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I am - Hercules!!


"Brothers" is a trying, terrible laugh-track sitcom about a retired pro footballer scripted by Don Reo, who's writing career stretches from "Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters" and "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" to "The Golden Girls" and "Blossom" to "Everybody Hates Chris."

Watching the "Brothers" pilot back in June I couldn't fathom what was going through the minds of the Fox execs who had just greenlit it to series. Former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan is not an actor and has little idea how to sell the shopworn swings at scripted mirth he's handed.

(Not that what's handed Strahan's co-stars is better. Brace yourself for a lot of jokes from "Ed's" Daryl "Chill" Mitchell about the gap in Strahan's teeth. And the depressing sight of a bald Carl Weathers obsessing about male pubic hair.)

Watching Strahan promote the series on talk shows in recent days, however, made it easy to understand the impulse to put him in comedy; he has a natural quick wit and easygoing charm one rarely sees in broadcasters, let alone pro athletes. Unfortunately the folks behind this series appear to have no idea how to exploit these strengths.

What we're left with is the worst new sitcom of fall and the worst lead-in for "Dollhouse" imaginable.

USA Today says:

… As for the show's personable star, he's not yet an actor, and Brothers wisely refrains from pushing him past the limits of his talents. But the show's not quite using all of his talents, either: The guy you see on Fox's pregame football show seems smarter and a tad funnier than the guy you see here. Give us a little more of him, and Brothers should be fine. …

The New York Times says:

… It's not always funny, but it can be, at times, remarkably bold. … The show's humor, however, doesn't live up to Fox comedy standards or its own good sense.

The New York Daily News says:

… just doesn't quite achieve either poignance or real comedy. …

Newsday says:

… Neither offensive ("The Cleveland Show" has that department nailed down) nor particularly funny, it's merely another average, laugh-track-addled sitcom. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… there is much to like …

The Sarasota Sun-Sentinel says:

… the worst new series of the season. …

The Washington Post says:

… a peppy but mediocre sitcom …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

… The always likable Mitchell often comes off like a petulant, childish whiner in these two "Brothers" episodes, but he's still a better actor than Strahan, a retired football pro who's been dabbling in acting in recent years, and the writers seem to tilt the show in Mitchell's direction, giving him more to do. Not that there's much point in any of their efforts: "Brothers" will be canceled sooner, not later.

The Boston Herald says:

… [CCH] Pounder pulls more than her own weight, but she can't do much with this lightweight material.

The Boston Globe says:

… Watching this show was the worst kind of sitcom experience - mediocre material, piercing laugh track noise, wasted talent, and a memory-impaired father who is fascinated by the fact that some men shave their "wiggly-dos.'' Yeah, wiggly-dos. …

Variety says:

Making no pretense of setting the comedic bar particularly high, "Brothers" is more notable for its cast than anything coming out of their mouths. … The prodigal son's return, however, doesn't sit well with brother Chill (Mitchell), who resents Mike -- a hostility he expresses, repeatedly, via a series of tired one-liners. Mitchell delivers them reasonably well, but other than the gag about his mom testing his paralysis by jabbing his thigh with a fork, most viewers will be able to intercept the jokes well before he delivers him. … "Brothers" turns out to be all game plan, and no game.

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… What is surprising … is just how watchable and amusing "Brothers" is, even if it doesn't break new ground. …

8 p.m. Friday. Fox.