Never noticed that about the sets but maybe you have a point and Ill look into that next time I watch an episode. Maybe the show was on a tight budget or something.
As for Marlon doing the same ol' Marlon, that's a fact. It gets some what better but it has a lot of room for improvment imo. You also raise a good point about sitcoms having to hit their stride. It takes a while sometimes for actors to build a chemistry that works very well on screen and sometimes for the writers to really develop something special.
Something happened in episode 3, its almost like a different show....very positive.
they do need to have him get evicted or something...him being at the house all the time despite they being divorced is odd.