Casey Wilson

CHICAGO – The awesomeness of history loses any of its stuffiness with the incredibly fun, indeed educational show “Drunk History” from Comedy Central, its two seasons now released on DVD. Hosted by its creator Derek Waters, the show is a celebration of various historic figures and their under-appreciated true tales, as expressed by funny people narrating in the universal language of inebriation; their recounts are then reenacted by famous actors working with their given dialogue, dressed with the comic cheapness of a bloated biopic.

CHICAGO – Two comedies that were on the bubble of cancellation just a few months ago are being thrown into the deep end on Tuesday nights by ABC, starting tonight.

CHICAGO – It’s a good thing ABC’s sitcom “Happy Endings” is only 20 minutes, since the frenzied pace of its gags run the risk of exhausting its audience. With so many rapid fire punch-lines bouncing off the screen, one quickly suspects that the perpetually hyper energy level is a sign of desperation. Sampling any given moment from this show could easily repel potential viewers.

CHICAGO – ABC’s new sitcom “Happy Endings” is undeniably yet another “Friends” rip-off, an attempt to make a pal-com about relationships, misunderstandings, and good buddies. I’ve seen enough of these things that I automatically get a bit defensive when they appear on my desk. If you sat through junk like “Traffic Light” and “Perfect Couples,” you would too.

CHICAGO – Has television become so repetitive that it copies itself only four months after the fact? Of course, TV Land’s “Retired at 35,” a new hump day companion for the network’s hit “Hot in Cleveland,” must have been in some sort of production before CBS’s “Sh*t My Dad Says” but they are so similar that one could be forgiven for mistaking the two. And the bigger problem is that neither of them are all that funny.