October 23, 2007
All this week, now one month into the Fall TV season, BuddyTV takes a hard look at the new shows to determine which ones we were right about, and which ones have surprised us the most, both positively and negatively.
The minute I heard about ABC's new comedy Samantha Who?, I was intrigued. I became a fan of Christine Applegate post-Married With Children. I may be one of the few who remember her late 90s sitcom, Jesse, but I loved it. She impressed in recent years holding her own opposite Will Ferrell in Anchorman and even braving Broadway in a revival of Sweet Charity. I didn't need to know much more than she was the star of a new sitcom to get me on board. After two episodes, has the show lived up to my expectations? Let's explore.
October 23, 2007
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After his exposure on HBO's Deadwood, Timothy Olyphant will be returning to the small screen with an acting gig on one of ABC's newest sitcoms. According to TV Guide, the 39-year-old actor has just landed a recurring role on Samantha Who?
Created by Cecelia Ahern and Don Todd, Samantha Who?? follows Christina Applegate as Samantha "Sam" Newly, a 30-year-old who has to rediscover her life, her relationships and herself after developing amnesia from a hit-and-run accident. The comedy includes her boyfriend Todd (Barry Watson), her father Howard (Kevin Dunn), her mother Regina (Jean Smart), and her best friend Andrea (Jennifer Esposito). Also featured on the show are Tim Russ as Frank and Melissa McCarthy as Dena.
October 16, 2007
Samantha Who? Wow, so that worked out well. I suppose when you market the hell out of a show with an attractive, well-liked star (Christina Applegate) and premiere it after one of the biggest shows on TV (Dancing with the Stars), high ratings should be expected. But, I'm not sure if anyone expected Samantha Who? to perform this well. The show pulled in over 14 million viewers and held on to a larger post-Dancing with the Stars audience than The Bachelor had been receiving. Of course, the big test comes next week, when audiences will decide if the first Samantha Who? episode was enough for them to tune back in for a second week. My guess is that the ratings won't be as high, but will remain solid, giving ABC another minor hit.
October 15, 2007
I believe it was Roger Ebert who once said (and I'm paraphrasing), “It's not what a film is about that's important, it's how it's about what it's about.” This is a fancy way of saying that, more than anything, execution is king. All kinds of stories can be effective and, while some ideas may be better than others, an idea does not make a film or a TV show. With Samantha Who? (premiering tonight at 9:30), the new ABC comedy starring Christina Applegate, the overwhelming criticism has been that the show has a lame, unoriginal premise. Applegate plays Samantha, who wakes up with amnesia after a brutal car crash. After going back and figuring things out about her pre-amnesiac self, Samantha realizes that she was an awful person. Amnesia stories have become a cliché in TV comedy, a crutch of a plot point that's been beaten to death and made fun of for the last fifty years. However, improbably, Samantha Who? survives the weak premise and provides audiences with a surprisingly funny half-hour of comedy.
October 8, 2007
ABC's Samantha Who? has given Lost alum Kiele Sanchez a guest-starring role on its upcoming freshman run. Sanchez joins former Invasion star Eddie Cibrian on the show's guest-star lineup for this fall.
Samantha Who? revolves around Sam, a woman who upon incurring retrograde amnesia goes on a quest for self-discovery, only to find out that she isn't exactly the ideal person. The show stars Christina Applegate as Sam, Barry Watson as Sam's live-in boyfriend, Todd, Melissa McCarthy as Dena and Jennifer Esposito as Andrea. Veteran actors Kevin Dunn and Jean Smart also appear on the series as Sam's seemingly supportive and loving parents.
October 3, 2007
Christina Applegate's brand new sitcom, Samantha Who? is set to debut two weeks from now on October 15 at 9:30pm on ABC. The former Married with Children star plays a not-so-pleasant woman who gets a quirky second chance at reforming herself when she wakes up with a case of amnesia from an eight-day coma after falling victim to a hit-and-run mishap.
Aside from Applegate, who plays the title role of Samantha Newly, the new series also features Crash's Jennifer Esposito as Samantha's best friend, Andrea, and Jean Smart and Kevin Dunn as her parents, Regina and Howard. Aside from the show's regular cast members, we recently have word of an exciting casting piece of news for Samantha Who?.
September 25, 2007
From her days as one of four strong and stylish ladies on the mid `80s sitcom, Designing Women, Jean Smart has evolved into a one of television's favorite screen figures. Most recently, the statuesque Smart charmed audiences on day five of FOX's action-packed series, 24.
Jean Smart is back as a supporting cast mainstay on the new series, Samantha Who? Topbilled by Christina Applegate of Married with Children fame, Samantha Who?? debuts on ABC on October 15 at 9:30pm.