As I said when ABC first announced his lineup, I was hugely intrigued by their brand-new Wednesday lineup. ABC is going very aggressive on Wednesdays this year, launching four new comedies and a drama. Having now watched the shows, I'm more excited about specific aspects of the lineup than the whole thing in general.

The night doesn't seem to start auspiciously, with Hank, the new Kelsey Grammer starrer, but as that wasn't available in its final form, it's entirely possible that the network will manage to tweak it to the point where it's the best comedy ever. Of course, in its temporary form, the show leaves a lot to be desired. Grammer is Hank, a one-time terribly successful CEO who has been booted from his own company and forced to move back to his hometown with, horror of horrors, his family.

Next up on Wednesdays is The Middle, a new comedy starring Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn. They're married, have three kids, and live in the middle of the country. It may sound perfectly generic, but both Heaton and Flynn are capable, funny actors and good with the material. The actors who play the children, Charlie McDermott, Eden Sher, and Atticus Shaffer, are all amusing without being overly cute. The youngest child in the family, Brick (Shaffer) does appear to be a little too similar to Malcolm in the Middle's Dewey in the pilot, but hopefully as the series progresses the characterization will grow and change.

There doesn't seem, at this point, to be anything new or different or overly quirky about The Middle, it just seems to be a solidly written and acted single-camera comedy. In this day and age where every comedy and drama has a twist or odd hook to bring the audience in, The Middle, relying on those old standbys of funny people and amusing scripts, feels wonderfully fresh.

Modern Family, the 9pm show on Wednesdays, unlike The Middle, opts for a hook – their tale about three nuclear families (who are really a single extended family), with the adult couples – Gloria & Jay, Phil & Claire, and Mitchell & Cameron – being interviewed for a documentary along with their kids. It's clear that each of the families have their own issues: Jay is far older than Gloria and is taking care of her and her 11-year-old son; Phil tries to be one of those "cool" dads and leaves Claire flabbergasted; and Mitchell and Cameron have just adopted a baby and are trying to sort out parental roles in a family with two dads and how to relate to the world around them.

Article Author: Josh Lasser

Josh Lasser, formerly known as "TV and Film Guy," and complete with a Masters Degree in Critical Studies in said areas, gives his opinions on TV, Film, and Entertainment in general. All of which he does in a shameless attempt to try to get paid to do the exact same thing. …

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