Critic Reviews

we are willing to put up for a while with the clichés because Chiklis has always seemed to be essentially a family man even when he was shooting people.

It's all pleasant enough, Chiklis' noise notwithstanding. But hardly fresh or funny and never insightful about the roles of males and females in the year 2000. [23 March 2000, p.56]

Daddio, a situation comedy about a smart and fun stay-at-home dad, is mildly progressive-minded in its set-up and comfortably old-fashioned in all other facets of its execution. One is easily forgiven for wishing the laugh lines had a little more sparkle, and it's a less than ideal companion series to the bawdy "Friends," which airs before it, but the premise and the cast are solid enough to expect future improvement and a decent prime-time run. [23 March 2000, p.L5]

But it scores points on a couple of fronts. On most sitcoms, the characters seem like they never have to go to work. At least in Daddio, Chiklis bothers to actually quit. More important, the kids play major roles. Maybe you have to have children to appreciate tales of diaper changes and Little League practice, but the kids in Daddio serve as more than just setups for jokes. [23 March 2000, p.1E]

Too often, however, Daddio‘s humor is the equivalent of taking candy from a baby — jokes about breast-feeding, telemarketers, and poopy diapers. And the cast couldn’t be more generic.

It's a personable cast, but the series, created by Matt Berry and Ric Swartzlander, is trying too hard to be wacky rather than funny.

Chiklis seems to be enjoying the transition from "Commish" to "Sitcommish," but Daddio isn't likely to go down as the first great family comedy of Y2K. [23 March 2000]

Wedged between Friends and Frasier in Jesse's primo time slot, Daddio has a shot at hit-dom. Its chances would be improved if the producers can find a way to increase the show's chuckles-to-groans ratio. [23 March 2000]

The situation seems hackneyed from the start, and so do the characters. [23 March 2000, p.E-5]

Most of the time, Daddio keeps the amiable focus on family friendly fun and the jovial mug of Chiklis. [23 March 2000, p.5G]