Leap of Faith

Sometimes a show can have every possible advantage and it still doesn't work. "Leap of Faith" is an example of that.

This sitcom was created by Jenny Bicks. She was a writer for "Sex and the City." That's kind of important and you'll understand why in a moment.

This show also landed the best possible half hour on the TV schedule, when it debuted: Thursday Night at 8:30pm ET. That was the time slot that immediately followed the highest rated show on television at that time: "Friends." The lineup of "Must See TV," as the Peacock billed it at the time, was unstoppable. Well...

This show was about Sarah Paulson's character, who decided to ditch her engagement (for no clear reason other than she wanted to see what would happen if she did) all for what life still had in store for her as she moved back into the dating scene with her pals. The name of the character is Faith, so you see the double meaning of the title.

The point of the show was to present an "SATC" environment but more "family friendly" for prime time broadcast network scheduling. Yet, they were still covering the same ground as that TV-MA series, with a whole lot of talk about sex (since they couldn't be seen having any on the National Broadcasting Company)!

Despite the "leap" being taken here, Faith seems oddly unsure of herself, questioning every decision and doubting her own best efforts. I guess the TV trope being played on here is the intellectual woman with the low emotional IQ. This was, at the time, being handled a whole lot better on Fox's "Ally McBeal" but as an additional flavor, it was just another thing to try and hook an audience for this program. Isn't that a cute character trait? Keep watching!

New York played a part because it's "The City" and everybody is on the lookout, on the make and ready to hook up. Unlike "Friends," there was a realistically diverse cast being represented here, though nobody played a stereotyped character. But everybody did talk in one-liners and standard sitcom jokey dialogue, which was a bit of a miss from the dialog on the HBO series this was trying to mimic. How did Ms. Bicks not give her characters something a bit more clever to talk about?

Really good cast, what with Lisa Edelstein, who likely would have missed "House, MD" if this had succeeded, Regina King, who was beginning to branch out into voiceover work, Tim Meadows, long time SNL player doing his occasional appearances in sitcoms at the time, and of course Ms. Paulson, who always does the best she can with the material she gets. Her next stop would be an even higher profile show: the all-star cast of Aaron Sorkin's return to episodic television after "The West Wing," "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," which I thankfully don't have to discuss for this list.

Some people enjoyed the toned down level of material presented here, while others thought it was trite, dull and derivative. The show actually got decent ratings, but "decent" is far from what was expected on NBC's biggest night of the week.

Not only is this show on right after "Friends," (BONUS), but it's funny, fresh, and amazing to watch. It's only 30 minutes long, but when it's over, you feel like only 10 minutes have gone by, it's just that good. Sarah Paulson is one of the best underrated actresses on television, she is perfect in this part. From the writers of Sex and the City, Leap of Faith is a leap worth taking.

Wow! This has got to be one of the WORST "sitcoms" I've ever seen. After the first few minutes, I thought that NBC was pulling a stunt by broadcasting a half-hour drama after Friends. I tried to be as open-minded and receptive as possible, but I think Schindler's List had more humor than this piece of schlock.

The main problem here is that this show - and most sitcoms in general - are typically nothing more than a writer's medium. It's less about the relationships between the characters than it is about the, ahem..."witty" banter. The constant ping-ponging back and forth of one-liners is so unbelievable and unrealistic, that we end up not believing in the characters at all. It simply hampers the actor's ability to respond truthfully and what you end up with is a bunch of talking heads.

Note to producers and network execs: for the love of god, turn to Nickelodean and check out All In The Family and The Golden Girls. There's a reason these reruns are still popular.

What a piece of garbage!!! What's the deal with all of these TV shows like "Leap of Faith" and "Ally McBeal" where the central female character is beautiful, intelligent, and ambitious; but at the same time stupid, selfish, and neurotic! Every stereotype is in full force here! Let's see. Besides the lead character mentioned, you have her high and mighty sister, her mother who thinks she might be gay because she's not married yet, the office tramp who will probably catch something down the road, and the ideal man, the stud with a heart of gold. As a single man, I'm sick and tired of seeing these so-called comedies rape the institution of marriage and family. To the writers of this show: why do hate marriage so much? Why do you make fun of people who want to be "complete" with someone else? Why do you think people "die" once they get married? Why do you think marriage is for "people who want to give up"? There are a few good points to the show: Tim Meadows was funny (give him his own show and take him away from this Crap) and, THANK GOD, the girls have a guy friend at the office who IS NOT GAY. It is refreshing to see that, even though I realize his waving to every girl he sees perpetuates another stereotype. It's really sad that TV shows can't depict a woman (or a man) who decides to sacrifice, give up some of their life, and, yes, do what is right!

Compared to other shows that have inhabited this doomed slot, "Leap" is already miles ahead.

On the good side- a diverse cast that takes diversity for granted; it is refreshing to see a sitcom with black and white cast members where the black woman isn't the sassy sista'! Additionally, the dialogue is getting better- but if you want "Golden Girls" this simply ain't aimed at you. This is, however, aimed at me, and I like the banter- this is how my group of friends sounds, or at least how we would like to sound.

On the not so good side- the storylines still need work, but are also getting steadily better. They seem to be playing down the over-the-top Ally-neurosis of Faith. Thank God. There's a reason no one watches Ally anymore. I also believe the anti-marriage bits were a phase. I simply took the digs as the kind of things we say, but only half mean. I gave it all a knowing laugh.

If the writers do want to look to a classic sitcom for guidance, maybe they should check out "Designing Women." They could take the smart women, smart talk, happily single, happily married elements; leave the annoying stereotypes and shoulder pads behind; and add a dash of 21st century wit and worldliness. Of course, every sitcom must make it through the minefield of sitcom stereotypes. "Leap" is trying, and doing better than most.

Give this a chance, it actually has potential, unlike "Inside Schwartz," "Stark Raving Mad," "Cursed," etc, etc. Of course, I realize that's not saying much.