Like the youngest child in a large family, young networks are always trying to form a distinct identity, separate from their elder counterparts. In Fox’s case, this effort goes into copying exactly what its older, more experienced siblings — NBC, CBS and ABC — are doing to seem cool (“Skating with Celebrities”) or rebelling entirely against their tiresome ways to seem even cooler (“Arrested Development”). The network’s new show “The Loop,” premiering on March 15 at 9:30 p.m., is a strange mix of both strategies.
Office Space: Sam (Ben Harrison) has to balance working with his grumpy boss (Philip Baker Hall) and hitting the (beer) bong. Mimi Rogers also co-stars as a slutty vice president.
“The Loop” features a split between two worlds — the college party life and the cynical way of the workplace. Sam (Ben Harrison) is a recent college graduate adjusting to life amid the listless landscape of a corporate airline headquarters. His days barely go by fast enough — partly due to the whoring VP Meryl (Mimi Rogers) and the bigoted company president Russ (Philip Baker Hall). People always want a piece of Sam, whether it be for business or pleasure — in Meryl’s case, it’s strictly pleasure.
Sam’s success at the office is startling, since he is hung over at almost every boardroom meeting. He’s never had it so good — but his balancing is sure to become tougher as both his job responsibilities and drinking binges expand in scope.
Watching Sam’s life collapse and reconstruct itself every five minutes is actually quite funny. However, his dumb roommates and flakey brother fit squarely in the boring category. They are no more than one-note party instigators, and their slapstick jokes fall flat. The show’s high point is the office, where aggressive, humorless employees at Trans America Airways generate the most laughs. Hapless, overqualified secretary Darcy (Joy Osmanski) is the highlight of the show. Her bitter remarks about her current position in life (despite her MIT degree) catch Sam off guard. Veteran actors Hall and Rogers also inject the show with great energy — plus some frighteningly awkward moments for Sam.
Here lies the fine line between innovative and rehashed: “The Loop” hits a home run in portraying business life in a new way, but we’ve seen too much of this party life — and seen it done better. More work assignments and less beer pong are needed if “The Loop” wishes to survive on Fox’s ever-changing primetime schedule.
