“’Til Death”/“Do Not Disturb” Review: The Wrong Choices?

I recently read an article that said because of a lack of comedies on network primetime TV, a lot of comedy writers are going to write children’s shows for Disney Channel and Nickelodeon…

It is hard to believe that the conventional sitcom is almost becoming extinct.

Take FOX, for instance. Though Sunday night is filled with animated comedies, FOX only has two sitcoms—“’Til Death” and “Do Not Disturb,” which air back-to-back on Wednesdays.

When I first saw “’Til Death” two seasons ago, I said it was funny, but I wasn’t sure how long the concept of a longtime married couple comparing itself to a newlywed couple would last.

Apparently FOX had the same reservations because they’ve totally revamped the show over the last season and a half. In fact, the newlywed couple will only appear in a few episodes this season. The show will instead focus on Joy (Joely Fisher), Eddie (Brad Garrett) and Eddie’s friend Kenny (J.B. Smoove).

I have to admit the season premiere, which dealt with Joy’s displeasure that her “assets” couldn’t get her out of speeding tickets anymore, was actually funny.

I honestly thought that FOX should have chosen “Back to You” over “’Til Death,” but now I can actually see why they would want to hang on to “Death.”

I cannot, however, see why FOX would have cancelled “Back” in favor of “Do Not Disturb”…

If you missed it, “Disturb” revolves around the staff of a ritzy hotel. Jerry O’Connell stars as Neil, the hotel’s General Manager, while Niecy Nash is the HR Director, Rhonda.

In the opener, Rhonda clashes with Neil because of his womanizing ways, but then ends up pulling some of his same tricks when she hooks up with the head of security.

And that was basically it.

Yes, there were some other stories, but the supporting cast is so uninteresting they’re not even worth mentioning.

The show is not terrible, but it’s not quite what I would call good either. Jerry O’Connell proved on “Carpoolers” that he has some great comic skills, but he doesn’t get to show them here. In fact, he comes off as stiff as everyone else. Nash starts out well, but when she gets more to do, she goes downhill quickly.

I know that “Back to You” was expensive to produce, but it was absolutely funnier than this.

No wonder there are no jobs for good comedy writers these days. The networks keep giving their jobs to bad writers…

“’Til Death” and “Do Not Disturb” air Wednesdays at 9 and 9:30 p.m. on FOX…

Photo Credits: Michael Desmond/FOX & Ray Mickshaw/FOX