Starts E4, Thursday 11 September
Think Regarding Henry with laughs and pretty, pretty, pretty Christina Applegate in place of grizzly old Harrison Ford, and you’ll get the gist of what to expect from E4’s My Name is Earlesque new comedy import Samantha Who?.
This, in a nutshell, is the set-up: ruthless, take-no-prisoners property developer Samantha Newly (Applegate) is knocked down by a car and emerges from a coma with no memory of the selfish, egomaniacal bitch she used to be, then gradually pieces together what a vile cow she once was and resolves to make amends for her past behaviour and make her repulsive bosses and co-workers become a little bit less repulsive.
Applegate, best known for her roles in Married With Children… and Anchorman, effectively plays two roles – bad couldn’t-care-less-about-anybody-but-herself pre-coma Sam and nice desperate-to-be-a-better-person post-coma Sam – and acquits herself well in both (she’s up for a Best Actress award at the Emmys later this month so clearly we’re not the only ones who think she’s pretty good in it).
The supporting cast includes the wonderful Jean Smart (previously President Logan’s bonkers wife Martha in 24) as her mother, who is trying to use her daughter’s condition to gain herself a place on a reality TV show, and Jennifer Esposito as her party-girl best friend Andrea.
All in all, it’s amiable enough, if a little frantic and screechy at times for my liking. It’s certainly no Curb Your Enthusiasm or 30 Rock, and I shan’t pretend the laughs exactly come thick and fast, but it makes a nice change from all those Friends repeats and dovetails nicely with Ugly Betty, which it follows.
But don’t just take my word for it. Check out the nifty little recap below (warning: it includes some minor spoilers) and make your own mind up…
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