Snoop Dogg has made a lucrative career out of defying expectations. Unfortunately, there's little of that in his new "reality" show.
While the show aims for laughs - it's described as a "reality comedy" - the jokes are a little too small and a lot too obvious in Sunday night's opener, which follows the fourth season premiere of The Girls Next Door.
While Snoop is not the first rapper drawn to reality TV, he's one of the most interesting.
For starters, he's relatively well-known outside rap, perhaps because even people who think all rappers sound alike see his droll style as distinct.
But this isn't a music show. It's designed to focus on Snoop's life with his wife, Shante, or "The Boss Lady," and three children.
Since Snoop's biggest hit, "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang," had a gangster flavor and he made no secret for years about his affection for marijuana, this seems like another good setup to play against type - to see a guy many people doubtless consider a menace to society trying to, say, convince a preteen it's bedtime.
That exact sort of joke kicks off the show. One of the preteens tells Snoop to turn down his music because she can't study with all that racket.
The first episode's centerpiece, however, takes Snoop to the doctor's office, after he decides he's run down from the stress of producing a new record and dealing with all the beat downs rap artists have to take.
So he visits a "doctor to the stars," where we spend too long watching him refuse to have blood drawn because he hates needles. The doctor finally suggests yoga or acupuncture, which works out as well as you'd expect for someone who's phobic about needles.
Meanwhile, back home, the kids are left for a while with Uncle June, who learned his housekeeping skills from Oscar in "The Odd Couple." Once we see the potato-chip wrappers on the floor, we know the whole joke, but we watch it play out anyway.
The potential appeal of "Father Hood" remains pretty basic: "Omigod, what if Snoop Dogg were, like, your father?"
The first night, frankly, it doesn't seem all that interesting.
But Snoop has snuck up on us before, and next week's plot line has promise: Snoop brings David Beckham into the game.
Perhaps this Sunday is just a warm-up exercise.
Source: NY Daily News
While the show aims for laughs - it's described as a "reality comedy" - the jokes are a little too small and a lot too obvious in Sunday night's opener, which follows the fourth season premiere of The Girls Next Door.
While Snoop is not the first rapper drawn to reality TV, he's one of the most interesting.
For starters, he's relatively well-known outside rap, perhaps because even people who think all rappers sound alike see his droll style as distinct.
But this isn't a music show. It's designed to focus on Snoop's life with his wife, Shante, or "The Boss Lady," and three children.
Since Snoop's biggest hit, "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang," had a gangster flavor and he made no secret for years about his affection for marijuana, this seems like another good setup to play against type - to see a guy many people doubtless consider a menace to society trying to, say, convince a preteen it's bedtime.
That exact sort of joke kicks off the show. One of the preteens tells Snoop to turn down his music because she can't study with all that racket.
The first episode's centerpiece, however, takes Snoop to the doctor's office, after he decides he's run down from the stress of producing a new record and dealing with all the beat downs rap artists have to take.
So he visits a "doctor to the stars," where we spend too long watching him refuse to have blood drawn because he hates needles. The doctor finally suggests yoga or acupuncture, which works out as well as you'd expect for someone who's phobic about needles.
Meanwhile, back home, the kids are left for a while with Uncle June, who learned his housekeeping skills from Oscar in "The Odd Couple." Once we see the potato-chip wrappers on the floor, we know the whole joke, but we watch it play out anyway.
The potential appeal of "Father Hood" remains pretty basic: "Omigod, what if Snoop Dogg were, like, your father?"
The first night, frankly, it doesn't seem all that interesting.
But Snoop has snuck up on us before, and next week's plot line has promise: Snoop brings David Beckham into the game.
Perhaps this Sunday is just a warm-up exercise.
Source: NY Daily News
