Back in the Game

Caan’s perfectly clipped delivery and his daughter’s well-timed comebacks make Back in the Game at least a standup double if not a sliding triple.

No matter who’s on screen or what they’re doing, Back in the Game is gut-bustingly hilarious.

I don’t know if Back in the Game will have a long shelf life, or if it will turn Caan into a prime-time star (like son Scott on “Hawaii Five-O”), but I do think it’s worth a half-hour of your time.

Most every move creators Robb and Mark Cullen have made is a smart one, starting with casting an entirely fetching Maggie Lawson as the mother and the great James Caan as her gruff, constantly inappropriate father.

While this Little League comedy doesn't quite measure up to the big leagues, we shouldn't be surprised if family audiences rally around the team, turning a solid base hit into something potentially worthy of extra innings.

In this case familiarity breeds more comfort than contempt. Caan and Lawson spark when they spar, Crichlow's Lulu is a delight as is Gluck's Danny. And even Dick, though burdened with far too much sexual innuendo, has a few good moments.

Back In the Game doesn't really scream long-term storytelling beyond the family dynamic, which is precisely why it's wedged between The Middle and Modern Family on ABC. ... But this is a series that would seem to need, at minimum, four episodes before the audience could begin to get a real feel for it. Even smushed between two high-caliber comedies, there might not be enough lift to let all the charms of Back in the Game play out.

The family conflicts are facile and easily resolved on Back in the Game, but Terry is an appealing heroine, and she has an amusing new best friend.

This ABC comedy is the equivalent of a big fat pitch over the heart of plate, and will need to get mileage out of more characters, but what’s here has the potential to hold its lineup spot between leadoff hitter “The Middle” and ratings slugger “Modern Family.”

Caan is perfectly cast here.... As it so often does, it comes down to the writing. I just don’t care. And I just don’t find it funny.

Nothing groundbreaking, but every so often a sports-themed show is de rigueur

There’s an itchy feeling of familiarity to Back In The Game.

There are two shows struggling to exist in one in the ABC comedy Back in the Game. One is about former all-star softball player Terry Gannon Jr. (Maggie Lawson) and her relationship with her hard-charging, estranged, ex-athlete father, Terry Sr. (James Caan), who goes by “The Cannon.” This show is pretty terrible.... The second show is not at all novel but it’s at least easier to take: Back in the Game is essentially a “Bad News Bears” reboot.

The dads in charge of the league are jerks, so Terry decides to lead a team of all-star misfits, making this sort of “Glee” for the physically uncoordinated. You’ll be done with this after an inning.

It’s a good premise. But where both old guys are cranky and frustrating, unable to show they really care, Caan’s character is unpleasant in ways Eastwood’s was not [in the film "Trouble With the Curve"].