I am – Hercules!!

It’s a sitcom about an extended family – a guy, his sisters, their parents, their spouses, and a bunch of kids. But heavily improvised, and well. I even like the fact that ABC is running two episodes back to back, so we don’t have to deal with it being paired with the John Stamos show or something.

There are many characters worthy of our love, but a real standout is Greg Pitts (the “O-face guy” in “Office Space,” if I’m not mistaken), who plays the gorgeous kid sister’s ne’er-do-well ex.

If your taste runs to the likes of Judd Apatow’s “Undeclared” or Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” or “Dr. Katz” or “Home Movies” or Christopher Guest movies or either version of “The Office,” I say this one may be worth your time. I don’t watch sitcoms as a rule, but I’ll be tuning into "Sons & Daughters" every week. It’s not only smart and funny, it’s possessed of an unusually healthy line of continuity.

But what matters Herc’s opinion?

The Washington Post says:

Just when you think the hat is truly and irreparably empty, somebody pulls another daffy rabbit out of it. The magical thing about this rabbit is that it's a situation comedy, and a sitcom about family matters at that. It's thus the kind that the black silk hat of television has lately seemed almost incapable of producing. But "Sons & Daughters" has what might be called a warm sort of madness going for it. The series is richly decorated with hilarious and painfully recognizable details about family life, but it's not a nutcase farce like Fox's funny but not terribly involving "Arrested Development." … "Sons & Daughters" turns the banalities of family life upside down and inside out and finds something new, and even something cherishable, in many of them. Sex is often a subject for discussion, of course, whether by Don and Sharon (Jerry Lambert and Alison Quinn), whose fantasies are riotous, or by Cameron's 13-year-old niece Carrie (Eden Sher), who feels she is sophisticated enough to demand answers to such questions as, "Mom, why do you and Dad sleep in separate beds?" She begins another question with "When you guys do it --" but mom cuts her off.

USA Today gives it three and a half stars (out of four) and says:

… Partly improvised and wholly delightful … [Goss] and co-creator Nick Holly seem to have found a way to balance improvisational freedom with the need for plot, character and structure. … The entire cast is excellent (it's a particular joy to have [Max] Gail back in the sitcom fold), and unlike the actors in the similarly structured Free Ride, they never allow their own creative play to become the sole focus of the show. They stay in character, and the characters they're creating are by and large both likable and believable, which is what separates Sons from the brilliant but aloof Arrested Development. Let's hope that's enough to spare Sons the adored-but-ignored fate that befell Arrested. We don't need any more hidden treasures on TV. …

The New York Times says:

… "Sons & Daughters" is a milder, more humane version of Fox's canceled "Arrested Development" — it milks the humor of absurd people and brutally frank conversation. "I heard Aunt Rae tell Grandma we're going to hell," an adorable little girl brightly tells her family at breakfast. "Grandma, we're going to hell. Because we're Jews!" The show has funny moments, but it doesn't stand out as much as the ABC promos suggest. Even the blandest network sitcoms now color their comedy black. "Sons & Daughters," which is shot without a live audience or a laugh track, is amusing in the same affectionately satirical way as "My Name Is Earl," or "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Arrested Development." …

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

… "Sons & Daughters” is one of the funniest sitcoms to come along in years.… "According to Jim" is the lead-in show. Now, the difference between "According to Jim" and "Sons & Daughters" is of such a magnitude that the burden of description would make a person fall down on the ground, beaten. But the important thing to remember is that people who will watch "According to Jim" of their own accord and not with the allure of cash or the prod of a razor-sharp stick would not, under any circumstances that come readily to mind, watch "Sons & Daughters." Imagine a guy who just bought a ticket to "Hooter Girls in IMAX" walking into a Fellini retrospective. On ABC, "Sons & Daughters" is just a game of "Which one of these is not like the others?" Another problem is that "Sons & Daughters" has 16 characters, including small children. There are brothers and sisters, step-family, divorced parents, cousins -- even with a family tree, it would be difficult to keep track. Americans have a history of liking their sitcoms simple, with maybe four main characters at most. There's also this weird tonality issue, where the comedy is at once satirically biting, followed by nuanced references with no clanging laugh track to note their arrival, the swift delivery of epigrammatic one-liners and, just to be different, moments of sweetness not meant to be funny. It's a family comedy, after all. "Sons & Daughters" is, however, a real gem, a comedic gift. …

The New York Daily News says:

… Fred Goss (an actor from "Significant Others") hits a home run as co-creator (with Nick Holly), star and director of "Sons & Daughters." … "Sons & Daughters" is a comedy, partly improvised, that has a sense of truth at its core. It has no laugh track, but plenty of laughs. It has a sprawling cast, but even before the pilot is over, because of the clever way it's written, directed and acted, you'll know, and like, every single character. …

Variety says:

… a half-hour firmly ensconced in the "witty" zone that seldom crosses all the way over into funny. … Still, improv is a hit-miss proposition, and that sort of unevenness applies here. And while a few gems sneak into the rapid-fire exchanges (the half-sister expresses a penchant for "guys like Colin Farrell. Really classy."), the general tone is one of drollness, which only goes so far in a network setting, as Fox can attest from "Arrested Development." …

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… "Significant Others" provided the DNA for two midseason series: "Free Ride" from exec producer Rob Roy Thomas, which premiered last week on Fox, and "Sons & Daughters" on ABC, starring "Others" cast members Fred Goss and Alison Quinn. Both series feature casts skilled in the art of improv, but "Sons & Daughters" is more relatable and funnier. … The improv style when done well, as it is here, doesn't generate sidesplitting laughter, but it does produce a steady stream of deliciously enjoyable moments. Goff juggles his production roles gracefully, and before long, viewers become familiar with nearly as many interiors as on "Desperate Housewives." The show is scheduled as a place holder while Steve Bochco reinvigorates "Commander in Chief." If it manages to break out in its own right, it would be a welcome addition to the fall schedule.

9 p.m. Tuesday. ABC.

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