Significant Others

As Karen and Jack so eloquently put it on a recent episode of "Will and Grace", TVLAND has been filled with "fat husband, pretty wife", "fat husband, pretty wife", and "ugly husband, pretty wife". So much for many of today's sitcoms. This show, although not a sitcom, blows many of the others out the water. Fresh, irreverent, and purely entertaining, this show (and these entertainers) deserve so much more than they are destined to receive. It does have the advantage of being on Bravo. Hopefully Bravo will give it the carte blanche needed to attain the success it so rightfully deserves.

P.S. Eleanor and Ethan are my favorite couple. However, the rest can hold their own. I would like to see a gay couple on this show for added diversity.

The big advertising draw to "Significant Others" is that it's entirely improvised. And it's a sitcom. About relationships. That's three strikes against it already, but the show is hilarious.

The show deals with three couples with dysfunctional relationships, their problems ranging from pregnancy to infidelity to histories of promiscuity. Half the show deals with their everyday lives, and the other half straight-to-the-camera chats in the form of therapy sessions (even *these* are funny. Who would have thought?).

The comedy may be improvised, but it's done with incredible skill—and no doubt, hours of rehearsal—with nary a dead spot or muffed joke in the entire thing. Be the couples eating at a restaurant with a parent, inviting friends over for a dinner party, or cheating on one another with in-laws, the show keeps finding the comedy within and milking it mercilessly.

Is it accurate? Kinda. It finds the perfect way to condense realistic situations into minutes without making them thoroughly absurd; everything is just absurd enough to be funny. It would be more than easy for stuff like this to cross the line into ridiculousness in search of a laugh, but so far "Significant Others" hasn't made that mistake. In fact, it hasn't made any.

First things first...back when Comedy Central did their send-up of "Project Greenlight" called "Contest Searchlight" I had no clue that it was all a joke. The concept was that Denis Leary would set up a television show in the vein of "Greenlight." The thing was that it was a tumultuous set and seemed to be a failure from the get go. But one thing did strike my interests. The guy who "won" the contest came up with the idea of an improvised television sitcom. I thought "how brilliant! If they pull it off, it could actually work!" The concept was so interesting, I was hoping that it would somehow make come to pass. Finally, it has in the form of "Significant Others." I watched the other day, and i was completely floored by the improvisation. That entire cast is talented when it comes to thinking on their toes. Kudos to Bravo! for having the guts to put up a very funny show that actually, beats any other cable sitcom to a pulp.

This is a terrific show. I just happened to stumble on it one night on Bravo, and was immediately hooked. It's hilarious. I hope they avoid the excesses of Woody Allen style nebbishness and neuroses, but it's pretty great so far.

I hadn't realized it was improv, though in retrospect I guess it sort of has that feel.

Props to Bravo for some interesting new directions. Keen Eddie is also quite good. It's nice to see a network taking a few chances, since the regular main network fare is just abominable. I haven't watched anything on a regular network in prime time in quite a while.

This is a really funny show that allows the actors to improv their parts to get a naturally funny dynamic. The stars of the show are, without question, James (Brian Palermo) and Chelsea (Andrea Savage). They have a great chemistry so their exchanges on each episode are always the funniest. Episode 104 focuses primarily on them and it is absolutely hysterical (and the best show of the season!). Episode 105 was a bit weak, so if you've only seen that one episode then go watch some of the others. It really is a great show! If you've ever been in a long-term relationship (especially marriage) you'll laugh your tail off at this show. I highly recommend it!..