NBC.com has six complete episodes of the new Andy Richter show ANDY BARKER, P.I. streaming online:

http://www.nbc.com/Video/rewind/full_episo...ndybarker.shtml

The show debuts next week on NBC tv.

You can watch the pilot of RAINES too.

http://www.nbc.com/NBC_First_Look/

I would LOVE a DVD release of Andy's first FOX sit-com.

I'm not quite sure what to make of NBC streaming all six episodes before the first one even airs. Does this imply that the network is throwing it away? Or is trying to be innovative?

Great review in the NY Times today--but it takes a few paragraphs or so to realize that it's a great review, as the beginning of the piece sounds like it's going to turn into a slam. Odd.

Note that the episode "The Lady Varnishes" with guest stars Amy Sedaris and Ed Asner is listed as an NBC.com exclusive. Does that mean they don't intend to air it?

I don't really see how this could help the show's Nielsen ratings.

Considering that, what, three Andy Richter projects have been doomed to fail w/o web presences before, it couldn't hurt; I still think the amount of viewership the web streams have is negligible, and more likely they're hoping people will watch it (hip people who use computers) and tell their friends; especially since the premiere episode last night was mildly amusing but rather frantic, maybe an opportunity to sample more earlier might allow people to "get" the show's vibe. There is this new heightened-insanity universe a lot of shows exist in since ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (well, since SCRUBS, actually), such as 30 ROCK and this and that thing on TBS about the supermarket, which is odd; while I likesome of these shows, they don't seem to really catch on with wider audiences, so I'm not quite sure why this style is the flavor of the month -- it is like a Conan sketch stretched out to 30 (all right, 19-20) minutes...

I could understand putting one episode on the Web to interest surfers, but the entire series? I don't understand NBC's marketing strategy.

Last night's pilot was typical for high-concept shows in that it had difficulties squeezing in all the characters and the premise and still finding time to develop a crime drama plot...all in 21 minutes. It wasn't as great as the LOOKWELL pilot (though what is?), but I'll definitely tune in again next week.

Anybody stay up for RAINES?

I had never heard of LOOKWELL! until Marty just mentioned it. Thanks, man. Just watched it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBQ3HbB0c8Y

Seriously funny. Adam West, absolutely perfect.

I watched about 10 minutes of it, encouraged by seeing Frank Darabont's name as director. Jeff Goldblum is an engaging lead and the show's conceit (Raines doesn't see ghosts, per se, but figments of his imagination leading to a sort of imagined Socratic dialogue between the living and the dead) makes for a nice counterpoint to MEDIUM and THE GHOST WHISPERER.

I thought ANDY BARKER, P.I. was medium funny, more sweet-natured and amiable than clever, but I do like the Simi Valley mini mall setting, the video store guy reminds me of me circa 1986 and Harve Presnell is always good for a laugh.

I was a bit underwhelmed by "AB, PI" but I'll watch it at least one more time to see how it hangs out. Ok, two. I thought the most unfunny part was the car chase/investment meeting, during which I kept moaning "as if!" Everything else seemed to have at least a toe in reality, and I appreciated the humor of Andy's "team" being assembled based on their proximity at the strip mall.

I still like "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" better.

Am I mistaken, or, just after Jeff Goldblum's Raines talks about having been a fan of Chandler and Hammett and MacDonald, he visits the victim's apartment, which is located in the unique complex where Elliott Gould's Philip Marlowe resided in THE LONG GOODBYE.

Nice to see Tracey Walter on television again. Goldblum is very good, but, honestly, the gimmick of talking to dead people really isn't necessary. It seems like Jeff-Goldblum-as-an-eccentric-homicide-cop is a strong enough premise.

Mykelti Williamson was strangely unbilled. He starred in Graham Yost's last NBC series, the excellent BOOMTOWN.

As...? You're not confusing him with Malik Yoba, are you?

Williamson was the detective at the scene of the private eye's murder. I don't think his character's name was mentioned, but it's fun to consider that he may have been playing Fearless from BOOMTOWN.

Based on the comments here, I finally watched "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" over the weekend. The first season was great, as were the first five or six episodes of the second -- but it really went downhill at that point -- starting with the Conan/Rio episode.

Although I don't know the background info, it seems like the creators ditched the character-based humor for bigger/broader humor -- I'm assuming because of poor ratings/network interference.

FYI, the whole season is also available for download from iTunes (you can only stream from the NBC site). Again, having this available before airing seems so counterintuitive to me.

(For that matter, the upcoming season of The Andy Milanakis (sp?) Show is also available for downloading on iTunes a month before airing on MTV.)

For what it's worth the U.S. version of THE OFFICE was in big trouble after the first season. NBC put the episodes on iTunes -- at the beginning of the holiday season (which saw a LOT of video iPod purchaes)-- and it did HUGE sales. One of the producers claimed that it was the show's exposure on iTunes that saved it.

As a matter of fact, his name was Smith and I think it was Bobby Smith but I'm not positive. He certainly dressed and acted like Fearless.

What you're describing happened in the middle of the show's second season; I remember because it went up on iTunes the same week they aired the xmas episode that featured the video Ipod. NBC had already renewed the show for a second season largely as a "good faith" move that its ratings would improve, although the NBC execs got a confidence boost when Steve Carell's move The 40-Year-Old Virgin became a box-office smash.

