I heart andy

Ring the bells and get out the good china, Andy Richter is back on the air! No more playing second fiddle to the partially translucent Olsen twins for this buster, no siree! TV fodder reports Andy's imminent and doubtless triumphant return:

He may no longer control the universe, but Andy Richter certainly gets a lot of sitcom offers. The Hollywood Reporter says that Richter is reteaming with his former lord and master, Conan O'Brien, for a sitcom called "Andy Barker, P.I."

Now while he probably won’t be as sexy as Magnum, there could possibly be a moustache involved. NBC has already ordered the pilot, which revolves around an account that moves into a private investigator's old office. When he can't stir up any new clients, he starts answering the calls of people looking for the previous tenant.

I for one (as if my brimming euphoria wasn't already palpable), cheer this move by NBC. Andy's original shot at the solo (sans Conan) limelight was the far too short Andy Richter Controls the Universe, which was honestly one of the best shows on at the time. Alas, it fell victim to Fox's zany corporate mindset, which apparently equates anything "good" with "very very horrible", and so often shuffles it around the schedule till it dies a death not befitting its clear quality.

This has happened time and time again, see Firefly, Family Guy (such a bad move, they actually reversed it after massive DVD sales), Futurama and most recently Arrested Devlopment. All the while, leaving dreck like the Simpsons (which, while brilliant between the second half of the second season through to the first half of the 8th, has since become one of the most painful viewing experiences on the planet) on the air, sucking up valuable time that could be devoted to our dear pal, Andy. I'm 90% sure there's a slew of other terriffic shows that have been canned for no good reason, but my brain is playing tricks of the forgetful variety at the moment.

Evidently then, Fox has the most brilliant development division on the planet, and far and away the worst means of evaluating their shows.

I mean, Man vs Beast is all well and good from time to time, but let's get real. Thank god Andy is back.