ARTS [TV Critic] Winners, Losers & Wedding Bells NBC and FOX Network is offering some interesting shows, of varying quality, this new season. April 2007

Richard Koscher

Andy Barker P.I.

This is a fun show to watch. Andy Richter plays the eponymous Andy Barker, an earnest, hard-working CPA whose accounting business is failing, but when he's mistaken for the private eye who was the former tenant of his building, Andy discovers that he has natural talent for the job and comes to embrace the double life that a twist of fate has brought him to.

Andy's wife Jenny overcomes her initial misgivings and proves herself to be a helpful resource in solving the mysteries that are coming into her life.

Simon and Wally, Andy's new neighbors in the strip mall where his office is located, play the role of back-up and provide assistance for car chases and late night stakeouts.

The show underscores the extreme talent of Andy Richter who had less luck with previous series, such as Andy Richter Controls the Universe, than he deserved. He certainly warrants success with this one.

The Winner

This show is a loser in my opinion. The executive/producer is Seth MacFarlane who is responsible for two zany animated spoofs, Family Guy and American Dad, in his resume. Only Rob Corddry prevents The Winner from becoming a total disaster.

In the show Corddry plays the protagonist, Glen, whose sheltered life in his parents' home is interrupted by the return of the recently divorced Erinn, the only girl Glen had ever kissed. Erinn has her teenage son, Josh, in tow.

Erinn inspires Glen to become a "grown-up" and win her heart.

The show hints at hope for late-bloomers everywhere as Glen moves through his formative years two decades later than his peers. "Wonder Years" just happens a little later for some people than for others.

He receives unhelpful parental advice from Irene, his enabling mother, and from Ron, his quick-tempered dad. Fortunately, Glen finds a companion to go with him through this awkward transition, because 13-year-old Josh turns out to be a fellow hypochondriac and the only person Glenn can truly relate with.

The coming-of-age experience for the middle-aged Glenn illustrates the power of true love by transforming an unlikely underdog from his state as timid underachiever to richest man in Buffalo.

The plot is reminiscent of The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Steve Carell survived that underwhelming show to thrive in the TV-sitcom, The Office. I hope Rob Corddry will experience that kind of renaissance in a better venue once he is finished with this series.

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

I don't usually pay much attention to game shows, but Mark Burnett, who served up Survivor, The Apprentice, and On the Lot, might have a winner with this one.

The show is funny, and tests the viewer's knowledge. We all enjoy shows that hold people up to deserved ridicule. It's great fun to see a graduate of UCLA fail a question because he didn't realize that polar bears, that are located at the North Pole, of course don't feed on penguins who only live at the South Pole.

The most deliciously humiliating event occurs at the end when contestants must look at the camera and tell everybody that they aren't smarter than a 5th grader.

Anyone who shows themselves to be smarter than a 5th grader wins a million bucks. It's amazing how many people aren't that smart.

The Wedding Bells

People of both genders and all possible marital status have been waiting for this show, which is a romantic dramedy (drama/comedy) about a family-owned wedding planning business dedicated to helping its clients have a wonderful wedding thus ensuring their marital bliss, at least until they get to the parking lot.

Annie, Sammy, and Jane Bell inherited The Wedding Palace marriage chapel following the divorce of their parents. Jane's husband, Russell Hawkins, becomes the company Chief operating officer.

The change in their status has pushed them far from their comfort zone and has forced them to embrace the jumbled complexities of modern weddings, on one hand, while trying to untangle the knots and snarls of their own chaotic love lives.

The trio begins to discover the techniques and methods that are required for coping with high-maintenance princesses and their always-jittery sometimes dysfunctional families. They work with each other and with their staff to do their utmost in ensuring that every client's special day really does become a fairy-tale-come-true experience.

The three are very ambitious and share the goal of moving their busy little enterprise into big business.

Matters become even more complex as we learn that the photographer, an unfinished sort of individual named David Conlon, has strong feelings for Annie.

The wedding singer is an aspiring showman named Ralph Snow. He dreams of glory but is stuck in a reality that forces him to croon through a tiresome cycle of cover songs and overly familiar medleys for guests who never appreciate and often ignore his performances.

The Wedding Bells is definitely a show designed for ladies, but one that is guaranteed to get some laughs from husbands and boyfriends who watch along with them.

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