TNT
Well, Ray Romano fans, the wait is over. His new show, Men of a Certain Age, premieres tonight on TNT (10 p.m. ET). And hurray! He’s still funny in that neurotic, Ray Barone sort of way.
But first things first: This isn’t a broad sitcom like Everybody Loves Raymond, where the jokes were aimed at a wide-ranging audience. (The title says it all). This is a funny, bittersweet drama about guys—like HBO’s Entourage or FX’s The League—and it seems directed at male viewers, too.
So, what lessons can we learn from this hour-long glimpse into the minds of three middle-aged men? First of all, it’s not all raunchy jokes and macho posturing, like it is with the above-mentioned buddy shows. These guys—Joe (Ray Romano), Terry (Scott Bakula) and Owen (Andre Baugher)--are a decade older than the fantasy footballers in The League, and two decades beyond the Entourage dudes. Sure, there are still plenty of smug put-downs among friends, and lots of small talk about breasts, etc. But life’s already knocked the wind out of them several times, so they’re just not as smug.
And frankly, their conversations aren’t much different from the ones’ women have, right down to the Oprah-style references to emotional overeating. (“That’s angry eating,” says Terry. “It’s just a job, man.”) They agonize over their appearances. (“You look in the mirror, and you recognize yourself,” says Joe. “But there’s a little part of you that you don’t.”) They’re even sensitive to animals. (“Poor guy,” says Terry, when Joe’s car hits a possum. “Are you gonna take a possum to the vet?” To which Joe replies, “Should I?”)
Romano’s always been good at playing the sensitive sad sack, and this time he gets to do it with a little more depth. On Raymond, you rolled your eyes along with Deborah (Patricia Heaton) when Ray was acting like a knucklehead, but he never crossed a serious marital line. Here, you can understand his estranged wife’s decision to break things off. (He’s got a gambling problem, for one thing.) Of course, since it’s Romano, you also can’t help but root for him. I’m glad he’s back on TV, whatever age he is.
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