On Wednesdays, I take a look at a show that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at 1998's The Brian Benben Show!
THE BRIAN BENBEN SHOW
September 21, 1998 - October 12, 1998
4 episodes
CBS
Starring: Brian Benben, Susan Blommaert, Charles Esten, Wendell Pierce, Luis Antonio Ramos, Lisa Thornhill
Created by: Robert Borden
Plot: Brian Benben (Benben) is a news anchor for KYLA-TV in Los Angeles. He is fired by his boss Beverly Shippel (Blommaert) and replaced by newer and younger anchor, Chad Rockwell (Esten). However, Brian gets to come back to the network as a human interest reporter after a freak accident to the previous reporter. Rounding out the main cast is weather reporter Billy Hernandez (Ramos), sports anchor Kevin La Rue (Pierce) and new co-anchor Tabitha Berkeley (Thornhill).
This was one of those pilots that was inherently somewhat interesting to me because it was set at a TV station and those types of shows always interest me. But this was not The Mary Tyler Moore Show or Murphy Brown, this was a mostly unfunny pilot. The main character (with the same first and last name as the actor) was the best part of the sitcom. Brian Benben had a few naturally funny moments and an easygoing personality. But he wasn't enough of a personality to transcend an otherwise by-the-book sitcom. The 90s had many stand-up comics getting their own sitcom and though they ranged wildly in quality, they usually took on some of the voice of the comic. This was a show built around an actor but not a stand-up comic so it was lacking a voice.
There were some big names in the cast, or at least future big names, in Wendell Pierce and Charles Esten. Pierce had a couple funny moments but wasn't given a lot to do. But Esten was very disappointing in a role that really needed to be bigger and funnier. He was sort of playing a pretty boy version of Ted Baxter but he didn't really commit to the character. The biggest problem though was the big moments meant to be jokes that just didn't land. The ape "killing" the previous reporter looked like it belonged on a children's show or a bad 60s sitcom. The live cut to Betty's house late in the episode went on forever and never found funny moments. It just added up to a miss.
Brian Benben is probably not a name you know but it was even a little suspect that he had a show named after him in 1998. Maybe CBS thought his name was funny enough to stick in viewers' minds? At the time, Benben was known as a regular on HBO cult favorite Dream On but he certainly wasn't a household name. CBS was making a conscious effort in Fall of 1998 to go after male viewers after getting back NFL broadcast rights. The show was given a great timeslot, airing on CBS Mondays after burgeoning hit Everybody Loves Raymond. Another new show, The King of Queens, premiered the same night on CBS in the 8:30pm slot. It was one of those case where the show sandwiched in the middle of a comedy lineup ended up being a bigger hit than the one that aired after the cornerstone of the lineup.
Reviews were mixed for the show. Variety generally praised Benben but was less enthusiastic about the rest of the cast and questioned if the show had the goods to compete with Ally McBeal and Monday Night Football. The Los Angeles Times agreed, saying Benben was good but "at the mercy of his material" and the material was "merciless." The Washington Post was more positive, calling it one of the five best new series of the fall. The show was a flop out of the gate, losing a huge amount of Raymond viewers. CBS had the Ted Danson sitcom Becker on deck so Brian Benben was pulled after just four weeks and Becker launched in early November, where it lasted for several years. As for Benben, he had a run on Private Practice but never became the type of star worthy of having his own sitcom.
Tomorrow: Very Very Ballet!
Next Wednesday: A One Season Wonder look at Encore! Encore!
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