Skip to main content

PILOT REVIEW: Bless the Harts

BLESS THE HARTS









Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz

 Created by Emily Spivey
Written by Erin Wagoner, Directed by Pete Michels

I haven't had to review many cartoons in my near decade of doing this blog and I'll give a full disclosure - I'm not a fan of animated shows in general. I haven't really liked one since Doug. I've never seen a full episode of The Simpsons or Family Guy. So, I will fully admit that I had a bad attitude going into FOX's newest entry in the Animation Domination lineup, Bless the Harts.

Bless the Harts seems to be trying to exist in the same type of world where shows like Parks and Recreation have thrived: small town USA. Filled with eccentric personalities and some oddball local politics, I can see what they're going for here. The problem is, it is not executed well. Instead, we have a bunch of cheap laughs and some recurring jokes that land incredibly flat (don't even get me started on the Colin Powell jokes. What is this, 2004?) It says something when a gimmicky thing like Jesus as a character wasn't the worst part of the show.

One of the major premises of the episode was that Jenny (Kristen Wiig) kept trying to sell her mother, Betty's (Maya Rudolph) collection of Hug n' Bugs and Betty kept buying them back. That's all well and good except that joke and major plot point doesn't actually work. Where exactly was Jenny mailing these things to if she knows where the storage unit and Betty lives with them? Things like that bug me on sitcoms because they sacrifice credibility just to make a joke. There were other ways they could have made that joke work and they took a lazy way out.

Whenever there's a genre that I'm not really into, I am always curious to hear what people who liked the genre think of a new show. I'm biased against Bless the Harts partly because this is just not the type of show I'd be into even if it was done well. But when my wife was watching alongside me and I commented that I had never seen an episode of The Simpsons or Family Guy, she said that this show was "not as good as those."

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Nope. But I've still seen more episodes of Bless the Harts than some of FOX's iconic animated shows.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

  1. CecigiAugust 19, 2022 at 5:41 PM

    "I haven't really liked one since Doug."

    That's OK if you don't like cartoons, you could watch this great little 90's gem called Budgie the Little Helicopter:

    https://www.youtube.com/c/sarahferguson

    You heard it here, folks, watch Budgie the Little Helicopter for the rest of your life.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SEASON IN REVIEW: 2017-18 Miscellaneous Awards

As usual, I am ending the season with a few miscellaneous awards. The blog will be quiet this summer but I will continue to do the week ahead posts with broadcast TV news as it happens this summer. Then I'll be back for previews, pilot reviews, and more in the fall! BEST RETURNING COMEDY Superstore (NBC) - Superstore was awarded my "Best Returning Comedy" last year, but it only got better in season three. The funniest ensemble on TV took another step forward with some truly hilarious moments (the season premiere, the Golden Globes party, and the Christmas episode to name a few) and some major plot points moving forward. It also has the potential to be surprisingly sentimental at times. I think back to the first year of the show and how I felt like it had so many funny elements but didn't always bring it completely together. Well now it does on a weekly basis and it is one of those shows that just seems to be in the sweet spot of what will hopefully be a long run. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

EPISODE GUIDES: Happy Days Season Five (Part 1)

On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show by season. Today I am looking at Season 5 (Part 1) of  Happy Days ! HAPPY DAYS: SEASON FIVE 1977-1978 27 episodes Season Five is the year where Fonzie infamously jumps the shark. It happens at the beginning of the season and while  Happy Days  does eventually decline in quality, it is not this season. In fact, this season graded out slightly higher than the previous season even though it doesn't feel as strong. I think that's because there's not a lot of outright stinkers in this season. It's a very solid season with the show continuing to hum along. There are some signs of the troubles to come but it doesn't happen on a regular basis in the fifth season. Starring Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham  (27 episodes) Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzarelli  (27 episodes) Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham  (27 episodes) Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham  (27 episodes) Anson Williams as Potsie Webber  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

EPISODE GUIDES: That 70s Show Season Seven

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Seven of  That 70s Show ! THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON SEVEN 2004-2005 25 episodes The seventh season of  That 70s Show  is the final season with Topher Grace as a series regular and also the final full season for Ashton Kutcher. Despite still having both of those cast member, the show finds itself flailing especially with Topher Grace's Eric, who is stuck in a terrible arc for most of the season. The show also brings many characters back at one point or another but everything just feels tired. This season actually graded out the worst for me. Even worse than the often maligned final season (more on that next week). Every title this season is named for a Rolling Stones song. Starring Topher Grace as Eric Forman  (25 episodes) Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart  (25 episodes) Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso  (25 episodes) Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde  (25 e...
Post a Comment
Read more