WHEN IRISH GUYS ARE RILIN' ...Byline: David Kronke TV Critic Edward Burns' 1995 film ``The Brothers McMullen'' was about three perpetually confused Irish Catholic brothers living together. They exchanged quips and recalled - not fondly - their late father, an alcoholic who railed against change and insulted his progeny incessantly. All three men regarded women as some exotic, foreign ``other'' like the endangered muntjac muntjac: see deer. muntjac or barking deer Any of about seven species of solitary, nocturnal deer, native to Asia and introduced into England and France, that constitute the genus Muntiacus (family Cervidae). tusked tusk n. 1. An elongated pointed tooth, usually one of a pair, extending outside of the mouth in certain animals such as the walrus, elephant, or wild boar. Also called regionally tush2. 2. deer - sure, they're cute, but what the hell were you supposed to do with them? Burns' sitcom, which he created with his brother Brian, concerns three perpetually confused Irish Catholic guys, a couple of whom live with their father, who, for our purposes, has been happily resurrected. They exchange quips and are still have girl trouble; Dad rails against change and insults his progeny incessantly. But this is completely different - this one is called ``The Fighting Fitzgeralds.'' Brian Dennehy is all puff and bluster - you can count the lines he doesn't absolutely bellow bellow one of the voices of cattle. Usually refers to the arrogant call of the bull used to announce territorial rights. Abnormalities of the voice include hoarseness as in rabies, or continuous repetition as in nervous acetonemia. See also low, moo. in tonight's episode on one hand - as the Fitzgerald patriarch, a retired and widowed firefighter. He calls everyone ``moron mo·ron n. A person of mild mental retardation having a mental age of from 7 to 12 years and generally having communication and social skills enabling some degree of academic or vocational education. ,'' and who's to say he's not right? Son Jim (Justin Louis), an earnest, underpaid noodge noodge n. & v. Slang Variant of nudge2. , and his generically sensitive wife, Sophie (Connie Britton, who also appeared in ``McMullin''), live with dad. They have a daughter and another baby on the way (one of tonight's zany subplots concerns their inability to announce the impending im·pend intr.v. im·pend·ed, im·pend·ing, im·pends 1. To be about to occur: Her retirement is impending. 2. child to the family). Terry (Christopher Moynihan) is your standard-issue ne'er-do-well. Patrick (Jon Patrick Walker), the family's pride and joy, has just gotten dumped by his girlfriend, quit his lucrative job and come home to reassess his life. Since they're Irish Catholics, about half of tonight's episode is spent in a bar where, we're wackily informed, they don't play darts; they play ``dart.'' ``There's only one dart. You gotta throw it, keep bringing it back.'' This is the general level of japery at work here. Jim and Patrick have a drably motivated confrontation that's soon resolved, and Dad turns out to have a soft spot under that rough exterior after all. ``The Fighting Fitzgeralds,'' which follows shows like ``Everybody Loves Raymond Everybody Loves Raymond is an American sitcom originally broadcast on CBS from 1996 to 2005. It is one of the most critically acclaimed American sitcoms of its time. ,'' ``Judging Amy'' and ``Providence'' in planting multiple generations in close proximity, is an exceedingly mild sitcom with punch lines lacking inspiration. If Dennehy seems too cranky in tonight's episode, maybe he's not so much hacked off at his clueless sons as he is mad that he didn't get better jokes to deliver. ``THE FIGHTING FITZGERALDS'' What: Sitcom about the irascible i·ras·ci·ble adj. 1. Prone to outbursts of temper; easily angered. 2. Characterized by or resulting from anger. [Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin patriarch of an Irish Catholic family. The stars: Brian Dennehy, Justin Louis, Connie Britton, Christopher Moynihan, Jon Patrick Walker. When: 8:30 tonight; thereafter, at 8 p.m. Tuesdays. Where: NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. (Channel 4). Our rating: Two stars CAPTION(S): photo Photo: The cast of NBC's ``The Fighting Fitzgeralds,'' clockwise from left: Connie Britton, Justin Louis, Jon Patrick Walker, Chris Moynihan, Brian Dennehy and Dakota Fanning. |
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