Airs: Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30c on Fox
The Set-Up: 3 best friends from college, each at various stages of a relationship - one's single (Love Actually's Kris Marshall - the Brit who travels to America to score), one's moving in with his girlfriend (Scott Pilgrim's Nelson Franklin - the guy who knows all about Ramona Flowers), one's married with a kid (The Office's Roy, David Denman) - navigate the complexities of love, romance, and friendship. Based on an Israeli series by the same name.
The Good: Taking a more guy-centric approach to the ensemble relationship comedy, Traffic Light has a malleable enough premise and a handful of honest, relatable comedic moments - most involving guys' attempts to go out and hang with the buds without appearing to ditch their significant other. The three leads are adept at comedy and have a nice, relaxed presence on screen. Unlike the similarly themed Perfect Couples (which this is way better than), this show doesn't try to force the laughs down your throat...
The Bad: Not enough laughs. The relatable bits are kind of transparent and obvious - not a lot of insight there. The pilot makes a running gag out of Chumbawumba - about five years too late on that joke, guys. Too similar to other shows already on the air. The female characters need more depth.
The Verdict: I already added next week's episode to my DVR. There was enough to like in this pilot to give it another shot, and Nelson Franklin deserves a worthy sitcom developed around him. If the writers can flesh out the female characters and make them more of a presence on screen, instead of a sounding board for the guy characters, this may have a better shot at avoiding cancellation. Grade: B
Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/hammervision/2011/02/tv-review---traffic-light-pilot.html
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