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the Seinfeld curse
The show works. Credit craft, talent and timing.
By Ethan Alter
“Seinfeld” is typically referred to as a show about nothing, but that description more accurately fits NBC’s witty new comedy “Watching Ellie,” which debuted last night.
After all, while Jerry and the gang may have been obsessed with the minutiae of everyday existence, their own lives were far from ordinary, unless you consider stealing a loaf of marble rye from an old lady or putting Bette Midler in the hospital to be about nothing.
In contrast, “Watching Ellie” is a slice-of-life story, literally: Every episode tracks 22 minutes in the life of Ellie Riggs, a singer with a suitably complicated professional and personal life, played by “Seinfeld” veteran Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
As a timer counts down the seconds in the left-hand corner of the screen, viewers observe Ellie dealing with ordinary situations, such as an overflowing toilet, which often spiral out of control.
Real-time is all the rage these days, but it’s a gimmick that can backfire horribly if the writing and acting aren’t up to snuff.
Indeed, on a first viewing “Ellie” seems forced and unnatural, as if series creator Brad Hall, responsible for the best-forgotten mid-'90s show “The Single Guy,” is working overtime to fit requisite sitcom conventions, including wacky neighbors and broad physical comedy, into a real-world setting.
Once you adjust to the show’s comic rhythm, however, it becomes clear just how smart and well-structured Hall’s scripts are.
He’s not following the typical sitcom format of setup-and-punchline; instead, much as in real life, the show’s humor emerges from the characters’ reactions to their circumstances.
It helps that Louis-Dreyfus gives her all.
Ellie does bear a resemblance to Elaine, and the strength of the actress’s performance is that she embraces their similarities rather than ignoring them.
In doing so, she pays proper homage to her past success while at the same time gently stretching herself in a new direction.
Fans of Elaine will find Ellie to be just as likable as Jerry’s gal-pal and perhaps even more compelling in her own right. Jason Alexander and Michael Richards should be taking notes.
“Watching Ellie” also sports a solid supporting cast, with the standouts being Peter Stormare (“Fargo”) as her smitten Swedish landlord Ingvar and Steve Carrell (“The Daily Show”) as Edgar, her irritating ex-beau.
Playing Ellie’s current flame (and her band’s lead guitarist), British actor Darren Boyd is given considerably less to do, but his low-key charm helps balance the eccentricities of the other characters.
So, overall does the show conquer that famous “Seinfeld” curse?
Most definitely.
Will NBC allow it the time it needs to find an audience? That’s harder to say.
The same network gave “Seinfeld” three years to become a Nielsen powerhouse, but that was at a time when the industry was less likely to axe shows based on their first week’s ratings.
“Watching Ellie” is being tossed into a market that demands instant success. Of course, it’s not like NBC is sneaking it onto the air with no promotion; it's been steadily hyping the show for the past two months and has given it a prime spot on its schedule as the lead-in to the ever-popular “Frasier.”
With a comedy like this, however, patience almost matters more than publicity. The majority of viewers probably won’t warm to “Ellie” right away; it’s too offbeat to be an overnight hit à la “Friends.”
Nevertheless, there is an audience out there for this kind of program, no doubt a larger one than the network suspects. If NBC takes a chance and keeps “Ellie” on the air, the show about nothing could be the start of something big.
February 27, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
-Ethan Alter is a New York writer and a contributor to Media Life.
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