"I Can't Believe I'm Still Single" (2008)TV series 2008-????

Writer:

Eric Schaeffer (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

7 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Sept. 7	11:30 PM	SHOW
Wed. Sept. 10	12:00 AM	SHOW

Cast

Eric Schaeffer

(1 episode, 2008)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Company:

100% Terry Cloth

Very weird, sometimes annoying, but Schaeffer's charisma cannot be denied

"I Can't Believe..." is odd. That's putting it mildly. We follow Eric Schaeffer in his quest for his true love, or something as close to that as possible. He's still single and he's nearly 40. He doesn't understand how he's still single, especially considering he's a semi-famous actor, writer, and director. It's easy to see why Schaeffer is still single. A few reasons come to mind immediately- he's very picky, he's often immature, he's sometimes quite annoying, and he's fairly gross.

The scenes of him out and about on his book tour, trying to meet a girl, just doing his regular thing are cut with these interview scenes with what could be the ugliest girl on the planet- piercings, pale skin that's almost white (has she ever seen the sun?), those gross ear lobe stretchy things, what looks to be facial hair, gross hair that she clearly spends time on to make it look as "different" as possible. Who is this girl who gets so much screen time? None other than a dominatrix of sorts who spends time sticking large objects up Schaeffer's butt, spanking him, and all sorts of other weird sexual stuff I'd rather not know too much about.

These scenes tell us a lot about Schaeffer and why a lot of women wouldn't want anything to do with him, let alone a love affair with him. The stuff this woman talks about doing to him makes him seem gross and, let's be honest, not very sweet or romantic or any of the other things women usually want men to be.

So, I hate the show, right? No. In fact, I like Schaeffer. I think he's a talented writer- I loved his film Fall and the FX series Starved. He's got a quirky charisma that outshines the ickiness he talks about in this series. Even when he's coming off as totally manufactured and even annoying in the show, that charisma is there under the surface, always semi-visible. Eric has an energy about him that I cannot be denied. He's often times witty and funny even when he's being gross or immature...and that wit makes up for the bad for the most part. He sometimes comes off as phony, as if parts of this whole thing are scripted out, but even then he plays the role with comedy and keeps you entertained and involved in what's going to happen next.

So far, after 3 episodes, the show seems more like a vehicle for Schaeffer in general. It seems less a journey to find love and more like an extension of his book tour and a little bit more publicity for himself as a whole in order to maybe get more acting gigs and keep his name out there. I'm okay with that...so he's doing all he can to extend his time in the limelight, there's nothing new about that, and he's quaint in some sense to the point where you can easily overlook this minor offense.

I'd think the audience for the show is limited because of the weirdness and the off-the-wall quirky nature of the lead talent, but fans of Schaeffer will surely enjoy parts of it, if not the whole thing.