“Busted,” the second episode of Sean Saves the World is slightly better than last week’s pilot episode. I believe this to be true because after watching “Pilot” for the second time, I was so annoyed by it, I immediately got a horrible headache. This week though, my cold, dead stare at the screen while watching Sean Saves the World was interrupted by the slightest of chuckles at times. But Sean Saves the World is still pretty awful.
This fall season, Dads has really become the whipping boy of awful shows, and while that’s understandable, Sean Saves the World should also probably be in that same realm of insult. Dads is horrendous, but at least it’s trying to be offensive and terrible. Sean Saves the World isn’t really trying anything. It’s the blandest of all the new shows, and really the only reason this show should be showing on a TV is if someone left the TV on after Parks & Recreation.
“Busted” has the plot of several hundred sitcom episodes you’ve seen before, where the main character promises two people the same thing, then tries to keep either of them from finding out. Here Sean’s daughter, Ellie, needs her first bra, and he promises his mother Lorna that she can take her, but also promises his best friend Liz the same thing. Hijinks ensue, bras are hidden in pasta sauce, etc., until they both find out and everyone gets over it.
Sean Saves the World rarely ever works, but when it does it’s when Sean is at his office. None of the home material in the first two episodes has been close to funny, but the supporting characters at his office do bring about the funniest moments. The office presents even less story, as Sean’s boss hears about his daughter’s bra problems and tries to help out by buying her a bra. This inappropriate behavior causes a rift between the two that is only solved when Sean buys his boss some lingerie for his mother. This is the kind of wit we’re dealing with here, folks.
Once again though, the slightest glimmer of hope comes from Echo Kellum and Thomas Lennon. Kellum is playing Hunter, a co-worker at Sean’s office, and he occasionally gets in a few funny lines. Meanwhile, Lennon is really doing the best he can with bad writing, making the bad lines funny through inflection and actions.
So at this point what exactly can Sean Saves the World do to actually become a decent show? For one, the writers need to set a majority of the show at work. Also tone down Sean Hayes. That’s why the office segments work, since there we have Kellum and Lennon to counterbalance Hayes. But also, it just needs to be slightly original. In any way. There’s almost nothing to distinguish Sean Saves the World, besides some decent secondary characters and the abundance use of laugh track at the end of almost every single line. Right now instead of saving the world, Sean needs save this bland mess of a show.