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could be the answer This may be the sitcom that revives the genre Oct 15, 2007
This is the 15th in a series of fall TV previews. Name of show “Samantha Who?” Timeslot ABC, Monday 9:30 p.m. Plot synopsis In “Samantha Who?,” a sitcom that critics are comparing to NBC's "My Name is Earl," Samantha Newly (Christina Applegate) is a vain and selfish borderline alcoholic who’s cheating on her boyfriend with a married man. But after a hit-and-run accident and an eight-day coma, Samantha returns to consciousness with a case of retrograde amnesia, meaning she can function normally but has no recollection of her past self. So, in order to relearn who she is, Samantha turns to her friends and family, including her parents Regina (Jean Smart) and Howard (Kevin Dunn), who she hasn’t actually spoken to in about two years. We also meet her wannabe best friend Dena (Melissa McCarthy), who is attempting to renew their relationship after not having seen Samantha since seventh grade, and her actual best friend, Andrea (Jennifer Esposito), a party girl through whom we come to see just how bad Samantha was before the accident. Indeed, as time goes by, Samantha herself realizes what a terrible person she was and vows to make some changes, though at times her old self pops up to offer resistance. The toughest part may be dealing with her trustworthy boyfriend Todd (Barry Watson), who could very well lose that trust if and when he finds out Samantha cheated on him. Outlook “Samantha” would seem to have all the right things going for it, led by a top cast with Applegate and mostly positive reviews. And it obviously has the full confidence of ABC, which has slotted it in the cushiest of timeslots, Mondays at 9:30 p.m. following its hit “Dancing with the Stars.” "Samantha's" big challenge will be the competition. It faces CBS’s comedy “Rules of Engagement,” which has averaged a 4.0 rating among viewers 18-49 through three episodes so far this season, and the CW’s comedy “The Game,” which has averaged a 1.4 over two episodes, a respectable rating for a CW show. On Fox, it will air against baseball playoffs tonight and on subsequent Mondays against “K-Ville,” which returns next week. But "Samantha's" toughest competition will come from NBC’s “Heroes,” which has averaged a 6.0 rating among 18-49s over three episodes, winning the timeslot each week. "Samantha" will get an initial boost from "Stars," which should mean a lot of sampling, a good thing, but it's going to have to hold onto those viewers. The Buzz Media people think “Samantha” has a chance to do fairly well following “Stars,” but they're concerned about how it will fare in first quarter when "Stars" goes on hiatus. “It may be kind of like the phenomenon of what ''Til Death' did after 'American Idol' last season,” says one media researcher. That show, like most, thrived in the post-“Idol” slot but has struggled on its own. But the overall feeling is the pilot was well done and that it should hold up, especially stacked against this season’s other, mostly weak comedies. Media buyers think “Samantha” stands a good chance of picking up the goodly share of viewers of CBS's “Two and a Half Men” who are not sticking around for "Rules of Engagement” at 9:30 p.m. “I think the audience that has been watching ‘Two and Half Men’ and not ‘Rules of Engagement’ could potentially go to ‘Samantha Who?,’” says a broadcast director. “Now you have another comedy option at 9:30.” What Critics Are Saying “ABC has done the show one favor, sandwiching it between ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and ‘The Bachelor,’ about the only way to create a supporting hammock for a new sitcom on a network lacking a single established half-hour. Unless the series can tap into something primal with women, however -- perhaps by developing Sam and Todd's interrupted relationship, which is pretty tepid thus far – ‘Samantha Who?’ could demonstrate that most viewers do remember the important stuff, beginning with how to operate a remote control.” – Brian Lowry, Variety “It's no worse a premise, really, than a lowlife winning the lottery, learning about karma and deciding to spend his newfound wealth righting a couple of decades’ worth of wrongs. If ‘Samantha Who?’ doesn’t rise to the level of ‘My Name Is Earl,’ it’s because it lacks the courage to be truly, unashamedly, loony. Both the show and its star are at their best when Sam pursues her reform campaign with the farcical energy of Earl’s karmic crusade. “That doesn't begin to happen until shortly before the pilot ends, when Sam, suspecting she may be more than a social drinker, attends an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and whips herself into a frenzy over an issue that has nothing to do with alcoholism. It’s utterly over the top, which is where Applegate does her funniest work.” – Joanne Weintraub, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “What can be said of ‘Samantha Who?’ is that it is the best comedy on the network this fall. That’s a little like praising a Britney Spears fragrance by saying it smells better than a litter box. Considering Spears’ and ABC’s problems, both parties should be inclined to run with any compliments they get, even backhanded ones.” – Melanie McFarland, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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