I am – Hercules!!

Along with ABC’s “Sons and Daughters” and Fox’s “The Loop,” ABC’s “Emily’s Reasons Why Not” is probably one of the three funniest new sitcoms of the current season.

It’s about a horny book editor whose latest bad breakup has left her fearful of relationships. It stars the perilously dreamy Heather Graham (“Austin Powers II,” “Lost in Space,” “Boogie Nights,” “Bowfinger”). The pilot screener we received is narrated and fast-moving (in that way that defines “Arrested Development” and “My Name is Earl”), employs terrific snippets of pop music and arrives sans laughtrack or live studio audience. It reminds me a lot of “Andy Richter Controls The Universe.”

The Brazilian jujitsu stuff is truly hilarious, and former “The State” writer-actor Michael Patrick Jann may now take a bow for staging it.

But what matters Herc’s opinion?

Variety says:

Breezy and fun, there are several reasons to sample "Emily," but also plenty of room for skepticism over whether this witty half-hour has the depth to survive a highly competitive timeslot. … Graham is a beguiling enough heroine, surrounded by amusing characters who make the mundane feel relatively fresh -- highlighted by the laugh-out-loud funny jujitsu workout. …

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… Pilot director Michael Patrick Jann is particularly effective with the frothy script from Emily Kapnek. Comic timing is excellent, plus he coaxes emphatic facial expressions from Graham. In addition, assuming the temporary music supplied with the review tape becomes permanent, the use of melodies and sound effects is clever and creative. …

USA Today gives it two (out of four) stars and says:

… Graham does exude an almost irresistible all-American-girl adorability, so much so that you're willing to forgive her lapses in sitcom skill. Even at her worst, when she's contorting her face to match the coy, thought-revealing voice-over, you tend to root for her. Unfortunately for ABC, by the end of Emily's Reasons Why Not, you're rooting for her to find a better vehicle.…

Entertainment Weekly gives it a “C” and says:

Our reasons why not: (1) Emily (Heather Graham) comes off as a regressed teenager who calls physical chemistry “the flutter-flutter” and doesn't notice that a man with whom she's been on several dates has yet to kiss her. (2) Her super-clichéd hot Asian nemesis named Glitter Cho...(3) and swishy gay best friend. (4) Her gooey voice-over narration...(5) augmented by notebooklike scribbles listing her reasons not to date a guy — she counts five before giving them the boot. Hey, look at that, so do we.

The Los Angeles Times says:

… another too-on-the-nose attempt to fabricate the water-cooler feel of "Sex and the City," this time using the not-insignificant presence of Graham. … The notion of Graham as a TV star is an enticing one, but she's starring in a show that's not big enough for her … The comedy of "Sex and the City," it was said, was grounded in a gay male sensibility, but "Emily's" is vanilla by comparison. Meanwhile, Graham is simply too formidable a heterosexual man's fantasy figure (Google her and you come up with nearly 5 million hits) to play in the by-now-exhausted, female-centric single-in-the-city genre.

The Portland Oregonian says:

…the key question: Is it funny? … we can only shrug and say: Well, yes. Kind of. Are we losing our edge? Or can it be true that "Emily's Reasons" actually is an amusing variation on about half a hundred familiar TV sitcom ideas? Possibly the latter … The deeper point, if "Emily" could be accused of having one, involves the contrast between the simple, stratified vision of the world presented by those endless self-help books Emily edits, and the messy world those books never quite manage to control. It's all very silly and frothy, and should be entirely insufferable. Or it would be if the jokes weren't sort of funny, the characters not badly observed and the performances so airy and fun. To quote Mr. Burns from "The Simpsons": "I know what I hate. And I don't hate this." …

The Palm Beach Post says:

ABC looks like it has a winner in Emily's Reasons Why Not, which is based on the novel by Carrie Gerlach. Graham is downright adorable and sexy as all get-out. Emily is the kind of chick other women don't find threatening and men love dating because, well, look at her! That Graham can be beautiful and funny is no surprise. She was a stitch as Felicity Shagwell in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and delightfully kooky on her guest-starring stints on NBC's Scrubs and Fox's Arrested Development. But Emily also works because the writers take a stale concept and make it fresh by employing odd camera angles, finding inventive ways to use background music (En Vogue's My Lovin': Never Gonna Get It and The Jackson 5's I Want You Back are perfectly placed) and listing Emily's hilarious reasons on screen.

9 p.m. Monday. ABC.

TV series for less than $21 per season!!

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