Andre Braugher and Ray Romano in "Men of a Certain Age"
courtesy of TNT
“Men of a Certain Age” (TNT)

Everybody loves Ray Romano as was proven by the popularity of his hit TV series “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Since that show ended people have been clamoring for Romano to come back to series TV, and now he has. He, Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher are the stars of the new TNT series “Men of a Certain Age.”

This series concerns three men who are pushing fifty. Joe (Romano) is separated from his wife (Penelope Ann Miller) because of a gambling problem. He wants to reconcile but he can’t seem to find the way to get there. His two kids love him but he is in a motel room and they are living with their mom so they are going thru the awkward stage of seeing how this separation thing works.

Owen (Braugher) is a man whose family is intact. He and his wife (Lisa Gay Hamilton) have three children and a pretty nice life. His only problem is he is a car salesman – at his father’s Chevrolet dealership. His dad gives him a pretty rough time and sometimes his wife joins in the action, on his side and against his father. Owen feels somewhat emasculated when she does this.

Terry (Bakula) is an actor, at least a part time one. He also works as a temp. Terry is just a laid back, good time guy. He is dating a twenty-five year old girl and that makes him happy. Terry doesn’t have a wife and family and he doesn’t care.

The series shows the ordinary elements of each of these guy’s lives. We see Joe battling his gambling addiction, and grieving for his family. We see Owen struggling to carve out a place in the car dealership against the hostility of his father. And we see Terry moving rapidly into middle age without being aware of it.

The question is whether or not the foibles of these three men’s lives will be enough to attract an audience. Most of it is pretty ordinary stuff and it is played for drama, not for laughs. The first few episodes were pretty tedious as they just involved “life.”

All three men are good in their roles and the supporting cast is solid. Still something has to charge up the series in order for it to have a long term run. Everybody loves Ray Romano but not everybody will love his ordinary Joe role in this series. Bakula and Braugher are good actors but they don’t bring a built in fan base to a show like this one.

The language on this show is also raw. You didn’t hear “Raymond” talking like this. So be prepared for the profanity to flow freely on this show.

Maybe the series will find a new road to follow, and maybe the lives shown will be less than ordinary. Something better happen quickly or this will be a fast flop. TNT just cancelled “Raising the Bar” and that show was many times more entertaining than this one.

“Men of a Certain Age” debuts on TNT, Monday, December 7 at 10PM.
 

 

 

 

 

©2009 Jackie K. Cooper

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