Up All Night (NBC)

Christina Applegate and Will Arnett star as new parents, trying to figure out how to raise a child, while still holding on to what youth they have left. The result: With a little room to grow, I see something worth watching. This show isn't firing on all cylinders yet. It does a lot of things right, but still has areas that need to gel. I've seen this before in shows like 30 Rock and Community, where you have characters with different levels of believability and quirkiness that need to get ironed out. I hope they get it.

As is, the show operates on two planes -- one involves the couple themselves and their relationship with each other and their baby. It works great. The actors are charming and you tend to like them. I see a lot of myself in them. The other is the Mom's professional relationship on an Oprah-style talk show with a diva host, played by SNL's Maya Rudolph. So far, this part of the show needs work. I don't think it needs to be thrown away entirely, but like those shows mentioned above, needs time to find itself. These side characters need a little more identity. I hope that after a few episodes, they will start to step out of the one-dimentional take and grow a little bit, perhaps highlighting the home environment, and figuring out the work environment later.

The style of the show is like the other NBC hits, with a single-camera, though not as documentary-style as the others. It's meta without being self-aware. I got a particular kick out of a flashback scene, where Christina Applegate was dressed exactly like Kelly Bundy, from her old Married With Children role. Funny stuff, and they didn't hit you over the head with the reference. The second episode also introuduced some cringeworthy (in a good way) comedy like you see in early episodes of the Office or Curb Your Enthusiasm. Comedy is strange and hard to put a finger on what works sometimes, but in general, this does.

After only two episodes, I find myself interested in watching more, hoping it will find its stride.