Recently divorced Jules (Courtney Cox) is back in the dating pool after seventeen years of marriage.  Life is not easy for the forty-something woman, as she tries to deal with her sixteen-year-old son, a bunch of kooky friends, younger men and a laid-back ex-husband who can’t seem to stay away. 

CRITIQUE

“Look, Ma!  We’re doing a comedy!”

I know that there are a lot of people who love this show, but I am not one of them.

The characters, as written, are two-dimensional caricatures and the actors are doing little or nothing to give them any sense of reality.

Actually, with the exception of the mother-daughter relationship, there’s much about this series that evokes memories of Terms of Endearment.  Both deal with similar issues about middle age women, but the Shirley MacLaine classic was able to make them both heart-wrenching and funny.

Back when I was doing plays in college, I had a great role in a little-known British comedy, entitled Miranda.  I had a line in that play that every night would “bring down the house,” but after doing the show for about a week, that guaranteed laugh stopped coming.  I asked the director what the problem was, and he said, “You’re anticipating the laugh.”  I stopped anticipating, and the huge laugh started coming again.

That’s one of the major problems with Cougar Town.  When the actors have a punch line, it seems like they’re doing everything but holding up a sign that says, “LAUGH”.

Even worse, the punch lines seem to be conceived as jokes, rather than being a product of the characters or the situation.

Not funny!

The 3-disc set contains 24 half-hour episodes.

THE VIDEO

The widescreen picture is broadcast sharp.  There are no noticeable flaws.

THE AUDIO

The Dolby Digital Sound is without problems.

THE EXTRAS

Taming Cougar Town, a 7-8 minute featurette includes interviews with the show’s producers and several of the actors.

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Saber-Tooth Tiger Town, Kimmel’s spoof of Cougar Town, featuring Cloris Leachman and Shirley Jones.

Bloopers are a staple supplement for comedy shows these days.

Deleted Scenes from various episodes.

Ask Barb features super Cougar Barbara (Carolyn Hennesy) answering your questions.

Stroking It With Bobby Cobb finds actor Brian Van Holt fooling around on the golf course.

FINAL THOUGHT

I didn’t think the show was funny, but you might.