Modern Men (The WB 2006, Jane Seymour, Eric Lively)

In short lived sitcom Modern Men Tim Clarke, Kyle Brewster and Doug Reynolds are childhood friends who, now in their late twenties, have arrived at different places in their lives when it comes to women. Desperate for advice and guidance in matters of the heart, they seek the help of Dr. Victoria Stangel, a renowned and beautiful life coach.

The problems these three friends have with women are all over the emotional map. Doug can’t move on from Allie, his high school sweetheart and ex-wife. Learning how to date again is especially tough for Doug since the last time he was single and ‘looking’ was when he was 15. Kyle has the opposite problem. An inveterate Lothario, Kyle cavalierly jumps from woman to woman in order to hide the fact that, secretly, he’s terrified that no one out there pictures him as ‘the one.’ Finally, Tim’s problem is simply that he keeps getting dumped and has no idea why. Though their situations are different, each of these guys has come to the same realization – it takes a lot more than they expected to keep a woman happy.

Tim’s sister Molly is a confident young law student. Molly tries to make her brother and his friends understand that today’s career-minded, self-sufficient women don’t need a man for support; they’re looking for a deeper and more meaningful connection. As Molly continually points out, if women don’t need men any more, it’s up to men to make women want them.

Tim and Molly’s dad Tug finds the idea of catering to a woman’s need laughable. Stuck in the Stone Age when it comes to the opposite sex, Tug is a former NFL long-snapper who has parlayed his semi-celebrity status into a restaurant called The Tughouse, which Tim co-owns. Molly knows that these guys need more help than she or Tug can provide, so she gives Tim the name of someone who is equal to the task: Dr. Victora Stangel. Dr. Stangel definitely challenges the guys’ respective comfort zones. She helps Doug admit he’s been in denial about the end of his marriage. She dares Kyle to ‘date up,’ foregoing the brainless mannequins he usually dates for a woman he considers out of his league. As for Tim, she pushes him to break up with a particularly fragile woman with whom he sees no future, rather than meekly hoping she’ll dump him first.

Dr. Stangel confronts the basic questions that plague many modern relationships: Why can’t men listen? When does selflessness turn into selfishness? Can we get past an obsession with looks and see the real person underneath? Dr. Stangel’s tactics may be tough, but she has one important goal – to give her clients the skills and experiences that will turn them all into better men.

production details
USA | The WB – Jerry Bruckheimer Television | 7×30 minutes | Broadcast 17 March – 29 April 2006

Creators: Ross McCall, Aaron Peters, Marsh McCall
Executive Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Marsh McCall, Jonathan Littman, Ross McCall, Aaron Peters

cast
Eric Lively as Doug Reynolds
Josh Braaten as Tim Clark
Max Greenfield as Kyle Brewster
Marla Sokoloff as Molly Clark
Brooke Burns
Jane Seymour as Dr. Victoria Stangel
Erinn Hayes as Kiele Sanchez as
George Wendt as Tug