Notes from the Underbelly

Please add a minus rating scale for this show because the current ratings system does not come close to indicating the level of the utter awfulness this show attains. To quote Edward Norton's character in Fight Club it feels like a "copy of a copy of a copy of a copy" and so on. The characters are parrots reciting poorly written jokes with seemingly no idea what they are actually saying. Tectonic plates have better comic timing and the blonde chick with glasses has played at least 3 separate manifestations of the same character all with increasing levels of failure. The creators/writers of this show should be brought in front of The Hague and tried for crimes against the art of storytelling. Their sentence: cancellation, oh wait that will probably happen anyway. Their sentence: banishment to writing for reality television.

There are very few comedies out there right now (I don't count "30 Rock" or "The Office" as comedies because they're...uh...not funny!) but this is a hidden gem. As more and more networks move away from the scripted comedy shows, it is nice to find one that actually makes me laugh out loud. Like most good comedies, it takes a situation that a lot of people can relate to (pregnancy) and makes fun of it in ways that hit the nail on the head and make me remember a lot of similar situations during the times when *my* wife was pregnant. A must for anyone who's ever been pregnant or is ever going to be, and who likes to laugh. I give this show an A+++.

I think this is a hilarious, honest, and funny show. No, it's not exactly highbrow, but c'mon...it's television! This reminds me of the BBC show "Coupling." I was also thinking that I like that these people look pretty "normal." The women aren't emaciated, the guys are cute but not in a cookie-cutter Hollywood way. I also like that they address the common myths, problems, ideas, situations and fears of new parents. I also find a lot of this pretty easy to relate to - I have the friend who is the crazy new mom (Julie) and the friend who is scared but excited about being pregnant (Lauren), and the cynical friend who will never have kids (Cooper). I'm not a laugh-out-loud at the TV kind of person, but I do find myself laughing out loud a lot at this show.

With already cramped, busy lives, it is a lovely change of pace to have a 30- minute stress reliever such as Notes From the Underbelly. The characters are easy to relate to, the scenes are often realistic, and the show brings a sense of humorous comfort to those preparing for parenthood. While addressing many common pregnancy truths and fallacies, Underbelly is laugh out loud funny- like Scrubs without the medical scene. Lauren, the main character, brings the humor of watching Jessica Simpson's absentmindedness in a more realistic and "pregnancy brain" related way. Cooper brings the romantic scandal of Desperate Housewives without the "above-and-beyond-reality" drama. Julie brings the innocence of Pheobe from Friends, but adds a kick of attitude to it. Andrew, Lauren's husband, acts like Will Turner in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, taking care of Lauren throughout her pregnancy while being thankful that he was lucky enough to have someone as beautiful as her love him.

Underbelly deserves to live and laugh for a few more seasons.

There have been many vapid, watery attempts at an appealing comedy show in the past, and I'll sure there will be plenty more to come in the fall.

Luckily, this particular show is among the good batch. The humor is very consistent, and there's never a dramatic moment without a comical follow-up to compensate. It says to you 'Hm, even though it's obligatory that we must have these touching moments of overwrought sentiment, we can make up for that by immediately trailing this with an insanely witty bit, most likely to be delivered by the neurotic husband.'

It's clever, it's witty, and it possesses an pleasantly engaging title that screams for folks to give the name a double-glance, frown iffy-ly, say "Why, what is this 'Underbelly' you speak of?" and eventually (hopefully) succumb to their meddling curiosity and watch this show.