Sons & Daughters - Anniversary Party (Pilot) & Bowling Night

It's quirky, it's a one camera show, it's on against House/American Idol, and I liked it a lot and laughed out loud...so it'll never last...
It's not as wacky and hilarious as Arrested Development (will anything ever be?) but it's in a similar vein, with a HUGE cast of characters (an asset just as much as it is a detriment) that can get somewhat confusing, even when they label each of the characters and their relationships with the main character Cameron.
Sons & Daughters follows Cameron, his wife, his teenage son (played by Frasier's son), his sister, his half-sister, their children, their husband/ex, Cameron's parents... etc... you get the point.
If you can figure out who is who, then their is much to love about this show. Although EW thought the show and its characters had too much of a disdain for others and life, the bitterness is probably what I loved most about it (since, as you all may have noticed, I'm still bitter about Brokeback Mountain losing Best Picture and even worse, Crash WINNING Best Picture (it would have been a different story if Good Night, and Good Luck. had won at least)).

Characters to watch for? Carrie Fenton (Eden Sher), the bespectacled little girl with a mouth of a 40 year old (usually creepy but Eden plays it hilariously), Jeff Fenton (Randy Wayne) as the cool good looking jock with the heart of gold but the brains of a dungheap, Whitey (Greg Pitts, one of George's Brothers on Grey's Anatomy) as Jenna's (Cameron's half-sister) child's father (and not husband, as they clearly noted on the screen). I know. Confusing. They really need to send out a chart with the family tree on it to every household if they want an audience to follow and watch.

My big suprise is that ex-Much Music VJ Amanda Walsh was actually pretty good in this and held her own. Especially since the show is apparently a mix of scripted and improvisation. Her obvious will-they-or-won't-they story with her co-worker Wylie Blake (Desmond Harrington) is still cute and looks like it can actually head in a somewhat fresh direction, so we will see.