Turns out, in addition to everything else good about it, Men of a Certain Age is the uncanny forecaster of an upcoming broadcasting trend this fall: shows about men who feel insecure about their place in the world, their masculinity, their relationships with women. New sitcoms such as Free Agents, Man Up!, and Last Man Standing will all joke nervously about the topics that the guys on Men of a Certain Age have been discussing for two seasons — except our Men does it with a more nuanced, sometimes poignant approach. Add the Mad Men-envy of a bygone world in which men were men and women were human ashtrays that crops up in the new fall dramas The Playboy Club and Pan Am, and Men of a Certain Age looks positively prophetic. By contrast and unfortunately, the premiering show that preceded Certain Age, Franklin & Bash, offers a view of manhood that’s closer to the 2007 ABC sitcom Cavemen… and that may be a slight insult to Cavemen.
At the start of Men of a Certain Age‘s six-episode, mini-/half-/why-are-they-programming-it-like-this? season on Wednesday night, Ray Romano’s Joe has been buckling down to prepare for the senior golf tour that remains his middle-aged dream, but runs into a more realistic dilemma when he realized he’s probably still in love with his ex-wife (Penelope Ann Miller). Just as Scott Bakula’s Terry has decided he has truly fallen for Erin (Melinda McGraw), she’s the one who decides she wants the relationship to be just-friends. And Andre Braugher’s Owen gets an offer to sell the family-owned car dealership that may prove his chance to establish his independence, both emotional and economic, from his father.
It’s one of the ongoing pleasures of Men of a Certain Age that it’s rarely succumbed to what would seem to be its most likely trap: Falling into a monotone whine such as the one Romano lapsed into during the final seasons of Everybody Loves Raymond. Leaving that mega-success and going through his own rich-star mid-career crisis seems to have cleared both Romano’s brain and his sinus cavities, because what comes across with ringing clarity on this show is the notion that guys battling the onset of paunchiness stress and dither about love and life’s expectations every bit as much as any adolescent on The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
Romano and his co-creator Mike Royce lift the realism just high enough to make this trio’s gabby agony wiseguy-funny and, at crucial moments, surprisingly emotional. Sure, using two toothbrushes in a cup as a symbol of commitment (as the show did in Terry’s subplot) is trite, but the crushed look on Scott Bakula’s face contemplating those toothbrushes transcended the cliche.
Wallowing in cliche, alas, is Franklin & Bash, which among other things only emphasizes how much trouble TNT has with its programming flow. And by “other things” I mean: Boy, is this show stupid and insulting, to anyone watching and anyone on-camera having to act out its fantasies.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar, having luckily escaped the swamp that was TNT’s Raising The Bar, and Breckin Meyer, still perky after movies such as Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, are cast as rebels-in-neckties, shady lawyers who join what used to be called a white-shoe law firm that is presided over by the gleaming white hair of Malcolm McDowell. Franklin and Bash banter and squabble, flirt with the wall-to-wall attractive women who are these for no other purpose than to receive their blandishments, and end up as victorious wiseguys. They are insufferably smug. Oh, wait, I mean charmingly roguish. The latter is the intention of the series, right?
The thing about self-styled dudes like Franklin and Bash is, if you played out their characters to their logical extension, they’re going to hit forty and stop snickering at guys like the Men of a Certain Age trio. Because Franklin and Bash would, using a bit of the brain power they’re busy squandering here, recognize that they’re headed for an empty middle age. And that’s a show I’d like to see: Wise-asses Of A Certain Age, granted the power to witness their hollow future.
Twitter: @kentucker
MOACA is a great show. I HATE the way AMC is scheduling this. It’s like they are trying to doom it.
sorry, I meant TNT, not AMC.
Agree that’s the downside of cable shows. They ration the shows 5 or 6 at a time instead of a real season. Hard to follow a show when it’s barely on.
