Incomplete Gamer

There’s more shape-shifting going on in the fourth and mercifully the last series of ‘til Death than your typical episode of Fringe.

But rather than different characters inhabiting the same character’s body, over on the set of ‘til Death, four different actresses have played the role of Ally Stark,  daughter of Eddie and Joy Stark.  Just in case that wasn’t confusing enough, the shows producers have elected to play episodes out of order so that one Ally actress appears, is replaced, and returns throughout the final series.  One of the actresses playing Ally, even played a different character on the show – a waitress – one episode before joining the cast as Doug’s wife Ally.  Read on to make sense of the nonsensical and why we think ‘til Death didn’t merely jump the shark, but jumped in the pool and bludgeoned it to death.

Here at Incomplete Gamer HQ we love a good sit-com.  The show ‘til Death showed early promise.  It had a reasonable premise; examining the contrast between an older married couple, Eddie and Joy Stark (Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher) and their new newly wed neighbours, Jeff and Steph Woodcock (Eddie Kaye Thomas and Kat Foster).

It never rose to the heights of Garret’s previous sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond.  Nor was it ever on our list of must see TV.  Still, when in the need of a 20 minute chuckle, it could always be counted on to deliver a few laughs, so we’ve stuck with it through four seasons   It’s our back up comedy for those times when we’ve exhausted all our gems – our episodes of Modern Family, Community, The Middle or The Office.

Unfortunately Season Four is a stinker.  There’s no kind way to say it, but it’s true.  It’s almost as if the writers saw the writing on the wall and just gave up trying.  The jokes have become meaner and at times downright racist.  Where a show like Two and a Half Men can push the ‘risque envelope time and time again and still elicit a belly laugh, ‘til Death’s attempts  at humour more often than not felt forced vulgar.

But perhaps the most obvious sign that the show’s writers and producers were simply showing up and no longer cared was in the casting of Ally Stark.  In Season One and Two she was played by actress Krysten Ritter (left).  Season Three saw actress Laura Clery (right) assume the role of the daughter.

Laura didn’t stick either.  That brings us to  Season 4 were two more actresses have stepped into the character of Ally.  Lindsey Broad (left) was first out of the gate appearing in ten episodes, while Kate Micucci formerly of Scrubs (right) was the fourth to try out for the role that no one else seems to want.  Not only that, she actually goes from playing an extra – a waitress with one or two lines in the episode ‘Check Mate (Season 4, episode 17), to playing the character Ally the very next episode.

The producers and writers have made light of the casting changes.  Son-in-law Doug (played by Timm Sharp) remarks throughout Season 4 that he is convinced that his life is a sit-com.  In one episode, where the family is talking about  who to invite to a baby shower, Doug remarks, ‘What about the Woodcocks? And Kenny, and the other five girls who played Ally?’

Now it’s not like ‘Til Death is the first show to ever have to back-fill a character with a new actor, and casting problems aren’t always the fault of the show’s producers.  Lose one actress and your unlucky, but lose three actresses in four years seems more than  a little sloppy.

With all the casting changes, screening the final episodes out of order just exacerbates the continuity problems even more.  It seems like the producers are having a laugh. As long as someone is.

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