Rules of Engagement

My rating is based on my opinion of the first four or five seasons. The show starts, as many shows do, better than it finishes up, but the first few seasons are excellent. Patrick Warburton is the stand-out here, and his reparte with David Spade is the reason I tuned into the show in the first place. They both do their absolute best from the first episode to the last.

The younger couple... well, mixed reviews from me. They were more entertaining early on, but then Jen got kind of a superiority complex, and Adam went from naive to just plain stupid. Maybe that justifies Jen's constant eye-rolling, but it's not fun to watch. There are also several episodes later on that appear to have been written with the sole requirement "find a reason to put Oliver Hudson in Spandex".

Supporting characters who were brought in during the series' run are of two basic types: outstanding (Timmy) and blah (everyone else). Timmy infused the show with new vitality and served as a very clever and entertaining foil for Spade's character of Russell Dunbar. The others (Timmy's thankfully brief office girlfriend, and the gear-grinding Liz) didn't fit in and didn't add enough to justify being there.

All in all, I'd recommend it to those who enjoy sitcoms. It's cleverly written and the performances by Warburton and Spade are excellent from start to finish.

i only started watching this recently and now i'm hooked. i watched one episode just to say i had and ended up watching about 10episodes in a row. this a lot smarter than i thought, the one-liners are excellent, the characters have depth, and the story is pretty good as well. spade is good as the weaselly playboy, Hudson is good as the idiot, the women are good at being the kinda normal average women in relationships, but Patrick Warburton is the star. his timing is perfect, his delivery is excellent and he comes across a genuinely like-able guy. a guy that most guys could relate to. all in all i think there is something or someone in the show that most people can relate to and enjoy.

watch a few episodes, you be hooked!

They don't make 'em like this anymore. No, really. They don't.

This show isn't out-right hilarious like Seinfeld or It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but it's consistently funny. The jokes are continuous, the laughs per minute ratio is high and there's nothing but comedy.

It is not some cheap, soapy drama punctuated by one-liners (How I Met Your Mother), but lots of light-hearted comedy.

It's shallow by design, light-hearted and light-spirited. There's none of that cynicism of some comedies (you know which ones), no "awwww coupley crap from rom-coms, no deeper drama, nothing of that sort. The comedy is based on making you laugh, not awkward and discomforted.

I'm sad there isn't more of this show.

I missed almost all of the first season, but when the other shows went to reruns, I started watching. I ended up buying the entire first season off iTunes. This is now one of my favorite comedy shows. Patrick Warburton is the key. His dry sense of humor has me rolling all the time. David Spade is funny, but sometimes a little Russell goes a long way. I enjoy the other cast members more (but not saying he doesn't add to the show).

Do yourself a favor. If you haven't checked this one out, give it a try. If you can catch the episode where "Jeff" goes to the sperm bank, you will see how good this show is.

I hope this series has a long run.

Generally speaking, the plot was much better than I was expecting. The laugh track was a bit annoying at times and did tend to get in the way; however, there were enough real chuckles in this episode to make up for it. My biggest surprise was finding some of the best lines and situations were not shown in the trailers. Spade, in particular, was not presented in the best light in the earlier promotions, but his character comes across quite well in the pilot. There is is enough eye-candy to please almost anyone and all the regular characters seem up to the task ahead of them. Now, if the writers can just live up to what they have begun.