KP asked me if I intended to watch Miss Guided and it only took two words to convince me to do so: Judy Greer. She is one funny lady, evidenced in her exploits as Kitty the receptionist on Arrested Development. And I like the premise of the show: Becky Freeley (Judy Greer) the goody-two-shoes outsider is all grown up and now works at her former high school as the guidance counselor, but no matter how old you get high school stays the same. There is still the beautiful girl who gets everything she wants, Lisa Germain (Brook Burns), the cute but dumb guy who is inexplicably crush-worthy, Tim O’Malley (Kristoffer Polaha), the power-hungry staff member who seems to hate the students, Vice Principal Bruce Terry (Chris Parnell), and the ultimate authority that may or may not be paying attention, Principal Phil Huffy (Earl Billings).
I watched the two episodes that were on last week, and I watched the two that were on last night. The plots are amusing; the Vice-Principal’s office is vandalized, the evil teacher everyone hates unexpectedly dies, the terrible lead in the musical quits moments before curtain, a fire-alarm puller is unfairly punished. The cast works well together; the interaction between Becky and Lisa demonstrates both actresses giving their own interpretation of fairly similar emotions. (One of these actresses is obviously stronger than the other, but it would be unkind to name names.) Bruce is the gem. I predict this man could give Michael Scott a run for his money in the delusional short man race.
It is the early episodes of The Office that Miss Guided makes me think about. Dredge your memory, or press play on your Season One DVD, and think about how in those first few episodes you knew that the cast was strong, the writing was good, and you were interested enough to come back, but something just didn’t quite work. Basically, the producers had not yet figured out the proper balance for all the elements. If Miss Guided is picked up for the fall, this first season indicates that it could be a wonderful comedy. It has everything it needs, and with a bit of time and patience could easily find its way.
If you want to give Miss Guided a try, ABC.com has full episodes available.
Shout Outs: Little Things To Know That Make Watching Better
30 Rock fans already know that genius of Chris Parnell: he plays the renowned Dr. Spaceman. Also, you may remember Kristoffer Polaha as the blood-doping cyclist from House.
The TV Girl
Making the world a better place, one show at a time.
- The TV Girl
- Washington, DC, United States
- I guess you would like to know a little bit about the person making all these proclamations upon good taste and horrid characters. I'm Andrea and when I was 15 I fell in love. An hour after meeting "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" I was forever altered in the way only love can, and I never questioned for one minute afterwards that television offered me an amazing chance to experience lives and moments that I could never imagine. So now, when I'm not getting distracted by my real life, I write about TV. I also read, am finishing a Master's degree in English Literature, travel, am attempting to learn vegan cooking, am the 5th of 6 children, and drive my roommate nuts by constantly cleaning our already clean apartment. Now that we're old friends, time for you to take my opinions as the be all and end all.
2 comments:
YEAH!! thank you. i love how they did Ms. Saigon...i mean, really no high schools do Ms. Saigon anymore. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that the main character is a whore but what do i know.
I just though they did it because it looks like a fairly white high school.
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