Gawd, how we LOVE MOACA. As a woman, I often feel like I’m a fly-on-the-wall, watching these men simply talk & banter. It’s a world and a perspective that makes me think and feel differently toward my own husband and son…in a GOOD way.
yea, it’s a really good show. 6 episodes and then a break, though…stupid.
speaking of AMC, I wish they’d scoop up Men Of A Certain Age. And Southland, too…
Now I have not watched Franklin and Bash, but Tucker’s criticism really just seem to show his age. Complaining that they’re young, smug, and hit on attractive women, and then to state he’d better relate to a show where they’re his age and they’ve mellowed out, just shows this show is not for him. I’m sure a younger audience would like it just fine.
i’m a younger audience and watched it at a premier – its not awful, but its not good either. i’m hoping it gets better but it was pretty bad. as charming as breckin meyer & mp gosselar were in person (at the event), the show was just all over the place. also, the agoraphobic side kick was not at all funny – just creepy.
I liked the pilot last night. the problem is that most pilots aren’t very good, so the best idea is to stick with a show for a few episodes to see if it goes anywhere. Both leads are fun and Malcolm McDowell as their boss is total win. I’m on board with this one.
I watched the premiere of Franklin & Bash last night and didn’t think it was nearly as bad as it was made out to be. Yes, it was a little over the top but I think it has promise (especially with MPG and Breckin Meyer in the two lead roles). It kind of reminded me of the final season of The Practice when James Spader was introduced. He was brash, somewhat rude but he was smart and got things done. I’m willing to stick with the show a bit longer and see how it develops. I agree that the female characters haven’t really been developed yet but it was only the first episode and the show is called Franklin & Bash so I assumed the majority of the pilot would be about them and how they work (or don’t work). Overall, I thought it was a pretty good show. I think part of the problem with recent shows is that they tend to portray males as stupid who must always be corrected by their loving (often beautiful and sometimes slightly cynical) wives or are womanizers we love to hate. Franklin & Bash does tend to fall into the latter category but that could change somewhat as the storyline develops. I haven’t watched MOACA so I’m not sure what it’s like (though I’ve heard good things. I might actually tune in next week since it’s on after Franklin & Bash (something I probably wouldn’t have done before when I wasn’t even sure what time it was on). Maybe the point is to introduce the show to a group that previously wouldn’t have watched it?
I haven’t seen the premiere of Franklin & Bash, but working in the legal system as I do, I hate shows like this. No judge I’ve ever met would allow wise @sses to act like these guys in their courtrooms.
Exactly! I’m an attorney and I hate how these shows make it seem like you can flirt or wise crack yourself through a case. Makes people actually want to go to law school which is a mistake. I tell my intern everyday not to do it. hope she listens to me instead of this show
True enough Jennifer but I don’t think anyone expects it to be realistic. I did see the premiere, without working in the legal system, I was still able to determine that it was highly unlikely anyone would get away with making a point the way they did. Didn’t make me think less of the show because no one is watching it for realistic legal maneuvers.
I agree with mae that the pilot wasn’t awful. The show could use some tweaking but for the most part it was light hearted fun for a summer show. Better than the awful “Raising the Bar” and 10,000 times better than “Cavemen”. Besides, MB, MPG, and RD (Reed Diamond who was amazing in Homicide) are all hot. I can watch them do virtually anything.
I feel the same way about the ridiculous story lines and frolicking on Grey’s Anatomy!! Of course TV isn’t real though!!
I’d far rather see completely over-the-top displays like what F&B were doing than the fundamental errors that are rampant throughout TV and movies (incorrect understanding of hearsay, ignoring that redirect exists, etc.). Being outlandish is creative license. Being flat-out wrong about the basics of the law and the legal system isn’t.
I imagine most people feel the way you do, but this is a big hang-up for me. I don’t watch a lot of legal procedurals for this very reason, at least the ones that are so over-the-top. Heck, I can’t even watch CSI anymore because it’s just so far removed from what actual crime scene units actually do. I know that would make for boring television, but like I said, a hang-up of mine. And yeah, I do find myself yelling “date outside the hospital you idiots!” while watching Grey’s Anatomy, but I still watch it for Sandra Oh, who rocks.
If viewers wanted to see an exact reality of courtroom drama, they’d go down to their local courthouse and watch the utter boringness that is the legal procedure in real life. This is TV life.
“Raising the Bar” was a great show. I don’t understand the hate for it here at all; the only ones who hated that show were the FoxNewswatchers, since it was such an openly liberal show.
Since you haven’t watched the show, it seems ridiculous for you to slam Ken, who has seen it, for criticizing it. I thought F&B was pretty bad, trying way too hard, every second, to be hip and cute. Ity really was smug and cliched.