When The Office did go on iTunes, it did become a hit, like you say, but they never sold an episode until after it had already aired.

As for why the advance streaming/selling of these new shows online, I think they may be doing it because they realize that only a small fraction of the audience is actually going to watch the episodes, but this small audience can help build word-of-mouth for the show. When a show can get cancelled these days after 3-4 episodes, and with most shows being at their weakest in the first few episodes, it probably helps viewership if there's people going "don't worry, it gets better as it goes along." Think of it as the network TV equivalent of advance screenings for movies.

And note that now THE OFFICE is the one NBC show conspiciously unavailable for free on NBC.com. They have clips and deleted scenes but not full episodes.

I doubt that streaming episodes online has much negative impact on ratings and as Jay says, probably does more good through word of mouth. It is nice to have another viewing option when the few shows I watch tend to air at the same time. But I suspect ANDY BARKER is doomed in any case.

I was surprised to see ABC keep IN CASE OF EMERGENCY on the air after it was reported that they were dumping both ICOE and THE KNIGHTS OF PROSPERITY for repeats of LOST. KOP didn't live up to the hype but I've been enjoying ICOE. Though I doubt it will get picked up for another season. And yet, ACCORDING TO JIM is still on the air. The ways of sitcom survival are a mystery to me.

I would normally agree, but in this case, NBC is streaming the episodes online before they actually air, which I don't think has ever happened before.

I told y'all months ago that no sitcom titled THE KNIGHTS OF PROSPERITY would survive.

No show has had quite so many episodes available online before they aired, but there have been several shows over the past year that have had at least the premiere episode available online before it aired. I can think of shows like Stella, Studio 60, Dexter, Kidnapped, 30 Rock, The Riches, and The Tudors, with the last actually having the first 2 episodes available.

The move to preview all 6 episodes of Andy Barker seems like an extension of this preview movement. The networks have probably seen the previews as having a positive effect, and since the first few episodes of Andy Barker are reportedly the weakest, they wanted those previewing to be able to get to the good stuff to recommend people keep watching. It's not like this show is like the Sarah Silverman program, where they could move the weaker pilot to the end, since the first 2 eps of this show set up the premise and characters and would ruin continuity if aired later.

Well, perhaps NBC's concept of allowing everybody to watch every episode online before they aired was a terrible idea after all.

RIP AB, PI.

I feel sorry for Andy, but I didn't think the show was jelling. I felt that he didn't dominate it, if you know what I mean. Still, I'll be saying "Ya THINK?" for weeks!

ANDY BARKER was light stuff but I busted out laughing at almost everything Harve Presnell said...

(Of a mocha latte) "I'm growin' a set of jugs just lookin' at the thing"

... which is more than I can say for the glacially un-entertaining 30 ROCK.

Ahh, Richard never fails to get his weekly 30 ROCK dig in.

I root for Andy Richter too, but I couldn't make it through a full 30 minutes after the pilot. The show had its heart in the right place, but the joke was made in the pilot; I've attempted every episode since, and they were DULL. I'd find myself going in the kitchen for fifteen minutes and not worrying at all about what I was missing. Every time...

Since I never bothered to try to watch any episodes online, and I don't know how many did, I won't say that that's the reason the show failed.

But 30 ROCK apparently has been renewed, so you can continue to watch it against your will next season too!

Weekly?! I haven't said a negative thing about 30 SUCK since February 16th! That's almost 2 months, dawg!

Gee, you're right. I guess each wound just cuts so deeply!

I loved ANDY RICHTER CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE. I miss ANDY RICHTER CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE. I still hold out hope for a DVD of ANDY RICHTER CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE.

All ANDY BARKER ever did was occasionally bring a smile to my face. The old "Previously on Conan O'Brien..." bumpers were much, much funnier. By a certain point I stopped smiling and started grumbling, wondering when 30 ROCK was coming back. Problem solved.

Clearly, they should have gotten somebody named Arsenio Billingham to work on it...

Gee, Pete, I hope you didn't miss ROCK; they've actually shown it at least once in the 8:30 slot since they put ANDY on at 9:30, and I think that's where they're going to keep showing it, too...

Actually, 30 ROCK has been moved to 9:00 and SCRUBS will be on at 9:30.

Last week it was on at 8:42 as part of NBC's super-sizing nonsense. I didn't miss it, but I know at least one person who did.

The great thing about 30 ROCK is that it's no less funny when it's not on.

Anyone who does not appreciate the comic genius of Alec Baldwin is obviously a Martian.

And, come on...THE RURRRURRH JURRRURRHHH. That's funny!

P.S. I can't wait until RHS and I are cranky old dudes sitting in a bar someplace. I'll be screaming, "THE RURRRURRHAHH JURRAHAAHAH...that's funny, man!" And he'll be all, "Are you ever going to shut up about that?"

Alec Baldwin is deucedly funny. But he's not any funnier on 30 ROCK than he was on his various hosting gigs on SNL or in his return visits to WILL & GRACE ("Hold my pocket"). Baldwin is the only reason to watch this show, but Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan and Jane Krac... whatever... are just dead weight.

And we already are cranky old guys, Marty.