Review: 'Goode Behavior'

When I was growing up, I loved watching "The Tonight Show." And every so often, an opera singer would show up. They'd sing some aria, and then to prove that they were "hip", they'd lumber through some terrible rendition of a current hit song. There's nothing worse than hearing Pavarotti try and get through "California Dreaming". He'd hit all of the notes, but the timing was off. So instead of a melodic flowing tune, you'd hear a fat guy singing "Cal-if-for-nia Drea-ming" as if it were a Nazi war chant. Sometimes you need more than talent. You need natural ability.

It's that way with with sitcom actors too. It's not raw talent that makes you entertaining. It's something indefinable. Lucille Ball wasn't much of an actress, but her timing was so precise, you could set a clock by the way she hit punch lines. Sherman Hemsley is the same way. He always plays the same character. But it's a character that's infused with a life and a charm that's easy to enjoy.

His new sitcom is "Goode Behavior," and like all good sitcoms, there's not much an actual plot involved. Hemsley plays Willie Goode, a newly paroled con-artist who shows up without warning at the house of his son, Franklin (Dorien Wilson). Franklin hates his dad (of course), and it doesn't help that the only way Willie can stay out of jail is by living with his son. There's the usual complications, Willie has an electronic bracelet on his ankle, Franklin's afraid he won't be made Dean while Willie's around, etc. etc. The plot isn't important.

What counts is that Hemsley is there chewing up the scenery and dominating the show the way you would expect him to do. Anyone who's ever enjoyed him in any of his other series will love this one. Except.....

Well, remember what I told you about timing? You either have it or you don't? Well, one look at the show and it is painfully obvious that whoever cast the series should be flogged and left hanging on a pole on Hollywood Boulevard as a warning to other casting agents. Hemsley is rock-solid in the role. But he's anchored to some fine actors...who unfortunately haven't found the rhythm of the show yet.

Franklin is played by Dorien Wilson, who has done some fine work. He was particularly strong in "Dream On," where he played Eddie Charles, a womanizing talk-show host. But in "Goode Behavior," he's playing the straight man and it's painfully obvious he can't figure out how to do it. Maybe it's the director's fault, maybe it's his. But right now, he's being blown off the stage by everybody around him.

Things aren't much better for Alex Datcher, who plays Franklin's wife Barbara. Datcher can be amazingly personable and charismatic-check her out in her role as flight attendant Marti Slayton in "Passenger 57." And she was did a solid job on the syndicated series, "Street Justice." But in this role, she looks more scared than anything else. She supposed to be the strong, confident woman. And she's acting with all of the confidence of a woman who's having a gun held to her head. She settled down towards the end of the episode, but she's still treading water. But she's certainly talented enough to find her equilibrium.

There are a couple of other actors in the series, and they did a very solid job. Bianca Lawson plays the couple's daughter, Bianca. And she is the typical ditsy sitcom daughter. Lawson is best known for playing Megan on the series, "Saved By The Bell: The New Class."

Scott Grimes makes a brief appearance as Garth Shoup, Franklin's teaching assistant. You might remember Grimes in the role of Will on "Party Of Five." Veteran actor Joseph Maher plays Chancellor Willoughby.

"Goode Behavior" airs on UPN at 9:00PM on Monday Nights.