On TV: Can Grandfathered, Fresh Off the Boat defy stereotypes?

When Quentin Tarantino sat down with men's magazine GQ recently, as part of a promo campaign for his latest film, The Hateful Eight, the mighty-mouthed filmmaker made an astute observation.

"Who the f*** reads TV reviews?" the director asked. "TV critics review the pilot. Pilots of shows suck."

Well, Tarantino, in all his wisdom, was pretty much bang on. Most television pilots are underwhelming, but there are advantages to having a series format over that of a feature-length movie. Multiple episodes afford a TV show the room to grow and develop narrative and characters, the final product often being far more entertaining and intriguing than anything its pilot could have hinted at.

If attractive men and cute babies are your thing, then maybe you'll find some reason to persevere with new sitcom Grandfathered, which premieres this week on Fox (Saturday at 8.30pm).

John Stamos (above, centre; ER) plays studly man-child Jimmy Martino, an irresistible and roguish 50-year-old bachelor whose life goes into free fall when he discovers he has an adult son and a granddaughter. Turning his self-centred playboy world upside down, Martino attempts to help raise his grandchild, mainly to prove to his ex-wife that he can be the guy everyone thinks he isn't.