Even by the standards of the Fox TV network, “The Pitts” was a little out there.
“The Pitts” was a sitcom that aired for two months—and just barely two months—on Fox in March and April of 2003. “The Pitts” was the last name of the family in this sitcom; the fam consisted of mom and dad and their two kids, a boy and a girl. The premise, the hook, if you will, for this sitcom is that, for some unexplained reason, this family simply has the worst luck in the world. (Says Mr. Pitt in an early installment, “We just have a little extra bad luck…like the Kennedys.”)
For example, in the first moments of the first episode, the youngest Pitt, son Petey, is undergoing a full-on exorcism. And, for this family, that’s just a normal Tuesday! In the debut episode (aired on March 30, 2003), we also learn that the entire family was once, en masse, struck by lightning and that they also have the misfortune of having their home sitting at the bottom of a large hill with a huge boulder precariously sitting just above them, seemingly ready to roll down at any moment.
But, again, this was just a normal day for the Pitts.
A review of the show’s episodes illustrates some of the other issues that just seem to befall this family: in one installment, mom and dad get bitten by a werewolf and turn into werewolves themselves. That’s gonna mess up the carpool in the morning!
Then, speaking of cars, in the second episode, Pitt daughter Faith, saves up enough to buy a car. Unfortunately, the car is both possessed and possessive.
In another episode, an explosion in the basement causes a large and rusty pipe to get lodged in Faith’s head. But, instead of killing or crippling her, it makes her very popular. Along with making her popular at school, she is soon being courted by Home Depot to act as their spokesperson!
If all of this sound outrageous, weird, over the top and a bit crazy, well, that was the point.
Charmingly, for all their mishaps—from exploding pipes to devil possessions—the Pitts never seemed to feel sorry for themselves or bemoan their lot in life. If anything, they remained as optimistic and sunshiny as the Bradys or any other venerable TV family.
It helped, of course, that the show’s performers were so perfectly cast. Dylan Baker played Bob Pitt, the family patriarch and Baker looked just about genetically engineered to play an upbeat, unencumbered sitcom dad.
As his wife, Liz, actress Kellie Waymire was as pert and perky as the bob hairdo she sported.
Lizzy Caplin and David Henrie co-starred as the Pitt kids.
In their depiction of a “typical sitcom family,” the Pitts seemed almost as idealized as the Nielsen Family that was found on TVLand’s 1991 sitcom satire “Hi Honey, I’m Home.”
It was obviously intentional as “The Pitts” was obviously trying to upend the tried-and-true traditional family sitcom by incorporating these extreme stories, fanciful and over-the-top elements. Though the show didn’t air very long—only five episodes—few stops weren’t pulled out to make it work, from greenscreen special effects to elaborate make-ups.
“The Pitts” came by their eccentricity honestly. The series was the creation of Mike Scully and Julie Thacker who had cut their TV teeth on, not surprisingly, “The Simpsons” and one of their consulting producers was “Family Guy” creator Seth McFarlane.
Certainly there is something cartoon-y about “The Pitts.” But its an all-out, go-for-broke and surrealistic approach is something oddly refreshing among so many present-day sitcoms and dramas that strive for “realism.”
Unfortunately, when the show was launched most critics didn’t seem to get the farcical nature of the program or simply considered themselves above it. “The Pitts” was lambasted by one critic who considered it dumb, class and crude. And Tom Jicha in his review in the “South Florida Sun Sentinel,” while acknowledging the show’s “goofy” mentality, couldn’t summon up much enthusiasm for it, writing, “viewers would want to check in on them [the Pitts] unless there is absolutely nothing else to watch.” (The “Detroit Free Press” was one of the very few who found something to love in the series, saying that the show was “B-movie” and “cheesy” fun.)
Unfortunately, Fox didn’t have too much faith in the series either. It was only on the air for two months and, of the seven episodes produced, only five ever actually aired. (The full series is today, up on Youtube.) It’s unclear why Fox—of all the networks—were so quick to pull the series especially since “The Pitts” seemed to be a prime candidate for a future cult following. Perhaps the show’s “meh” reviews and very low initial ratings foredoomed it to a short life. Not having a “name” in the cast, no doubt, also contributed to its fast demise.
Though, as mentioned, the show only had a brief run, interestingly, all four of its main performers have been able to go onto notable careers.
Baker remains one of TV and film’s most dependable go-to character actors. His credits include “Homeland,” “Spider-Man,” “The Good Fight,” “The Americans,” and a litany of other titles.
David Henrie, who was 14 at the time he starred in the series, would so go on to make a name for himself in “The Wizards of Waverly Place,” which began in 2007. He has since smoothly transitioned into adult roles.
Lizzy Caplan was 21 when she played the teenage daughter of the Pitts. Caplan has since gone on to star in “Masters of Sex,” “Freaks and Geeks,” “Hot Tub Time Machine,” “Cloverfield,” and “Zero Day.”
Sadly, Kellie Waymire, so adorable in the role of Mrs. Pitt, passed away in 2003 of cardiac arrest at her LA home. She was only 36 years old. Before and after, “The Pitts,” Waymire made appearances on “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” “Everwood” and on the “Star Trek” franchises.
Finally, “Pitts” producers/creators Scully and Thacker (married to each other) have continued to create. They’ve been behind TV’s “Duncanville,” “The Carmichael Show” and the new Tim Allen sitcom “Shifting Gears.”
In the end, we almost have to place “The Pitts” under the TV show column heading of “interesting experiment,” an attempt to expand and send-up the traditional domestic sitcom archetype by throwing just about everything—from werewolves to possessed dummies (yes, seen in a later episode)—at the screen to see, not so much what sticks, but how far you could go.
Even by the standards of the Fox TV network, “The Pitts” was a little out there.
It helped, of course, that the show’s performers were so perfectly cast. Dylan Baker played Bob Pitt, the family patriarch and Baker looked just about genetically engineered to play an upbeat, unencumbered sitcom dad.
