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::TV NEWS::
LE Newsletter - March 4, 2010
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The Marriage Ref Is Seinfeld All Grown Up
Source:
www.globeandmail.com - Andrew Ryan
(March 2, 2010)
Los Angeles — In some ways,
the inspiration behind
The Marriage Ref
sounds like a
Seinfeld episode.
Consider the plotline: Newlywed couple invites a friend over for
dinner. Everything is civilized until the couple revisits a
disagreement, which turns into a spat, which turns into a
full-tilt argument. The friend naturally feels uncomfortable and
tries to leave. Husband insists the friend stay, hear both
sides, and declare a winner and loser. The wife and friend
exchange puzzled expressions.
“But that’s exactly what we did,” said
Jerry Seinfeld , who has
transformed the incident early in his own married life into the
new series The Marriage Ref (Sunday, NBC, CITY-TV at
10:30 p.m.). “I said my side, and she said her side. I believe I
lost, but that’s not the point. The point is it was better,
because it was over.”
The Marriage Ref is Seinfeld all grown up. For nine
seasons, his much-celebrated sitcom explored the complexities of
New York single life (the only character even coming close to
marriage was George, and he killed his fiancée by accidental
poisoning). One year after voluntarily folding the show,
Seinfeld wed Jessica Sklar. Now 55 and a father of three, the
comedian’s perspective has, by necessity, shifted.
“After 10 years of marriage, I realized the comedic potential of
this topic is quite rich,” Seinfeld told visiting TV critics.
“Really, 85 per cent of marital difficulties are ridiculous
problems. But the ref idea … really, it was not my idea to do it
as a TV show. It was my wife’s.”
Heavily promoted during NBC’s coverage of the Vancouver Winter
Games, The Marriage Ref debuts in a sneak preview
following the network’s coverage of Sunday night’s closing
ceremonies, before moving into a regular timeslot next Thursday.
The concept merges reality, comedy and a panel format – a
peculiar TV amalgam, admits Seinfeld.
“No question people are going to watch us and go, ‘Well, this is
unlike anything I’ve ever seen’,” he said. “That to me is job
one if you’re going to try and make television. It’s got to feel
unlike what’s already there.”
Most likely the promos already have some viewers confused. How
it works: A married couple with a dispute allow cameras to
pre-tape their bickering (NBC put out the call for disagreeable
duos on their website several months ago).
Next, it’s game on. The resulting reality footage is shown
simultaneously to a studio audience and a celebrity panel –
Seinfeld, 30 Rock’s
Alec Baldwin and talk-show host
Kelly Ripa appear in the first episode – who offer up
observations and personal reflections for viewer consideration.
The panel is allowed replay clips in slow motion and use the
telstrator to point out highlights in the argument. “We felt the
simplicity of sports was missing in marriage,” said Seinfeld,
who serves as as executive producer on the series.
Future guest panelists on The Marriage Ref will
reportedly include Tina Fey, Larry David, Matt Lauer, Martin
Short and – seriously – Madonna, whose spokesperson has
confirmed her future appearance. With two marriages (to Sean
Penn and Guy Richie) behind her, the Material Girl is something
of an authority on the subject.
But it also raises the question: Why a panel of celebrities
instead of counsellors or marriage experts? “Because experts are
helpful,” said Seinfeld. “And that’s not our thing. This is a
comedy show.”
Working toward that goal, the weighty role of Marriage Ref
falls to standup comic Tom Papa, one of Seinfeld’s best friends,
who presides over the proceedings and considers the panel’s
observations before declaring a victor.
“The job of the judges is to convince me which way to go, but
ultimately I make the call,” said Papa. “As comedians, we’re
always looking for the truth and I have to come up with a real
reason as to why this one is right and this one is wrong, and
then just make the call. And if people get angry, that’s just
the way it goes.”
Once a winner is declared, a prize is awarded, with veteran
sportscaster Marv Albert performing the honours. “The prize will
always be completely appropriate to the argument itself,” said
Papa.
For obvious reasons and TV purposes, none of the arguments
presented on The Marriage Ref are of a serious nature. In
the first few shows, a man bridles at his wife’s insistence on
keeping her ex-husband’s ashes on the mantel, and his prosthetic
leg in their bedroom closet. A woman rails at her husband’s
habit of parking his Harley in the living room. Or the couple at
odds wonders whether or not to have their recently-deceased dog
stuffed by a taxidermist.
“Now, a fight like that could go on for a year,” said Seinfeld.
“And we just end it. It’s like in baseball. I kind of like it
when the ump blows the call, because that’s part of the game.
This is a game about human beings and we’re just going to make
the call. Let’s move on.”
And very often the laughs become too far apart in a marriage,
which appears to be the game plan behind Seinfeld’s return to
television. The Marriage Ref has sombre network
competition in its regular Thursday at 10 p.m. position –
specifically, from CBS’s crime-drama The Mentalist and
the maudlin medical drama Private Practice on ABC – but
Seinfeld believes there must be enough married-couple viewers
out there to support the real-life concept.
“Anyone who’s married, or was married, will be able to relate,”
he said confidently. “And it is very pro-marriage. The show ends
in a way where you can see how we’re really rooting for them and
want them to hang in there. And you can see that the fight was
really just a passing moment in their life.” |
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::LANGFIELD
ENTERTAINMENT:: ENTERTAINMENT NEWS WITH A CANADIAN TWIST::
