Midweek comedy revue

Raising Hope, Tuesdays at 9pm on Fox
This show has so far not managed to exceed the precedent it set up in its pilot.  It is a serviceably funny and cute show, and probably fills the role of being today's Married...With Children or Malcolm in the Middle.  There are usually one and a half big laughs per episode, and I wish that number were higher, but it remains a very sweet sitcom that shows a family of people who really do love each other and want to work together, so I just like seeing that on TV.  I love puns way more than I should, so when a character mentions that he plans to name his boat "Cirrhosis of the River," I got a big guffaw out of that.

Running Wilde, Tuesdays at 9:30pm on Fox
I've read that Mitch Hurwitz is trying to balance network demands with what he and Will Arnett want to do with this show.  Haven't we learned this lesson before?  And always with Fox?  This week's episode in particular was a terrible rip-off of the Arrested Development episodes "S.O.B.s" and "Afternoon Delight," and even had David Cross referring to his genitals as his "blue man group."  Come on!  Yes, AD fans are hoping that this show will fulfill our post-cancellation needs, but our needs for a smart good comedy, not our needs for callbacks.  So far the character of Fa'ad is the only consistently funny thing on the show, and I am disappointed that everyone else seems to not be getting used at all.

Modern Family, Wednesdays at 9pm on ABC
This has been the weakest episode I can remember on this show.  When an earthquake hit Los Angeles, what followed was Cam and Mitchell interacting with their friend (a cameo by Nathan Lane), Jay not wanting to go to church and sending Manny mixed messages about religion, and Phil trying to trick Claire.  I liked all of these things better when done on Sex and the City, The Simpsons, and earlier episodes of Modern Family, respectively.