FX Thursday Night Lineup - TV Review

ANGER MANAGEMENT - Charlie Sheen's comeback after Two and a Half Men is another laughtrack show, and it's one where the writing isn't near what it should be.  It's actually a safer, blander show than Men, and it's just not funny.  Sheen runs an anger management support group, and the characters around the circle are stock (although it's amusing to watch Barry Corbin do his best Wilford Brimley).  The one-liners are groaners.  Grade: D

WILFRED - I gave up on this show last season, but I've seen the first two episodes, and I'm back in. It's found its voice.  It's much improved now that Elijah Wood's has a job and is no longer suicidal.  Grade: B

LOUIE - Sometimes it's barely a comedy; it's more of a melancholy reflection on mid-life life.  But it stays funny as it reveals truth.  I like how it blends the events of the episode into the stand-up act.  Seinfeld did it too, but that felt detached.  This is part of his life.  Grade: A-

BRAND X with RUSSELL BRAND - Russell Brand, that British comedian whose career's on its way down, now has a show where he takes the headlines of the day and improvs comedy from them, talking to the audience.  It's like he's working out material, but since Brand's worn out his welcome with me, I'd say it's quite skippable.  Grade: D-