It’s Got Nothing To Do With Irene #MeMyselfAndI #3weekroundup #recap #review #CBS

It’s Got Nothing To Do With Irene #MeMyselfAndI #3weekroundup #recap #review #CBS

All pictures courtesy of CBS 

And we’re back, and this time with 22% more alertness... maybe. You’ll have to excuse all of the review/recaps this year as I really haven’t been that much into all of these new shows and frankly could pass on most of them, so some of the most minute details go uncaptured and uncared for, but I’m gonna try to change that. Or maybe I won’t change it at all. Hell, you don’t need to know every single second of the first three episodes of these shows to really know if you like them or to even know what’s going on or not, do you? You probably watch half of the stuff on TV while trying to badly multitask and do your dishes, or the family’s laundry or feed a baby or cut your own bangs because you’ve watched ten online tutorials that make it look so easy. But don’t do it! For God’s (and fashion’s) sake don’t cut your own bangs! Anyway, Me, Myself and I is a brand new half-hour comedy on CBS. Will this show make you feel more comfortable with yourself, or will it make you turn off the TV in favor of a little more “me time?” Let’s find out together.

CBS’s Me, Myself and I has a very different format than almost all of their other comedy shows and more different than most shows on TV. It follows the character of Alex at three different points in his life each around 25 years apart. We start by seeing the 40-year-old Alex played by Bobby Moynihan of SNL fame. He is current-Alex who lives in the year 2017 and is struggling through life. As we learn in the opening minutes of the show, his life as an inventor is sputtering along with silly innovations like chopsticks with forks at the end of them. And then his life takes a turn when he sees an ambulance in his driveway and runs through the front door to find that his wife is... sexing the EMT, and here he was nervous that she might be dead. So, he and his Harpy wife go through a rather bitter divorce that ends up with his six-year-old daughter splitting time between her two parents, and Alex staying in his fledgling company’s CFO’s garage. Yes, the CFO Darryl, played by Jaleel White, is also his best friend.

Left to right: Alex, his stepdad, his step-brother

Then we switch over to the younger Alex at the age of 14. A native of Chicago, he is in love with Michael Jordan as this younger self is set in the early 90s (thank god something is finally not set in the frickin’ 80s). His life consists of dreams about being a world-class inventor and loving the Bulls. And then his world changes when his mother (a flight attendant) comes in and tells him that that pilot she’s been dating has asked her to marry him. And they are going to move to LA where the pilot lives: Lakerland for you non-basketball fans. The Lakers are his sworn enemy. So now he has to somehow fit in with a new brother who is pretty much his same age but insists on being called the older brother because he outranks Alex by 39 days.

And finally there is the older Alex. It is at this point that I tell you that this review could get long and a little messy because of how the show is setup. See, this isn’t a show where you follow one age for a while, then the next show you follow a different age and so on. No, you see each story unfold concurrently in each segment/act. The older, 65-year-old Alex is played by John Larroquette of Night Court fame. Whereas we see Alex struggling in his 40s, now in his sixties, Alex has become such a massively successful inventor that he just listed his multi-million dollar company on the NYSE. And then he dropped from a heart attack. Not dead, he has been warned to be healthier and slow down. So as he is strolling across the massive google-like campus of Riley Inc. (his company) he meets with Darryl’s daughter who now works for him as an executive and tells her that he has a big announcement that he wants to make to all the top team execs. The announcement: he’s retiring. And for those in the business world, you could just hear the stock price plummeting.

And so sets up our show. Again, each part of the show, each era informs the other eras in his life, so it is difficult to not have as many details as possible in order for you to get the story. So, we go back to his childhood where Young-Alek or “14” as we will call him is trying to adjust to his new life. His new dad seems pretty cool and is not the cliched controlling jackass of a father like most step-dads are painted to be. When 14, his new brother and the rest of the family sit down for a terrible breakfast that his mother, who was never a good homemaker, cooked for them, the kitchen table wobbles. 14 pulls out an invention that he made that allows for a wobbly table to stay lifted to the proper height on a tiny car-jack replica. It works and everyone is super impressed. His brother is worried that he will be labeled the nerd or geeky inventor when he gets to school so he just wants to look out for him as best he can. He tells him not to whip out any of the cool inventions or he could be laughed at.

