TV Review: Crumbs or Morsels?

Nobody explodes like Jane Curtain. The pressure builds, she contracts bodily and, just when you don't expect it: Boom!

Though too often overlooked, she's one of the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players (Saturday Night Live). Contrary to conventional wisdom, she did do characters. And that went beyond the Coneheads. She was "Mrs. Loopner" (Ined Loopner) with an accent, a humped over posture and a fully developed character. But a lot of the time, she used her own voice and no character make up, so her contributions are frequently not noted. One of her most prominent skits was as the Weekend Update anchor (she soloed as well as co-anchored). It was there that her comedic skill at explosions first drew attention. Exploding at Emily Litella or, later, Roseanne Rosannadanna, you only forced your laughter to stop in order to savor Gilda Radner's reaction to the explosion. (Radner played both Litella and Rosannadanna.)

Movie stardom's always a tricky thing. And movies haven't been interested in starring SNL women. Some would argue it's the box office returns. They'd do well to check out the returns on some of the males who starred repeatedly in films that failed to turn a profit. Curtain's shot at movie stardom came with How to Beat the High Co$t of Living. She provided laughter, alongside Susan St. James and Jessica Lange, in this caper comedy. And that's really pretty much it for movie stardom.

Fortunately, she's always had a home on TV. In the seventies, that was at Saturday Night Live for the first five years (to some, the best years). In the eighties, CBS reteamed her and Susan St. James for Kate & Allie. Though often overlooked, the sitcom was a success, lasted six seasons and helped dispell the "Death of Sitcom" talk. (Yes, kids, though your water cooler critics fail to tell you, we've been through this all before.) In the nineties, she returned to NBC -- in prime time! -- with the hit series 3rd Rock From the Sun (which also lasted six seaons). Now, in this decade, she moves over to ABC with Crumbs.

There's a tendancy on the part of the some to downgrade what Curtain does. An assumption, by some, that she just plays herself repeatedly. That assumption ignores the fact that she's known for her sense of privacy and "introvert" is the word that many feel best sums up the actress. Onscreen, Curtain usually doesn't play introverts. It also overlooks the fact that some of our finest TV comedians played more or less the same character in various sitcoms. (Lucille Ball, for starters, and, after you note Ball, you really can rest your case.)

In Crumbs, Curtain plays Suzanne. Suzanne's starting life over. Her husband left her for a younger woman -- who's pregnant, one of her children died, and Suzanne had a nervous breakdown. She's now out of the mental institution (where she had an affair with an orderly) and trying to cope. The therapy group of divorced women didn't help her too much (though it was hysterical watching her squirm as one woman shared and shared and . . .) so she ended up joining a crystal meth rehab group (they had better snacks).

If any of that strikes you as funny (and it does us), you should check out Crumbs (which currently airs Thursday nights on ABC). Crumb is the family name. William Devane plays Billy Crumb and you really, really want to hate him, but Devane manages to make you care. There two sons are Jack, played by Eddie McClintock, and Mitch, played by Fred Savage.

Savage, of course, starred in the Wonder Years and some gentle souls are shocked by the fact that Mitch is a gay character. Oh, get over your shock and ignore the obvious, the way you did all those years you enjoyed Mr. Belvedere.

Jack and Mitch are at odds. Jack runs an eatery and Mitch has returned from Hollywood where he was a screenwriter. Was. If Mitch's nature runs more the along the lines of Devane's laid back style, McClintock plays Jack in such a way that he truly seems like the son of Curtain.
Jack's rage is always on a simmer (in an amusing manner because McClintock, unlike Seth Green, can act) and ready to boil at any moment.

Mitch is your designated tour guide. But, to compare Crumbs to a similar show, unlike CBS' Out of Practice, the people behind Crumbs know what to do with their young male lead caught in the middle. Mitch isn't just observing, he's providing funny moments (moments Christopher Gorham could provide -- and Out of Practice is on hiatus while they attempt to deal with some issues, the problem's not the cast). Savage has enough weight that he doesn't come off as whiny when he plays scenes that others would turn into vintage Woody Allen. Such as when Curtain suprises him one morning by bringing the paper, and herself, into his bedroom. "Oh look, Morning Wood" says Curtain to an embarrassed Savage. (She's referring to getaway, avertised in the paper, named Morning Wood.)

The difference between Out of Practice and Crumbs is that, while both programs have strong casts, Crumbs has talented writers. When a sitcom fires on all cylinders, it's a pleasure to sit back and enjoy. Sandwiched between Dancing With Stars (or whatever the "BBC production" is called) and Prime Time Live, Crumbs lacks the reinforcement that a strong lineup could provide. Teaming it up with Life According to Jim and other sitcoms would be a smart move.

After we watched My Name Is Earl last week, we felt as if all the life had been sucked out of us. Flipping channels, we happened to catch the last ten minutes of Crumbs. It restored the laughter. Was it a fluke? Not at all. How good is the show? So good that our "research" was confined to hunting down whether or not ABC still intends to stand by it? (Some offer an optimistic "of course!" but we're more inclined to believe a friend in programming who stated, "When has ABC ever stood by anything?")

So who knows how long the show will be on? You'd be smart to catch it next week -- when Devane experiences a career change.

Currently, Devane's character is attempting to get his massage license (he's many hours short).
His career path's about to change. Will it be good for the show?

Possibly, but wanting to provide "trend stories" like all the other lucky guys and gals who went to Water Cooler U, we're a bit sad by the change because it may mean no more massages for Mitch. While watching Thursday, we realized there was a trend story emerging in this season. Fred Savage and others have been able to do what Ben Affleck couldn't, make body hair fashionable.

Call this season: the Year of the Furry Pecs. That's right, stop the waxing, chest hair is the new trend. Fred Savage is sporting it, two of the Four Kings are sprouting it (Josh Cooke and Todd Grinnell), Michael Weatherly of Navy NCIS isn't afraid to let his hair-shirt fly, it's here a sprout, there a swirl, everywhere a tuft, tuft.

How could the water cooler set fail to note this mind blowing development. An entire sub-industry of the body waxing could be about to go under! And what are the implications for the WB! Yes, it's merging with UPN but what will they have to offer without their freshly plucked boys? And what impact will it have on the body wash operettas? We'd hate to think they might wash down less easily now as a result of hair clogs.

Who will cash in on the new trend? We shudder at the thought of Burt Reynolds schilling for chest wigs just to make a few quick bucks, but it may come to that. The implications boggle the mind. If men stop waxing, might women realize that the little, Hitler-like mustache so many now sport, below the waist, is both comical and disgusting? Might Ingas and Lucindas across the nation have to find other forms of torture by which to work out their own frustrations?

We don't know. We just know it's a trend. 2006: The Year of the Furry Pecs.