Out of Practice

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Out of Practice was an American situation comedy television series that was originally broadcast on CBS from September 19, 2005, to March 29, 2006. With producers Joe Keenan and Christopher Lloyd (Frasier's producers) at the helm, the show was about a family of five doctors who had little in common and usually did not get along. CBS officially cancelled it on May 17, 2006, at its upfront presentation.

Premise and cast

Ben Barnes (played by Christopher Gorham) is the youngest son and central character. As a marriage counselor and the only non-physician, the rest of his family sees him as a lesser doctor. His wife left him in the pilot episode.

Ben's father, Stewart Barnes (Henry Winkler), is a gastroenterologist who is happy to be free from the influence of his ex-wife, Lydia Barnes (Stockard Channing), a status-conscious cardiologist and mother of their three children.

Ben's brother, Oliver Barnes (Ty Burrell), is a self-centered plastic surgeon and committed womanizer.

Their sister, Regina Barnes (Paula Marshall), is a lesbian E.R. doctor, who like Oliver, is infatuated with attractive women.

Crystal, Stewart's girlfriend and receptionist (Jennifer Tilly), is a source of frustration and awkwardness for all except Stewart.

Timeslot

Rumors of cancellation circulated after midseason replacement The New Adventures of Old Christine opened in the show's time slot in March 2006. In an interview, however, Burrell asserted that "[w]e're going on hiatus from the air for two months, but we're coming back in March with all-new shows." Two more episodes were shown on Wednesday, March 22, and Wednesday, March 29, at 8 ET/PT.

Until early June, the CBS Website stated that the unseen episodes would be shown at a later date (presumably during summer 2006), but the website now lacks any mention of the show. These episodes may be shown online on CBS' new Innertube website, as interviews with cast members regarding the show are available there.

In early July 2006, it was announced that Channing was nominated for an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy Award for her work on Out of Practice.

The series was shown in Australia, at 6:30pm Saturdays from October 2006; however the series attracted low audience shares, and was consequently taken off after five weeks. It reappeared in mid-2007 in a late-night timeslot, where it completed its run.

On April 2008, the show was broadcast on Comedy Central Poland (3 episodes a week).

Episodes: 2005-2006

External links

• Out of Practice at the Internet Movie Database