Good Morning Miami – Tuesdays on NBC
Just when I was going to give up on Good Morning, Miami, they decide to revamp it, and then they do it again. I think the strategy worked, and it will pay off the sitcom in the long run.
Let’s see – the show’s been changed a bit back in September – a few new faces, slightly edgier relations between main cast. But it wasn’t until last night (the episode where Jake leaves to NYC) when I saw what they were going for.
Here’s a recap: Jake and Dylan decide to leave the station, since nobody can get any work done due to last year’s ‘sleepovers’. Makes sense. But when Jake comes to NYC, and sees how the ‘big shots’ are laughing at the Miami show, he decides to come back and rescue the show. That’s the core of the episode.
The kicker is that, just like at the very beginning of the show last year, he didn’t announce himself as a ‘saviour’, he just came back, and even put himself thru quite a bit of insults to get the job back. He’s no longer a loser in love with a pretty girl, he’s a man responsible for a weak morning show.
It may seem that the writers are recycling the old material, but I think this will make for a better comedy. Last year Jake stayed in Florida for the girl. Now that he’s got the girl, he’s in Florida for the show itself. I think it’s a better scenario. They might not like each other, they might have feelings for one another, but they are co-workers, and the chemistry will be different. If the writers can use that well, the show can grow.
Imagine ‘Frasier’ without the apartment, just the stuff in the studio. All the sexual tension repressed for ratings, for ‘clean working environment’. Or imagine ‘Friends’ without their apartments – just the relations between Rachel and Gunther… Now that I think about it, they are recycling ideas. But at least, these ideas worked before, and added up to good, popular shows.
Let’s see if this new momentum lasts for Good Morning, Miami. I’m actually looking forward to the next few episodes (yesterday I just watched it to kill time).
