Big Day (8,00, Tuesday, ABC)
I watched the pilot of Big Day when it aired last week, and, you know what? It makes it's time-slot-partner (the Danson-vehicle Help Me Help You) look like freaking early M*A*S*H. Yes, though Josh Cooke and Marla Sokoloff (the funnier/younger version of Jennifer Garner) are two of my favorite semi-crappy comedy actors, Big Day is such a travesty it's amazing. The premise: it is Cooke and Sokoloff's wedding day, and we're going to see it all, from 8:00AM to the end, one half-hour at a time, 24 style. Sounds horrible, right? Well it is. So very horrible. And it's not all the premise's fault, either, the writing itself is horrendous. It displays no ability to shape a story line and/or be funny. Either one, that's all I'm asking for: coherence or humor. I got neither.
And Wendy Malick's bitchy, controlling mother character? Worst. Ever.
Do NOT watch Big Day.
Preliminary series grade: F.

My Boys (9,00, Tuesday, TBS)
Jordana Spiro, who is husky-voiced in a not unsexy way, plays a writer for the Chicago Tribune who covers the Cubs. Only the cubs. And all her friends are dudes. And there's a new guy at work (from the Sun-Times), played by Kyle Howard--not playing 19 for once, thank god--and she's interested in him, but she doesn't know how to be a woman! Hahahahaha! It is funny because she works in a job that usually men have, and she is bad at being feminine! Hahahahaha! She has a stereotypically female friend who gives her advice like "you need to wear something cute." Hahahahahaha! Funny!
All mocking of the premise aside, the show's pretty well executed (provided you mute the damn TV during the opening and closing voice-over where she makes a baseball metaphor, reminding you that she, like, totally knows a lot about baseball). The cast is solid, and when she starts saying all the guy-like things as she's trying to hook up with the new-guy, watching him freak out because of it is pretty funny. And her friends, though somewhat stock-charactery, are funny (or at least funny-ish), though the tremendous Jim Gaffigan is underused.
Anyway, I can't give you a final grade yet, 'cause this one could go either way. If you're up for it, watch it tonight and tell me what you think. You can always catch one of the five re-runs of the Daily Show tomorrow.
Preliminary grade: C? B?