‘The Class' earns passing grade
By Alissa Ponchione, Staff Writer
October 18, 2006 | 4:46 p.m.
The premiere episode of “The Class” that aired Monday on CBS at 8 p.m. slightly dug its own grave as its perpetual decline seems, sadly, imminent.
“The Class,” from the producers of “Friends,” follows the budding friendships/relationships/cheap love affairs of eight third-grade classmates as they reunite at their 20-year-anniversary party that nice guy Ethan (Jason Ritter) throws for his fiancé, also from the third-grade class.
However, things go awry when Ethan’s fiancé breaks up with him because he is “drowning her in his love.” And with this small break-up, the world of the other past third-graders shatters too. Though these drastic changes barely seem feasible, it’s almost believable in a cute, “aw-shucks” kind of way.
Stereotypes are pervasive as each character’s role is defined within the first five minutes. The trophy wife, Nicole (“Joey’s” Andrea Anders) leaves her rich, older husband for Duncan (Jon Bernthal), the guy still living with his mom, and believes she’s the “one that got away.” Suicide is the farthest thing from the mind of the depressed Richie (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) when he runs into equally neurotic Lina (Heather Goldenhersh).
Not to be outdone, the token gay guy, Kyle (Sean Maguire) meets up with the woman he scorned on prom night, Holly (Lucy Punch), when she caught him with another man. In her way of coping, she married an ambiguously flamboyant “straight” man, which begs the question, “is she jinxed by a lack of ‘gaydar’?”
The show plays on the ponderings of many ‘80s fans who wonder, “Whatever happened to those Breakfast Club kids?” The short answer: they joined this show. In fact, it’s no surprise this is from the producers of “Friends” as it’s a reinvigorated knock-off of good-looking, white, almost-30-something-year-olds living in the city (in this case Philadelphia) and dealing with life.
The thing is that it has potential. There have been far worse sitcoms that survived for far longer. (“Yes, Dear,” anyone?) And with the always charming Jason Ritter cast as the “lead,” the show could find its footing in the dying area of four-camera sitcoms. His relationship with Kat (Lizzy Caplan) is sort of a new-aged play on the Joey and Chandler friendship as she plays the sarcastic, angst-ridden anti-conformist. This, however, will undoubtedly lead to love.
The freshman sitcom shows its floundering naivety with its weak jokes that make one wonder, “Who at the network thinks this stuff is funny?” If the kinks in the writing smooth out and the typical sitcom fodder of cheesy double entendres and trite sex jokes get sucked up in some sitcom black-hole, this show could work, especially since it’s the lead-in to “How I Met Your Mother.”
The worrisome thing is the show isn’t bad, but it’s not a break-out hit either. If it is not given the proper chance and revamping, then it will be lost in the shuffle of canceled premiere-week newbies.