Carol's Second Act

It stars Patricia Heaton, late of “The Middle,” in a role that takes the energy of her character there and shapes it into something different and fresh. ... If you aren’t ready to turn up your nose at any multi-camera comedy created in this century — and really, kids, there is life in that form beyond “Friends” and “Seinfeld” — you’ll find a fine addition to the canon: a completely conventional, entirely satisfying sitcom that breaks absolutely no new ground even as it sets off its star to good advantage.

Heaton nails the role because she's had so much practice at this, but "Carol's Second Act" does her — and the trope — one better, by ever-so-slightly inverting our Heaton expectations. ... Heaton is back in another "family" sitcom. As expected, a good one.

The joke-telling isn't particularly sharp — a lot of punchlines revolve around slapstick mischief and the rookies' fear of killing their patients — but Heaton's veteran comic timing and Jalees' sardonic delivery keep the energy afloat. Carol comes across as the dorky mom who sends you "chin-up!" memes on Facebook: groan-inducing, but sweet. ... There's potential here, but first Carol needs to stop tripping over her own compassion.

It provides some hope for a show that’s promising and that deserves to stick around for a while; even as the show’s first half-hour is hit-or-miss, Heaton, at least, justifies her own new act.

Carol's Second Act could use more punchlines and less impassioned wisdom.

The age jokes are in the CBS wheelhouse, and some of the gags are occasionally funny, but the whole endeavor seems predictably rote, from the cold, aloof chief resident to the uber-confident intern (Jean-Luc Bilodeau, “Kyle XY”).

It’s a pretty decent act, and Heaton presents it with the same practiced, self-effacing charm. But the show around her isn’t nearly as funny. ... There’s also something retrograde, in the first two episodes, about the show’s portrayal of Carol. The age jokes are a given, but they’re accompanied by a tendency to celebrate her not for her medical ability but for the human touch that her age (and, implicitly, her gender) give her.

Literally nothing jells in this ham-handed first half-hour, and it may already be too late for full-blown emergency surgery. Still, Carol’s Second Act could well get a decent tune-in due to Heaton’s mere presence.