The Random Years

The Random Years
Title card
Genre Sitcom
Created by
  • Michael Lisbe
  • Nate Reger
Written by
  • Maisha Closson
  • Jonathan M. Goldstein
  • Michael Lisbe
  • Michael Markowitz
  • John Peaslee
  • Judd Pillot
  • Nate Reger
Directed by
Starring
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 7 (3 unaired) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • John Peaslee
  • Judd Pillot
Producer(s)
  • Dan Dugan
  • Mary Fukuto
  • Jonathan M. Goldstein
Editor(s)
  • Harold McKenzie
  • Sharon Silverman
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network UPN
Picture format 480i/576i (4:3 SDTV)
Audio format Stereo
Original release March 5 (2002-03-05) – March 19, 2002 (2002-03-19)

The Random Years is an American television sitcom created by Nate Reger and Michael Lisbe which aired on United Paramount Network (UPN) from March 5 to March 19, 2002. The series follows three childhood friends who share a New York City apartment, and their female neighbor. Storylines focus on their lives after graduating from college. Reger and Lisbe used their past experiences in New York City as inspiration for the series.

The Random Years was commercially unsuccessful, and was canceled after three weeks. Seven episodes were produced, but only four aired. Critical response to the series was primarily negative, though some critics had positive comments for the premise and cast.

Premise and characters

The Random Years revolves around three men – Alex Barnes (Will Friedle), Wiseman (Joshua Ackerman), and Todd Mitchell (Sean Murray) – who were friends since elementary school. All of the men are in their early 20s during the series.[1] While sharing a loft apartment in Chinatown, Manhattan, they attempt to navigate life after graduating from college.[1][2] Storylines also focus on their bad dating lives.[3][4] Alex is a rock music researcher for Music Week magazine, and dreams of becoming a music critic.[1][5] He is characterized as lovesick.[2] Wiseman works as a dental technician following his mother's suggestion, and does not have any interest in becoming a dentist.[5] The character is portrayed as eccentric.[2] Unemployed during the show,[1] Todd relies on "schemes to get what he needs".[5] He is also shown as having an obsession with Star Wars.[5]

Casey Parker (Natalia Cigliuti) helps Alex with his music website.[1] Portrayed as ambitious,[1][6] she works at a temp job while attending the New York University Stern School of Business.[5] In the second episode, she becomes the men's neighbor,[2][7] with assistance from Alex.[1] She enjoys watching Antiques Roadshow,[5] and a type of strip poker is played based on the show rather than cards.[4] Alex, Wiseman, and Todd each want to date Casey.[8] Steve (Winston J. Rochas), the building's supervisor, uses it to store his brother's stolen goods.[1] Scott Sandell of the Los Angeles Times compared the show's premise to the sitcom Seinfeld due to their shared focus on "nothing". He likened Wiseman to the character Cosmo Kramer.[3] Television critics have identified The Random Years as a buddy comedy.[1][9]

Production and broadcast history

Nate Reger and his writing partner Mike Lisbe created The Random Years based on their experiences living in New York City after graduating from college.[6][8] Developed under the working title Life as We Know It, the show was handled by Big Phone Productions in association with Paramount Television.[8] Judd Pillot and John Peaslee were the show's executive producers.[10] Prior to production, Friedle was scheduled to star in The WB sitcom Brutally Normal. After the United Paramount Network (UPN) picked up The Random Years, Friedle was replaced by Eddie Kaye Thomas.[8]

Premiering alongside the dramedy As If, The Random Years was broadcast on Tuesday nights at 9 pm EST.[8] The series had a TV 14 parental rating, indicating that it was "unsuitable for children under 14 years of age".[11] UPN aired As If and The Random Years as mid-season replacements, which filled the same timeslot previously occupied by science fiction television show Roswell.[12] The Random Years was one of the lowest-performing show tracked by Nielsen Holdings, and it was canceled after three weeks. Seven episodes were filmed, though only four episodes were aired.[8]

Episodes

Credits for the episodes were taken from Richard Irvin's 2016 book Forgotten Laughs: An Episode Guide to 150 TV Sitcoms You Probably Never Saw.[8]

