"Clubhouse" was a well-meaning family series that deserved much more than a 5 episode run. Its biggest problem was that it had limited appeal to a changing television audience. From the start, the odds were stacked against it. Sport-themed TV series rarely ever succeed in the ratings. From past shows such as "The White Shadow" and "Bay City Blues" to more recent series such as "Friday Night Lights", "Sports Night" "Playmakers" and "Lights Outs", none have been able to garner high ratings. It came out around the time that audience tastes were beginning to change. Family-theme dramas such as "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman", "Touched By An Angel" and "Early Edition" were beginning to wane in popularity. Audiences were leaving the big networks in favor of cable programming. They were tuning in to edgier shows such as "Nip/Tuck" and "The Shield" and crime procedure shows as "CSI" and "NCIS". Finally, add the fact that the producers of the show were not able to secure the license to use Major League Baseball and The New York Yankees team. Not being to use actual baseball teams gave the show a generic feel.
The show centered around a 16-year old boy, Pete Young (Jeremy Sumpter), who had realized his dream by getting a job as a bat boy for the New York Empires. His single mother (Mare Winningham) was a real estate agent struggling to keep the family together. His sister, Betsy (Kirsten Storms), was a rebellious high school senior who tried to grow up too fast. Many of the shows focused on Pete's new-found popularity among his peers, his relationships with the team's All-Star slugger Conrad Dean and equipment manager Lou Russo, and his mom's conflicts with Betsy. The show taught good lessons on relationships and family.
Although the show was enjoyable and well meaning, it had plenty of flaws. The talents of Christopher Lloyd who played equipment manager, Lou Russo, were essentially wasted on this show. His character had little charisma and came across as indifferent and uncaring at times. Too bad he couldn't have jumped in the time machine and stopped himself from taking this role.
The show sometimes tried to be too cute to the point where it was corny and unrealistic. Many times, the bat boys and equipment managers seemed to play too much of a role in the team games and news media. They seemed to neglect a lot of things that would be associated with a team clubhouse. I often found myself wondering who was the manager of the Empires and wouldn't you think that he would have more interactions with Pete (It was Joe Ross who was rarely seen)? They never even mentioned anything about the road games. It was almost as if they played all their games at home.
Lastly, the biggest thing going against the show was that it just did not have broad appeal. It appealed to teens because of Jeremy Sumpter and Kirsten Storms. It also appealed to baseball fans because of the premise but most of those fans were probably skipping the show to watch the 2004 MLB playoffs and World Series. However, it had no appeal to the adults who were not baseball fans, which accounts for a big chunk of the television audience. Even the show "Friday Night Lights" which was low-rated but ran for five seasons had broader appeal. It was based on a more popular book/movie, it centered around a more popular sport, it had a better supporting cast and it was much better written (It also starred an older Jeremy Sumpter).
While the show is far from perfect, it is worth viewing. It occasionally airs on the Universal HD network and I would recommend viewing all 11 episodes (5 original plus 6 unaired).
The show centered around a 16-year old boy, Pete Young (Jeremy Sumpter), who had realized his dream by getting a job as a bat boy for the New York Empires. His single mother (Mare Winningham) was a real estate agent struggling to keep the family together. His sister, Betsy (Kirsten Storms), was a rebellious high school senior who tried to grow up too fast. Many of the shows focused on Pete's new-found popularity among his peers, his relationships with the team's All-Star slugger Conrad Dean and equipment manager Lou Russo, and his mom's conflicts with Betsy. The show taught good lessons on relationships and family.
Although the show was enjoyable and well meaning, it had plenty of flaws. The talents of Christopher Lloyd who played equipment manager, Lou Russo, were essentially wasted on this show. His character had little charisma and came across as indifferent and uncaring at times. Too bad he couldn't have jumped in the time machine and stopped himself from taking this role.
The show sometimes tried to be too cute to the point where it was corny and unrealistic. Many times, the bat boys and equipment managers seemed to play too much of a role in the team games and news media. They seemed to neglect a lot of things that would be associated with a team clubhouse. I often found myself wondering who was the manager of the Empires and wouldn't you think that he would have more interactions with Pete (It was Joe Ross who was rarely seen)? They never even mentioned anything about the road games. It was almost as if they played all their games at home.
Lastly, the biggest thing going against the show was that it just did not have broad appeal. It appealed to teens because of Jeremy Sumpter and Kirsten Storms. It also appealed to baseball fans because of the premise but most of those fans were probably skipping the show to watch the 2004 MLB playoffs and World Series. However, it had no appeal to the adults who were not baseball fans, which accounts for a big chunk of the television audience. Even the show "Friday Night Lights" which was low-rated but ran for five seasons had broader appeal. It was based on a more popular book/movie, it centered around a more popular sport, it had a better supporting cast and it was much better written (It also starred an older Jeremy Sumpter).
While the show is far from perfect, it is worth viewing. It occasionally airs on the Universal HD network and I would recommend viewing all 11 episodes (5 original plus 6 unaired).