PILOT REVIEW: Rob

ROB

Starring: Rob Schneider, Cheech Marin, Claudia Bassols, Diana Maria Riva, Lupe Ontiveros, and Eugenio Derbez

Created by Lew Morton and Rob Schneider
Written by Lew Morton and Rob Schneider, Directed by James Widdoes

Rob is a new sitcom on CBS starring Rob Schneider as a bachelor who impulsively marries younger woman (Claudia Bassols) with a very close, extended Mexican-American family led by her father Fernando (Cheech Marin) and mother Rosa (Diana Maria Riva).

THE GOOD: Rob is a comfortable sitcom that is harmless enough. Like many CBS sitcoms, it has a potentially broad audience and could be a show that no one loves, but very few hate either. It isn't the type of show that has die-hard fans but it's accessible enough to everyone. There were some decent performances in the pilot - Cheech Marin is funny as patriach Fernando while Eugenio Derbez is a potential scene stealer as the sleazy, mooching Hector. The show ended on a high note with a funny tag scene. There's nothing to despise here...

THE BAD: ... but there's nothing to love here either. It's a pretty standard CBS sitcom that is mostly indistinguishable. The pilot also relied on far too many Spanish or OCD jokes (which Schenider's character has). I mean, do we still need to make jokes of Spanish people slipping into their native tongue halfway through an argument? Didn't I Love Lucy do that 60 years ago? While some of the Spanish jokes were funny, it overdid it much as Mike & Molly overdid the overweight jokes in that pilot. So hopefully it can move beyond that. The show also had one too many misunderstandings in the pilot as what started as a funny series of events quickly got to be too long and ridiculous. Also, I'm not convinced Schneider can carry a show as the lead.

BOTTOM LINE: Rob had a surprising debut so maybe it can be a new According to Jim or Rules of Engagement. A show that no one would count as the best show on TV but one that enough people watch to keep it coming back. It has enough standard sitcom fare that isn't high quality but doesn't suck either so basically, it is what it is.