Fall TV Preview - Do Not Disturb

Got a chance to see the pilot for “Do Not Disturb”, a sitcom coming to FOX in the fall, and starring Jerry O’Connell (of “Sliders” and “Crossing Jordan” fame). And I don’t think I can say this bluntly enough…..avoid this show at all costs. It’s written by a former writer for “Arrested Development”, and is directed by Jason Bateman (the guy that played Micheal Bluth on “Arrested Development”), so I expected something at least decent, since that show was as close to pure genius as TV has gotten in decades.

Sadly I was bombarded with a slue of horribly poor writing and stereotypical characters that lead me to believe that it’s actually attempting to insult the audience. You have the fat nice girl, the skinny bitch, the angry black chick, the stereotypical gay guy (which somehow comes off as the least offensive of the bunch)…and it just goes on and on. Every character seems to be constructed to be exactly the thing that will offend people the most. And of course that bleeds into the dialog, which is full of racist/insulting/idiotic jokes that go so far below the “lowest common denominator” typical of ‘dick and fart’ sitcoms that it HAS to be on purpose.

Keep reading if you want spoilers, but if you do stop reading now, do yourself a favour and skip this one when it hits your TV in September….TV this bad is hard to come by, and if you’ve read any of my past reviews, that should tell you something about just how bad this show is. Read more