"Good Morning, Miami" (2002) TV series 2002-2004

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Creators:

David Kohan
Max Mutchnick

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

26 September 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

He had every reason to go... until came the one reason to stay...

Plot:

A talented young TV producer arrives in Miami to revamp the lowest-rated morning show in the country.

Plot Keywords:

Sitcom

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Constance Zimmer	...	Penelope 'Penny' Barnes Barrington (39 episodes, 2002-2004)
Mark Feuerstein	...	Jake Silver (39 episodes, 2002-2004)
Ashley Williams	...	Dylan Messinger (39 episodes, 2002-2004)
Matt Letscher	...	Gavin Stone (26 episodes, 2002-2004)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

KoMut Entertainment

Trivia:

Heather Locklear was originally offered the role of Victoria Hill, much like her Caitlin Moore role on "Spin City" (1996) for the second season of "Good Morning, Miami" (2002). She said she liked the show, but turned down the role. The part was then given to Tiffani Thiessen.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first season finale, the yellow clipboard Dylan holds in the first few minutes jumps from her hands to her bag during her talk with Jake.

Quotes:

Dylan: Why'd you kiss me back?
Jake: Self defense?

Soundtrack:

Once in a Lifetime

One-note sitcom has nowhere to go

Sitcoms need a workable, believable premise. Ensembles need characters with some depth to play against the premise and each other. The combination of elements leads to comedic combustibility. Well structured, well thought out sitcoms are like fireworks. They have a limited life, but as they explode, they reveal layers of light, color and magic.

"Good Morning, Miami" is a firecracker. Pop, it's gone. In the first episode, a new producer arrives at a failing TV morning show as a candidate to turn it around. (Actually, he just wanted the free ride to Miami to visit his grandmother. He's taking another job.) He meets the show's hairdresser and falls in love. She doesn't know. She's with the male anchor, a recovered substance abuser who credits their relationship with turning around his life.

Okay, a good setup. A great comedic triangle. Except: there's no chemistry between the producer and the hairdresser. At all. His attempts to get her attention generate sympathy for the anchor, who is drawn as the villain vis-a-vis his dismissive attitude toward the producer. Sadly, there's not much more chemistry between the hairdresser and the anchor. (There is unexplored chemistry between the producer and the anchor, but that would be another show.)

The weakest link in the triangle is the hairdresser. There is no character there. She's nice. She's pretty. She's...? Now weeks into the series, we still know nothing substantive about her.

Other characters are broad caricatures of religious people (the weather nun), and Hispanic women (the female anchor). There are also two workers whose functions on the show-within-the-show are as unclear as their functions on the show proper.

The grandmother works, but then, she's been road tested. She's an aged version of Karen Walker from "Will & Grace". We don't see much of her except in some repartee with the grandson-producer. She's like a Greek chorus, commenting on the action but removed from it. Too bad.

Sometimes a show can turn around a few episodes past the pilot. This one has not. It has no idea what it wants to be past getting the designated romantic leads together (which is what every episode is about). It's a lesson that should have been learned from the one-note sitcom "Cursed", or the child who asks at the end of a fairy tale, "and then what happens."