Samantha Who?: Turning 1

Samantha Who? "The Birthday"
With the plethora of TV shows I watch on Monday nights (and the several that I am committed to blogging about), I haven't gotten around to commenting on Samantha Who? in quite a while. I want to rectify that fact, however, in honor of the show's season 1 finale.

To say that Samantha Who? is my favorite new half-hour comedy series of the year doesn't give it the credit it deserves, since I don't watch any other new half-hour comedies (except Miss Guided, which didn't last very long). What's more to the point is that this show is solid, it's funny, and it's very entertaining. Personally, I haven't tired of the amnesia plot device, and I genuinely enjoy watching Samantha try to reinvent herself. Christina Applegate makes for a charismatic heroine. (Oh, and her wardrobe is fantastic.)

The main strength of the show, in my opinion, is that every character on the show can consistently deliver funny lines. Samantha, Andrea, Dena, Sam's parents, Todd, and Frank are all capable of complete hilarity. I especially want to send kudos to Jennifer Esposito, because I remember that I expressed worry at her over-the-top antics after the pilot episode. She's completely won me over as Andrea, however. I love how funny she is even when she doesn't have a line and is just sending someone (usually Dena) a look of total disgust.

And Barry Watson was never this dreamy on What About Brian? and especially not in (ugh) 7th Heaven.

Finale Highlights:

• Sam: "...and, thank you for helping me find this book on tanks, sir!"
  Todd: "No, tank you!"
  
• Sam: "A hospital is kind of like a club; they've got cute people, skimpy outfits, and drugs!"
  
• Evil Sam wore seriously dark lipstick.
  
• Frank is great. His omnipresent condescension is definitely a highlight of the show.
  
• Howard (Sam's dad): "Well, I'm sorry I don't dress like the internet."
  
• Andrea (about her kitchen): "It's just, I've never been in here before."
  
• It's pretty cute that Sam is saying that she's "turning 1."
  
• Howard: "You know some of these people--the glitterati--don't roll in until at least 8:30!"