The Whiffler Wants to Love Raymond

In between near-crippling paroxysms of overwhelming guilt, The Whiffler has been in heaven these last few days. During a spring cleaning jag last weekend, while attempting to clear thick layers of dust from behind the big, black, old-fashioned tube-style television wedged obtrusively into the corner of our tiny bedroom, I made some comment about how maybe we should find a better place to put it. Mrs. Whiffler's reply put my jaw on the floor: "Or we could just get a new TV." (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

     Two minutes later I was at Best Buy, doing my best Brett Favre at Sears imitation, standing and staring at the various flat-screens for literally (and I use that word correctly) a good solid hour, studying the picture quality, weighing the differences of 60Hz vs. 120Hz, 720p vs. 1080i, etc. Finally, I pulled the trigger and made a purchase decision – just minutes after a lady bought the last of my chosen model out from under me. Fortunately, another location had the one I wanted, and I set off across town to pick up my 32" of high-def glory. Hopefully, the buyer's remorse (I ended up spending more than I set out to) will wear off before the thrill of watching The Masters in 1080i splendor. (I may never blog again!) But I digress ...

     While watching Monday night's episode of "The Haney Project: Ray Romano" on our new Sony Bravia KDL32EX500 Tuesday morning, I found myself thinking: "I really want to like this show."  I love the premise. Ray's a likable guy I can relate to (he's got certain mental defects in common with The Whiffler). And his golf game is at a level (his goal is to break 80) where it seems like I could benefit from what Coach Haney would have to say to him – unlike with his previous subject, Charles Barkley, a.k.a. the "Renowned Mound of Sound-bites." (Photo: Dunn/Getty Images, via pgatour.com.)

     But they're making it difficult for me. There are good parts of the show, but they're surrounded by so much fluff! There are too many of Ray's celebrity friends (Brad Garrett is really obnoxious), too much palling around, too many jokes, and too much ... Hollywood. Also (and this seems to be a general trend in "reality" television), they spend too much time before a commercial break "previewing" the next segment and too much time after reviewing what came before. It gets quite redundant for those watching the whole show.

     As with the majority of us, it seems to me that most of Ray's problems are between his ears. He's quite capable of hitting good shots, and Hank says he's a very good putter for a guy at his level. But he has a consistency problem. I would love it if they would slow down the pace of the show, which is quite manic, and show an extended conversation between teacher and pupil. Much of what Hank tells the camera during the little interview asides makes a lot of sense. But I'd love to see the part where he tells it to Ray instead of to us. And to see how Ray reacts (without making a joke).

     One of Hank's interesting insights is that Ray is convinced he has to get worse before he gets better. Hank says that's not so, but for Ray it's become a self-fulfilling prophecy. He's stubborn that way. Another interesting exchange came when Ray complained that Hank was putting too many thoughts into his head. Hank replied that it was only "too many thoughts" if he did not get rid of the old thoughts he already had in there before adding the new ones. That's the kind of thing I'd like to see more of.

     It's almost as if they're underestimating the viewers, targeting the show for a more general audience than the golf nuts who tune in to The Golf Channel. This should be Haney's show, but they make it feel like Romano's.

     One nice moment on Monday night's episode was a round of golf Ray played with Tom Dreesen, who Ray identified as one of the comedians who inspired him to go into comedy himself. It was just the two of them (and a camera crew) enjoying the game and each other's company. The "see how funny I am!" moments were minimal, which made it feel more natural than some of the other segments.

     So I'll stick with it. And hopefully I'll learn a few things – besides the fact that Ray Romano's complexion is not quite as good as it looks in standard definition.

Update: Maybe the producers have been reading this blog, because the most recent show was all about golf, a pretty good analysis/summary of Ray's progress so far. Unfortunately, it was also the last new show for a while, as they revealed that Ray's father became ill and ultimately passed away in March. New episodes will resume on May 24th.