Tonight I thought I might be able to go to sleep an hour earlier with the Olympic coverage ending at 11pm. Nope! NBC decided to air the first episode of the heavily promoted Matthew Perry vehicle Go On. I hadn't planned on watching it, but I was too involved in my cross-stitch to move so I stuck around as any tv-obsessed individual would.
What struck me (and many others as far as I can tell from other reviews) is how similar Go On is to another NBC comedy, Community. Self-obsessed leading man - check. Group of wacky misfits - check. Leading man realizing that he needs these wacky people in his life - check. The only difference is the tonal change that being a therapy group brings to the story as opposed to a study group. There wasn't much chance to actually get to know anyone besides Matthew Perry's character Ryan King. Do I remember any of the other character's names? Nope. Lauren Benanti and Tyler James Williams appear to be the second fiddles in this show with bonus John Cho.
The "March Sadness" device was okay at introducing us to the others in the group. But it really only gave us the tiniest glimpse at why they are at the Transitions group therapy.
In the end, I wasn't too impressed with Go On (or how I like to call it Goon). There were dated references, for example who doesn't know about Google Street view? All the funniest parts of the pilot have been put into the endless commercials during the Olympics. Looking forward, I don't know how they'll continue with doing vs. talking about feelings vibe it has set up.
Will it always be the group leader (Lauren Benanti's character whose name I have forgotten) trying to lead them in very textbook, therapy sessions with Ryan King (Matthew Perry) interjecting with a "better" idea of just doing something? If so, it will get boring very fast. They've taken a risk to create a show that could have a large dose of crazy situations with an equally large side of emotional gravitas as characters deal with loss. Making it work will quite the balancing act. I worry that if they had to pick between the two, they will cast aside or belittle the emotional in favor of the comedy, which would be a shame. Go On doesn't offer anything new in situational comedy. It's the raw emotions that it could tap into that set it apart from other shows.
Will I watch it in the fall?
Probably not. I'll keep an eye out on reviews of other early episodes to see how this show progresses. I just wasn't sold by this Matthew Perry show, which is unfortunate for him because he cannot get a show running. I feel bad and wish you the best Matthew Perry. But in all honesty, I wasn't sold by the Community pilot when I first watched it. Community truly won me over when it started being its silly, referencial self and as I got to know the characters. So there might be hope (should this show not be canceled in the first few weeks) that I will watch it.
Other (more professional) reviews:
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