The Mike O'Malley Show

NBC turned on the hype machine for this incredibly awful show early on. About six months beforehand, actually. The somewhat witty commercials would air all the time, and you'd get to see Mike O'Malley talking to various (real) oddballs and do mildly amusing things. A bit Tom Green-ish. So, yeah, I was pumped.

But then the show aired. I could not even comprehend what went wrong -- it was basically a sub par Drew Carey knockoff. A very, very bad sitcom with horrible production values, characters, clichéd-out-the-wazoo story lines, etc, etc. Pretty much unappealing in every respect.

I can't believe it's already been six years since it's incredibly brief-yet-deserved run. I guess it shows how profoundly disappointed I was at the time, as I remember the experience quite well (even if I don't want to).

This was one of the worst shows ever put and the air, and to add insult to injury, it replaced "NewsRadio" which was one of the best. NBC are horrid, and I'm glad to see they're getting slaughtered in the ratings by other networks.

After dozens and dozens of sitcoms coming out, NBC finally came out with a hit show that millions of peple tuned in every week to watch and escape their boring and unfunny lives. The man responsible for all this was named Mike O'Malley. I mean, without a doubt, he is easily one of the most talented and funny life forms ever to be placed on this planet called earth. His style and brand of comedy screams funny and uniqueness. The blue hat that he wears is enough to make me and my friends laugh over for days. I started noticing Mike O'Malley's work when he hosted "Get the Picture" on Nickelodeon. He was so talented that he got a promotion to a better show where his talent could have more room to spread and people could start understanding it. With his perfect side kick, Moe, Mike O'Malley was hitting the nation with the best brand of comedy out there. Unfortunately, when he got his own sitcom, he had to let go of Moe, the people wanted him, not Moe. The Mike O'Malley show supplied everything from comedy to drama and often had me getting excited the day before it came on, it is a shame that it got canceled. I think this world would be different if it was still on.

There are bad pilots that become good shows... there are bad pilots that become terrible shows. And then there is the pilot for "The Mike O'Malley Show," a project so ill-conceived, so derivative, so uninspired that it can only be described as still-born.

The plot? Mike is a man-child living in a house with his man-child buddies, one of whom is a house-bound stoner/slacker named Weasel. In case you couldn't tell, Weasel's the kook! You can tell because he's scruffy and unshaven and says "Dude!" a lot. But wait, there's more... At the ripe age of 33 Mike suddenly "realizes" that maybe girls aren't icky and it might be time for an adult relationship with one of the prettier ones. How do we know this? Mike stops the show to talk into the camera and tell us this, never cheapening his monologue with a joke or insightful observation. Is this camera-confessional a bad plot device to connect massive holes in the pilot or a mind-bogglingly clichéd segment we'll see in every episode? Yes.

After a few more "Dudes..." and a flashback Mike shows up at the wedding of his best friend as a sign of support (for growing up?) and runs into a girl he once dated and who is now destined to become his on-again/off-again, cliff-hanging, love-triangle sitcom soul mate. And in case you couldn't see that coming, Mike turns to the camera and says something like, "This one's gonna be something special." Yuzz. This show was the definition of going through the motions... how else can you explain a pilot in which no one seems to believe the show will become a series? No one bothered to give the characters last names! This show was a filmed surrender, the contractual obligation of O'Malley's development deal at NBC. He should be ashamed of this clueless, apathetic effort but I don't believe he's capable of shame.

To prove he had no talent Mike went on to do seven seasons of "Yes Dear," a sitcom so insipid, so backwards that the producers allowed him to wear sweatpants and a baseball cap on his head to cover his shame. Only one other episode of "The Mike O'Malley Show" was ever broadcast and then it was yanked like a subway strap. My only regret is that the show didn't air long enough for Weasel to become the breakout character he was destined to be... there's always hope for a spin-off: "That's My Weasel!" It has to be better than this.

GRADE: F

Mike O'Malley, known mainly as the anal retentive sports geek from an assortment of highly successful ESPN commercials from the early-mid 90s, got his own TV Show on NBC. Before you can say "crash and burn", the show did just that despite NBC hyping the show as the next big thing with months of pre-debut ads.

Of course that doesn't mean it killed everyone's careers, as Malley rebounded with "Yes Dear", which featured has enjoyed a successful run on CBS and brought Malley to the mainstream, in a slightly toned down format.

And then there is Will Arnett; known nowadays as "GOB" on the critically acclaimed "Arrested Development", "The Mike O'Malley Show" was Arnett's first big break on network television. Though given how fast the show went on off the air, most people don't know about this chapter in Arnett's career, which makes it at least somewhat notable in light of the show's blink and you miss it cancellation....