Small Screen: Are You There, Chelsea? Episode 1 Review

By: Robert Acosta

"Pilot"

When I heard that Laura Prepon was making her way back to prime time TV, it's something I had to see. For those who may not know the name so well, you more than likely remember Laura Prepon as Donna from the hit TV series, That 70's Show. Besides the obvious fact that she is downright double sexy, she's actually a pretty talented actress and it's kind of weird that it's taken her 6 years to make her way back to prime time TV.

Nonetheless she is starring in a new show aptly named Are You There, Chelsea? The show is based off the book "Are You There Vodka, it's me Chelsea" written by comedian/tv host Chelsea Handler, who plays the sister of the main character, Chelsea.

The First Episode, Pilot, is your basic introductory episode to a series. You get a little insight as to who the main character is while meeting the many other characters involved and some stories get preliminary setups. Chelsea is a bartender who just so happens to be an alcoholic. She's a very care free, loose person by every stretch of the imagination. Her best friend, Olivia, is her Asian counterpart, almost seemingly on the same wavelength as Chelsea, if not a little bit more "visionary" for lack of a better word.

I'll be honest, I didn't know what to expect when watching this show. It's clear that this is a raunchy kind of show, or at least it's attempting to be. It's also a little bit too gimmicky, in my opinion. 2 characters in particular just come off as such. The midget barbell, who just so happens to be color blind as well and the eventual roommate of Chelsea and Olivia, who is borderline insane and very quirky (to say the least). It feels like a little too much for a first episode, let alone a whole season. Now, I haven't read the book that this show is based off, and if it goes like that in the book, I would honestly have no idea, I can only comment on the show.

It's not a bad show by any stretch, it had a couple of moments that me laugh and it certainly has potential to be pretty good. Can it hang with the rest of NBCs very strong fall lineup? Not sure just yet. If I had to give it a letter grade, a C+ would be about where i'd put it.