First impressions can tell a person a lot. In the opening scene of FOX's newest sitcom "The Loop," Sam (Bret Harrison, "Orange County") sits at his desk and quickly sends out some last-second e-mail before leaving work for the day.
He then runs out of the office, reminds his co-workers to check their inboxes and begins to change his clothes while driving home. During this entire introduction, there are approximately three or four moments that are meant to be funny. They are, at most, marginally amusing. Perhaps the viewers may get a cheap chuckle from his shirt that reads "Idaho? No, Udaho!" However, they will probably feel terrible about themselves afterward.
The opening scene basically sums up the entire show. The jokes are too few and far between. Then, when the show attempts to get a laugh, it seldom succeeds.
Sam is the youngest executive at TransAlliance Airways located in Chicago. He is the first of his three roommates to hold a real job. Among his roommates is his brother Sully (Eric Christian Olsen). Sully constantly torments Sam and will probably be the primary provider of conflict in future episodes (if there are future episodes).
Olsen, who portrayed the younger version of Lloyd Christmas in "Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd," gives about the same performance as he did in that movie, only now he has long blonde hair and no chipped tooth.
What accounts for Sully's stupidity? According to a note that pops up on the screen, his mom smoked pot while pregnant with him. Apparently she kicked the habit by the time Sam was born.
Throughout the show, text pop-ups inform the viewers of a person's name, a distinct trait of that person or any information that could not be worked into the dialogue or storyline.
This device is distracting and unnecessary. It provides an easy way to introduce the viewers to his friends and co-workers, but this could be done just as well, if not better, by conveying the information in the discourse and subtext.
For example, when another one of his roommates, Piper (Amanda Loncar), is introduced for the first time, a note pops up telling the viewers that Sam has a crush on her and that she is oblivious to it. This is already evident in the way that they interact with each other.
Here lies another problem. Sam is so pathetic at his attempts to get with her that it is, literally, painful for the viewers to watch. Failure is funny, but flat-out foolishness gets tiresome.
A tad easier on the viewers is Sam's boss, Russ, played by Phillip Baker Hall, a talented character actor who has been featured in over 100 movies and television shows. Many viewers will probably recognize him as Lt. Bookman, the library cop who hassles Jerry Seinfeld about a book he checked out during high school and never returned.
As seen in "Seinfeld," Hall is an expert at delivering rapid straight-faced speeches. This quality is essentially what makes him so hilarious. He has one long rant in the pilot that is mildly amusing, but the unfortunate thing is "The Loop" rarely showcases this ability.
He does his best with what he is given but is seldom provided with anything particularly funny to say. Hall is effective as a hard-ass but, here, fails to get many laughs.
Russ regularly refers to Sam as "Thesis," since Sam was hired based on his college thesis. Unless the viewers pay close attention, this is not evident. In this case, one of those notes actually would have helped.
Another crazy colleague that refers to him as "Thesis" is Meryl (Mimi Rogers). Her constant sexual advances toward Sam are somewhat entertaining in the beginning, but ultimately they become boring. Unless some deeper qualities are added to her character, Meryl is entirely one-dimensional.
In fact, at this moment in the series, the show is also one-dimensional. There is little extraordinary about it. Sam has to juggle work and his friends while overcoming the obstacles of both. This same plot plays out in the second episode as well. The premise is exhausted after the first.
"The Loop" is relatively well executed, but it lacks interesting and funny situations, which is detrimental to a comedy series. "The Loop" premieres next Wednesday, March 15 at 8:30 p.m. on FOX. Airing after "American Idol" almost assures the premiere will be seen by a sizeable audience. However, it is going to have a tough time gathering many loyal viewers from the pilot. First impression: "The Loop" is not going to last.
