It’s hard to believe that such a one-note show as According to Jim ran for eight seasons using the same plot device each and every time: Jim (James Belushi) lies to Cheryl (Courtney Thorne-Smith), Cheryl finds out, she turns the tables, Jim finds out, they reconcile. After a certain number of episodes that pattern becomes comfortable, but then, after a little while longer, it becomes boring. Such was the case with According to Jim. After Jim and Cheryl had gone through that cycle, with Cheryl’s brother and sister, Andy (Larry Joe Campbell) and Dana (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), backing them up each time, the writers had the brilliant idea to add a new character to the mix. So they married off Dana. That new character added a little bit of flair, but only a little, and soon enough the series was back in its rut and it stayed there for all of its fifth season.
Alongside the very predictable run of events that stems from the deception chain between Jim and Cheryl, the fifth season includes a few minor plotpoints and a semi-major one. What should have been a meaningful exchange between Cheryl and Jim, stemming from a revelation about a sentimental mixtape and is covered in a two-part episode, takes a path so nonsensical that it’s clear the writers don’t have any idea how to deal with a serious issue in the series’ format. They can make the ending as painfully saccharine as sitcom audiences are accustomed to, but they just can’t make a compellingly dramatic conflict to save their lives.
The main four cast members have always been great in their roles and they have great comic rapport, but even they seem like they’re going through the motions. It’s clear they love their jobs, but the pop that used to come with the jokes just isn’t there. The back-and-forth jabs between Jim and Dana no longer have the same good natured venom and the crazy scheming and sappy wrap-ups just don’t have the same sense of inspiration.
DVD Bonus Features
Just like the show itself, the extras on the DVD sets have become routine and predictable if you’ve ever bought an According to Jim season on DVD. As always there’s the season retrospective led primarily by James Belushi with a few cast members who chime in occasionally and a look at the set and its work as a character of sorts in the show.
"According to Jim: The Complete Fifth Season" is on sale October 4, 2011 and is not rated. Comedy. Directed by James Belushi, Mark Cendrowski, Philip Charles MacKenzie. Written by Jonathan Stark, Tracey Newman. Starring Courtney Thorne Smith, James Belushi, Kimberly Williams Paisley, Larry Joe Campbell.
