Introduction:

I am going to be honest with you. I started watching this series because Matthew Perry is in it. Chandler is my favorite character in F.R.I.E.N.D.S and I was very happy to see Matthew Perry make a return to the small screen. This return couldn’t have come at a better time. I had grown bored with the sitcoms that had been thrown out at us. I never liked Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory just wasn’t doing it for me anymore. I can still enjoy Modern Family, but I do think that it isn’t as strong as it used to be. Why did this make me so excited to see Matthew Perry star in a new sitcom? Even if the show was going to be average at best, I would watch Go On just to see Matthew Perry. The good thing was that the star wasn’t the only thing that drew me in. The concept of revolving around a support group seemed pretty interesting. I was concerned about how they would handle that until I read about the focus on drama in the series. Oh well, time to talk about what actually happened.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary:

We all have had to deal with some sort of loss in our lives. This could range from losing a video game that you really liked to losing someone close to you. Events like this leave a void in our lives. How we choose to deal with loss and the amount of time it takes to move on can be as dissimilar as the varying types of losses themselves. “It takes a village to raise a family.” That is a pretty good saying. I would also argue that it takes a village to attack adversity in general. Well, that is the basis of our story. Ryan has spent the past month away from his job as a sports radio host in order to get over something pretty big. His wife died. Ryan really wants to get back to work, but his boss insists that it is too soon for things to go back to normal. Thus, Ryan is forced to go to group therapy in order to help deal with all of the emotions that he is obviously bottling up. The problem with is the stigma that therapy has had for quite a while. The only people who attend therapy are either crazy or prescription junkies after a quick fix. This stems from the fact that we have yet to truly understand the human mind which has resulted in a somewhat flawed science being in charge of things. I only call it flawed because the human mind is so complex that it is tough to imagine that we will develop a standard for treating it. Back on topic. Ryan approaches the therapy cautiously and basically treats it like a joke. However, as is the case with  most arrogant characters in a drama, they realize just how much they need others. Ryan becomes the newest member of a group for dealing with loss and the story proceeds from there. We meet the many members of the group and watch everyone try to grow and move on from the losses that they have experienced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Characters:

They use quite a few recurring characters in this series. We get to see a few of Ryan’s coworkers and the entire therapy group featured at some point in time and I think that everyone was developed quite well. Matthew Perry plays Ryan. Ryan is a sports radio host that lost his wife to a car accident. He is quite the arrogant individual and this leads to Ryan having some pretty strained relationships in the beginning. John Cho plays Steven. Steven is Ryan’s best friend and the producer of his sports radio show. Although he is not a member of the therapy group, we get to see Steven a lot. He is that character that means well, but always goes a little too far when trying to help out. Allison Miller plays Carrie. Carrie is Ryan’s assistant and that means Ryan will rely on her for way more than what is a part of her job description. Carrie is the most conventionally normal character in the show. Laura Benati plays Lauren. Lauren is the leader of the therapy group that Ryan attends. Although she does good work, Lauren has no actual qualifications in terms of psychology. She was a motivational speaker that was hired due to her success on the Weight Watchers diet. I don’t hate Lauren, but she is one of those people who are way too happy and emotional. Julie White plays Anne. Anne is my favorite character in the series. She is a prosecutor that lost her wife to a heart condition. Anne is the person that stands up to Ryan throughout the series. She is a very angry person and her sass really adds a lot to the show. Brett Gelman plays Mr. K. I have no idea what Mr. K lost, unless it was his mind, because all we have gotten out has been crazy. His character is basically meant to represent everything that people find creepy. Be it a creepy fetish or something illegal, Mr. K is into it. Suzy Nakamura plays Yolanda. Yolanda is the teacher’s pet in the group. She is dealing with being left at the altar, but her prudish and clingy personality may have been what got that ball rolling. Sarah Baker plays Sonia. Sonia is the crazy cat lady that, you guessed it, is dealing with the loss of her cat. Her character seems odd because she is a very confident individual. However, Sonia is kind of socially awkward and it has been far too long to still be dealing with the loss of a cat. I picked out the characters that we see the most, but there are others that do play a bi role. We have a few other group members, including Owen who is played by Tyler James Williams from Everybody Hates Chris. We also get to see a lot of guest stars throughout the series. Sports icons like Terrell Owens show up which I enjoyed because I am a sports fan. Of course, we get to see the reunion of Chandler and Monica when we get that great appearance. Overall, the cast is very strong and we get enough well written characters to keep things interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impression:

I was really blown away by Go On. I have been waiting for a comedy with some actual depth and character development and that is what this series gave us. Over the course of twenty-two episodes, we get to watch a group of people grow in the attempt to get past horrible losses. How would you feel if you lost your spouse? Not good from what I can tell. That is the most common loss that the group members face and I think it is set up that way in order to have the most impact. I don’t remember the last time that I cared this much about so many characters. The writing was spectacular in this regard. The ways in which these people cope with everything that is going on in their lives is comedic, but also believable. I think that is where they try to capture the audience. We all deal with loss and these characters are meant to be relatable. On the other hand, I found the comedy to be very nice as well. There are laughs to be had even if you aren’t a Matthew Perry fan. Given, people who do not like Matthew Perry are not friends of mine. He is one of those actors that gives you what you expect. His style is something that fans of F.R.I.E.N.D.S should be familiar with. There has to be quality acting for people to pull off all of these different personalities, but I would once again like to tip my hat to the writers. I definitely think that they are this show’s biggest strength. I was only really bothered by one character, but that is mostly due to a personal bias of mine. I don’t like people who act like Danny. His character refuses to leave his wife even though she is actively cheating on him and there is nothing tangible that is holding him to her. They don’t have kids or anything like that, so I always felt angry when he got screen time. I will admit that his type isn’t completely uncommon and that is why I will let it slide. Overall, I haven’t enjoyed a comedy in a while and that made Go On a very important part of my week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Say:

Go On is the kind of series that we desperately need. A comedy that doesn’t rely on sex, drugs, and alcohol to capture an audience. I am not being prudish when I talk like that. I just see quick laughs and scantily clad women being used as an excuse to let writing take a back seat when developing a show. Unfortunately, not everyone shares that train of thought. The series opened with over sixteen million viewers, but that quickly dropped with low of barely over two million. There was even a scheduling change which is almost never good. The first season is over and the show is stuck in limbo. There is no news regarding a second season at this time and NBC has a bad track record when it comes to keeping its shows around. I just hope that quality wins out and we get to see more of Ryan and the gang. You can catch the series on Hulu and the NBC website if you are interested in checking it out because I don’t think that they have scheduled any reruns to be aired in the near future. This series brought a lot to my Tuesday nights and I definitely recommend Go On to anyone that is looking for a comedy with some real depth to it.