First Impressions: How To Be A Gentleman

(airs on CBS, Thursday nights at 8:30pm)

CBS’s new Thursday night comedy is a relentless pile of stereotypical male reactions, an Odd Couple plot, and 22 minutes of pointless, conventional drivel. In a nutshell, it’s a dumb story, with an ancient laugh track, and a philosophy on life that makes absolutely no sense: ‘Life is a jerk that punches you in the face over and over.’ Then again, what should we expect from the show that’s replacing S&*! My Dad Says.

For a show about a writer, Gentlemen is more than content producing a terribly scripted pilot, which is odd, considering the star is also the creater/developer/writer of the show. Obviously David Hornsby never spent a day as a writer in real life, because his behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are totally insulting to us writers. He’s feeble, wimpy, self-conscious – and oddly incapable with women for a guy who allegedly writes about being a gentlemen.

That alone offended me enough to want to turn it off, but it continues to get worse. Co-star Kevin Dillon (who was often the only amusing character on the much-loved but always terrible Entourage) is playing Johnny Drama minus Hollywood here, as Burt, a gym owner and stereotypical meat headed and idiotic male. He’s supposed to be the source of a lot of the jokes on the show, and Dillon’s limited acting capabilities, combined with the array of cliched jokes, doesn’t make him very funny at all. And he’s not the only one: Mary Lynn Rajskub plays Hornsby’s annoying, pretentious sister, a family version of Chloe from 24. Not surprisingly, her husband is Flight of the Conchords alum Rhys Darby, acting like Murray Hewitt to a T, except with less marriage problems (apparently).

In a nutshell, there is a lot to dislike about How To Be A Gentlemen, from its inaccurate and very offensive portrayal of writers, to its unfunny jokes surrounded by obnoxious self-serving laugh tracks. How To Be A Gentlemen is like taking Niles Crane (Frasier), making him single, and placing him in a 2011 that hasn’t changed since the mid-90s in attitude or spirit (not to mention David Hyde Pierce is a much better actor). At this point in time, is there anyone who wants to watch that every week? SKIP IT!