Have you been watching season two thus far? I think the ensemble has continued to gel and the humor is getting better after a misstep with the season premiere–I thought the Jennifer Aniston stunt casting was not very good, but then again, I can’t stand Jennifer Aniston, so it wasn’t a big draw for me. I am loving the way they are handling Travis’ transition to college and it give Dan Byrd some fun stuff to do.

While I wish Andy got some more screen time, I am still really enjoying the show and happy to see the numbers grow just a bit as the season has progressed, though some media outlets are attributing that to the Cox / Arquette break-up and subsequent Cox/ Hopkins hookup rumors, which whether they are true or not, and not to make light of a separation, especially with a child involved, but simply from an aesthetic standpoint, can you blame her trading David Arquette in for Josh Hopkins?

Anyway, I was mostly writing to see what you think of the opening title scene this year. If you haven’t been watching, each week they have replaced the “Welcome to” just above “Cougar Town” with a self deprecating reference to how terrible the title is. The first week it said “Still Cougar Town” followed each subsequent week with a new and funnier take, such as “No Cougar Cougar Town” or “Badly titled Cougar Town”. My favorite thus far was last weeks (I think) in which abouve “Cougar Town” is simply said “Titles are hard”. I love the fact that they not only stood by the title but also are able to acknowledge how inaccurate it is and that is wasn’t a good choice in the first place.

Still think it’s the best show ABC has on Wednesday nights!

[...] surprising depth in the short time he’s given as the gay friend. (Byrd is also the son on Cougar Town.) Michalka, now starring in the surprisingly good cheerleader show Hellcats, is another odd role, [...]

James, I think you will find the second half of the season far superior to the first. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

But anything’s better than “Cougar Town.” Literally ANYTHING.

Spuffyduds, I hope you enjoy it! Glad I could help.

And Scott Foley is on my list of “man crushes” (along with Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, and Payton Manning) and I believe he makes anything he is in better. I am sad things didn’t work out between he and Jennifer Garner, but then those two together would be just too much raw awsomeness for any of us to handle…

(Actually, we seem to have similar taste in much of our TV viewing–I too love Leverage and if I remember correctly we both enjoyed Reaper, anyway…)

I hung with Cougar Town all season for two main reasons: 1) I have an affinity for Bill Lawrence and his shows–I love Spin City (the Michael J Fox years) and Scrubs is one of my all time favorite shows; and 2) as you aptly pointed out, the ensemble cast is so strong. I too was thrilled to see the show change it’s focus and become a much stronger show as the season went on. I know Modern Family gets a lot of love and the Middle has the always brilliant Neil Flynn, but Cougar Town was the only one that I had to watch each week by the seasons end.

Yes, the title has always been terrible and no longer is appropriate it, but I think that it would hurt the show to change it now. Of course, the show bled viewers as the season went on, so maybe a rebranding wouldn’t hurt, but as you said, the point is moot.

I too love Josh Hopkins’ Grayson (my youngest son’s name coincidentally–he’s almost two so we weren’t influenced by this Grayson) and his songs crack me up–I love “sex with your ex” and “confident in my sexuality”–I quote Jules when I say that might be my new favorite song. Dan Byrd is great too, but I think my favorite is Ian Gomez–I love his Andy as I see so much of myself in him, but he’s a whole lot funnier.

Courteney Cox is not as strong a lead as Michael J Fox or Zach Braff, but Bill Lawrence has a knack for assembling great ensemble casts and this one is very strong. I also love how he brings actors from each of his previous projects along–Scott Foley, Alan Ruck, and the creepy neighbor guy stalking Jules who was a creepy, sexually deviant doctor in Scrubs have all shown up this season alone. Even the actor whom I consider the weak link–Brian Van Holt as Jules’ ex Bobby–has contributed some stellar moments. I was watching the episode last night where he steals animals from the petting zoo and cooks them–his comment–”It’s like the soaps at a hotel, they expect you to take them.”–classic!

Great job highlighting this show that may be lost in the shuffle but deserves a wider audience!!!