“Good Advice,” which aired briefly in April 1993, returns brushed off but not yet spruce enough to pass muster. Shelley Long as ditzy psychologist Susan DeRuzza and Treat Williams as cynical divorce lawyer Jack are back sharing an office suite with a chiropractor; they’re not any funnier than last year.
Teri Garr as Susan’s sis Paige, just into L.A. to help her sister cope with a divorce, lands like the Marines. If the other cast members — and the writers — could muster up some of her freshness and savvy, the program would have a chance.
Initial episode intros Susan enduring an earthquake with her son. At the office, chiropractor Artie Cohen (George Wyner) keeps comforting her even as he opens a new lunchroom in the office building. Susan meets with a couple she’s been advising to discover the husband’s got some unexpected news that plays like silly psych. ]
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Susan’s a spinoff of Diane Chambers going through a breakdown, and Long has her right down to the fey bravura, but Williams’ unfunny, awkward character tosses negative ions through most of the first chapter.
Maybe Susan and wonderfully daffy, warm Paige should go into business together: selling earthquake shards or bottled smog.
Ted Bessel directed the opener with as much finesse as possible, and Jon Spector’s production is satisfactory. Not surprisingly, sitcom’s not on CBS’ sked for next season.