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Will You Watch the Series Version of The Starter Wife?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:30:45 -0700

USA's The Starter Wife returns to TV tonight, this time as a full-fledged series instead of the fun, if fluffy, miniseries that aired back in '07.

Debra Messing is back as Molly Kagan, striking out on her own and trying to decide whether she can really become a writer now that she's free from the clutches of her ex-husband (now played by David Alan Basche, since Peter Jacobson is otherwise occupied). Also returning are Molly's two best friends, Joan (Judy Davis, who won an Emmy for her role) and Rodney (Chris Diamantopoulos), along with a cast of new supporting characters.

The Friday night time slot is tough, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that The Starter Wife can be a special weekend treat on my DVR. What about you? Will you be watching?

Photo courtesy of USA

First Look: The Starter Wife, The Series

BuzzSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:30:09 -0700

As Fall gets closer, I'm finding myself looking more and more forward to watching more of The Starter Wife, USA's 2007 miniseries that's now getting another shot on TV as a regular series. They've already made a few changes that I can fully support (giving Debra Messing's character, Molly, a new love interest who is definitely not Sam the homeless guy, for one), and some of the things I liked most about the mini - including Judy Davis as the acerbic Joan - are staying put.

We got to see a couple of clips at the TCA press tour, including one funny moment where Molly's having a crisis about being a writer (Joan suggests Molly would be awesome at collecting urine samples). I don't think that particular scene has turned up online yet, but I caught a promo with some new footage while watching the Olympics the other day, and it still gave me a good feeling about the series. It is weird not to see Peter Jacobson as Kenny Kagan, but I'm liking the addition of Hart Bochner a lot.

How are you feeling about this miniseries-turned-real-series at this point? To check out the clips, just read more.

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TV Tonight: "Masters of Science Fiction"

BuzzSugar — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 13:00:00 -0700

By putting it on Saturday night at 10 p.m. - the deadest of all TV dead zones - ABC clearly isn't expecting much from its "Masters of Science Fiction" miniseries, which premieres tonight. And that's a shame, because I think it sounds pretty cool - and very unlike anything else on network TV right now.

The four-episode series is described as "thought-provoking tales of present and future Earth." Each episode is adapted from a science fiction short story, and all are narrated by Stephen Hawking. The cast and crew ABC assembled for the anthology is impressive: Tonight's story, "A Clean Escape," stars Judy Davis and Sam Waterston, while Terry O'Quinn, Anne Heche, Brian Dennehy, John Hurt and James Denton will star in later episodes. Here are the plot descriptions for all four.

There's speculation that the series is dead on arrival because it's too artistic for ABC, which has been filling its summer lineup with "Wife Swap," "Shaq's Big Challenge" and "Set for Life." I'm tempted to check it out, if only because I'd love for it to get better ratings than "National Bingo Night." To check out a trailer for the series, read more

"The Starter Wife" Recap: "Hour Six"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:15:49 -0700

So "The Starter Wife" came to a close last night with some lovely glimpses of the new, independent, don't-need-a-man Molly. Well, until the end, that is, when she had to go and ruin it all for me. Sigh. Other than Molly's big choice, though, I thought this episode was a good end to the miniseries, showing how far everyone had come since Molly got kicked to the curb. Here were a few of my favorite moments:

Sometimes "The Starter Wife" has won me over by doing something cheesy, then acknowledging that it was cheesy. Case in point: The episode starts with a really overblown dream referencing Titanic, as Sam slips under the water and Lou throws Molly a life preserver that she can't quite reach. Then Molly wakes up, and her voiceover says, "Well, that's not very hard to analyze."
But then there are the moments that are just a little too much, like Molly telling Sam that if he doesn't want to "catch up," it's a shame his life isn't one worth saving. Wow, Molly, way to throw his terrible line back in his face. I'm sure that hurt.
How funny was the scene where Molly ordered Kenny to leave the house? Debra Messing was absolutely towering over a very tiny-looking Peter Jacobson.

