October 20, 2007

TV: Samantha Who? (ABC, Monday 9:30/8:30)

Christina Applegate stars as Samantha Newly, who comes out of an 8-day coma with no memory of her friends and family, and no idea who she is. Much to her horror, she begins to realize that the pre-coma Sam was a nasty piece of work who no one really liked. Pretty odd setup for a comedy, and despite the talents of the cast, the pilot sets up the story with a number of glaring plot holes that send the show crashing to the ground.

Sam is surrounded by a large group of family and friends. Dena (Melissa McCarthy), is the sweet, lovable one who's been visiting Sam in the hospital every day, and Andrea (Jennifer Esposito) is the cold-hearted cynic who was Sam's best friend. There's her boyfriend, Todd (Barry Watson), who is a bit unnerved by having this woman, now a stranger, move back in with him. Jean Smart and Kevin Dunn are on hand as Sam's parents.

It's a solid cast, and they do fine work here. Applegate is very funny, both as the puzzled post-coma Sam and (in flashbacks) as the nasty, sharp-tongued pre-coma version. McCarthy and Watson are both immensely likable; Esposito delivers Andrea's insults with great enthusiasm; and Smart continues to be TV's finest actresses.

But so much doesn't make sense. Why would a guy as nice as Todd have been involved with someone as hateful as pre-coma Sam? Why does Dena show up at the hospital every day, when it turns out they haven't really been friends since junior high? Why does post-coma Sam, who wants to be a better person, continue to spend time with Dena? For that matter, why does post-coma Sam want so much to be a better person? Does amnesia usually bring with it a radical personality change? Samantha Who? is so badly flawed a concept that it can't be recommended.

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