''Minding the Store'' is a 2005 American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

show which aired on TBS. It stars comedian

Pauly Shore Paul Montgomery Shore (born February 1, 1968) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his roles in 1990s comedy films. Shore began as a stand-up comedian at the age of 17, before becoming an MTV VJ in 1989. This led to a sta ...

, who in the show made efforts to revitalize his acting career and run the family business,

The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy S ...

Content

The show is a

series in which comedian

runs

, the comedy club run by his family. Features of the series include him attempting to add new features to the club, such as food service. Shore's parents,

Mitzi Shore Mitzi Shore (born Lillian Saidel; July 25, 1930 – April 11, 2018) was an American comedy club owner. Her husband, Sammy Shore, co-founded The Comedy Store in 1972 and she became its owner two years later. Through the club, she had a huge i ...

and

Sammy Shore Sammy Shore (February 7, 1927 – May 18, 2019) was an American actor, stand-up comedian and co-founder of the Comedy Store. Career Shore began his career doing stand-up comedy with Shecky Greene in the Catskill Mountains. He was chosen, in ...

, also make appearances. Shore himself said of the series that he found it unusual since it was the first work in which he was required to play a

straight man The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the c ...

role. Shore pledged to send a dollar to anyone who viewed the show's first episode and failed to laugh.

Critical reception

Ted Cox of the Arlington Heights, Illinois '' Daily Herald'' gave the show a mostly positive review. Although he thought the segments focused more on Shore's personal life than the comedy club were "dull", he also thought that Shore showed "some humility", and thought that setting the show in a comedy club added several opportunities for humor.

References

{{TBSNetwork Shows TBS (American TV channel) original programming 2005 American television series debuts 2005 American television series endings 2000s American reality television series