Archive for March 3, 2010

Manhattan Strip Clubs: Seinfeld Gets Something Out of Nothing – Again

The couples, at least on the first show, have far less serious – but funnier – problems than the celebrities. One couple fought over the husband’s plans to stuff his beloved dog and place the petrified canine in a place of honor in their home. Another couple bickered about the husband’s demands for a stripper pole in the bedroom.
Seinfeld, Baldwin and Kelly Ripa got off some good quips. (Seinfeld was supportive of the stripper-pole scheme, but noted that ultimately, “It’s still one guy in the dark, clapping.”)
The most memorable moments, though, came from the couples, who seemed like characters out of, well, an episode of “Seinfeld.” (When the husband tells his wife he wants the stripper pole, she retorts: “People in hell want ice water, but they don’t get it.”)

See the full article from “NBC Dallas-Fort Worth”

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Manhattan Strip Clubs: ‘Marriage Ref’ a bad call

Determined to prove that I don’t entirely hate America, the global stage and the majesty of curling, I turned on the closing ceremonies of the Olympics Sunday night to make an honest effort at patriotism. And boy, did those goofy paperboy outfits worn by our U.S. Olympians get me tearing up and screaming “USA!” at my TV.  I was just about to replace the back window of my pickup truck with a painted mural of the American flag when an NBC promo flickered on my TV:
“Coming up next, it’s ‘THE MARRIAGE REF’ from producer JERRY SEINFELD!” What followed had me seriously considering Canadian citizenship.
If you’re not familiar with the premise of “The Marriage Ref,” let me enlighten you: Jerry Seinfeld’s squad of marriage-wrecking cameramen goes to an average married couple and documents their not-so-average squabbles. The first episode features a couple fighting over whether a husband could keep his dead, stuffed dog in the house and another that fight over bringing a stripper pole in the bedroom.

See the full article from “Daily Cardinal”

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Manhattan Strip Clubs: Leno’s back, and in painful fashion

After the commercial break, Leno introduced “Jay Looks for a New Desk,” with him and a camera crew knocking on random peoples’ doors, asking to try out their desk for the Show. It was an enjoyable skit, and I got a few laughs out there. Nothing like the skits Conan rolled out every night – but that’s the past, the sad past.
And now for the big unveiling – Jay Leno’s new desk! This shall exhibit strength, fortitude, persistence, and stability, indeed! This is the new desk for the new Leno, back where he belongs! The sheet was pulled off, and there it was! …A desk looking like the front entrance to a Staten Island strip club. I could barely watch, just peeking through my fingers as my hand covered my face. Who approved that? Let me guess, NBC exec Jeff Zucker?

See the full article from “NYU Washington Square News (blog)”

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Manhattan Strip Clubs: Seinfeld offers marriage advice in prime time

At the pinnacle of the Winter Olympics closing ceremonies, NBC cut away to the premiere of Jerry Seinfeld’s The Marriage Ref, a new comedy-variety show. The premise is this: celeb refs — Seinfeld, Kelly Ripa and Alec Baldwin – arbitrate the arguments of squabbling couples. NBC calls it, “Relationship advice… with a comic twist.”
Two coupes were profiled: in the first, hubby had his beloved deceased dog stuffed, and in the second, the husband wanted to install a stripper pole in the bedroom.
Okay. We all know not to take this too seriously. The “refs” role was standup comic. The “problem couples” were rehearsed, reality TV stars. It’s fake. It’s a show making fun of stupid married people.
That’s the problem.
The Marriage Ref makes real relationships seem more contrived than anything a comedy writer could ever come up with. Marriages are in enough trouble these days without the help of television cliché, and laugh tracks.

See the full article from “Examiner.com”

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