"It makes Cavemen look like Cheers" —Tim Goodman, San Francisco Chronicle
"This is a show that could bury the [sitcom] genre altogether" —Barry Garron, The Hollywood Reporter
"A program so bad that it's not only unpleasant to watch, but it makes you fear for the future of network television" —Mo Ryan, Chicago Tribune
To the litany of scathing reviews that have greeted Do Not Disturb—a FOX sitcom starring Jerry O'Connell and Niecy Nash, and set in a chic New York City hotel featuring many upstairs/downstairs shenanigans—comes an unprecendented press release, issued by the show's creators, that essentially joins in the chorus of boos. (And no, they're not saying "Boo-urns," either.) Here's a taste:
"We here at Do Not Disturb agree that by airing the ‘Work Sex’ episode—before airing the actual pilot—we created much confusion and we deserve all the criticism, the bad puns (i.e. ‘an early checkout from the fall season,’ ‘Do Not Make in the First Place,’ etc.) and, yes, even the accusation that it very well could be the final nail in the multicamera sitcom’s coffin." They also apologize "for being the perpetrators of such bad television."
The letter was sent out to a handful of unhappy critics, along with another episode that the producers felt better represented the show. What's odd about the gambit, other than the self-deprecating tone, is that it addresses one seemingly minor problem (that the show hadn't properly set up the scenario, as pilots are supposed to do) without the other, more pressing issue (that it's dire). But since FOX tends to be a graveyard for bad sitcoms, perhaps this move will at least give Do Not Disturb a stay of execution.