TV review: ‘Best Time Ever’ wasn’t

Why not? It was impressive, but if there’s a line between show business and show off, Harris is in danger of crossing it.

Kudos to Neil Patrick Harris for trying to bring something different to TV, and to NBC for being open to the idea.

Highlights from the pilot episode include Reese Witherspoon serving as the guest announcer, NPH dressing up as the Alabama mascot at the Crimson Tide’s opening football game vs. Wisconsin and going undercover at The Voice.

This episode ended with Harris doing flips on a pogo stick to a Pitbull soundtrack.

“There will be game elements, we’ll have celebrity hidden camera pranks”, Harris explains.

The show kicked off with Harris walking through the “Best Suit Ever” machine, which gave him a quick wardrobe change before heading over to greet the audience.

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS: Tell me the single biggest event that happened to you this year. We’ve got a lot of awesome people [to be guest announcers].

The question and answer got more intense when Williams asked him about his latest job as the host of the Academy Awards this year.

“I know!” he quips. “I’m so happy that I did – he’s a truly wonderful man. Here’s to many more laughs and adventures.!” Well, I can only speak for myself on this.

I’m a stickler for the authenticity of it all, so when we say, “Randomly chosen”, we haven’t vetted seven people and chosen one.

DEGGANS: All these bits were stitched together with a kind of jokey dialogue that Harris employed when hosting “The Oscars” and the “Tony Awards”.

Harris’ new show airs on NBC Tuesdays at 9 Central.

WITHERSPOON: Absolutely. I’ve been working really hard on my announcer voice.

Harris has always been known of his great sense of humour and openness to the public, thus proudly saying he has apparently been crushing on the young singer for quite some time now. By inviting a few Broadway legends onstage to sing a song about their canceled TV shows the host managed to kill two birds: He got in a a good loser joke AND reaffirmed how awesome Broadway is compared to Hollywood. Oh, for the days when prime-time TV hosts entertained. I’m surprised – I’m surprised at the amount of time it takes to do so much stuff. Big Al also made an appearance in the show’s wild musical finale waving the “Best Time Ever” flag along side dancers, bar tenders, and a troop of trick pogostick jumpers. One critic wrote on Twitter, it was like David Letterman crossed with a gay Christmas cabaret.

Moral of the story: Don’t watch Best Time Ever. There were times when Best Time Ever seemed less like entertainment and more like what websites call “native advertising” – ads in disguise. No, no, there’s no way, no, no, no, no way I’m leaving without you.

“Once you do it, it’s super awesome and super fun and you want to do it again!”