Techtite's TV Reviews!

The Fighting Fitzgeralds

A Review by Techtite

Sitcoms offered in mid-season always seem superior to the fall sitcoms they're replacing. It's a strange fact of TV networks that is often true. Take, for example, The Fighting Fitzgeralds, which much like ABC's ill-fated Madigen Men is about an Irish-American father dealing with his single-father family. Unlike that now-cancelled ABC series, however, The Fitzgeralds are funny, and the pilot episode seems to have been written by someone who was actually in a family once...making it even funnier.

A good sitcom is always able to explain itself in the pilot episode, and this is no exception. At a well-staged family dinner, we meet Mr. Fitzgerald (Brian Dennehy), a widower and retired fireman who is currently living with one of his three grown sons (Justin Louis), his daughter-in-law (Connie Britton), and young granddaughter (Abigail Mavity), all under the same roof. We also meet his bartender son Terry (Chris Moynihan), who lives out of the house yet still seems to always get in the way. In walks Mr. Fitzgerald's third and favorite son for a family dinner, Patrick (Jon Patrick Walker), who has a few bombshells to tell his dad. For one thing, his lovely girlfriend left him. ("But she was so nice," says Dad. When hearing how she kicked Patrick out of their apartment, dad learns she was living with Patrick for the past three years. "I knew she was a tramp," says conservative dad.) Patrick has also had a bit of an emotional crisis, and has quit his high-paying job. He'll be living with his dad, brother, sister-in-law, and niece, all under the same roof...and so the sitcom begins.

Dennehy is the winner of a Golden Globe, and it shows. He plays his fatherly role as a modern, Politically-Correct Archie Bunker, which results in similar blunt, yet hilarious comedy. When daughter-in-law Sophie talks about the safety of children's toys not being a "choke hazard," Mr. Fitzgerald pipes in, saying that this is the problem with society today; a whole generation of kids who don't know when to not put something in their mouths. In comes son Terry, with a mouth so full of food, he can barely speak. "There's our poster boy right there," chimes Dad. In a similar scene, Dad needs advice, and asks his daughter-in-law how to compassionately deal with a tense father-son situation. She gives a long, sweet speech on how to tell his sons he really loves them, then leaves the kitchen, only to have him whisper, "Well, that was a waste of time!" In short, the cynical Archie Bunker type attitude, without the political correctness, leading to some very funny moments.

The rest of the cast is excellent as well. Many seem to be actual Irish-Americans, enhancing the believability of their characters. Britton is perfect as Sophie; her departure from Spin City was disappointing, and yet it's nice to see her in a sitcom again. Louis, Moynihan and Walker make for a believable trio of brothers. As for the granddaughter, Abigail Mavity, she is a little too young to judge her acting potential, though she is cute enough to make her role as the granddaughter extremely likeable. If the show lives for a second season, there may even be another cast member: Sophie is pregnant, and is supposed to give birth sometime in "November." This will lead to no less than 8 months of humorous pregnancy subplots, which is a far wiser scenario than Three Sisters, which dealt with its pregnancy subplot way too quickly.

If this sitcom is well grounded in both comedy and Irish-American life, it's because of a talented trio of Executive Producers. Phoef Sutton comes from such successful NBC sitcoms as Cheers. Edward Burns, who made the critically-acclaimed The Brothers McMullen in theaters, is another executive producer. Brian Burns is the third (Ed's own brother? Intriguing, if that's the case). I look forward to seeing what they do with Fitzgeralds, especially when the Irish side of me found the pilot episode to be hilarious.

	Final Rating : Large Crater. This sitcom really speaks to me; the father-son relationships seem well played, and it's nice to see Connie Britton again!
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