The Good, The Bad, and The Funny: Trophy Wife Edition

You may know by now that when it comes to TV, I have a pretty good sense of what's worth watching.
But you might not know about my other sense. My sixth sense.

You see friends, I am a psychic.

Wait, wait! Don't go away - I have proof. Let me just get out my crystal ball and open up my third eye...

Hmm. Hmm. I see...YES.

It appears that you...did not want to get up and go to work today.

See? It's spooky how accurate my gift is, right? Maybe I should get my own show on TLC. I guess since I'm from Long Island, I can call it The Long Island Medi...wait. I think that one's taken.

Oh well, we can work out the logistics later.

 Don't worry, Theresa! I swear I won't take away any of your business.

But wait! I'm also sensing that to unwind after your crazy workday (or school day, or day in general...my gift isn't that honed yet), you enjoy watching sitcoms. Hmm...but it appears that you are overwhelmed with the choices available to you this season, am I right? Truthfully, you don't have to be a mind reader to know that there are too many sitcoms on nowadays to waste your time with middle-of-the-road-type misadventures and shenanigans. Plus, these characters' lives better be so interesting that you can escape into their worlds and forget your problems, even for 22 measly minutes. Don't worry - I'm here to help with this new feature: The Good, The Bad, and The Funny. Each installment will give you a brief look at a new sitcom coming out this season, with the goal being to let you lovely people know: "Is it worth my time?" and most importantly, "Will it make me laugh?".

My psychic ability has allowed me to see this week's sitcom early!

It's ABC's Trophy Wife 

NOTE: Ok, I'm not that good. But ABC has released the pilot online before the show officially premieres Tuesday, September 24th. Want to see into the future? You can watch it ahead of time too at abc.go.com.

The Premise: 
Kate (Malin Akerman), a young woman with a wild past, goes from party-girl to step-mom when she falls in love and marries Pete (Bradley Whitford), an older gentleman who already has three kids and two ex-wives, all of whom are still a big part of his life.

The Good:
Malin Akerman, who has brought charm and humor to supporting roles in the past (Couples Retreat, 27 Dresses, Burning Love), shows she can really carry a sitcom here. With her sweet yet goofy style, she elevates a premise that seems a little too familiar (it's like Step-Mom with one less wife and one less kid, right?) while proving her talent for physical comedy as well. The other characters don't feel quite as developed yet, but hopefully we'll be getting to know the rest of this great supporting cast which includes Michaela Watkins, Natalie Morales, and Marcia Gay Harden (bonus points for all the amazing ladies they got to be on this show!).

The Bad:
After this first episode, I'm not sure how much further Trophy Wife can take it's main premise, so something is going to have to change in order to keep things interesting. The writing could use a punch-up too, since with a cast like this, there's no excuse for the strained dialogue, flat jokes, or overly-cute, smart-alecky kid stuff and snarky teen eye roll moments we've seen a million times before.

The Funny:
When Kate has to drink the water bottle full of vodka to protect her step-daughter, Hillary, from getting caught by her mother, I was in stitches. Akerman's initial reaction to knocking back that much booze was on par with Kristen Wiig's immediate whiskey-induced cough/gag from the plane scene in Bridesmaids (and that's high praise coming from me). With more laugh-out-loud moments like this, Trophy Wife could be appointment viewing. For now, I give it 3 episodes to improve before the two of us divorce - amicably, of course. 

Just a few things before I print up my psychic business cards (they're going to say: Liz's Psychic Services. I knew you were going to read this when I handed it to you.)

- Leah is BACK with a super-sized Dome update! Weeks of 9/2 & 9/9: "Things went bananas in the last two episodes. Mean lady Maxine shot Julia because she wanted Barbie to herself (again quite understandable due to his hotness). Big Jim really hates Barbie now so he got the whole town to believe that Barbie has been shooting people, including Julia, and so the hunt for the fugitive ensues! Poor hot Barbie is just so noble in the process. In other news, crazy big Jim caught on about the mini dome and is on the search for it (it's hidden at skater-boi Ben's house - how sneaky)! Within the dome there lies a mysterious trippy color-changing egg and a caterpillar ready to bloom into a butterfly. Joe thinks Barbie is the 'monarch' that will be crowned, just like the butterfly prophecy said. I say Barbie can be my monarch any day! We'll just have to wait and see what happens in this ridiculous town plauged with very bad acting."

- Also, it's football season, so to celebrate, two of my biggest crushes favorite gentlemen came together once again, this time with "The Evolution of End-Zone Dances". And the world was a wonderful place:

Join me next week for more sitcom fun as I dive into Fox's Tuesday Comedy Line-up!