STUDIO: Sony
RELEASE DATE: June 10, 2008
STARRING: Jordana Spiro, Kyle Howard, Reid Scott, Michael Bunin, Jamie Kaler, and Jim Gaffigan
CREATED BY: Betsy Thomas
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Sports Quiz
Favorites in Sports
P.J.'s Rules for Sports and Dating
No Crying in Baseball: Bloopers
Riding the Pine: Deleted Scenes
Minisodes

Comedy is a tricky game and reviewing it accurately can be very difficult. Maybe it's because sitcoms takes a different kind of timing than drama, but the first few installments of any comedy don't tell the whole story. Don't trust any critic who has only seen the first episode of any series. Go back and watch the first five or six episodes of 30 Rock. Tina Fey's timing was horrendously off and even Baldwin and Morgan looked uncomfortable. Now it's one of the best shows on television. My Boys still hasn't come close to the heights of that already-classic NBC show but it is yet another example of a series that really stumbled out of the gate but has found some decent footing and could be in for a nice, long race. You can chart the entire trajectory of My Boys this week, as the first season set hit stores on Tuesday and the new season starts tonight on TBS (after the season premiere of its very oddly-matched partner The Bill Engvall Show).

The DVD: All 22 episodes of season one are included on three discs and it's a typically-for-Sony high quality presentation. Each show is in anamorphic widescreen (which might be new for fans who didn't get to see the show in high-def when it originally aired) and includes a 5.1 Dolby Digital track. You don't see a lot of sitcoms get this kind of technical treatment. So, it sets a good tone from the beginning. Sadly, the series doesn't. My Boys centers around a Chicago sports reporter named P.J. Franklin (Jordana Spiro, the main reason to watch the show) and her friends. P.J. is a tomboy, the kind of girl who loves playing poker and going to the game with her pals more than dating or cosmos. She wouldn't get along with Carrie Bradshaw (even though TBS did pair up My Boys with Sex and the City reruns and boosted the new show's ratings in the process). P.J. hangs out with her pals at the bar, but she still dives into the dating pool every once in a while with sitcom-y results. The first few episodes are rough, but Spiro and her ensemble develop an easy report by about episode six, long before the show wears out its welcome. There are still some bumpy patches, but one thing that can be said about My Boys is that, unlike a lot of bad TV comedy, the episodes fly by in the blink of an eye. It's catchy and quick, if not quite as clever as you hope it would be. The DVD doesn't include any commentaries but comes with several behind-the-scenes special features and some deleted scenes and bloopers for the fans. It's an admirable set that will allow you to catch up with the first season, as you watch the beginning of the second.

The TV Show: At the end of season one, P.J. had to pick a man to take with her on a romantic trip to Italy, leaving fans wondering who it would be. (Seems pretty obvious to me, but I'm clearly not a hardcore fan.) In the first few minutes of the 23rd episode of My Boys and the first of season two, viewers will find out who she invited to Italy and if he came. The return of My Boys sadly comes with some of the baggage that mars the beginning of the first season. The premise is simply unbelievable and the ensemble only works on this show when the writing does. They're not good enough yet to overcome a bad script. The second episode, airing June 19th, is significantly better. That one involves a very funny party and a good subplot involving a Matthew McConaughey impression. It's funny stuff. My Boys isn't going to change the template of TV comedy but it has overcome a rocky start. To borrow from the show's regular point of reference, P.J.'s baseball analogies, it's not going to win the world series of comedy, but it's a respectable .500 team.