Sons of Tucson

Family comedy about three brothers who hire a charming, wayward schemer to stand in as their father when their real one goes to prison.
Sons of Tucson

TIMESLOT

Sundays @ 8:30pm starting this midseason on FOX.

SYNOPSIS

In the tradition of "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The Bernie Mac Show," SONS OF TUCSON is a family comedy about three brothers who hire a charming, wayward schemer to stand in as their father when their real one goes to prison. What begins as a business relationship evolves into something more complex and compelling: a family unlike any we've ever seen. The three brothers find their dad-for-hire, RON SNUFFKIN (Tyler Labine, "Reaper"), at the local sporting good store. Ron will be forced to draw on a wide array of skills and a vast bag of tricks as he steps into the patriarch role to take care of the boys of the Gunderson family. ROBBY GUNDERSON (Davis Cleveland, "How I Met Your Mother"), 8, is a loose cannon who doesn't respond well to authority; GARY GUNDERSON (Frank Dolce, "Doubt"), 11, is a bright and street-savvy leader who is every bit the con man his father is; and BRANDON GUNDERSON (Troy Gentile, "Entourage"), 13, is a gentle free spirit who simply goes along for the ride. MAGGIE MORALES (Natalie Martinez, "Saints & Sinners"), Robby's second-grade teacher and the object of Ron's affection, might just be the only stable figure in the lives of this quirky quartet. While SONS OF TUCSON is grounded in the day-to-day challenges of a single-parent home, nothing in the Gunderson household is quite what it seems. An ongoing chess match between Ron and the boys will keep both parties on their toes, as neither side can afford to give up too much power or independence. PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox Television

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Justin Berfield, Jason Felts, Harvey Myman, Todd Holland

DIRECTOR: Todd Holland

WRITERS: Tommy Dewey, Greg Bratman

CAST: Tyler Labine as Ron Snuffkin, Davis Cleveland as Robby Gunderson, Frank Dolce as Gary Gunderson, Troy Gentile as Brandon Gunderson, Natalie Martinez as Maggie Morales

REVIEWS

Please note that these reviews may contain spoilers.

Gordon McDougall's Take
If you enjoyed Tyler Labine as sidekick "Sock" on The CW's sadly cancelled Reaper, then you will enjoy Sons of Tucson. Labine essentially plays the same character again, but in this premise, he's not helping his friend, Sam, return wayward souls to hell; he's helping to raise three hellions who are in need of a father figure (if only to fool authorities into thinking someone is caring for them). In typical TV fashion, though, you can bet the kids will help to raise their pseudo-dad, too. (Hey, they should have called this show Pseudo-Dad!) The pilot episode is short on jokes and long on setting up the premise. The three street-wise boys (ranging in age from 8 to 13) seemed to choose Ron Snuffkin (Labine) at random, but they seem to be a good match. Their real dad is in jail for committing some white collar crime, but they have access to dad's money, so they offer Ron some much-needed cash in order to pose as their dad. Ron needs the money because he owes a crazy man $2,000. That crazy man is played by Gary Busey's son, Jake. All I need to say about Jake Busey is that the apple didn't fall far from the crazy. He's perfect as Ron's nemesis. (No word on whether he's sticking around, but he should.) Adding some stability into the loves of all the boys (including Ron) is Maggie Morales, one of the boys' teachers. As you might expect, Ron is hot for teacher. Finally, one breakout character is Ron's cantankerous old grandmother, who seems to be lifted from the "Throw Momma From The Train" brand of angry ol' gal. She provides Ron with a healthy dose of reality check. The whole idea behind this show is a bit of a stretch, but judging from the pilot, I'm prepared to suspend my disbelief. This show looks like it could be a fun ride (as long as they don't slide too far to the side of over-sentimentality). One of the executive producers of Sons Of Tucson is Justin Berfield, who played Malcolm's brother, Reese, on Malcolm In The Middle. You can feel the Malcolm "vibe" in this show. That's a good thing. TV Gord's Verdict: It's unclear which elements of this show will be maintained for the full series, but I enjoyed everything I've seen so far. When this show is slated to show up (mid-season on Fox's Sunday night of predominently animated shows), this show should both fit in and stand out. I hope crazy Tony and angry grandma stick around, and I hope they can maintain the show's edge. This one is promising.
About Gordon McDougall TVGord is a radio host at 580 CFRA in Ottawa. He does a weekly segment about TV every friday which you can hear in MP3 in the '580 CFRA Interviews' section of their website, www.cfra.com

Gordon McDougall's Take

If you enjoyed Tyler Labine as sidekick "Sock" on The CW's sadly cancelled Reaper, then you will enjoy Sons of Tucson. Labine essentially plays the same character again, but in this premise, he's not helping his friend, Sam, return wayward souls to hell; he's helping to raise three hellions who are in need of a father figure (if only to fool authorities into thinking someone is caring for them). In typical TV fashion, though, you can bet the kids will help to raise their pseudo-dad, too. (Hey, they should have called this show Pseudo-Dad!)

The pilot episode is short on jokes and long on setting up the premise. The three street-wise boys (ranging in age from 8 to 13) seemed to choose Ron Snuffkin (Labine) at random, but they seem to be a good match. Their real dad is in jail for committing some white collar crime, but they have access to dad's money, so they offer Ron some much-needed cash in order to pose as their dad. Ron needs the money because he owes a crazy man $2,000. That crazy man is played by Gary Busey's son, Jake. All I need to say about Jake Busey is that the apple didn't fall far from the crazy. He's perfect as Ron's nemesis. (No word on whether he's sticking around, but he should.) Adding some stability into the loves of all the boys (including Ron) is Maggie Morales, one of the boys' teachers. As you might expect, Ron is hot for teacher. Finally, one breakout character is Ron's cantankerous old grandmother, who seems to be lifted from the "Throw Momma From The Train" brand of angry ol' gal. She provides Ron with a healthy dose of reality check.

The whole idea behind this show is a bit of a stretch, but judging from the pilot, I'm prepared to suspend my disbelief. This show looks like it could be a fun ride (as long as they don't slide too far to the side of over-sentimentality). One of the executive producers of Sons Of Tucson is Justin Berfield, who played Malcolm's brother, Reese, on Malcolm In The Middle. You can feel the Malcolm "vibe" in this show. That's a good thing.

TV Gord's Verdict: It's unclear which elements of this show will be maintained for the full series, but I enjoyed everything I've seen so far. When this show is slated to show up (mid-season on Fox's Sunday night of predominently animated shows), this show should both fit in and stand out. I hope crazy Tony and angry grandma stick around, and I hope they can maintain the show's edge. This one is promising.

About Gordon McDougall
TVGord is a radio host at 580 CFRA in Ottawa. He does a weekly segment about TV every friday which you can hear in MP3 in the '580 CFRA Interviews' section of their website, www.cfra.com

Fall TV Preview

Sons of Tucson

TIMESLOT

SYNOPSIS

REVIEWS

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