We are winding up the Sibling Rivalry series, and as promised, we are coming back to a comedy. In fact, this show had so much sibling rivalry, that could have been the title.
In 2015, CBS ordered a pilot called Life in Pieces, and it was on the schedule that fall. It was on the air for four seasons until it was canceled. This was a fast-paced and interesting show because it included four different stories each week. The show features the Short family who live in LA. Each episode breaks down into four âshortâ stories, and the fourth one tied them all together. Sometimes a story will go back in time, so we begin to understand the siblingsâ relationships better.
The show was blessed with a wonderful cast. John Doe Short (James Brolin) is a retired airline pilot. Joan (Diane Wiest), his wife, is a therapist. They are a bit quirky and may have lived in a commune in the sixties for a year or two too long. They have three kids: Heather (Betsy Brandt) who is married to Tim, a doctor (Dan Bakkedahl), with two daughters and a son; Matt (Thomas Sadoski) who is recently divorced and dates and then marries Colleen (Angelique Cabral) during the series; and Greg (Colin Hanks) who is married to Jen (Zoe Lister-Jones) with two kids.
Heather and Tim are typical parents of teens and preteens. Matt is the stereotypical middle child. He lives in his parentsâ garage and never seems to grow up. Even when he tries to do the right thing, it seldom works out that way. Greg is the most normal kid, but when he gets around his siblings, he often becomes dysfunctional.
Gregâs wife Jen is my favorite character. She is the ârealisticâ relative and often makes asides and assumptions about the situations they find themselves in that we can relate to. She shares exactly what is on her mind, and we typically agree with her. My second favorite character is the other in-law, Tim. He just canât do things the easy way. He ruins the Thanksgiving turkey, removes most of his eyebrow, and seems to screw up in a new way every week. But he is fun and easy-going and fits into the family.
Some of the characters had worked together before. Weist and Brolin played a married couple in the film Sisters in 2015. The Brolin-Hanks family must like working together. James Brolin appeared with Tom Hanks in Catch Me If You Can in 2002; their sons Josh Brolin and Colin Hanks were in W. in 2008, and then Brolin and Colin teamed up for this show.
There were many recurring characters on the show as well. My favorites were Gigi, Joanâs mother, played by Ann Guilbert; Martin Mull who plays a neighbor of John and Joanâs and is president of their HOA; and Professor Sinclair Wilde (Cary Elwes) who is Joanâs creative writing teacher.
Season one found the show highly rated, just behind The Big Bang Theory, but by season three, the ratings had dropped significantly and early in season four, the network canceled the show but aired the remaining nine episodes that had been filmed. Many fans blamed the network because of the scheduling. Season one began in September, but the rest of the seasons kept getting pushed later and later. Season four didnât air the first show of the series until April which means fans had not seen the show for almost a year. The network justified the cancellation because it saw declining ratings, was refused an ownership stake in the show, and wanted to bring in four new sitcoms for the next season.
Many of the complaints I read about this show said it was just a clone of Modern Family. I donât agree at all. While this show had some of the best one-liners I ever heard in a television series, the humor was not consistent and sometimes, especially when it featured Joan and John, it was just weird. Jay and Gloria were not John and Joan. Modern Family had it all: good writing, fun characters, realistic plots. The Short family had it all but never in the same episode. Sometimes the writing was good, sometimes the characters were fun, and sometimes the plots worked. While I didnât mind watching this show, especially to catch those ultimate one-liners, I never felt bad when I didnât see it. I knew that I had missed a fun part of the week if I missed Modern Family. I could connect to the characters on the show in a way I only connected with Jen and Tim with on Life in Pieces.
Just to give you an idea of what this show was like, Iâll summarize the first episodes of each season below.
In season one, Matt walks in on Joan and John in an intimate moment; Joan attempts to lead a group therapy session; Jen hires a breast-feeding consultant couple; and Heather and Tim move into a new home, using a company that employs ex-cons.
Season two was Heather and Tim ask Clementineâs parents (their sonâs girlfriend) to convince Clementine and Tyler to get an annulment; Tommy moves in with Colleen to the dismay of her roommate; John takes the wrong dose of medication which leads to several complications.
For season three Tim and Heather move into John and Joanâs home after their kitchen is destroyed; Matt and Colleen expect a monetary settlement from Colleenâs fall; and John tries to get Sophia (his granddaughter) back on track when she begins acting up.
Last, but not least, season four began with the Shorts vacationing in the Yucatan; the accommodations are not what they expected; Heather is overprotective of Sophia; Jen and Greg learn that Matt and Colleen have been lying to the family.
If I am honest, I think the network did not do the show any favors by messing up the schedule, but it was not destined to last more than the few seasons it was on the air. However, if you disagree with me, I would love to hear your reasons for loving the show.
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