The highly successful Bill Engvall Show returns in its third season on TBS with a twist to suit the times.  Engvall’s psychiatry business is facing financial issues and the family is looking to cut back on spending which puts Bill in a position he’s never been familiar with, the bad guy.

The first episode titled Give Me A Break (though check IMDB as it looks as if the title may have been changed or its time slot moved for that particular episode) tackles the financial status of the family as Bill’s psychiatry practice begins to dwindle and money becomes tight. Bill finds himself unable to afford the spring break he promised Lauren (his daughter, played by Jennifer Lawrence) and finds it hard to tell her.

The second episode titled You Decide finds Bill and Susan (his wife, played by Nancy Travis) at odds with one another when Bill discovers, thanks to a push by Paul (played by Tim Meadows), that Susan manages to make all of the decisions in the family. To gain control Bill signs himself up for an impossible mission, shopping.

Is the family sitcom a dying art? There are some that go down in television history that are memorable for more then one liners such as The Cosby Show, Family Ties, The George Lopez Show, or Reba. For my family there has to be more then cheap sets and cheap jokes and unfortunately The Bill Engvall Show seems to be abundant in both. I can recall watching any of the above mentioned family sitcoms and seeing these rooms that looked lived in. Not to clean, not to dirty, just lived in. The sets on this show are so clean and the characters don’t utilize the objects in any of the rooms as if they have an intimate knowledge of them which makes the believability factor drop considerably and if you can’t see a family home it’s a lot harder to see the cast as a family.

Chemistry is another factor that’s lacking on the show. The kids are stereotypically placed, jabbing one another with one liners, hardly incorporated into the world of the show, divided up by personality deficits. Its to formulated to take seriously. The relationship between Engvall and Travis is also lacking. It’s the typical routine for any sitcom show that I have ever seen. The guy is a bumbling idiot and the wife is smart and in control but worse arrogant and mean. It would be something if the show was genuinely funny and had a cast with the ability to tackle heavier subjects with a dose of realism while balancing out the mood with comedy. This cast just doesn’t seem to have that knack, at least not in these season openers. The only one that really made me laugh, and that was only once during the duration of the two episodes I reviewed, was Tim Meadows. If you’re a fan of the show or Engvall your going to tune in no doubt but will these two episodes be enough, one following the other, to grasp a new audience? They failed to do so with me. As always you be the judge. Tune in Saturday July 18th at 9 PM and see for yourself. Enjoy.