The Loop (2006–2007) User Reviews

Good Show!

[sfvcyco · 8/10 · 13 April 2006]

The lead character is a good actor and very funny. He was great on Grounded For Life.

For the people trashing this show, get another latte and get the stick out of your a$$ (even though you are probably enjoying it). This show is not meant to be taken seriously.

You talk bad about this show because it has dumb comedy that is very predictable and has girls that are very attractive but cant act. No show can ever survive that has that, right? Well, I remember a little show that had all of the above named Married With Children, but I guess that show wasn't very successful. (I hope you can feel the sarcasm)

Yep, retooled beyond reason

[Brad Eleven · 7/10 · 19 June 2007]

I couldn't get enough of this when it first showed up. I can see how some people wouldn't like it, see it as predictable, etc. For me, it yielded at least one screaming fit of laughter per episode. I thought it was gone. Found it again the other night, and ... where'd the rest of the cast go--did FOX downsize the show??

It's still pretty funny, and I'm glad it's still being aired, but the only reason it's still on my TiVo is because of Philip Baker Hall. I literally passed food through my nose in the episode where he came walking in doing the Atlanta Braves' "tomahawk chop." It's the tiny moments that still make it great. As others have said, the plot is fairly predictable; it's in the way the script is played by the cast. Kind of like going to see a play that you studied in school: You know what's going to happen, so the execution is all that's left. This cast gets it right, over and over. I'm not giving up on it yet. And, yeah, I get paid to work in a corporate office, so I appreciate the satire.

Oh, well... it's not the first time FOX has tarnished something that was working perfectly well. Perhaps other FOX shows should take The Simpsons' approach: Declare openly that notes from executives will be ignored, and usually made fun of.

That's the thing about television: We're not the customers--the advertisers are.

Why torpedo the group chemistry?

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 18 September 2013]

Recent graduate Sam Sullivan (Bret Harrison) is working at an airline HQ. The owner is Russ (Philip Baker Hall) and his superior is Meryl who keeps hitting on him. Scully (Eric Christian Olsen) is leaching off of him.

The first season (7 episodes) had a couple of girls living with them; Piper (Amanda Loncar) and Lizzy (Sarah Wright). They made the mistake of dropping them for the second season. The 4 main characters form a great fun group. Their chemistry was so evident that eventually in real life Eric Christian Olsen married Sarah Wright and today have a kid together. How the powers that be missed that magnetic chemistry is beyond me.

The workplace comedy was functional, but it was never enough. As I watched the second season, I kept expecting the return of the 2 girls. It was a 7 in the first season, but a 6 in the second.

Has great potential

[whatisserton · 9/10 · 20 March 2006]

This has some excellent potential and reminds me a little of arrested development. the characters are quirky and the introductions with the freeze frame and their own theme was great. I loved the boss the way he manages to alienate his employees without making them hate him totally.

What's good is it's not a comedy program that contains a laugh track. Away to watch episode two but really it looks good enough from the pilot to get my attention.

I'd recommend everyone to give it a go.

And as for one of the other comments guys who insists that the characters are badly acted I disagree plus Mimi rogers is great!

Great

[tree3111 · 26 March 2006]

Freaking awesome show. Very classic Fox-like show. Reminds me of the great shows on fox: Simpson's, Married with children, Malcolm in the middle, That 70's show etc. Love the sayings they make up in the show - find myself using them way too much. Always seems like Sam can't get it right, lol, showing up to work with a partially shaved head or a drawn on bra because of the night before's fun. And his clueless boss, funny! Watch it with an open mind, you'll love it. Can't wait for the next episode. Really hope Fox keeps this one, they haven't had a great track record of keeping good shows lately.

A Fresh Take on Sitcoms

[stsully · 10/10 · 3 May 2006]

The Loop is a show about a recent college graduate, Sam, hired by a failing airline company trying to survive in the low-cost airline era. Because of his college thesis about the company, which is supposed to have been very insightful, he is given a high-ranking executive position. Meanwhile, he lives at home with his loser brother, Sully, and two very attractive women, one of whom, Piper, is a student and the other, Lizzy, a bartender. From this simple setting, a very original comedy follows.

