by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
David Arquette is a busy man. He, along with his wife, Courtney Cox, are co-producing their hot new show on FX, Dirt. He is also in his new comedy, In Case of Emergency which debuted with a stellar cast and a funny script. Having no laugh track qualified the show for my commentary, since I refuse to review any sitcom still using the offensive and idiotic laugh tracks.
Along with David Arquette, veteran comedy actor Jonathan Silverman portrays Harry Kennison, Greg Germann from Ally McBeal plays diet guru, Sherman Yablonsky, Kelly Hu plays feisty Kelly Lee, Lori Laughlin portrays doctor Joanna Lupone, and Jackson Bond plays Dylan Kennison, Harry’s son.
The idea for the show evolved from the real lives of producers Howard J. Morris and Emile Levisetti who chatted during lunch about series ideas. Morris is a 40-year old, newly divorced, single father who had just come from the doctor. When he filled out the form he didn’t have anyone to name “in case of emergency.” Thus, the concept for the series popped into his head about a group of divorced friends from high school who reunite years later in a hospital after various mishaps put them there together. Consequently, they find out they have a common ground for a renewed friendship. Their personal lives are shattered by an attempted suicide, messy divorces, and in the case of Jason, (David Arquette) a serious run-in with the law after a corporate scandal.
The scripts are rife with funny adult situations as these once ambitious friends find out that their lives didn’t turn out exactly like they had planned. In the three episodes which have already run, various life changes are affecting the group. Over the course of one evening, a series of disasters happen to the group. This sets up the character development.
A recently divorced greeting card writer, Harry, visits a massage parlor that specializes in massaging one part of the male body. His “massage therapist” turns out to be Kelly Lee, his high school’s valedictorian, whose life took a wrong turn. Diet guru Sherman returns home to discover his wife left him and took everything he owns. Traumatized by the shocking event, he hijacks a bakery truck and binges on the contents. It turns out his wife left him for her spiritual advisor.
Faced with imprisonment for his part in a corporate scandal, Jason botches his suicide attempt by shooting himself in the foot, which sends him to the hospital where Dr. Joanna Lupone seems like an angel. The gaggle of misfits now have a bond to change their lives for the better. This sets up the comedic situations that keep the laughs coming.
In episode 2, which aired January 10th, the Korean “massage therapist” Kelly’s cop boyfriend Frank catches Harry helping move her things out of his place. Meanwhile, Sherman gets no help from his friends or staff as his reputation as a diet guru spirals downward. Jason is now smitten with Dr. Joanna Lupone. However, Dr. Joanna (how her character is dubbed) does not reciprocate Jason’s attempts to win her favor. In fact, he is becoming a pest and maybe a stalker.
In the January 17th episode, Sherman and Harry sneak into the Sherman’s estranged wife’s spiritual advisor’s (David Carradine) ashram to find out her endgame. There they find Sherman’s missing furniture and art. Kelly confesses to Harry that she accidently killed her husband during a golf game. Jason, still pursuing Dr. Joanna, tries to convince her grandmother to accept medical treatment to save her life.
The series offers the hopeful premise that any disastrous situation can be overcome with a little help from one’s friends and serious prescription medications. The dialogue is snappy, featuring intelligent comedy delivered by experienced actors. The hot new series runs on Wednesday nights at 9:30 pm ET on ABC.
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