More thoughts, so read more

I loved how one of the first ways new, independent Molly expressed herself was by telling one of the country club ladies to bite her. I didn't realize that becoming an independent woman also required using the language of a middle schooler, but whatever.
Molly asks Lou if her new, big locker at the country club is the one all the girlfriends get. Lou replies: "It's the one the wives get." Oh, that's so much better.
Shoshanna generally did little for me over the course of this show, but she did give me one great new expression last night: "totally geezed."
I guess we're supposed to believe that Sam just cleaned up and got a job in about 30 seconds ... but it's also not that much less believable than everything else about Sam's character.

My favorite part of the Lou/Sam fight: "I have never worn a dress." "I have never worn red shorts 365 days a year!"
Just for a brief second, when Molly left the guys on the beach, I thought she was going to go back to Kenny. Luckily for all of us, she just went back to Joan's house to make up.
I love that the teeny closet was what shattered Molly's dreams of moving back to her old apartment building. A glam girl can only sacrifice so much.
Today's Pond's experience: Molly staring at the "42 and Savvier" billboard after telling Kenny she was taking her name back and insisting that they split the divorce settlement money down the middle. At least she didn't talk to herself in the mirror again.
The official episode description said the flash-forward at the end was a year in the future, but it must have only been six months, right? Otherwise, Cricket would have had her baby and Joan presumably would have had more than six months sober. Also, I totally teared up during that scene, even though I saw it coming.
So I was floating along, all happily loving Molly and her children's book career and her independent life, and then she has to go and ruin it for me by picking Sam. Literally picking him, too, just declaring that she was ready for a relationship. Sure, they looked happy at the end, but I would have thought the "new Molly" would have wanted to fall in love, not just decide that she might as well be with this guy for lack of any other.

And, well, that's our show. Were you satisfied with the ending - or as peeved at Molly as I was? What were your favorite moments?

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"The Starter Wife": Off to a Good Start

BuzzSugar — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 11:43:30 -0700

Considering all the hype "The Starter Wife" got before its premiere, I thought the first two episodes held up fairly well. Sure, it's a stereotypical story about the powers of Hollywood, populated by cartoonish, one-dimensional shallow characters that we've watched and read about before. But it also has a surprisingly smart script, a cinematic look and a fantastic performance from the radiant Debra Messing, who gives the miniseries its heart.

I'm going to run through a few of my most memorable moments from the two-hour premiere (which you can watch here if you missed it), and please add your thoughts in the comments below.

My favorite scene of the whole show was Molly's post-separation lunch with her best friends (before Cricket ditched her and Joan went to rehab) - not just because they all rallied around her but because it included my favorite line of the night, during Molly's brilliant, slightly unhinged rant about bathroom hygiene: "I even put the seat up for Kenny!"

Some of the best Hollywood details: Kenny's ever-present Bluetooth headset, Lou calling himself the asshole who crushes dreams with a thousand nos, Jaden's orders to share her cookies with Violet Affleck
I loved Debra Messing's bad hair, awful clothes, and possible fake nose in the flashback to starving-writer Molly, not to mention her reverent devouring of a slice of pre-wrapped processed cheese.
A few more, so read more
The drowning scene was super-cheesy - except for Molly's imaginary "40ish Woman Drowns Outside Celebrity Homes" newspaper headline, which made me laugh out loud.

Jorge's list of things that might be on Cricket's charm bracelet: The Eiffel Tower, a heart, a Scottie dog, a treasure chest, a battleship.
I thought the integration of Pond's products (since the company is sponsoring the show) was fairly clever the first time I noticed it: When Molly stares up at a billboard that says "41 and Sexier," Molly says to herself, "Yeah, right." The idea that Pond's might incorporate their brand by making fun of themselves was pretty impressive - until the second product shot when Molly rubs the face cream in while muttering encouraging words to her own image.
Did anyone else think the Hollywood characters were written so much better than the non-Hollywood characters? Lavender and Sam were even more stilted than Rodney, Cricket and the rest.
I want more Judy Davis! I have my fingers crossed for more Joan-in-rehab in the future episodes.

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