July 22, 2000
A dress-up for success
By BILL BRIOUX
PASADENA -- "I have four words: Gowns by Bob Mackie."

That was John Goodman's cute attempt to try and explain his new, untitled Fox sitcom, which seems far from being a sure thing for fall.

The project has the former Roseanne star playing a gay dad who moves with his son back to Ohio to live with his sister's family.

The first pilot, which was screened by critics in Canada but not in the U.S., was such an unfunny mess it was junked by veteran producers Terry and Bonnie Turner (3rd Rock From The Sun, That '70s Show).

"When the show was tested, (Goodman's character) was the highest-testing character in Fox history," said Bonnie Turner. "He tested higher than Homer Simpson."

Nevertheless, the team "tore up our own work" and decided to start from scratch when they couldn't figure out where to take the character after five or six episodes.

The original concept had Goodman pairing up with Anthony La Paglia as a gay/straight Odd Couple.

The only other cast member held over from the first pilot is Greg Pitts, who'll play Goodman's teenage son. Everyone else is still being cast.

Moving them to the mid-West will allow the writers to play off that old fish out of water formula.

The Turner's admitted that one of the titles they are considering is Butch, which is the nickname of his character, William "Butch" Gamble.

"We might call it Everyone's Uncomfortable With Butch," said Bonnie Turner.

Goodman said he plans to play it gay by playing it straight. "I'm not going to be doing any stereotypical stuff," he said. "I'm just going to play it for the truth. It's usually funnier that way."

So don't expect Goodman to dress up in drag, like he did as Linda Tripp on Saturday Night Live.

"Although that always gets a laugh," he said. "The English have always loved it. It's just finding the proper shoes."

And he won't have an active love life, at least at first. "I have to drop a few pounds first," joked Goodman, although nobody laughed. The guy is huge.

Goodman's association with the Turners goes back to his many SNL appearances. The husband and wife writing team did many of the monologues for visiting guests.

"The thing that made us love writing for him, as opposed to some of the comedians, was that he was an actor," said Bonnie Turner. "John was a dream."

The producers admit the clock is ticking on pulling this all together in time for the planned Nov. 1 debut. If all goes well, it will air Wednesdays at 8 p.m., "right after the gay farm report," joked Goodman.