'Are You There, Chelsea'? No, not really

I love Chelsea Handler. I think her late night show is pure genius, and I am just as impressed by her stand-up and her books. She manages to talk about risque, dirty, and often socially inappropriate topics in a hilarious manner that isn't too, too low-brow. That being said, I don't understand her new sitcom at all.

'Are You There Chelsea', which premiered last night on NBC, stars Lauren Prepon as a twenty-something Chelsea. Handler plays her older sister, Sloane.

The show included scenes drawn from Handler's successful, New York Time's bestseller, 'Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea'.

The book is hilarious, but once the scenes were placed in the context of the sitcom there was a big problem: they just weren't funny.

I think a lot of it has to do with the wit that Handler is able to translate into her writing, a snarky attitude which doesn't come across on the screen.

Yes, the television show is incredibly crude, and full of drunk/sex/vagina jokes, but I don't  think that was it's main problem. After all, Handler uses these sorts of jokes all the time in a variety of other contexts and they're actually funny. I think the problem was that the show didn't build up their version of Chelsea enough; she came across as incredibly one-dimensional. Featuring one or two early childhood scenes, as Handler's book does, might have made the character more understandable. A show based solely on innuendo, without any kind of depth, just doesn't work.

I laughed one time during the pilot, when Chelsea's new roommate started acting like a cat. I know it's kind of ridiculous that I found that funny, but that character may be the best defined one on the show. We know she loves 'The Bachelor', is obsessed with animals, and is way too enthusiastic about almost...everything. I'm vaguely excited about seeing her attempt to become friends with Chelsea, especially if they take it down some of the paths that the book does.

Unfortunately, I think that 'Are You There, Vodka' just doesn't translate well into a sitcom, or network television. The story doesn't fit well in a candy-colored world with a laugh-track. I honestly wish that it had been picked up by a cable company instead....if it was darker, could take the dirty jokes further, and established the characters better, well, then I think it would be a show worth watching.