Whitney (2011 - Present): Review By TheStonedReviewer

When I first saw an advert for the up oncoming show Whitney the first words that were flung in the viewers face were 'from the creators of Two Broke Girls...' Now sometimes when a new show is 'from the creators of' it can be promising, for example if it's 'from the creators of Two and a Half Men...' then you know it's a product of the almighty Chuck Lorre and will at least be worth a watch. In this case though, it means about diddly squat. Now I'm not saying anything against Two Broke Girls, a show that (I grit my teeth when I say this) is sometimes very funny, but Whitney is not.

The show is centred around a couple and their relationship, and about their friends who are also couples and about their relationships. A situation that is so mind-numbingly over done it should be its own genre. There's Whitney, and then there's her boyfriend Alex the shaggy haired man that according to the promo, has to 'deal with her big bag of craziness'. But from the pilot there seems to be little, if any craziness about her. I guess she is lively and manages to drag the whole thing along but I would replace crazy with slightly irritating. Alex is likeable enough but the two leads just aren't interesting enough. If you want a bearded, good-looking nice-guy then you might as well switch over to Ashton Kutcher in brand new Two and a Half Men where the characters although disappearing are much, much more engaging.

Then you've got the friends of the couple who are incredibly forgettable, I guess there's the friend who's a cop who at least made me smile with a joke about being off duty when there were kids messing around outside. But that is pretty much the only laugh I had. Then suddenly, that horrifying moment when you realise you recognise an actor who's also in or at least used to be in a far, far better show. In this case, Jack Donaugy's loveable, eccentric and very funny assistant in 30 Rock, albeit a small part, I have a feeling it will be a lot more memorable than this. In this role, he plays a character who the creators have vacuumed all the funny, weirdness out of, stuck him in a 'normal guy' v-neck sweater, given him a light-beer and just have sort of stuck him in the main cast.

Maybe it will get better, the episode I saw was just not funny, I wanted to like it, I know it got a let's say, mixed response, but I wanted to enjoy it. Sadly I could not escape the feeling that this had all been done in previous shows, just better and wittier. I won't give up immediately; I will watch to see if it does get better. But I did see a very uncanny promo for the next episode that features... John Cleese!? And then I had that horrifying moment when you see a god of British comedy in something that is completely without humour. Monty Python fans, the next episode of Whitney might be one to stay well clear of.