Midseason replacements rarely get much promotion, and many people may not even know they exist until they stumble across them. “Surviving Jack” is the latest in Fox’s storied history of midseason replacements, from failed shows like “Alcatraz” to resounding successes such as “Family Guy.” Replacing “American Idol” in the schedule, “Surviving Jack” is based on “I Suck at Girls,” an autobiographical book from series creator Justin Halpern, best known for his Twitter account “S— My Dad Says.”
Live-action comedies often do poorly in Fox’s spring schedule, as none of the current series are past their second season, but “Surviving Jack” may break that trend. Lead by veteran TV actor Christopher Meloni (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”), the cast is a mix of experienced supporting actors and complete newcomers. Appearing with Meloni are Rachael Harris (“The Hangover”), Claudia Lee (“Hart of Dixie”) and newcomers Connor Buckley and Lili Reinhart.
The plot centers around the family of Dr. Jack Dunlevy (Meloni), who must use less than ordinary techniques to keep his children, Frankie (Buckley) and Rachel (Lee), in line when his wife Joanne (Harris) returns to law school. Frankie must also navigate his first year of high school, awkwardly discovering how to deal with girls while avoiding his less-than-helpful father. Set in the early 1990s in Southern California, the show quite effectively conjures up memories of the decade with Jack decrying “Jurassic Park” as garbage and Rachel rocking out to Marky Mark’s “Good Vibrations” on her Walkman. The show is set up in the same way as “How I Met Your Mother,” and is narrated by Kevin Rahm (“Desperate Housewives”) who plays the adult version of Frankie.
The comedy of the show is both well-written and well-executed, with snappy one-liners and longer comedic scenes galore. Though some of the best moments seem to come from Jack, the show also features some amusing moments from the cast’s less-seasoned members. Along with the comedic elements, which greatly benefit from the lack of a laughtrack, the first episode also invokes awkward social scenes reminiscent of 1990s shows such as “Saved by the Bell.” After passing completely unnoticed by the popular girls during the year, Frankie grows ten inches over the summer and is approached by Heather (Reinhart) on the first day of school, who invites him to a party, which he stutteringly agrees to attend.
The show is far from perfect however. The voiceover, which set the scene nicely in the opening segment of the episode, is awkward and forced throughout the remainder, and could easily be cut entirely with little loss to the story and comedy. Also, many of the scenes in the pilot are stereotypical, even clichéd, teen coming-of-age interactions, from Frankie’s fumbling inability to talk to Heather to Jack catching Frankie with porn. The uniqueness of “Surviving Jack” comes not from the scenes themselves, but from Jack’s reactions. His brusque, no-nonsense manner and upfront answers might not be laugh-out-loud funny, but they are amusing nonetheless.
In all, the pilot of “Surviving Jack” is promising. With its talented cast and throwback setting, Fox may have found another midseason replacement worth watching, if only they would remove the voice over. “Surviving Jack” airs on Thursdays on Fox at 9:30/8:30 central.