Each episode is pretty atomic, with the only important continuing plot line being Sam's hidden love for Piper. This plot line involves the usual sitcom stuff, like Sam trying to impress her or help her deal with the problems of her long distance relationship with her boyfriend. Other plot lines specific to individual episodes usually concern some problem Sam is confronted with at work, or problems with work or love that one of the other people Sam lives with are having. Sounds real funny and original, huh? Though the plots in this show are not necessarily unique or hilarious, this show is still very funny. The humor comes from the dialog and performance of the actors, which on the whole are fantastic. Russ and Meryl, Sam's bosses, are really spectacular, as is Sully, his brother. The show is essentially about Sam, a relatively grounded straight character, interacting with some unusual people and trying to begin life after college. The show seems geared towards 18-30 year olds, and many other people will find it very funny. I think the reviews dogging the show for its lack of originality, poor acting, and low brow humor just don't get what the show is supposed to be; I'm 23, and everyone I know who watches it likes it. It is definitely worth watching if Fox picks it up for another season, which hopefully will happen due to the good ratings the show got from coming after American Idol. Overall, I highly recommend it, and compare it to a Seinfeld built for 20-somethings. It is by no means at the level of Seinfeld in terms of greatness, but the style of the show is similar in that it depends less on the plot and more on the characters and comments they make. If you like Seinfeld, Arrested Development, or Curb Your Enthusiam, you should check out The Loop.

Very Funny, Well Written, Great Cast

[genboyx · 10/10 · 29 August 2006]

I am very choosy (OK, picky) about what TV shows I'll waste my time on. When I ran across The Loop, I was stopped in my channel surfing tracks. It was so funny and engaging.

Of course, I also used to love Duet (remember that one?).

I feel sad The Loop was canceled. The situations were funny, the dialog was funny, the writing seemed to be excellent.

The producers did a nice job of casting the acting team. They have an automatic chemistry with each other. And they all get into their parts so well that I have to say their acting is perfect for the show. If you can find it on DVD, grab it.

Retooled to death

[javajoe96 · 2/10 · 11 June 2007]

I love this show. I watched every episode last year. I bought the DVDs. And I tune into to watch tonight and I see for some reason you have retooled this great show. And you have taken what made it work and ruined it. You took one of the best aspects of the show away which was the 4 friends. Sam, Sully, Lizzy and Piper. I love the other characters as well, but they are good in small dozes like Derek, Darcy and even Sully. It is like the show lost some of its family and everyone else is trying to hard to fill in. It is overdose. While things are funny in small dozes when you are exposed to it all the time it goes from funny to annoying. I was so looking forward to the return of this show. So please bring back the charm. Even if you could not fit Piper into the show at least bring Lizzy back. But I loved those girls. They brought the fun. The show was about Sam trying to live his business life and handle his personal life and friends as well. That was the charm. And that great dog as well.

I hope the network (FOX) forced the writers to do this and the writers did not willingly do this to the show. I will give the show a couple more episodes before I give up, but tonight's episodes were bad. I made a big deal out of the show returning tonight and had people over and I felt like a fool, because no one was laughing except 2-3 times. I apologized to them and said I don't know what happened. And about 10 minutes into the episode I realized they were not going to show Piper or Lizzy and this was no longer a must see TV comedy.

funny

[BETHLAND_PRODUCTIONS · 10/10 · 25 December 2006]

I love the wackiness of this 22 min. slice of FUN! The cast is perfect & Mimi Rodgers really stands out as bit of a twisted mentor to the new young airline exec. The female roommates and the brother's hi-jinx balance out the "serious" side of Sam's life. Plus the opening theme song is the quirkiest since "Pee-Wee's Playhouse"! I downloaded it and played at least a hundred times last summer. The spots Sully gets Sam into will leave you laughing out loud. Can't wait for this mid-season replacement to return. I used to live in Chicago and it is a kick to see my old apartment building in the opening credits. I also used to work in the airline industry and I'm pretty sure some of our board meetings and executive decisions went about as well as the ones portrayed in this comedy.

They actually let them shoot a second season???

[cpthollywood · 1/10 · 15 October 2008]

I am very open minded. I watch all kinds of programs to the end...good or bad...just to give them a chance and learn from the good aspects and bad ones. This show had potential to be good. But my god, what were the writers, casting director, and director thinking? The cast of actors are terrible...with the slightest exception of Meryl (Mimi Rogers), and Darcy (Joy Osmanski) being given occasional good lines with the best execution of the lot.

The rest of the cast kill the show. It is the same story line in every episode. Sam has plans to do something. His boss disrupts these plans by assigning him ridiculous work projects. Then the foolish ways Sam tries to accommodate both in a manner that is primarily stupid and lacks any real intelligent humor. This is EVERY episode. It gets very tiring.

Season 2, they ditch the eye candy. The 2 "hot" girls in the show get written out (yet the brother stays? explain that casting cut to me please). I can see why they wrote them out...they had no substantial role...but they didn't add anyone better to replace them.

