I am – Hercules!!


A TNT dramedy from “Everybody Loves Raymond” writers Ray Romano and Mike Royce, “Men of a Certain Age” stars Romano, Andre Braugher (“Homicide”) and Scott Bakula (“Star Trek: Enterprise”) as a trio of friends – a party supply store owner, a car salesman and a part-time actor – confronting mid-life crises.

It may be TNT’s best original series to date. I already like it a good deal better than Romano’s long-running laughtrack sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond.” There’s a very dark gag early in the first episode involving a vehicular mishap that makes me want to cut “Certain” a lot of slack.

Braugher is aces as always, and looks far heftier than I remember he did in “The Mist”; unless there are some digital effects or some very convincing prostheses at play, he seems to outeaten Robert DeNiro, packing on a troubling amount of weight to play an unhappy, lethargic, diabetic overeater who finds himself pushed to new levels of frustration. (The series’ storyline appears to bring a new resolve to the character that might keep the actor from killing himself.)

At times the series feels like a middle-aged “Diner” and at other times feels slightly overwritten; the comedy and drama might grow stronger if the project adopted the semi-improvisational approach we saw in “Diner” and still see “Friday Night Lights” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” I laughed hard at something as simple as Romano failing to guess the correct temperature; I’d love to see more of that kind of thing.

I like this show well enough to watch its second and third episodes, even though I really didn’t have to and have a lot of other stuff to review. I deem it DVR-worthy.

USA Today says:

… fine but slightly overemphatic premiere, which overdoes the sad-sackishness of its three main characters … There are big moments, but much of the joy comes from small exchanges and throwaway jokes. (Terry's response to Owen's dismissive "Pirates, pickpockets, what's the difference?" is a perplexed, "Well, there's the boat.") The show could do without the invented basic-cable-approved, almost-obscene insults, but the men do wield them affectionately. You may not recognize the words, but you'll recognize the tone and tenor of friends who know one another too well.

The New York Times says:

… not violent, exciting or fast paced, but the series has a quiet charm of its own: it is a believable, sharply observed portrait of ordinary men who, through all-too-common bad breaks and missteps, feel that they are backsliding. The three lead actors, on the other hand, are on top of their games playing losers. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… a miraculously good show about a stage of life that is too often either ignored or overplayed. …

The Washington Post says:

… proves a powerful yet mercifully amusing experience -- bittersweet, poignant and wise. It's not just a series, but something of a tonic. …

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

… Though there have been various attempts through the years to get at the easily identifiable and relatable midlife crises of men, much of the effort is put on cheap laughs and even cheaper clichés. TNT's new drama "Men Of A Certain Age" might be the closest thing to getting it right. … This isn't some "Bucket List" joke-fest. There's some spot-on and sharp humor throughout, but it never gets too light and breezy. There's an underlying seriousness - just shy of real gravitas - that anchors the series. If "Men Of A Certain Age" eschews the easy clichés as it has in the first few episodes, there's real potential for drama here …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

… enjoyable … It's talky but not didactic, and the camaraderie among the core cast feels real, not forced. That's mostly due to the small details in the show's scripts. …

The Boston Herald says:

… the star of the inexplicably popular sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” makes his return to TV … “Men” is worth your time only because of co-star Andre Braugher. …

The Boston Globe says:

… While it includes some predictable guy banter, especially in tonight’s uneven pilot, “Men of a Certain Age’’ is a probing, occasionally bleak drama that evokes indie director John Cassavetes more than “Sex and the City’’ creator Darren Star. The writers and actors steadfastly avoid TV-bred coziness, as they push further into the difficult trade-offs that make getting older so liberating and so demoralizing. The actors are especially willing to forgo leading-man vanity in favor of emotional vulnerability, with Braugher and Romano looking particularly wasted at times. … “Men of a Certain Age’’ does settle into a groove, and it’s a good one. …

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… Those who gravitate to this engaging show will be rewarded with the kind of substantial, thoughtful fare more often reserved for theater audiences. Plus, there are outstanding performances. …

Variety says:

… isn't a great series yet, but it has the assets to grow into one. And in the interim, watching it certainly isn't a Sisyphean task. …

10 p.m. Monday. TNT.