"Do Not Disturb" Disappoints, Despite Novel Gay Character

Higginbotham’s motivations are commendable, and in some ways, Larry is a refreshing change for gay characters on television. But in the pilot that was made available for preview, he’s so grumpy as to come across as thoroughly unpleasant. He’s a little easier to take in tonight’s episode. (Note: Fox has apparently done extensive reshootings on the show, and the pilot may or may not be shown at some future date.)

In tonight’s episode, one of the characters at the hotel has been anonymously fingered in a magazine article as being a sexually compulsive person who is bedding visitors to the hotel. It might turn out to be the person you least expect, but the “big reveal” at the end of the episode makes almost no sense, given what we already know about the character in question as well as what we learn in later episodes. It’s a cheap gag, nothing more.

Meanwhile, Larry’s subplot involves his realization that, because he’s in a long-term relationship, people no longer see him as a sexual being.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson in Do Not Disturb

“Five years with Victor has turned me from a man about town to a Bravo-watching houseplant,” Larry moans. Some mildly amusing complications ensue.

It’s refreshing to have a gay character be so open about who he is, and have his sexuality not be an element of “controversy” or discomfort for the straight characters — or for himself.

For Higginbotham, Larry’s being "married" (the couple are actually partners and aren't yet legally married) is what makes him so interesting. “Marriage for gay men is as complicated as it is for straight people,” he says. “And he’s grumpy [because] he’s frustrated at home.”

Which is an interesting take. It’s too bad that everything Larry and all the other characters say is such standard sitcom fare: lots of insult humor, repeated semi-risqué sexual situations, and very obvious set-up/punchline-type jokes. I didn’t laugh, or even smile, one time the whole episode.

Two things do stand out in this show. First, Ferguson is an appealing actor and, with much better material, might be someone to watch. Higginbotham promises a future episode dealing with the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York that sounds interesting.

Photo credit: Will Raggozino/Getty Images

“He’s going to have to answer his fears about his relationship,” Higginbotham says. “And his ambivalence is going to have to be like, ‘I don’t know what to do!’ And that’s the truth of it I think for so many people. Many people are like, ‘Oh, my God. I can’t wait.’ The truth of other people is, ‘Oh, shit. Now I have to answer all these questions about my relationship that I never thought that I would have to answer.’”

The second interesting thing about the show is Niecy Nash, who has a great comic presence (though, again, very little to work with here). The scenes that she shares with Jerry O’Connell are particularly interesting because O’Connell has almost no presence whatsoever. And someone needs to turn down the stage-lights, because he’s so obviously sweating.

It’s also worth noting that Do Not Disturb is appearing on Fox, which has taken some much-deserved heat lately for its lack of gay-inclusive programming; it lost its only regular gay character last year when The War at Home was cancelled.

“They love this character, and they love Jesse and everybody’s on board with that,” Higginbotham says of his network. “Larry was in the original pitch. And Larry was in the original pitch as is. He’s not a character I got a lot of notes on. It wasn’t like, ‘Could you make him less this? Could you make him more that?’ It was just finding the right actor to play the role I wanted to write.”

Do Not Disturb airs Wednesdays at 9:30 PM on Fox