"$#! My Dad Says" Review: Can It Get Past Its Problems?

Of all the new shows premiering this fall, no show has caused more problems for its network than “$#! My Dad Says.”

First, there’s that title, which is pronounced “Bleep My Dad Says.” That makes it pretty difficult to promote, write, etc. But now, the title has caused a problem with DVRs because of all of the symbols. In fact, CBS was forced to send out a letter through the media to tell people how to program their DVRs for the show.

But this show has bigger problems than just the title. The pilot was completely reworked and reshot after the initial one was sent out to the media. CBS promised that we would receive the new pilot before the premiere, but it didn’t happen (at least not for me). So there’s not a lot I can really say about this one.

Here’s what I can say. “Dad” is based on the popular Twitter feed, “S---t My Dad Says” by Justin Halpern. William Shatner stars as the dad, Ed Goodson. Jonathan Sadowski is the son, Henry. Will Sasso is Vince, Henry’s older brother and Nicole Sullivan plays Henry’s wife, Bonnie.

Ed is extremely opinionated and never misses the opportunity to embarrass his sons, which might explain why he’s all alone. Bonnie, a real estate agent, is trying to convince Ed it’s time to move out of the house and into a condo. But circumstances conspire that cause Henry to step up and move in with his dad.

The version I saw definitely needed work, but it had potential because it did make me laugh a few times. But those laughs mostly came from Sullivan (“King of Queens,” “Rita Rocks”), who steals every scene she’s in.

The biggest flaw of the show is its biggest asset—William Shatner. I love Shatner and think he’s absolutely hilarious. But in this show, he’s playing a character we’ve never really seen from him before—a curmudgeon. And in the pilot I saw, he didn’t always come across well. Since Shatner is so beloved, it’s hard to think of him as unpleasant. And in order for the show to work, he occasionally has to be.

Since the show comes to us from David Kohan & Matt Mutchnick, the people behind “Will & Grace,” I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt and believe they got all the pilot problems worked out. But we’ll all just have to see…

Because if they didn’t, Dad won’t be the only one talking $#!...

“$#! My Dad Says” premieres Thursday, September 23rd at 8:30 p.m. on CBS…

Photo Credit: Ron P. Jaffe/CBS