What I’m Watching: How to Be a Gentleman

How to Be a Gentleman: Season 1, Episodes 4 & 5 “How To Share a Relationship” & “How to Be Draft Andrew” (B)

This show’s return after its swift cancellation back in October after three episodes comes as a complete but entirely welcome surprise. I was always fond of this show while most were not, and I very much enjoyed seeing two characters I didn’t know I missed back with new adventures. Andrew playing the boyfriend while Bert got all the action was an amusing and logical setup, and I like how terribly Bert failed at doing the boyfriend stuff when he actually tried to put in the effort. The second installment was quite funny, as Bert’s brash solution to Andrew’s confrontation issues was to forward out a legion of draft e-mails written in the heat of the moment and never intended to be sent. Jerry’s demotion was probably the most amusing consequence, though I enjoyed Janet’s attempt to express interest in Andrew’s problems without much success. In many ways, this show is (feels wrong to use the past tense when it’s continuing to air new episodes) an unexceptional comedy, yet it’s a good fit for CBS’ brand, which still incorporates laugh tracks despite a general move away from that on most other networks. The decision to air the remaining episodes, or some of them at least, is a nice treat for a slow transition from spring to summer which doesn’t boast much original television, especially on the broadcast networks. I’ll look forward to seeing more of Andrew and Bert in their half-decent plotlines over the next couple of weeks in the show’s new Saturday night time slot.