“Married With Children” actress Christina Applegate makes her return to the small screen after a lengthy foray into motion pictures and stage work to star in the new series “Samantha Who” for ABC.
Like the Alphabet network’s other new series “Pushing Daises,” this Applegate skein has gotten a lot of early critical praise and prominent hype from the network. And, like “Daisies,” many are wondering if Applegate can go it alone and bring the goods as a series headliner.
The popular actress will certainly not have to worry about building an audience as a pre-fall poll showed that she is the one person fans were most eager to see return to the small screen for her own show.
I caught an early preview of the show and I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprised. “Samantha Who” is a funny, fantastical but engaging, light-hearted romp that allows Applegate’s comedic timing to shine as it hasn’t done since her days over at Fox on the set of “Married.”
While I didn’t totally buy into the storyline, which is about a woman waking from an eight-day coma with absolutely no memory whatsoever of her past, her family, friends, job or the fact that she was a real bitch before the coma, her performance as Samantha won me over anyway. On the positive side, the fact that she was once a real pain in the tukas and is now given this new chance at mending those fences and repairing the relationships she squandered with her self-centered indulgence should allow for some interesting stories to be told. I’m a real sap for second chance stories.
The other nice thing about the series is Robert Duncan McNeill. You may remember Robert as the actor who portrayed Starfleet reject Tom Paris for seven years on “Star Trek: Voyager.” The man has become quite the accomplished director for television with such shows as “Las Vegas,” the new NBC show “Chuck,” “Star Trek: Enterprise” “Medium” and “Desperate Housewives” under his helmer’s hat. McNeill takes what, in lesser hands, could have been a major hyper-active bomb and has turned the pilot episode into a real joy to watch.
Rounding out the cast for “Samantha Who” are “Designing Women” star Jean Smart who plays Sam’s mom, Barry Watson (“7th Heaven”), Jennifer Esposito (“Rescue Me”), Melissa McCarthy (“Gilmore Girls”), veteran actor Kevin Dunn plays Sam’s dad. Tim Russ, one of McNeill’s Vulcan compadres from “Voyager” is on board along with William Abadie and Nakia Burrise.
This show won’t be for everyone, but if you like the idea of getting a second chance at life then watch. The pilot episode of “Samantha Who” premieres on ABC Monday, October 15, 2007.
