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This show is a what were they thinking type bad. Why did they take such a painfully over the top silly approach to this premise. Why not have Kevin act and react similarly to the way an actual kid would react in these situations? Instead they're going for a slap stick comedy for 7 and unders and even for a kid this is an insult to their intelligence. The people behind this project deserve exactly what they get... hopefully they never have another opportunity to work in television or movies again, because they're clearly not good at it. This is literally one of the worst shows I've ever seen.

I read the reviews before hand and I knew they were bad, but I was hoping that since the premise is a fun that I should be able to get some entertainment value out of it even if it's less than ideal, but it's so much worse then I could have ever anticipated. It's not the deal breaker or anything but the kid playing Kevin is an atrociously bad actor, and partially to his defense the script is so bad and silly it would be hard to act decent, but he's even bad for a horrible script.

The kid gets whisked into the portal with arrows flinging at him and he's throwing out one liners and is screaming in an artificial over the top demeanor. He gets back through the door into his room with a person from this place in time and is like, I'm going to go grab my parents and I'm not allowed to have visitors after 7 pm... such stupid nonsense. And his parents are so over the top jackholes... it's as they waited to act this way once they had an audience watching, because Kevin appears to have never experienced his parents being over the top jackholes until this show begins.

I noticed one of the reviews claiming that the hate that the show is getting is because it's different than the movie. That has absolutely nothing to do with it, unless the negative reviewers mean by different that the Kevin from the movie reacts similarly to the way an actual kid would react going through a time portal being whisked into various worlds and stumbling upon various people. This kid is acting and reacting like a bad skit show and the fact that he's so bad at acting is icing on the cake. It's unfortunate because it's such a fun premise that should have been difficult to fail, but they literally couldn't have done any worse. This show fails in every possible way. This has 0 entertainment value. This is awful! It's one of the worst shows ever made. You've been warned.

It's also the highest rated episode until this point in the series and it deserves to be. Impressive feat considering that one of the main central characters doesn't die and/or something potentially tragic or unexpected happens in one of the central storylines. I always wonder how a TV series with rotating directors decides which director gets the lucky break of getting a lead character death episode (maybe it's random, maybe they earn it, etc), I digress. Only point being is this episode pulls it off without having to utilize any of the usual tropes.

I've also watched the series multiple times around, but I've never focused on this show on a per episode basis, but this episode was so excellent I took note and I may try from this point forward. For first time viewers, I recommend the opposite, because truly good shows like this one don't feel episodic as far as the central characters go. The different schmo deaths on an episodic basis is a really cool touch and is obviously episodic, but the central characters journey feels continuous/smooth, which only the best shows pull off. Not easy with multiple writers and directors, it requires a lot of collaboration.

Spoilers Below

And possibly the best moment of the episode is the bike gifted to Nate, which the writers/directors pulled off. I'm curious to know how everything came together. At face value gifting a funeral director a bike doesn't work, so did they have one idea before the other and did they figure out a way to make it fit or did a good idea simply fall into place? It just so happens (or does it) to fall on Christmas Eve where a biker group has lost a loved one and will spend whatever it takes to honor and celebrate their friend. Maybe the person/people paying for it have money to spare or maybe they live each day as it comes and aren't planning for their retirement fund. And once again what funeral home is going to be open on Christmas Eve into Christmas day and the Fishers are no exception, but we'll pay whatever takes makes it happen, which fits in with everything. Nate ends up staying with the group through the night and at one point has a really nice conversation with the widow. So the next day there's an envelope left from the widow with the keys to her deceased husbands bike and it's believable. (earlier in the episode we found out that Nate had a bike for a day but he rolled it and sold it)... so Nate rides off into the sunset... actually not the sunset, perhaps that would have been a little too heavy handed or simply not accurate since Nate is perhaps beginning a new perspective with still a journey ahead.

This is a very big episode. It's essentially the one year anniversary for our introduction to the characters in the show, which makes it Brenda's and Nates anniversary or is it the other way around, which makes it Nathanial Fishers death anniversary.. Brenda finds out about Nate's condition. It could just as easily be the first or last episode of a season. And there are parallels to the first episode of the show... we get to know the father a little better in flashbacks, who we further see his lackadaisical whatever attitude (at the very least in his later years did). I would go so far as to say that he didn't care enough to live each day as though it were his last, because that would require too much planning. He seems to have had similar characteristics to Lester Burnham from American Beauty after Lester has a self realization (to the Laymen Alan Ball wrote that as well). Nathanial Fisher seems like a great guy, but not a great father, especially to Claire (similar to Lester and his daughter Jane), who we find out barely knew her... In a flashback with Nate and Claire. His only acknowledgment towards Claire was, thanks "kid"... very non affectionate and distancing. And it just so happens we see Claire continue and or revert back to seeking a potential relationship with Billy... a bad boy type who needs saving (perhaps it's daddy issues). Poor Claire... with a stranger for a father and a mother like Ruth and her closet brother Nate moving away before moving back (Nate is flawed but for Claire he's probably her best source of guidance). There are certainly worse hands to be dealt, but far from ideal. The show overall maintains what seems like a genuine true to life psychology in it's characters journey's and their storylines, which is certainly apparent in this episode.

This standup makes Brendan Schaubs The Gringo Papi look like a masterpiece.

The whole act is painfully boring and the entire act is loaded with the most cliche observations that were beaten to death 20+ years ago.. Woman shop a lot get it... women pack a lot... get it. Remember back in the day when phones had cords on them. This is horrifically unfunny. I don't know how it's possible for someone to put out something this bad.

It's not a matter of taste, no one found this act funny those people who ranked this act over a 1 have an insane degree of bias in favor of a comedian they like as opposed to a funny comedy act they liked. Even many open micers have some essence of funny even if they're nervous and fumbling the delivery... this is the worst written material of all time. Foxworthy must be mentally ill to be this out of touch with comedy.