Each week, I take a look back at a pilot from the 2010-11 season, first reviewed on my blog during that season. This week, I am looking at FOX's two season comedy Breaking In!
The Details:
Premiered: April 6, 2011 on FOX
Starring: Bret Harrison, Odette Annable, Trevor Moore, Alphonso McAuley and Christian Slater
Created by: Adam F. Goldberg & Seth Gordon
What I Thought Then:
"It sounds like a unique premise but the pilot was just a big mess."
"They are trying too hard and nothing was working. The pilot felt disorganized."
"The most intriguing part of the pilot (the actual breaking in of places) was glossed over."
"Christian Slater could have had a great character as the leader Oz, but it's not written well and he does little to elevate it."
What Others Said:
"With its debonair, jump-cut editing, Breaking In is a vigorously original, joke-packed bit of fun that could develop into something special." - Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly
"The pace is so fast that, like a good party, you might forget everything that's happened even before it's over. That's the sign of top-notch disposable entertainment." - Paige Wiser, Chicago Sun-Times
"It's a happy mix, a breezy playful half-hour that has the potential to open up into something special. Only time will tell if Breaking in can break out." - Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe
"It's a strange little show. A light-hearted half-hour caper that purports to be a comedy but isn't really that funny." - Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A mediocre, plastic, utterly false new comedy... a series that just happens to be built around an all-powerful alpha male jerkwad-type of character." - Matt Zoller Seitz, Salon
What I Think Now:
This was a show where I liked the premise but not the execution. I thought the cold open was pretty intriguing and set up an interesting dynamic for a show with good performances from both Bret Harrison and Christian Slater. But then the main show started and it lost its momentum. This was from the How I Met Your Mother era where the flashbacks were incessant. Mother always did it well but I get tired of it easily in other shows. It almost felt cheap here like they couldn't tell a joke in the present so they had to show it in a five to ten second flashback. The show took way too long getting the Harrison character acclimated to the team and introducing the other team members. I feel like we could have easily jumped into the "case of the week" and introduce the team members as we go along in the same way a drama procedural would. It would have worked fine here, we could have understood these characters without so much twiddling thumbs. Then maybe they could have had a more interesting and involved mission that would have made the episode stronger.
What Happened to the Show:
Breaking In was the last of the comedies to premiere on FOX in the 2010-11 season. They only had one mild success story with Raising Hope so they gave Breaking In a chance to succeed by airing it after American Idol, still a dominant ratings force at the time. However, airing comedies at 9:30pm after a ninety minute Idol had a mixed track record at best and the show did not get good reviews (54 on Metacritic). The show aired seven episodes in April and May and then it was cancelled at the end of the season. However, a few days later it was reported that FOX might change course after negotiations with the always persistent Sony Pictures Television even though it wasn't a situation where fans were uprising. In August 2011, the show got a surprising reprieve with a second season order. It premiered in March 2012 with a large cast overhaul that saw several cast members depart and Megan Mullally and Eric Roberts join the cast. The show aired as part of a Tuesday comedy block after New Girl and there was absolutely no interest from a ratings standpoint. The second season only aired five episodes before it was pulled from the air. FOX cancelled the show, for good this time, in May 2012. Christian Slater, who was coming off the failed My Own Worst Enemy before this, would go on to another failed network show in Mind Games before finding success with Mr. Robot on USA while creator Adam F. Goldberg moved on to a long run with The Goldbergs.
Final Episode: April 3, 2012
Episode Count: 12 + 8 unaired
Where to Watch: Tubi, available for purchase on DVD
I'm excited to be contributing to The TV Ratings Guide! You can read my regular work at Benjamonster's TV!