And then they get to the bus stop where they see 14’s dream girl Nori Sterling (Nori is a nickname. This is important). The rumor is that she only dates high school guys and is not even gonna bother to look 14’s wa—holy crap! She’s smiling at 14. As it turns out, she has a little crush on him from first sight. There’s a big dance where 14’s brother has a plan to make him the coolest new kid by having him kiss Nori in front of everyone. Crazy enough, not only is Nori the one to ask him to dance on a slow song but she is the one who goes in for the kiss before him. But 14 leans back as he is choking in the big moment. No, like, really choking on the mint his brother gave him just before the would-be kiss. His brother has to Heimlich him safe. But the mint then flies clean across the room and into Nori’s mouth and 14 earns the nickname Chokey.

Alex in 2017, and Darryl

Current Alek, still struggling after the divorce learns that his ex-wife, the disgusting cheater she is, has just gotten engaged to some guy that lives upstate. So she wants to move his little daughter Abby upstate in the middle of the school season because the girl staying with him when he has no money to his name is obviously out of the question. He guarantees her that he is just one invention away from a breakthrough and pleads to have Abby stay. But he’s got severe inventor’s block (been there) and can’t think of a single good thing. So he finally turns to his step-dad who he is still very much cool with. He goes back home and eats a dessert his mother made—she’s still a terrible cook—and gets the dad pep talk. His dad purposefully drops the fork and makes Alex pick it up only for current Alex to see the table lift he invented when he was young. And then he realizes that this is the idea that he needs to tide him over. He never sold it or licensed it to anyone. He takes the lift and license’s it out to a Japanese firm, getting a little money in his pocket but still having to live in his friend’s garage. But the day is partially saved.

“Retiree” Alex is just taking his sweet time adjusting to the slower life and going around a modestly futuristic city to reminisce. His daughter is now a grown woman who is not only still the number one best daughter in the world, but is the GM of The Chicago Bulls. She just wants the best for him as she frequently flies between Chicago and California. And his “older” brother is now the governor of Calif. Life is pretty good. And then the best, most serendipitous thing happens: he goes to an old diner named Corky’s which is the place he frequented in the “current” timeline. He goes in and meets the owner, an older lady named EleaNOR. Yep, Nori has grown into a pretty older woman who, as most adults do, goes by her full name now. He takes some of the advice that his father gave him during the “14” timeline about how Jordan misses half of his shots and about how being great and life is about continuing to shoot, and he shoots his shot with Eleanor by going to kiss her in her diner.

Now that we know the language and parameters of the show, maybe episode two should go faster. This time around, 14 is dealing with lunchroom hierarchy. Sit at the wrong table too early and earn the nickname Chokey forever. Hell, the losers table has a boy nicknamed Shart and a black kid nicknamed One Nut. And I was crackin’ up at that crap, because you can’t go around callin’ this little spectacle-wearing negro One Nut. Oh my god, that’s so wrong. That’s the kind of funny bullying to where if I was his father, I would get in trouble with my wife for having to also laugh at the name before giving him a rousing talk about how he should have self-confidence and things get better as an adult and how most women don’t discriminate against dudes with one nut. Ha ha ha! I can’t hate. Better than having tiny nuts, I guess.

To get back on track, 14’s brother pays the cool kids $10 to let him sit with them for a week to earn him some cool points (note that 14 and the brother have different lunch periods, so he can’t just sit with him). 14 learns of this and bucks it, opting to sit with One Nut and the others. He tries to make a grandstand and storm the cool kids table to sit down but stumbles on the stairs that separate the cool tables from the rest of the cafeteria. He slips, knocking all the other “losers” down to the floor and understands why Shart is nicknamed Shart. Not every battle is won.

