I'm giving this 2 more stars than I probably should, simply because when this show hits the mark there's nothing else like it. It's too bad it didn't run for more than 13 episodes; then again I can see why it failed to find a large audience - or even consistently appeal to the audience that it found.
JK Simmons has an incredible amount of charisma, even though he doesn't have the classic "pretty boy" good looks of a lot of male stars. He makes the most of it here. All of the actors are very good, especially the one who plays the son (i.e. He's supposed to be the narrator).
Although the series starts out with the blind attorney doing amazing things - most people don't even realize he's blind - they somewhat drop or reduce this premise as the series moves along. I wish they'd stayed with it. Sure it wasn't entirely realistic, but it's a comedy.
In fact, a lack of continuity is a big problem in the show. At the end of the first episode, Mel Fisher says he's going to build a pool for his family, but there's no follow-up of building the pool in later episodes. And as I mentioned, his "superpower" of being aware of things around him despite being blind seems to diminish a bit over the episodes. He meets an attractive female neighbor at one point, they seem to hit it off, but then she's gone for a few episodes. They may have had multiple writers for this show, but they should have at least had an overall guide to keep things more consistent. Maybe the show was rushed into production.
I disagree with a couple of comments regarding Jenna Elfman's character being too young to believably be married to Fisher (Simmons). Simmons was 59 at the time, Elfman was 42, sure that's a big gap. And presumably they married at ages 40 and 23, something like that (based on the daughter's age). But when you realize that Elfman's character is flighty and unsure of herself, it becomes more believable that she'd marry the charismatic and wise older man for stability.
You could even go a step further and imagine that since she's a very attractive woman, she had gotten a lot of attention from men just for her looks. With Mel being blind, she got attention simply for her personality, which may have been important for her at that point in her life.
It's also more believable that she'd divorce him, with her flighty personality and now that she's become middle aged (but now with a man pushing 60, despite his still-strong charisma). And yes, maybe Elfman looks younger than 42, while Simmons looks fully 59, but when you know the actors true ages and understand the characters, it makes sense well enough to enjoy.
Bottom line, this series was great in concept, but ultimately fell apart due to some weak scripts along the way. As well as a lot of inconsistency. Not entirely a missed opportunity though; this show is very rewarding in its own right, it's just that it could have been incredible. Definitely worth a look if you are considering it.
JK Simmons has an incredible amount of charisma, even though he doesn't have the classic "pretty boy" good looks of a lot of male stars. He makes the most of it here. All of the actors are very good, especially the one who plays the son (i.e. He's supposed to be the narrator).
Although the series starts out with the blind attorney doing amazing things - most people don't even realize he's blind - they somewhat drop or reduce this premise as the series moves along. I wish they'd stayed with it. Sure it wasn't entirely realistic, but it's a comedy.
In fact, a lack of continuity is a big problem in the show. At the end of the first episode, Mel Fisher says he's going to build a pool for his family, but there's no follow-up of building the pool in later episodes. And as I mentioned, his "superpower" of being aware of things around him despite being blind seems to diminish a bit over the episodes. He meets an attractive female neighbor at one point, they seem to hit it off, but then she's gone for a few episodes. They may have had multiple writers for this show, but they should have at least had an overall guide to keep things more consistent. Maybe the show was rushed into production.
I disagree with a couple of comments regarding Jenna Elfman's character being too young to believably be married to Fisher (Simmons). Simmons was 59 at the time, Elfman was 42, sure that's a big gap. And presumably they married at ages 40 and 23, something like that (based on the daughter's age). But when you realize that Elfman's character is flighty and unsure of herself, it becomes more believable that she'd marry the charismatic and wise older man for stability.
You could even go a step further and imagine that since she's a very attractive woman, she had gotten a lot of attention from men just for her looks. With Mel being blind, she got attention simply for her personality, which may have been important for her at that point in her life.
It's also more believable that she'd divorce him, with her flighty personality and now that she's become middle aged (but now with a man pushing 60, despite his still-strong charisma). And yes, maybe Elfman looks younger than 42, while Simmons looks fully 59, but when you know the actors true ages and understand the characters, it makes sense well enough to enjoy.
Bottom line, this series was great in concept, but ultimately fell apart due to some weak scripts along the way. As well as a lot of inconsistency. Not entirely a missed opportunity though; this show is very rewarding in its own right, it's just that it could have been incredible. Definitely worth a look if you are considering it.