Michael J. Fox and Robin Williams will return to television starring in different shows on the same night (Sept. 26) on a medium that has evolved remarkably from the one they left years before. If nothing at all had changed technologically and culturally since the days of Mork from Ork and Alex P. Keaton, the debuts of their competing new comedies — “The Crazy Ones” and “The Michael J. Fox Show”— would be billed as a spectacular showdown between ’80s heavies, a modern-day Battle of the Network Stars. Viewers would have to choose which one to watch. There’d be a cartoon of them arm-wrestling on the cover of TV Guide.
Now they’ll both be lucky if anyone sends out a few halfhearted tweets during the broadcast or clicks on clips of either show online the next day. Buzz is the only expression of TV adoration anymore.
So what exactly are Williams and Fox each looking for, besides a hit? They’re looking for comfort — a mix of job security and creative satisfaction, perhaps. And what are we looking for when we tune in to shows starring actors whose long orbits have returned them to TV? We seek anything remotely funny or assured of itself; anything that lets us know that TV still works the way it used to when put in the hands of old pros. Familiarity is a powerful lure. What neither man could fully prepare for is the insecure nature of network comedy now — how meta is too meta? How much sarcasm kills a joke?
CBS’s “The Crazy Ones,” created by David E. Kelley (“Ally McBeal,” “Boston Legal”), is far more successful at a number of these goals, with a slicker launch and a better premise. It stars the 62-year-old Williams as successful adman Simon Roberts, who has turned over the business operation of his big Chicago-based agency to his daughter, Sydney (Sarah Michelle Gellar).
Williams of course brings the manic, free-associative ramble upon which he built his career. In Simon’s ongoing monologue about himself, we catch light-speed references to divorces and rehab stints. His attention-deficit problem and personal demons don’t help the trains run on time, but, as the agency stands to lose its big account with McDonald’s, Simon is still the one who can pop in with a brilliant, off-the-cuff idea, buying the agency another couple of days with the impossible promise of luring pop star Kelly Clarkson (who is featured in an energetic guest cameo in the pilot episode) to sing an updated version of the “You Deserve a Break Today” jingle.
Not lovin’ it? It’s interesting to note that both “The Crazy Ones” and “The Michael J. Fox Show” lean far too heavily on promotional tie-ins to get their stories started. The creators of “The Crazy Ones” swear up and down that their show does not have a deal with McDonald’s (or any other brand to be seen in future episodes). Their sole aim in choosing McDonald’s was verisimilitude; the energy spent conjuring a McDonald’s-like analogue to play the role of Simon’s top client should instead be spent writing scenes and characters, Kelley and his writers explained to critics earlier this summer.
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