Current Alex is tricked into getting back out into the dating field by Darryl who takes him to a club under the guise of a celebration with the Japanese businessmen. But the club isn’t their thing and they end up at Corky’s where Alex extols the deliciousness of waffles for every meal. A woman overhears him and says that she can have waffles every meal, too, and sees that they are both eating waffles currently. So they then go out on a date which Darryl hears for a full hour as Alex butt-dialed him. The date almost ends good because the woman wants to go back to her place but instead of doing that, he tries to get her address which she writes on his hand, then instead of a kiss and each driving in their own car to her place, Alex ends the date with a firm handshake. Yep, he shakes and sweat-wipes the address off his hand as he is not ready to date again. But he’s learned to not be afraid that there isn’t love out there for him.

Finally, retiree sets up a dinner with Eleanor who just wants to catch up on old times and what his life has been like since school so long ago. But as she walks into his place, she realizes they are both on different wave lengths because he still considers her the love of his life and she has a boyfriend. Surprise! Well, he complains about how she always settles for the same type of guy who doesn’t want to commit to her because she had a boyfriend in middle school but that kid didn’t want to call her his girlfriend. Eleanor’s current bf is the same way and doesn’t like to commit to even talk about marriage. So retiree tells her that about her boyfriend and tries to let it go. But then when he is in the car with his daughter later on, he receives a call from Eleanor who says she wants to talk to him urgently. Did she break up with her dude? Well... she told him what Retiree Alex said and the guy proposed to her. Can’t win them all.

Nori and "14"

Episode three deals with gifts and being spoiled or winning a prize and birthdays. For his 14^th birthday (I thought it would’ve been his 15^th but go with it) 14 gets a signed Michael Jordan rookie basketball card. A collector’s card back then, it could be worth a lot of money later in life. Well, enamored by Nori who tells him that her dad is a basketball card collector, he up and gives it away to her to please her (and they say patriarchy is oppressive. Guys bend backwards to try to please women and vice versa). He immediately regrets it as it meant so much to him, and it also meant a lot to his step-dad to just give it to him and see him so happy. Well, his brother plots to get it back by stealing the card back instead of asking for it back from Nori. Somehow, this plan works, they hop out of the window and abscond with the card.

Current Alex does a tradition with his little Abby where they go and shoot pop-a-shot hoops at the local arcade. While there, he runs into some of the other moms in he and his ex-wife’s social circle. They tell him of this Glamping event that they were going to invite his daughter to but it was a mother/daughter thing. But he doesn’t want his daughter missing out on anything so he says he’ll take her. For those not in the know Glamping is glamorous camping and it tends to cost a heck of a lot more than regular camping. Well, he learns that it is going to cost somewhere around 3000 dollars to take his daughter. And he struggles to tell her no. He goes to his step-dad once again for advice and receives some good advice about being the tough parent but ultimately can’t be that to his daughter. He takes her on the trip anyway. Where did he get the money? You guessed it, he sold the authentic Jordan basketball card worth a lot of money. He tells his step-dad who tells him that he is fine with it having been sold because he got 14 the card to bring joy. Current Alex selling the card was just a way for him to bring joy to his little girl. It’s all very sweet.

"Retiree" holding card, and Governor brother

Retiree gets let down a little when his daughter cancels their resuscitated tradition of pop-a-shot at the local arcade. Only in recent years has he had time to resurrect the tradition and wants to do it again, but she has to work in Chicago on his birthday. So he mopes around for a little while, visiting Corky’s only to not see Eleanor who has taken the day off to celebrate her recent engagement. He even talks to his brother the governor who forgot it was his birthday. But the show ends with the adult Abby and the governor joining Retiree in the same arcade to do some pop-a-shot only after Abby procured a signed Michael Jordan rookie basketball card from the Bulls organization to replace the one he sold—a story she only heard from her grandpa once she was in college.

What’s my grade? I give it an A-. Oh yeah! Big time! The way I grade stuff is not always on the right edge of what the national zeitgeist likes. I can’t remember what I gave This Is Us last year (it wasn’t a bad score, but it certainly wasn’t equal to what people view it as now: a beloved show) but I did think that the show was good off the bat.

