Through a chain of comedy events, this series follows a former music professor named Arthur Cochran. Arthur participated at a choir practice at a small church but he couldn't pass it. After that, he goes through exciting comedy adventures with a group of singers whom he meets there.
The show's formula isn't particularly original, but the writing is sharp, and delivers consistently strong, edgy punchlines and some absurdly comical moments. Yet, it also manages to weave in a few sensitive bits, which makes it more appealing.
The writing, though broad, is generally clever, with just the right amount of sass and schmaltz. Whitford is grand, and as his most ardent champion, Pitch Perfect's Anna Camp is, well, pitch perfect.
What probably would have been a 100-minute feature film becomes a confusingly gutted 21-minute pilot in which every plot machination is unmotivated, every character shift illogical and every attempted emotional moment unearned.
Camp, a South Carolina native, shines the brightest in the pilot, providing a good foil to Whitford's abrasiveness, but there isn't as much cohesion in the broader group.
Acquits itself pretty well by the end of its first episode -- especially because it somehow speeds through enough plot to fuel an entire season of Glee.
Worst of all is the shamelessness of the Pitch Perfect mimicry, from the show's title to the casting of Anna Camp-whose perky character seems destined for an opposites-attract romance with Whitford's grump.
