Center of the Universe

Press coverage of this would have the average reader thinking this show is disastrously bad. This is unfair to the very strong cast. If anything, in fact, the cast is TOO strong. There's no reason in the world Ed Asner and Olympia Dukakis were hired to play the main character's parents--neither of their roles ever rise above standard sitcom clichés. The same is true for all of the regular cast. The situations, plots, and laugh lines might be more attractive if they didn't look so shopworn and threadbare next to the sterling cast list.

None of this means the show isn't watchable--it is. The network probably wonders why they're shelling out so much money for all those Emmy- and Oscar-winners, though, since a cast of nobodies would probably make just as good a show.