Instant Reviews: The Grinder/Grandfathered/Dr. Ken/Blood & Oil

The Grinder (FOX)

Rob Lowe and Fred Savage DO NOT LOOK LIKE BROTHERS (whew, glad I got that off my chest). Secondly, this series is considered a "comedy" but I only found myself chuckling a time or two. The biggest problem with this series is the two main leads have completely different comedy styles and instead of the styles working together, they work against each other. Fred Savage has more of an 80s/90s classic family sitcom style while Rob Lowe just has a quirkiness about him that makes him a better candidate for more outgoing characters. The other problem is that I don't feel connected to this family emotionally like I do with Modern Family or Mom. They are unconvincing as a family but also their connections with each other come off fake. We're going to give the second episode another shot (mainly because I like the scenes with Fred Savage) but I have a feeling it's not going to get any better. 

4/10

Update: On 12 May 2016, FOX cancelled The Grinder.

Grandfathered (FOX)

I REALLY wanted to like this series because of John Stamos, but I just didn't. It's considered a "comedy" just like The Grinder but I didn't laugh (or chuckle) once. I just sat there wondering how John Stamos manages to stay so young looking. For me the main problem is that I don't think John Stamos is a leading actor. In both Full House and ER he was a supporting character within a large cast. He's not a comedian and just doesn't have what it takes to pull of the lead character. When it comes to the other characters, I just don't find the son believable at all. At 26 he finds his father and almost instantly asks him for love advice rather then getting to know him. I did liked the fact that John Stamos's character plays a Beach Boys song at the beginning and that Bob Saget has a cameo but it's just not enough to keep me interested.

3/10

Update: On 12 May 2016, FOX cancelled Grandfathered.

(Sidenote: I watched Grandfathered and The Grinder back to back and I feel that John Stamos and Rob Lowe should've switched roles. John also has an 80s/90s classic sitcom comedy style which would have worked a lot better with Fred Savage and Rob could really have pulled off the quirky lead actor in Grandfathered. Just a thought...)

Dr. Ken (ABC)

After watching the trailer, I held it's chances of survival at a 10% and after watching the pilot episode, even that seemed to high. I've seen many of the cast in other shows: Albert Tsai (Trophy Wife), Dave Foley (Hot In Cleveland), Tisha Campbell-Martin (My Wife & Kids) and they are all still awesome in this series as supporting cast members. Unfortunately Ken Jeong is just too much for me (especially as the lead character). He talks way to much and too fast and is constantly flailing around everywhere. I just wanted him to sit still for five whole seconds but that never happened. I'm so annoyed at ABC because they are constantly cutting the shows I love (like Trophy Wife and Cristela) just to add terrible shows that never make it through the first season (like this one and last year's Selfie). Clearly ABC  needs to start replacing the people that make their greenlight decisions. (Hey ABC, I'm interested!)

2/10

Blood & Oil (ABC)

I don't really know where to start with this series and clearly they didn't either. It's pretty much a mishmash of so many different themes that every scene feels different then the last. A young couple want to start up a laundry mat (by the way, LAMEST concept ever, what young person has ever dreamed of owning and running a laundrymat?!). Anyway, they get in an accident and lose their washing machines so he takes a job shoveling mud meanwhile a father/son are constantly getting into disagreements about the family reputation and business and a local oil company is looking to expand their land. It's like ABC couldn't figure out if they wanted this to be a drama or a soap opera or a small town western. My BIGGEST problem with this series is the fact that the main two characters relocated to a small town that seems to be OVERRUN by millions of people (almost all of which who seem to be poor and living in a "tent" community). I'm from a large city and I have NEVER seen this many customers in a pharmacy at one time, especially in a pharmacy that was so poorly stocked. In this end, this series was clearly confused and wasted both time & money (my time and their money). Once again, it's clear that ABC needs to start replacing the people that make their greenlight decisions. (...still interested...)

4/10

Update: As of 15 December 2015, ABC cancelled Blood & Oil.

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