Starring: Michael Rosenbaum, Sara Rue, David Rasche, Mircea Monroe, Mike Kosinski
So, TVLand hasn’t really made a lot of shows I’ve been interested in watching. I never got into Hot In Cleveland, and several failed attempts at recreating that magic (Kirstie, Happily Divorced, Jennifer Falls) were unmemorable. I recently caught an episode of Younger, and that was pretty good. Impastor is another strong step in the right direction. It’s in line more of where comedy is heading, instead of where its been. Throwback sitcoms are fine when done well, but they’re so hard to do. It’s better to try and stick with the current times.
Michael Rosenbaum is a solid lead actor. He’s been around long enough now that he’s really mastered his persona on screen. Sarcastic, snarky, not totally likeable, but just likeable enough to be a lead. As Buddy Dobbs, he plays a man in dangerous debt who is given a second chance… to live his life as a gay pastor in a small town in the middle of nowhere. So, he takes the chance, and heads off to reinvent himself.
His supporting cast really doesn’t feature any standouts yet. I’ve been impressed previously by both David Rasche and Sara Rue, so hopefully they’ll get better material in the future. Rue, especially, is a lot funnier than her material in the pilot.
My problem with the pilot exists in the ending. There’s literally no way his bookies would have found him that quickly. He never called home. He didn’t get his picture taken for anything. The police thought he was dead. His girlfriend thinks he’s dead. There was no “uh oh, you probably shouldn’t do that” moment that would lead to them showing up. Ruined it for me.
So, I’m gonna give Impastor a little bit of a chance for redemption. It’s lucky it’s on in the summer, because if it was up against a flood of much better programming, I’d let it go. I think it’s a nice step in the right direction for the directionless TV Land, but it still needs some TLC. Let Sara Rue free!
FINAL GRADE: B-
