GIVE 'SPOT' A FULL HOUR AND THEN YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING.Byline: David Kronke TV Critic THE WB LOUDLY announced plans to do an hourlong variety series this summer without commercial interruption (but with product placement), then quietly reneged on the deal. Too bad, in a way - they have the structure already with ``On the Spot,'' which is manic and messy as a half-hour sitcom/improv/variety show, but might go somewhere with enough time to experiment with the ways it wants to tinker with its format. As is, though, ``On the Spot'' isn't much. There's a plot that's perhaps even more threadbare than those seen on regular sitcoms - hapless Jeff Miller
Jefferson B. "Jeff" Miller (born June 27, 1959), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing (Jeff B. Davis) is promoted from a mail room to run a troubled (and apparently understaffed) Malibu resort. There are some improvised im·pro·vise v. im·pro·vised, im·pro·vis·ing, im·pro·vis·es v.tr. 1. To invent, compose, or perform with little or no preparation. 2. bits that should be a lot funnier and - even though Tim Conway Tim Conway (born December 15, 1933) is an American comedic actor. Conway was born Thomas Daniel Conway, but changed his first name to "Tim" to avoid confusion with actor Tom Conway. He was born in the Cleveland, Ohio suburb Willoughby and grew up in nearby Chagrin Falls. shines amid the otherwise largely youthful cast - should feature a lot less cracking up by the performers. There are underdressed women, apropos of apropos of prep. With reference to; speaking of: a funny story apropos of politics. nothing, frolicking around the studio audience (on loan from ``The Man Show''?). There are musical segments and surprise guests. That's a lot to shovel into 21 minutes of air time, and we haven't even mentioned host Chip Esten Charles "Chip" Esten (born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 9 1965) is an American actor and singer best known for his appearances on the improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway?. painstakingly explaining how improvisational comedy works and the wan participation of the audience. The trouble is, it'll never work as a sitcom because viewers will never expend any emotional investment in performers who spend more time out of character than in it. And the improv A multidimensional Windows spreadsheet from Lotus that allows for easy switching to different views of the data. Data are referenced by name as in a database, rather than the typical spreadsheet row and column coordinates. Improv was originally developed for the NeXt computer. comedy is underwhelming un·der·whelm tr.v. un·der·whelmed, un·der·whelm·ing, un·der·whelms To fail to excite, stimulate, or impress: and seems less than truly improvised. Word is the live shows are a blast (metal-folkers Tenacious D guested on one episode and took over) - too bad that hasn't translated to the small screen. Stretching the show to an unpredictable live, uninterrupted hour would give room for vaguely interesting stories, improvisations to go in truly odd directions for more than 20 seconds a pop and musical guests to perform at length; letting the players do impromptu spots for advertisers is a hoot waiting to happen. In this incarnation, alas, it's destined des·tine tr.v. des·tined, des·tin·ing, des·tines 1. To determine beforehand; preordain: a foolish scheme destined to fail; a film destined to become a classic. 2. to be a footnote in TV history, a hybrid that fell between the bar stools, neither quite innovative nor entertaining enough. ON THE SPOT - Two stars What: Sitcom/improv/variety show hybrid, featuring young people and Tim Conway. Where: The WB (Channel 5). When: 9:30 tonight. In a nutshell: Nice try at something different, but more frantic than fun. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Jeff B. Davis, left, and Tim Conway are two of the players in ``On the Spot,'' the WB's new show mixing improv and story. |
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