TV Review: 'Undateable' Season 1 Episode 1 Premiere Recap

The latest show from "Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence "Undateable" follows a group of friends and their relationship woes. It's a lot like "Friends" if the friends were a lot more awkward and not quite as pretty.

The series stars a mix of unknowns and people you vaguely remember from other shows.

Chris D'Elia who co-starred in "Whitney" nominally headlines the cast co-starring with Brent Morin, Ron Funches, Rick Glassman, and David Fynn from "Game of Thrones") along with Bianca Kajlich from "Rules of Engagement." The first episode follows the typical path of most pilots introducing the characters and trying to not be overtly clumsy while doing so.

D'Leia plays Danny, a surprisingly unique character.

He's part sad sack because he can't find a real relationship but he's also cool and confident enough to score plenty of temporary ones (a fact introduced as his sister teases him about a bra found on his couch while he laments how most of his friends are married).

The jokes are a little forced and the laugh track is grating but the underlying characters suggest the show has some potential. The pilot follows Danny as he seeks out a new roommate having lost his previous one to marriage.

Danny and his potential new roommate (Justin) meet at the bar (Black Eyes which is a source of jokes which seem like they will grow tired pretty quickly) the roommate manages.

The bar is clearly designed to be the coffee shop/office stand-in location that gives the show's group of friends a reason to hang out.

It's also the place where Danny meets Nicki a pretty bartender clearly destine to set-up some will they or won't they tension.

The Justin character is a little cartoony -- he doesn't feel like a real person more a TV idea of an awkward fellow.

the pilot in general suffers from too many jokes that don;t feel like dialogue but that's typical for a first episode and should (hopefully) smooth out as the series moves forward.

The episode establishes that Danny is the cool guy while Justin is the hapless (but likable) dork.

The characters are very broad and will need to be turned into actual people but the core group seems likable enough that they might congeal into a competent cast.

The rest of the group of friends is a little too much like the peripheral characters on Big Bang Theory" -- broad caricatures of geeks instead of real ones.
The bit where Justin hooks up with Danny's sister Leslie was mildly amusing and adds some complication to the show's otherwise pat love dynamic.

Clearly the producers need to decide that maybe every character should not be telling jokes but otherwise the pilot was decent and established that "Undateable" might be worth watching.

The opening episode was raw and tough-to-watch at times but there was something appealing about it if you ignored the rough spots.