A Man. And His Blog.

I can’t understand, why ABC orders a comedy series, recorded in front of a live audience, and puts it on the comedy Wednesday without any other live audience comedy. Hank is pretty much the weakest comedy at this day. And not only was the pilot episode under average, I didn’t have any interest in the show, I don’t like Kelsey Grammer (this guy is overrated) and the first 21 minutes were pretty much boring and not funny.

Another family comedy – well, this is what I was waiting for all my life (caution: ironic meaning). All in all, Hank is pretty much like every other family comedy as well. We have the “bossy” father Hank, who is in the center of the show, the humor and everything else; the good-heart mother Tilly (Melinda McGraw), who is always behind her husband and never gets a storyline of her own; the daughter Maddie (Jordan Hinson), who doesn’t listen to her family and is short before starting her own life (but still hangs at home, never moves out, instead brings everything home – real life, anyone?); and the little son Henry (Nathan Gamble), who is starting to learn the life and is… the little one in the family. And in addition, we have uncle Grady (David Koechner), the funny man outside of the family home, always with a joke on his lips. Well, everything is not even a cliche, but totally uninteresting and nothing new.
I don’t know what everybody has with Kelsey Grammer – for me he is not funny, his acting skills are above average at best (in some scenes he reminded me of Michael J. Fox trying to hide his Parkinson attacks – not that he ever did that, just sayin’), and I think this goes for guys in exactly my generation as well (please inform me when it ain’t so), so isn’t ABC practically trying his comedy luck outside of the important audience? So, why cast an “obviously” big name for an average show like this? Why not casting somebody new in the business? John Noble got his name out with Fringe, and he is old, too (and better)…
Yeah, I didn’t really like it very much. There were a few smiling moments, but these moments belonged to Jordan Hinson (even though her laughter, after her dad sang the Star-Spangled Banner, was so fake, it was funny again, and awkward). Maybe the show would be better suited in companion with Accidentally on Purpose (if ABC would airing the show, or if Hank airs on CBS, or whatever), but not with Modern Family, Cougar Town and the fairly acceptable The Middle.
3,5 out of 10 points.