A Disastrous "Big Day"

I'm a writer: I understand that there are no truly "new" story ideas in the world. I also understand how hard it is to get from "idea" to execution--that there's many a slip between the cup and lip.

But I still wonder how shows as awful as last night's Big Day, another "real-time" show about the day of a wedding, got on the air.

I mean, I watch these half-hour sitcoms and think, "Shouldn't some of the jokes be funny just by accident? Couldn't someone have come up with something funny just off-the-cuff during the read-through?" There wasn't a single fresh joke or situation in the whole thing. (And please. Can we let the whole hackneyed closeted-gay-guy-in-love-with-a-straight-guy storyline just...die?)

And what about the casting? I watch shows like My Name is Earl--flawlessly, perfectly cast! Have others noticed how Joy's hair is completely, wildly different in every episode, and no mention is ever made of it?--and I know it's possible to find the right actors for even hard-to-cast parts. So what excuse do the producers of Big Day have? Why was there no chemistry between the actors? Why did they all seem so dull?

This is a bitchy post. I apologize. Then again, it is a terrible show.