The cocky Derek Tricolli character is given a continuous appearance in season 2. His acting (along with everyone else's) resembles many poor sitcoms from the 80's...might have been funny then...but painful now.

the show could have been so much better with a few good writers and some people who had any talent to execute them. This show lacks everything. Production quality is the only good aspect of the show. It is great in that regard...unfortunately the content is painfully sad.

My god. FOX, was there really nothing better to choose from? I'm sticking with shows like "It's always Sunny in Philadelphia" or "30 Rock" for now. The bar should be set by programs like these that actually assume the audience are intelligent and aren't continually drooling on themselves using all their brain power on continuing to breathe.

Dynamite!

[godogg · 2 April 2006]

This show is a riot. The jokes are great (even if they are, at times, predictable), the characters are likable, the writing is solid, the girls are hot, and the situations are inventive. There are tons of supporting characters that could easily be ignored each episode, but they all get a couple jokes (the Secretary, the Boss, the Blonde, the Brother, The Older Woman, Ms. Right.) The show revels in its archetypes.

The style of humor is very college-y (lots of being drunk jokes), and as such, will probably be accepted by college students and recent graduates who have just entered the workforce (since that's what the protagonist is)

I highly recommend this show to all college students or anyone who vividly remembers entering the workforce. I also recommend everyone else give it a shot.

Best new comedy on TV!

[kornstooge · 10/10 · 6 May 2006]

This show has an a great story to it and even greater characters. It's the best new comedy on TV these days. The show however is in jeopardy of being cancelled because of Fox's askfox at foxinc.com lack of advertising for it. Please write fox and tell them not to cancel it. We need it back for a 2nd season. I don't miss an episode. Why would fox want to cancel such a great up and coming show as this show? There is another show called Free Ride that may be cancelled as well. Fox definitely has the best lineup of shows. Ihope they keep these 2 shows to add to their already impressive lineup. Please visit fox's website and check under shows for the loop's page. Lots of great info, pics, links, message boards. The show also has to hot girls in it! Sarah Mason rocks ! askfox at foxinc.com Substitute at with @ with no spaces. Thanks!

clichéd, unfunny, and one episode is completely interchangeable with the next

[movieman_kev · 3/10 · 21 May 2007]

Upon a recommendation from a friend and my admiration of Philip Baker Hall I rented the first season disc of the Loop.It's a typical TV comedy with all the clichés that the genre employs with the "wacky" scheming brother (Sully), "ditzy" blonde (Lizzy), token unrequited love interest (Piper), sarcastic Asian helper (Darcy, which reminded me of Arliss, as if ANYone needed to be reminded of THAT show). The plot deals with various bad luck (usually by Sully) that befalls Sam that puts his job at the airplane in jeopardy, only to have him save the day, with 'hilarious hijinks' ensuing in the middle. I didn't descibe a certain episode. I described them ALL to a T. Therein lies the problem as what seems like it might even be passable entertainment at first just gets uselessly stale when watching episodes in a row and growing bored beyond belief at the endless repetition. Sully will do something 'wacky', Mimi Rogers will say something overtly sexual, Russ will tell about his gay son, Darcy will do her impersonation of Sandra Oh on Arliss blah blah blah blah blah. The only positive is the lack of an annoying laugh track. But don't let that fool you into thinking it's any good. Go watch a far better comedy. Arrested Development, Always Sunny in Phillidelphia, two name two off the top of my head. Surprised that this one is still on the air. OH that's right Fox only cancels the good shows, i forgot. Needless to say I don't trust my friend's taste in shows anymore.

My Grade: D+

Pretty Bad

[that_reeks_of_yeah_right · 2/10 · 17 June 2007]

Fox is pretty lame. They cancel the wrong shows. It's bizarre that they would cancel a well-written program like "Arrested Development" and yet they keep this show and "War at Home". I feel that Fox loved that they broke barriers with the then-edgy "Married with Children", but now it's just getting ridiculous. "The Loop" is a pointless and boring watch, and their edgy jokes just fall flat. In order for edgy comedy to work you have to keep the jokes coming. "Family Guy" and "The Simpons" work because there is a constant flow of jokes. Fox needs to pull their heads out of their rectal cavities and quit letting their relatives write this mediocre tripe. I mean, if you're going to invest money into making something entertaining, make it entertaining. Also, stop using "no-named" actors. It's great to have up-and-comers, but you need to anchor a show with a noted celebrity. Duh, Fox.

What's this guy talking about?

