Andy Richter's days as the goofy sidekick are over. He's now the leading man of his own show — and it's a good one.
"Andy Richter Controls the Universe" is one of the best new comedies on television. Richter, formerly of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," portrays Andy, a short-story writer who works for a company writing instruction manuals. He may not control the whole universe, and actually he can't even control his own little slice of it, but Andy likes to dream that he does exert total control.
"This is a show about possibilities," explains Andy at the beginning of the premiere. "The endless possibilities that life serves up to us every day. Have you ever thought of how many different things can happen in any given moment?"
Andy has thought of all those possibilities and he likes to share those ideas. Take, for instance, waking up in the morning. When the alarm clock rings, Andy could knock over a glass of water and be electrocuted in his own bed. Or he could wake up with chest pain, but instead of calling 911 he mistakenly dials 411 and drops dead. Or he could wake up to see his dream girl slinking across his bedroom in a flimsy negligee. They are all possible. At least in Andy's fantasies.
Andy is a regular guy. He's a bit pudgy and can never think of the right word to say. He secretly loves Wendy, the new secretary, but he can barely say hello to her. Sometimes he gets so nervous being near her that even his fantasy ends badly.
"See, a lot can go wrong," says Andy.
When his friends challenge him, Andy loves to respond, "I'm shy. It's endearing."
Wendy (Irene Molloy) thinks Andy is endearing, although she is dating Andy's best friend, Keith (James Patrick Stuart). Keith is one of the beautiful people. He is so good-looking that he doesn't have to work hard for anything. Life is handed to him on a silver platter. Which is why Andy declares he is a bigot, at least against the beautiful.
Andy finds solace in his career-driven boss and friend, Jessica (Paget Brewster). Jessica is tough, a no-nonsense girl who is determined to move up the corporate ladder. She tried to date Andy at one time, but it didn't work out. So now she is his boss instead. She likes to defend Andy as he stumbles through the daily boredom of writing manuals about military equipment. But even Jessica is blindsided when a strange man moves into Andy's office.
Andy's world seems to be collapsing when he discovers that he must share his office with a weird-looking guy. Byron (Jonathan Slavin) is the company's new illustrator who will be working with Andy on the latest manual. Byron can be whiny, messy and nosy. Which is why Andy decides that he must be fired from the company. Despite his best efforts to hate the guy, Andy finds Byron fitting into his nice clique of friends.
"Andy Richter Controls the Universe" seamlessly blends fantasies with reality. Viewers will have to pay attention to keep up with what is real and what is a figment of Andy's fertile imagination. The fantasies are unique and perfectly fit the story lines, such as when Andy turns into Superman to win Wendy's heart, or he wears a puppy-lined raincoat to show how sweet he can be or a musical number declares he's excited about a date with his high-school flame.
Richter's quirky sense of humor is the perfect addition to Fox. The show taps into everyone's insecurities and desire to be the cool guy, or at least say really cool things. Richter is so likable, it is hard to remember him as the second banana to Conan O'Brien.
Richter has found his niche in the universe. It's a shame the show is only 30 minutes long.
"Andy Richter Controls the Universe" airs at 8:30 Tonight, Fox
