The Marriage Ref

[eleanorigby]

Tonight at 9 Central Time.

I love this show. Simple premise, funny guests, odd couples. Yes, mockery does occur, but it's mostly good spirited and positive. Give it a try!

Anyone else like this show? Anyone have a favorite guest? Mine is Alec Baldwin--he's got great comedic timing. I don't always agree with Tom Pappa (sp?) but it's all in good fun.

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

I'm kind of back and forth about this show. Some of it is very funny. Larry David and Madonna was annoying, but Alec Baldwin was without a doubt the funniest guest they've had. Seeing Jerry Seinfeld was kind of depressing, it seemed like he had a handful of lines queued up that he had to let loose with.

I'm not sure where Tom Poppa came from other that stand up. I assume he and Jerry are friends, but he doesn't seem like the type that's married, if you know what I mean, not that there's anything wrong with it.

[otternell]

Some of the decisions seemed silly to me, but I agree with your comment about Baldwin. If they have more guests like him, it has potential. I can't remember which set of guests, but there was one set where I didn't find it amusing at all.

All in all, I give it a 7 out of 10. (Plus its really nice to be able to say "see honey, I don't pull crap like that! You've got it easy!")

[Skammer]

I watched the pilot of the show, and thought it was terrible. Maybe it's improved but I wasn't planning on giving it a second chance.

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

Originally Posted by otternell

All in all, I give it a 7 out of 10. (Plus its really nice to be able to say "see honey, I don't pull crap like that! You've got it easy!")

Geez, no kidding, what kind of a man wants a urinal in his guest bedroom?

[elbows]

Haven't watched it yet, but liked the premise when I heard about it.

But then, Alec Baldwin was on all the promos. I know he can be very funny, and I'm coming around, but I just don't like the guy much. And I kept thinking, "Really, marriage advice from Alec Baldwin? How's that gonna work?"

Maybe I'll watch it tonight.

[eleanorigby]

But that's part of the fun of it. I mean, Madonna as one to give marital advice?


None of the guests are supposed to be on the higher road of marital superiority--they're just people (well, celebrities). Actually, I think some of them have shown remarkable restraint and compassion (the episode that featured the psychiatrist with um, mother issues comes to mind).

I like that Tom Poppas is gay and not married. It helps make him more "objective" (she said with a straight face).

I agree that it is uneven. And Seinfeld sometimes just looks pissed off at life.

[eleanorigby]

Originally Posted by Intergalactic Gladiator

Geez, no kidding, what kind of a man wants a urinal in his guest bedroom?

Yup. I swear it's better than marital counseling....

[DanBlather]

I think this is the worst show I have seen in years. If they just got Seinfeld, Larry Davis, and Alec Baldwin together and let them talk it would be much more interesting. The comedy is so forced it is excruciating.

[pancakes3]

Larry David is too candid for the show. Jerry's getting there. The absurdities of the situation don't lend itself nicely to their "really? this is ridiculous" type of commentary. it's an utter buzzkill in the give-take banter that the show is dependent on. that's why baldwin is so successful. he takes that ball and runs with it instead of squashing it flat. i hear adam carolla is going to be a guest later and his ranting style would do pretty well on this show imo.

overall, not enough laughs for me. i'm surprised that it got picked up so quickly while shows like better off ted get canned. production costs? clout? ratings!?

[Kolak of Twilo]

Tonight, Tracey Morgan, Nathan Lane and Kathy Griffin had me laughing more than I expected.

This is a really weird concept for a show but it has been funny more often than not when I have caught it.

Then again, it could be a sign The End is nigh. I just can't tell.

[BMada]

Originally Posted by eleanorigby

I like that Tom Poppas is gay and not married. It helps make him more "objective" (she said with a straight face).

Tom Papa has the gay lisp but he is not gay

"Papa currently splits his time between Los Angeles and New York with his wife and family" from the official website of Tom Papa's http://www.tompapa.com/bio.html

[eleanorigby]

Ah. <Johnny Carson voice> I did not know that.<JCV>


It was ok tonight--it's been funnier. But still, I laughed.

[BMada]

personally i thought he was gay too with the way he talks, but I read somewhere he had a family of his own, and did a little research to prove the point. Can't believe you're getting more replies to your Marriage Ref thread than I did with mine with the premiere after the Olympics. I gave up on this show because it's not that funny, kinda cruel, poor production value (first episode the sound was shitty, as if the mics weren't working for the panel and Papa when the crowd made noise in the background).

I have to agree with pancakes3, they still have this show on and Better off Ted gets canned? Seriously NBC needs to pick up Better Off Ted and whatever scraps other networks are dumping because what they dump is a whole lot better than the new stuff they try to bring in.

[Lakai]

The premise of the show is horrible. The celebrities who are normally funny are funny on the show, that's no surprise. What does the show add? The only novelty is that it has A-list celebrities on a show they would never touch if Seinfeld wasn't producing it.

[corkboard]

Originally Posted by DanBlather

I think this is the worst show I have seen in years. If they just got Seinfeld, Larry Davis, and Alec Baldwin together and let them talk it would be much more interesting. The comedy is so forced it is excruciating.

Exactly.

I watched the pilot- no, actually about 20 minutes of the pilot- and that was all I could take. Then I found out a guy I went to high school with was going to be on with his wife so I watched that episode. He is a ventriloquist and keeps his dummies all around the house. I watched through the end of their segment and turned it off.

We watched about 20 minutes again last night only because there was nothing else on and that was it- never again. Are they paying the audience to be there? They are like audience members on a bad '90's infomercial.

[Martini Enfield]

Originally Posted by Lakai

The premise of the show is horrible. The celebrities who are normally funny are funny on the show, that's no surprise. What does the show add? The only novelty is that it has A-list celebrities on a show they would never touch if Seinfeld wasn't producing it.

The scary thing is that they're doing an Australian version of the show, which as far as I can tell has neither Jerry Seinfeld or "Celebrities" on it- it seems to involve regular couples and probably some B-grade local "Celebrity" compere, from what I can tell.

[drpepper]

Yeah, last night's with Kathy Griffin, Nathan Lane... what's not to like? So it has it's chuckles. But I agree with the comments above about the forced humor; related to this is the jarringly obvious edits throughout, which makes the whole thing seem very scripted and unnatural. So I can leave it most of the time.