While this is a cute little newlywed sitcom and I realize TV programs can be just light, fluffy entertainment rather than intended as anything serious, I have my misgivings with the message that all is rosy as long as the couple is in love.
The series amusingly depicts the daily struggles of a wealthy Irish Catholic girl, Bridget Fitzgerald, who, despite parental misgivings, marries a Jewish cab driver, Bernie Steinberg. The role of Bridget is played by the lovely Meredith Baxter, who went on to the much more successful TV series, Family Ties. David Birney portrays Bernie, and the couple married in real life (though later divorced).
The show features a touching love story between this pair from such different backgrounds and assorted laughs at their newlywed problems & family obstacles. However, the reality is that interfaith marriage is rife with difficulty. It's lovely & heartwarming to think of respecting each other's different faith traditions and simply celebrating every holiday...Christmas, Easter, Hanukkah, Passover, and so forth. The real problem emerges with children, what exactly are you going to teach them to believe? Exposure to both would prove very conflicting for this particular mix.
Even without children, it's not like the couple disagreeing about which type of movie or food they prefer. Maybe Bridget and Bernie aren't really that committed to their respective religions, but if your faith is important to you and you want genuine emotional intimacy, best to choose a partner who shares your basic beliefs. So, it's a fun sitcom and of course Bridget and Bernie are portrayed as the typical doting newlyweds. However, I wouldn't take its message to heart as it simply isn't true that 'all you need is love'. Viewers should take this sitcom for the light little bit of fluff that it is.
