Danger Zone. Spoiler Free Advance Review: Growing Up Fisher - “Pilot”

Season 1, Episode 1

Air Date: Sunday, February 23, 2014, 10:30 pm ET/PT on NBC

Rating: ★★★★★

J.K Simmons and Eli Baker

To many, Mel Fisher (J.K Simmons) is a successful lawyer but in the eyes of his son Henry (Eli Baker), whose character is narrated by Executive Producer Jason Bateman, he is a man who can do anything—from riding a bike to chopping down a tree with a chainsaw. What makes this even more impressive is Mel is blind and only his family knows.

Renamed from The Family Guide, Growing Up Fisher is a cute show about family and dealing with changes. Newly divorced Mel finally realizes he can’t keep pretending he can see and needs to get a guide dog. This is also an adjustment for Henry who feels like he is being replaced after several years of being his fathers’ eyes.

Jenna Elfman, Eli Baker and Ava Deluca-Verley

Overall, I enjoyed Growing Up Fisher as it is a very family friendly series. The tone of the show seems to be more in line with The Brady Bunch rather than some of today’s edgier comedies. Some might actually find this new series a bit too bland for their taste; even Mel’s divorce is one of the most amicable ones you will ever see on TV. There are, however, some comments about “boobs” and talk about girls but nothing that should cause real concern for parents.

A possible problem for Growing Up Fisher is the subject matter — blindness. Unlike the recently canceled The Michael J Fox Show, which lightly addressed Fox’s Parkinson’s disease, Fisher’s blindness is front and center and the source of many comedic moments. This approach will surely rub some people the wrong way as there are some uncomfortable scenes where I wasn’t sure if I should laugh. Bit after bit involves putting Simmons in odd situations that would be boring if he weren’t playing a blind man, like the aforementioned chopping down a tree.

The series is based on the childhood of the show’s creator DJ Nash, whose father went blind when he was 11 years old and hid his condition from those outside the family. Much of the success for Growing Up Fisher will depend on how convincingly Simmons portrays a blind man. Sadly, I had difficultly believing it, although not for the usual reasons one would expect.

J.K Simmons

There are other shows where someone who can see plays someone who can’t; Christopher Gorham’s role on Covert Affairs comes to mind. While Simmons does a good job pretending to be blind, his numerous commercials for Farmers Insurance make it difficult to believe. In fact, chances are you will see at least one of those commercials during the “Pilot.” It is hard to suspend disbelief when you are constantly reminded Simmons isn’t visually challenged. I found it ironic that the second episode, “Now You See, Now You Don’t,” deals with the topic of how wrong it is to pretend to be blind.

Two pilot episodes were actually made, both directed by Friends star David Schwimmer. Joining Baker and Simmons was Parker Posey as Mel’s divorced wife Joyce. I’m not sure whether it was Posey or the writing, but her character was awful to watch. Thankfully, she was replaced by Jenna Elfman and the scenes with Joyce were reshot. After having seen both versions, I believe the right choice was made.

Take away all of that and Growing Up Fisher is enjoyable enough to check out. Mel’s visual situation, or lack thereof, plays a big part in the first two episodes, and I hope once the blindness is established enough for the audience, the writers will ease off the blind jokes. The real theme for Growing Up Fisher is the relationship between a father and son as they each adapt to their new situation.

Tune in to the series premiere of Growing Up Fisher following the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics, Sunday, February 23, 2014, 10:30 pm ET/PT, only on NBC. The show will move to its regular timeslot on Tuesday, February 25, 2014 at 9:30/8:30c.

For more information on Growing Up Fisher, visit the official website.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.