moments) that deserves a look. I'm pretty confident that anyone who likes Grey's Anatomy is going to find this show equally appealing.

(S01E05) Boy oh boy, do I love adultery! Let's be honest, we don't want to see shows about things deemed acceptable by society. We want to see buildings collapse, surgeries go wrong, and adultery!

In last night's season finale, we go plenty of it. At least we thought we did. I've got to hand it to the writer's because they tied this one up very nicely, but it still left us hanging. Enough that I'm hoping we see the show come back for a full season next year.

A large portion of the show focused on Dave and his continuing dislike with this whole "open marriage" he reluctantly agreed to with his wife Deena. In part because she seems to be cashing in on the idea while he's not into it at all. When the guys take off for a golf trip, Dave spills the story to them and even shows them the video of Deena and Richard fighting at the party from last week.

(S01E04) What about him? For this episode, they should have changed the title to Everybody Needs Brian. I felt bad for the guy. All Brian was trying to do was have a lazy Saturday full of mindless sex, and the entire day his phone won't stop ringing.

After bumping into Lisa B. at the end of last week's episode, Brian brought her home, proceeded to undress her, and then spent the next 24 hours with her. As I said, his phone wouldn't stop ringing and the problem with that (especially when you have someone new in your apartment), is that they might hear something they shouldn't when the answering machine kicks in. Like what you might ask? Perhaps Marjorie, calling to tell Brian that the two of them need to figure out whatever it is that's going on between them. You do not, under any circumstances, want the girl that you just spent the entire day with hearing a message like that. Goodbye Lisa B.

(S01E03) This is just a feel good show. I watch it and I feel good. Simple as that, no prescription required. Then of course, I wonder what's wrong with me... that a show about semi-consensual adultery, dishonest relationships, lying, sex, and dirty thoughts about your best friend's fiancée is something that eases my mind and puts a smile on my face.

Who am I kidding? These days, that makes me the norm. The status quo. The guy next door. Which means I'm just like you and you should be watching this show too. It's awfully enjoyable and it's going to be a crying shame if ABC gives it the boot because it lacks in the ratings department. Three episodes in and I can say with certainty that no one should be forgetting about Brian.