Whitney (NBC)

I don't know if it's fair to judge a show after only one viewing, but since I'm not likely to ever watch it again, I suppose I'll have to.

Whitney sucks. Bad.

It's a shame, too. I really wanted to like this show. From what I've seen of her on roasts, I've found Whitney Cummings pretty funny. I also really like NBC comedies. Even Outsourced, which didn't last long, I really enjoyed. I can't imagine that this show will be on TV for very long. It's unspeakably awkward. The premise that that Whitney and her boyfriend are in a long-term committed relationship, but don't have an interest in getting married at the time. Their friends consist of the skanky, slutty divorcee and the young couple, still disgustingly in love. They are totally useless as side characters, and add nothing. The show tries to show the real aspects of being in a relationship -- how sex gets tired and monotony sets in. It had a few intresting and racy jokes, but the format is so odd that nothing fits. There was a scene where Whitney tries to spice up her love life by introducing a sexy nurse outfit at home. She flubs it by going too far and collecting her boyfriend's insurance info. There is humor there, but the execution just kills it.

Whitney is filmed in front of a studio audience, so like old, outdated comies, it feels like you're watching a play, multi-camera, with an ungodly laugh track on a clear sound-stage. It's so out of place and distracting. This is even more apparent when you consider the lineup of shows around it: The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Community all have witty, cut-away, faux documentary styles, whereas this feels totally out of place. On top of it, the laugh track is turned up to 11, with the audience roaring from even the tamest of non-jokes. Whitney wouldn't even survive on a network like CBS, where this kind of set-em-up, knock-em-down comedy can find an audience. On NBC, on Thursday nights, no less -- it doesn't even have a prayer. I wonder what they were thinking, putting so much faith in this show.