LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A classic comedy if everthere was one, "Welcome to the Captain," with itsdinner-theat
er characters and traditional boy-meets-girlromance, has a wide, multigenerational appeal. It's not clearwhether it has something blue, but this single-camera sitcomfrom John Hamburg definitely has something old, new andborrowed.
Inserted in the midst of the CBS Monday night comedy block,the show brings a light heart and a deft comedic touch to bearon the foibles and stereotypes of Hollywood. Considering thepresent state of the industry, the timing couldn't be better.
Something new is Fran Kranz, who plays Josh Flug, a youngwriter whose short film won an Oscar five years ago but who hasaccomplished little since then. His girlfriend broke up withhim, and he's ready to return to New York. However, his formercollege roommate, Marty (Chris Klein), a womanizing businessmanager, urges him to try once more, starting with new digs atthe fabled and fabulous El Capitan.
There, he meets the warmest and wackiest group of residentssince "Hot L Baltimore." Among them are terrific charactersplayed by veterans Jeffrey Tambor (Uncle Saul, the buildingyenta who lives off writing residuals from "Three's Company")and Raquel Welch (as local femme fatale Charlene), who canstill make hearts skip beats.
Competing with them to steal each scene is Al Madrigal, whoplays doorman/desk clerk Jesus (pronounced the English, notSpanish, way).
What's borrowed is the locale. Standing in for the hulkingEl Capitan (called "The Captain" by residents) is the El RoyaleApartments, a showbiz legend on Rossmore Avenue that, at onetime or another, housed Clark Gable, Loretta Young and JudyHolliday as well as Ben Stiller, Nicolas Cage and Cameron Diaz.
In the opener, Josh meets aspiring acupuncturist Hope,played by Joanna Garcia, whose skills as a comedic actress haveprogressed nicely since her stint as Cheyenne, the daughter on"Reba." Hope has a boyfriend and plans to move back to NewYork, but we know better. The Josh-Hope romance becomes thecenter of this mildly absurd but sweetly conventional comedy.
Hamburg's script is not a laugh riot, but it has a nice,gentle rhythm that feels right for this good-natured show, hipin tone but traditional in spirit. Production design and setdecor are so good you can practically smell the carpet andcleaning supplies. It's not at all hard to feel welcome at theCaptain.
Cast:
Josh Flug: Fran Kranz
Marty Tanner: Chris Klein
Uncle Saul: Jeffrey Tambor
Jesus: Al Madrigal
Charlene: Raquel Welch
Hope: Joanna Garcia
Astrid: Valerie Azlynn
Brad: Michael Weston
Claire: Christine Woods
Executive producers: John Hamburg, Andrew Reich, Ted Cohen;Co-executive producers: Liz Astrof, Sherry Bilsing, TuckerCawley, Ellen Plummer; Co-producer: Anders Bard;Director-creator-teleplay: John Hamburg; Director ofphotography: Michael Barrett; Production designer: Jeff Knipp;Editors: Dan Schalk; Composer: Tree Adams; Set designer: MaggieMartin; Casting: Anya Colloff, Amy McIntyre Britt.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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