Russ' And McNeill's 'Samantha Who' To Premiere Tonight

This evening ABC will air the first episode of Samantha Who, a new sitcom featuring the talents of former Voyager actors Tim Russ (Tuvok) and Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris).

In the first episode of the series, directed by Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris), Christina Applegate appears as Samantha, a woman who wakes up from an eight-day coma to find she has no recollection of who she is. Through talking to her friends and relatives, she discovers she used to be a horrible, mean person, and she decides to change her life so she can undo some of the hurt she's caused her friends. For this quest, she decides to enlist the help of someone her old self never even gave the time of day -- her doorman, Frank, who's played by Tim Russ (Tuvok).

Samantha Who is Tim Russ' first regular series role following the end of Voyager. Over the past few years, he's had guest roles on shows such as ER and Without a Trace, and he appeared in Live Free or Die Hard. Most recently, he reprised his role as Tuvok for the fan film Star Trek: Of Gods And Men, which he also directed.

Robert Duncan McNeill has been getting ever more popular as a television director. This season, he also directed an episode of the new comedy Chuck, on which he's also listed as a producer.

Samantha Who is so far getting a mixed reception from reviewers. David Bianculli at the New York Daily News awarded the show 2,5 out of 4 stars, saying the cast of supporting characters is very strong, but that Samantha herself doesn't seem all that interesting in comparison. Maureen Ryan at the Chicago Tribune was downright negative about the series, complaining Samantha Who delivers very little laughs. However, she did praise Tim Russ's scenes, saying that he is "excellent as Sam’s dryly witty doorman."

Samantha Who will debut tonight at 9:30pm on ABC. More information about the show can be found on its official site.

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