On Wednesdays, I look at shows that lasted on season or less. Today I am looking at 2000s flop Help Me Help You!
HELP ME HELP YOU
Programming Details:
January 3, 2007 - April 11, 2007
12 episodes
ABC
Starring: Ted Danson, Jere Burns, Darlene Hunt, Charlie Finn, Suzy Nakamura, Jim Rash and Jane Kaczmarek
Created by: Jennifer Konner and Alexandra Rushfield
Plot: Dr. Bill Hoffman (Danson) runs a psychotherapy group while also dealing with his own problems. The group includes Michael and Darlene (Burns & Hunt) who are having a secret affair, formerly suicidal office worker Dave (Finn), lonely programmer Inger (Nakamura) and secretly closeted Jonathan (Rash). Rounding out the main cast is Bill's ex-wife, Anne (Kaczmarek).
Help Me Help You was a rare miss in Ted Danson's illustrious TV career. He's not the reason this show didn't work though. Danson was as charming as ever as a doctor with a confident exterior and messy interior. There were definitely shades of Sam Malone. The problem is there were an awful lot of problems for these characters, perhaps more than a sitcom was able to handle. Imagine if The Bob Newhart Show regularly explored the home lives of his group patients, that's what this show basically was.
The eccentricities can be funny in support group scenes but there was no respite in the rest of the episode, especially with Danson's character also probably in need of help. I found myself wishing there was a whole lot more time devoted to the group scenes. We didn't even really get a chance to find out how the ensemble functioned as a group, they spent too much time with stories elsewhere. Jere Burns and Darlene Hunt were given almost nothing to do. Suzy Nakamura was stronger but she also had more material to work with. Not surprisingly, Danson was given the most to do and had a pretty good rapport with Kaczmarek but a less interesting scene with Jim Rash that went on too long.
Help Me, Help You arrived on ABC at a dire time for the network's sitcoms. They had turned things around in other areas with shows like Lost and Grey's Anatomy, but the sitcom situation was rough for pretty much the entire decade until 2009 with the launch of Modern Family and The Middle. Help Me was part of a new comedy block after Dancing with the Stars on Tuesday nights and it was paired with fellow newbie Big Day. There were so many attempts at comedy blocks like this by the Alphabet network in the mid to late 2000s. Shows like these two, The Knights of Prosperity, Crumbs, Notes from the Underbelly, In Case of Emergency and so many more were ones that came and went from the ABC lineup quickly. The series received mixed reviews at best though Danson's performance was generally noted as the best thing about the series.
The series was pulled from the lineup for November Sweeps and then returned for just three more weeks before being pulled for good, leaving four episodes unaired. ABC would continue to swing and miss in the comedy department for a couple more seasons before it became their strong suit in the 2010s. Of course Danson has continued to have tremendous success with Damages, CSI, The Good Place and now Mr. Mayor. This is one of the few misses in his career. The rest of the cast has continued to do solid work too. Maybe this show would have worked if it had been on a network that had any sort of comedy identity at the time.
Tomorrow: A look at the second season of Rhoda!
Next Wednesday: A look at 1960s flop Honey West!
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