[jonny28 · 20 April 2006]

NO WAY this show sucks. I don't know what the guy before me is talking about, but this is one of the best new shows I've seen in a while. It reminds me of a lot of other comedies, like the randomness of Family Guy, the nothingness of Seinfeld, and quirkiness of Scrubs. It's fresh and funny. It also has a young cast which is a good place to start. I find that a lot of new shows with established actors or has-beens usually flop. Unknowns and young actors are the best for new shows. I know the actors in "The Loop" have had a few parts between the 4 of them, but this could really establish each of them as household names (just like That 70's show, Friends, and numerous other shows before them). Bottom line, the last person to post a review about "the Loop" definitely does not represent the majority of viewers, especially not me.

Good Season 1, Pointless Season 2

[jzrit580 · 1/10 · 20 September 2011]

Producers were idiots for turning it completely into a show about work life in Season 2, making the whole reason for the show pointless. They got rid of his friends and just made it about his retarded job and there was no loop, there was no partying, there was no crush. Producers screwed up but what else do you expect on Fox, the channel run by the biggest retards in the world. If they had at least kept the two girls on the show still then it would have made sense. The second season of the comedy was just so lame and embarrassing with the story lines just being about him screwing up but then getting bailed out at work. There is nothing that can make you like this second season. I feel like punching the person that was in charge of this in the face aka the producers, whoever those idiots may be.

Wow, Fox ruined this show....

[bigsurfing · 1/10 · 19 September 2007]

The first season was great - good mix of the job and the brother and friends at home. it was actually a pretty funny show.

Now it shows up again and the brother and the two hot chicks are gone -- and the whole thing revolves around the airline company. Even the old man who runs the company has gone downhill - way too over the top, where before it was perfect.

That and no more Sarah Mason - one of the best looking girls in Hollywood.

This is what happens when you let some execs get their hands on a show. You can almost see the meeting "the old man is funny, lets focus on him, make him way over the top and make it all about the airline.. it'll be a nutty version of the office!" Anyhow, no hot chicks, no watch.

Best show out.

[poulosm · 13 April 2006]

I don't want to give any spoilers but this is the funniest show I've seen in a while. The entire cast is hilarious. The "Release the Beast" or ranch episode had me rolling on the floor. Mimi Rogers plays a sexually aggressive middle aged female executive and it seems to me the only time she opens her beautiful mouth is to deliver some of the best one liners on TV. Philip Baker Hall's character is awesome. I loved it when he was attacked by the dog. I'm not sure where I've seen Sully before but he and the entire cast are top notch. This show has a Scrubs like way for pulling away and injecting comments for explanation or effect. I love the theme song and all the music in the show is fantastic. It's hard to believe this show is so polished at such an early stage. I have DirecTivo and I watch each episode at least 3 times.

One of the Best New shows

[illg · 6 April 2006]

I never was into sitcoms in a big way but this show is great. Fast snappy dialog, and hilarious situations. Sarah Mason is the perfect ditsy blond (hot) and they always find some premise to get her to do a table dance. Bret Harrison plays the first of a group of buddies to get a "real" job, although you can not really count his brother Sully (Eric Christian Olsen)in that group because he will never get a real job , but he has tried several , making sandwiches on site, dog sitter. But the best is Sam's superior Mimi Rogers who is constantly making suggestive remarks to Sam , " Let's see how many times 25 goes into 40". Not sure who plays Sam's receptionist but she always gets off a great shot at the fact she is stuck in a job she is overqualified for.Co-created, co-executive produced and co-written by "South Park" writer Pam Brady and former "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" Will Gluck . Directed by Betty Thomas who brought The Brady Bunch to the big screen . Give it a try ! ************** Flash ! Flash The Loop Season 2 starts June 5/07 YEAH !***

Funny

[betch9 · 19 April 2006]

This show is pretty funny. The corporate environment that 'Thesis' works in is a pretty funny dialog about today's corporate environment. The stupid twenty-somethings aren't that funny, but the way they have the lead bouncing between climbing the corporate ladder and partying with friends is classic. Finally there is the demanding boss/owner of the company who has that twinkle in his eye as if he knows exactly what is going on at all times, especially with his prodigy 'Thesis'. Mimi Rodgers as the overly aggressive Mrs. Robinson gets some funny shots in as well. Yes, much is cliché, but there really isn't anything on TV that is similar today...Good show, watch some episodes and you'll be laughing, plus the blonde is pretty hot.