I’m a younger audience, and I HATED “Franklin and Bash.” Disappointing, because I like all the cast, but the writing was painfully bad. I had to turn the channel.
i agree 100 percent!
Ken Tucker is NOT showing his age, you are! Franklin and Bash is a moronic show and we decided to take it off our Program Manager in order to make way for the few gems that are out there. Men of A Certain Age is a wonderful show which smoothly illustrates the way men talk and think at middle age when they have finally matured. Such a relief after being subjected to “women’s shows” that do not turn women into anything but shallow and gossipy females. I can easily say that because I am a lovely, clever woman who doesn’t resort to being shallow or gossipy unless it’s absolutely essential. Thanks for a great 2-in-1 great review, Ken.
I wanted so badly for Mark and Breckin to have a hit show. I’ll still watch it. A bad show is still propelled by some tasty eye candy.
I hope those two shows you mention don’t copy MOACA. Best show on tv right now besides Breaking Bad. Let’s get some Emmys!
EW, nothing on the Killing this week?
I can tell from the previews that I will hate Franklin and Bash. Like Ken says, we’re supposed to think that they are “charmingly rougish”. I find them obnoxious.
What’s funny is that the last lawyer that Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Ken misspelled his name) played was kind of opposite but just as irritating. I couldn’t stand that long-haired “idealistic rebel that bucks the system”.
There’s a fine line between being rougish and obnoxious. M-P G has crossed that line twice now.
Mark Paul is so hoooot! Also, I think if you’re not a “debbie downer” you will have a great time with this show. I thought it was charming and fun!
Let’s face it–neither of them is going to grow up to be Jack McCoy!
On the other hand, I do like both actors, so I hope it does well. I’ll watch because I’ve already seen all the Modern Families!
I love Jack McCoy.
There’s a reason why a show like “Franklin & Bash” is relegated for summer programming. Take it for what its worth – killing time.
In other words just accept that it sucks and watch it anyway to “kill time.” What a ridiculous thing to say.
Huge fan of Men, and personally I don’t mind the split up season. Doctor Who is doing the same thing now, and I think it’s a good idea.
I’d rather only have to wait a few months for more episodes than an entire YEAR.
Seems like F&B would be better suited following Leverage or Memphis Beat. MOACA is a great show. It rarely misses a beat. TNT has done pretty well with shows. This should be a good summer for them.
I originally tuned in to Men of a Certain Age for Scott Bakula, but I stayed because it’s a great show. I didn’t realize it was starting up again, so thanks for the coverage.
Like Jessica, I gave MOACA a shot because of Bakula, and stayed because of the excellence of the show. Well-written and beautifully acted by everyone involved– I’m glad to see others enjoy it too.
Andre Braugher pulled me into MOACA. I so loved him as Pembleton on Homicide in the 1990′s, I was interested in seeing how he’d play a character not as high strung. All 3 leads are excellent in this show and it really does continue to improve. Nice to see some of these cable shows have some consistency without selling out.
I too loved Braugher for years and was very intrigued to see him, Romano and Bakula together – along with Rescue Me (ending this summer!), totally the best drama on TV.
I couldn’t stand Andre Braugher on Homicide, and for years would avoid watching anything he was in; seeing him in MOACA has completely changed my mind about him, because although I started watching for Scott Bakula and for the premise itself, I find Andre Braugher’s performance to be absolute brilliant. I’m so glad TNT made a place for this show.
Me also for Scott. I enjoyed Andre and didn’t care much for Ray in ELR, but after watching, I love Men. Excellent show all around.
I love this show – Ray Romano is genius, Scott Bakula is fabulous and Andre Braugher brilliant. The supporting cast is great. I can’t get enough of this mature programming.
AMEN!!!! I agree with you 100%!
Men of A CERTAIN AGE=best show on TV
Men of A Certain Age is slow, dull and out of touch. Good actors (Well, at least 2 of them. Romano is still grossly overrated and not funny) trying to make the most out of lousy screenwriting.
You are kidding, right? – what rival network do you write for?
I don’t know if I’d go that far, but I’m not a huge fan. I think I’m too young for the show (I know that sounds obnoxious, but I’m 25 and not quite the target demographic and I get that) but my parents love it.