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
1"Pilot"Lee Shallat ChemelMike Lisbe and Nate RegerMarch 5, 2002 (2002-03-05)1.4[13]
2"Don't Make Me Have Sex in the Hamptons"Matthew DiamondMike Lisbe and Nate RegerMarch 12, 2002 (2002-03-12)—
3"Men Behaving Sadly"Matthew DiamondMike Lisbe and Nate RegerMarch 19, 2002 (2002-03-19)—
4"Dangerous Liaisons"Matthew DiamondMike Lisbe and Nate RegerMarch 19, 2002 (2002-03-19)—
5"Inherit the Windbreaker"Matthew DiamondMike Lisbe and Nate RegerUnaired—
6"Losin' It"Matthew DiamondMike Lisbe and Nate RegerUnaired—
7"Boy Meets World[lower-alpha 1]"Matthew DiamondMike Lisbe and Nate RegerUnaired—

Critical reception

The Random Years received negative feedback upon its debut. Some critics dismissed it as a failed attempt to recreate a sitcom similar to Friends,[14][15] while Scott Sandell described it as a pale imitation of Seinfeld.[3] Others responded negatively to its comedy.[2][16] The Chicago Tribune's Allan Johnson criticized The Random Years as "pedestrian", and felt it lacked humor.[2]

The show's premise did receive some more positive reviews.[3][17][18] David Kronke of the Los Angeles Daily News praised its focus on post-graduate life, and felt it would benefit from better scripts.[17] Sandell found the storylines to be entertaining yet formulaic,[3] and Caryn James, writing for The New York Times, summed up the show as "not painfully bad, just by-the-numbers and predictable".[18] Even though the Houston Chronicle's Ann Hodges criticized the cast as a "gang of lightweight newcomers",[15] other commentators had a more positive response to their performances.[3][4][6][7] Terry Kelleher of People cited Friedle, Murray, and Cigliuti as highlights, though he felt that Ackerman "pushes his oddball caricature too hard".[7] Newsday's Noel Holston wrote that Murray's performance in the strip poker scene was the only high point of the pilot episode.[4]

Notes

  1. ↑ An alternative title for "Boy Meets World" was "Corrupting Jacob"[8]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Brooks & Marsh (2009): p. 1130
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Johnson, Allan (March 5, 2002). "`As If,' `Random' prolong UPN's comedy drought". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sandell, Scott (March 5, 2002). "UPN Debuts 'As If,' 'Random Years'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Holston, Noel (March 4, 2002). "Sitcoms for 20-Somethings / A hip-hoppy 'Friends' and a ho-hummy one". Newsday. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Terrace (2008): p. 874
  6. 1 2 3 Pierce, Scott D. (March 4, 2002). "'As If' is just awful; 'Random Years' isn't". Deseret News. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 Kelleher, Terry (March 11, 2002). "Picks and Pans Review: The Random Years". People. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Irvin (2016)
  9. ↑ Adalian, Josef (January 24, 2002). "March sked makes way for laffers at UPN, Fox". Variety. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Breaking News Archives". TV Week. January 24, 2002. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018.
  11. ↑ McDonough, Kevin (March 6, 2002). "UPN debuts two youth-driven shows: Shallow characters, lack of originality hallmarks of both". Charleston Daily Mail. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018. (subscription required)
  12. ↑ Schlosser, Joe (January 25, 2002). "UPN temporarily shelves Roswell". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018.
  13. ↑ Adalian, Josef (March 7, 2002). "Few 'Watching'; UPN laffs a gaffe". Variety. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018. (subscription required)
  14. ↑ Levesque, John (March 4, 2002). "Need some new 'Friends'? Well, keep looking". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  15. 1 2 Hodges, Ann (March 5, 2002). "Review: New UPN series fail to live up to hype". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  16. ↑ Perkins, Ken Parish (March 4, 2002). "Early peek suggests midseason arrivals won't click with viewers". Knight Ridder. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2018. (subscription required)
  17. 1 2 Kronke, David (March 5, 2002). "Better Scripts and 'Random' May Have a Chance". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018. (subscription required)
  18. 1 2 James, Caryn (March 5, 2002). "That Lovable Sitcom Dad Who Likes to Nibble Bats". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018.

Book sources

  • Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. New York: Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
  • Irvin, Richard (2016). Forgotten Laughs: An Episode Guide to 150 TV Sitcoms You Probably Never Saw. Duncan: BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-225-1.
  • Terrace, Vincent (2008). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.