I mention This Is Us because this, to me, feels very much like CBS’s answer to that show. Yes, it is a comedy with very little, if any, drama like This Is Us. And yes it, at times, does have the feel of something filmed on a set rather than in real-life locations like This Is Us, but it is unlike most things on TV save for This Is Us. It’s actually funny, has a heartwarming message every episode, is definitely a family show so far (though the later time makes me think that later episodes could get racier) and appeals to literally all ages. You’re a retiree? You should be able to relate to the older Alex. You’re trying to struggle through getting older and not being where you want to be in your career? The current Alex is for you. You’re just a kid trying to survive the jungle that is middle and high school? Then we’ve got 14 for you. But even on top of that, it shows (and here’s the big kicker) positive male models. Frankly, even in This Is Us we get the cliché of an alcoholic father, a narcissistic male actor, and an overly anxious guy who has to turn to his wife for every little decision in his life. Here, we actually get a legitimate dad who is not the bumbling oaf of so many comedies, is there with helping words and a friendly smile whenever you need advice and loves his kid(s). We get this both in the step-dad and in Alex’s two adult father characters. It’s refreshing.

So why then are other critics not liking this show? Honestly, I don’t know. One of the only big flaws I could see is that maybe this actually could’ve been an hour long comedy-drama slightly more similar to This Is Us or Parenthood. It is a single-cam comedy which is not usually CBS’s style (they still go with the studio audiences), but I don’t find that to be a huge drawback. I think the acting is solid but maybe it’s a little too syrupy for people whereas This Is Us is more raw and gut-twisting? And I can also see a few critics crying sexism because this is very much a show centered around a white guy where the women are, for the most part, non-existent. We have yet to see Alex’s mother in the current timeline, though we’ve seen his father twice. His ex-wife was a cheater and Retiree’s Eleanor was not going to be his, so they are all sort of shown in a bad light, but I still find this show to be very good. And it’s strange because I thought I was going to hate this show which is why I took my time to finally watch it. I also thought I’d hate the fact that none of the actors look related in any way, let alone like they are supposed to be the same person at different ages. But I would say that this is the early season’s best new addition.

Should you be watching? Yes. All comedy is subjective and you might not find a single thing funny on the show nor like the saccharine nature of the show’s sentimentality which plays out slightly more heavy-handed than This Is Us, but I would say that if you like that show or Parenthood, then at least give this comedy a three-episode shot yourself and see what you think. Me, Myself and I airs on CBS Mondays at 9:30pm. Also catch it on CBS on Demand and CBS All Access.

What do you think? Have you heard of Me, Myself and I? If you haven’t, do you think you’ll tune in for an episode now? If you have heard of it, have you seen it? Do you like it? What improvements do you think it could make? Which Alex do you best identify with? And do you think that retiree Alex still has a shot with Eleanor or is it finally time for him to let that undying love go? Let me know in the comments below.

Check out my 5-star comedy novel, Yep, I'm Totally Stalking My Ex-Boyfriend. #AhStalking If you’re looking for a scare, check the YA novel #AFuriousWind, the NA novel #DARKER, #BrandNewHome or the bizarre horror #ThePowerOfTen. For those interested in something a little more dramatic and adult, check out #TheWriter. Seasons 1, 2 and 3 are out NOW, exclusively on Amazon. Stay connected here for updates on season 4 coming summer 2018. If you like fast action/crime check out #ADangerousLow. The sequel A New Low will be out in a few months. Look for the mysterious Sci-fi episodic novella series Extraordinary on Amazon. Season 2 of that coming real soon. And look for the mystery novels The Knowledge of Fear #KnowFear and The Man on the Roof #TMOTR coming this fall/winter. Twisty novels as good as Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train, you won’t want to miss them. Join us on Goodreads to talk about books and TV, and subscribe to and follow my blog with that Google+ button to the right.

Until next time, “Well, I think we should rescue the princess but first we should—”

‘Nobody asked your opinion No-balls McGee!’

P.S. Seriously, I would love to be in some of these Hollywood exec meetings. First we had the Baywatch movie where the producers decided not to feature any hot, steamy nudity from its stars (male or female), now we’ve got the black kid being called One Nut. Somebody actively sat around and said, “Well, he’s black, looks nerdy, looks short and already wears glasses but is that enough for kids to pick on him? Ooo, I know. (sinister voice) Give him one nut. Bwahahaha!

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