The Loop is a loop

[sirchicken · 1 April 2006]

Before I review or make a judgment on any TV show I watch a few episodes, then make my judgment. For The Loop I watched the first three episodes. The problem was it felt like I was watching the same episodes over and over. The plot of the show is basically the same, dude wants to do something with personal life, work gets in way of personal life, dude somehow wiggles out of both situations. With a few alterations the plot is generally the same. Another drawback of this show is the poor acting. The characters have some variety but about 95% percent of the characters have very little common sense and well brain matter. Sully is probably my favorite character mainly because he acts so stupid and shows no hint of any kind of thinking matter. Unlike the other characters he seems fresh and full of life maybe it's because of the way the writers make seemingly stupid characters who make extremely dumb decision suddenly come up with amazingly bright ideas while Sully is just plain stupid (but in a funny way). Draw backs aside the show does make me laugh on occasion. The jokes are primarily immature targeted towards the high school crowd, but enough of these jokes are bound to make someone laugh at least once an episode. Overall if you like shows with humor dealing with sex and the same over used jokes this would be a good show to watch. But for the rest of the crowd throw this on the tube if you have "nothing" to do.

Excellent and fun show, with repetition.

[nicetwice · 2 May 2006]

I am not an avid TV watcher. I prefer to cherry pick the shows i watch (TiVo).

I find The Loop to be an enjoyable comedy. I truly enjoy each character. The job-less brother (Sully), the hot roommates (Lizzy, Piper), the perverse but funny boss (Russ), the receptionist (Darcy), and that old lady that hits on the main character all the time.

I've seen 6 episodes so far, and enjoyed them all.

The one qualm I have is in regard to the seemingly thoughtless plots. Yes, i could and would enjoy a series that always concluded with a young business exec saving the day. But does it always have to be so obvious? And does it always have to be by accident? It almost feels like we are led to believe two controversial characteristics about the same person.

The first is that he is a quick witted, intelligent person, who excelled in school, and is now making it big in the business world.

The contradicting characteristic that is so boldly presented in every episode: You almost feel like he is a retard. He is unable to find solutions by himself, he always has to stumble into the scene and end up looking like he did things on purpose. Which is fine and I loved it, the first two times. Then it can gets annoying, if you let it.

Please mix things up a little, I guess thats the theme of what I have to say.

Unfunny and pathetic

[hinurdin · 2 January 2008]

This has got to be one of the most unfunny and pathetic US sitcoms I've ever seen. I think the main problem here is the uninteresting plot and the terrible and amateurish acting. The show seems to depend on sheer (forced) goofiness for laughs rather than funny, yet intelligent, situations and witty dialogues. I was initially interested, but after seeing one or two episodes, I hated it. Or could this be due to a cultural factor? That because I am not American I am unable to appreciate the humor? I don't think so, since over the years I have enjoyed and appreciated plenty of American (and also British) sitcoms. In fact, US sitcoms have always been my favourite. Now, a bit about the acting. I feel a lot of it was quite over the top, most noticeably coming from Eric Olsen, Sarah Wright (her cuteness doesn't help much here) and Philip Hall. This sitcom played for a while in Australia (I think a few weeks on the Seven network) ), but didn't last very long -- Thank goodness for that. I suspect it may soon get axed in the US.

This show is God Awful

[cubswoo · 17 March 2006]

I figured I would give this show a chance considering I liked the main character from his days on Grounded For Life and the previews for the show looked like it could be funny God Was I Wrong. The Loop is not funny whatsoever it looks like a low budget "How I met your mother" and every other failed sitcom. Whoever created this show must have graduated with a degree in sitcom cliché's because it is chock full of them, I lost track at 100, You've got the wild older brother, The girl who has a boyfriend and not a clue that her friend she confides in has a crush on her, The older female boss who is overly aggressive sexually, the same wacky mishaps that I have seen in every sitcom. If you haven't seen it don't waste your time, This show proves that Fox will put anything on the air. The only chance this show has of succeeding is that its lead in is American Idol and some people leave their TV on.

Beyond Awful

[cureholder21 · 15 March 2006]

Why can't anyone make a decent show based in Chicago? This one is so bad there are no words. It is still on, and it would surprise me if it makes it through this EPISODE before being canceled. Pathetic dialog, wooden overacting, and so stupid and predictable it makes the movie Dirty Dancing look like a cliffhanger. Hint to casting: When you pick females to play young females, don't just go by cup size. Maybe find someone who can ACT. And with the male characters, I have no idea what you were going by as a guide---certainly not talent or timing.

If this is the kind of project that makes it to the airwaves, I can only imagine how bad the rejected ones must be.

It's still on, and getting worse. The woman who plays Piper needs to be taken out and shot, I mean COACHED so she can act. Breasts alone can make for a Playboy playmate, but not an actress.

BAD.