SERIES REVIEW by Richard Roeper RUTHERFORD FALLS Three stars
If you revisit the first few episodes of classic workplace sitcoms such as The Office and Parks & Recreation, you ll notice the writers and the ensemble casts took a while to find their voice and their rhythm, and sometimes things seem a little . not quite there. Michael Scott is more mean than lovably clueless, Tommy Haverford comes across as brooding and cynical, and who ARE some of those people lurking in the background at Dunder-Mifflin and the Pawnee Parks Department, anyway? Where d they go?
Watching the first four episodes of the smart and breezy and instantly likable Peacock sitcom Rutherford Falls, I wondered which of the supporting characters would eventually emerge to become major featured players and which might fall by the wayside, and whether this new vehicle for Office alum Ed Helms and a terrific ensemble would make that leap from promising vehicle to multiseason hit.
A 10-episode series available Thursday on Peacock. Watching the first four episodes of the smart and breezy and instantly likable Peacock sitcom “Rutherford Falls,” I wondered which of the supporting characters would eventually emerge to become major featured players and which might fall by the wayside and whether this new vehicle for “Office” alum Ed Helms and a terrific ensemble would make that leap from promising vehicle to multi-season hit. I wouldn’t bet against it. They’re off to a great start. “Rutherford Falls” kicks off with a controversy over a statue of a town founder, and while there are obvious parallels to real-world events, THIS particular dust-up is at least initially more about the location of the statue than anything else. It’s at the spot in upstate New York where colonial settler Lawrence Rutherford founded the town through a treaty with the local Minishonka Nation in 1638 a spot that’s now smack-dab in the middle
i do not like this. his first television interview since his company s stock suffered a terrible fall. the founder of facebook, mark zuckerberg, opens up to matt lauer and takes on his critics. if a company has a billion customers how can they not be killing it making money? it depends on your definition of killing. about the samt-shirt he wears every day of his life. if you see my closet you have 12 of those t-shirts. maybe about 20. i get one drawer. my drawer is wait a second, are you telling me at home you have one drawer? also, tonight, the two-year-long journey of one american soldier. the army sergeant richard engel first met on a bad day on a battlefield in afghanistan. i try not to think about it. now back home surprise! to unexpected joys and sorrows. you knew coming back home would be tough. definitely. hard. also tonight harry smith on how both presidential campaigns are going after undecided voters. i m on their speed dial.