Here is what I though of Those Who Can't. First, let me say, that I think it is great that it was picked up for a second season before it premiered. The first couple episodes were not the best of the series. The first episode is just a take on the original Amazon plot with different jokes and one liners sprinkled throughout out the episode. Sure, some of the jokes might have been a little better, but it lacked the spontaneity of the original pilot and felt a little forced. It might have just been them being a little nervous, but I'm happy to say as the season progressed things improved.
In the beginning, the show just kind of came off as dumb. In the end, is was still dumb, but a bit more clever in it's dumbness. Andy Fairbell (Andrew Orvehdal) did a spot on job of playing the dumb gym teacher. In most shows they make gym teachers beef heads, but in this show he truly fits the saying, "Those who can't teach, and those who can't teach teach gym". It helped his character development a lot when it is revealed that he was the class president and prom king at a "special" school. There have been times when I have wondered if friends I have made in my adulthood may have gone to special schools themselves. So, personally that resinates with me.
Billy Shoemaker (Ben Roy) was believable as a past his prime punk rocker who settled, but I wish they pulled his family life in a bit more. Yes, we all love goofy comedy, but we need a little bit of depth with our stories. This show takes place almost exclusively with in the strict parameters of these people are teachers, and teachers have no lives. That being said, the show would be a little more captivating if these people did have lives.
Loren Peyton (Adam Cayton Holland) is supposed to be the too cool for school teacher who is in fact not very cool at all. He suffers the same problems that Billy does. He's a handsome, slightly smug guy, who likes hitting on the ladies and getting sloshed, but I want more. What are his corks. Yes we need stereotypical characters so the audience recognizes who they are, but those stereotypes need to have corks that make them interesting to us. I've only watched through the show once, but off the top of my head I can't think what Loren's corks are.
The supporting cast was fantastic. Rory Scovell plays the biggest Colorado cheeseball of a principal I could have imagined. Not everything he did made a lot of sense, and the story might have been a little more believable if those things had made sense, but I thought he was a lot of fun. Abbey Logan (Maria Thayer) is great at being a sexy librarian, without being the sexy librarian. She reminds me of teachers I knew in high school, who tried way too hard to be considered cool by their students. I hope in season two her role continues to get bigger. She's funny, and let's face it, Those Who Can't is a bit of a sausage fest. Tammy (Sonya Eddy) was great as the principle's secretary. In several episodes she's great at bringing a bit of sanity to the madness. Like Abbey, I hope to see her much more in season two. I personally loved Kyle Kinane's portrayal of the school's drunk teacher Rod Knor. I think he left the show too soon, and hope he returns often as a substitute.
All in all, I enjoyed the show. It's great to see some local guys creating a high quality television series, and I think for a first season they have done an excellent job. Their is room for improvement, but just from the beginning of season one to the end of it, you can see that they are getting better. I think my biggest critique is that they should bring on more students to play larger roles in the show, and continue to build their relationships as an ensemble cast. Andrew, Ben and Adam are great but Andy, Ben, Adam, Sonya, Rory, Maria and Kyle are even better.
I give Those Who Can't 8 out of 10 stars, and look forward to seeing season two!
