The New Adventures of Old Christine

In 2006, the promotions for this sitcom was threaded in with the mundane barrage of commercials. Once seeing who was in the cast, the decision was immediate not to watch.

It was a quality decision, or so I thought, though I like Julia Louis Dreyfus on Seinfeld, I didn't like the short stint she had on SNL. I figured she would be better as a supporting actress rather then the lead. Also the expressions she portrayed in the promos lead me to believe that there would be too much shtick and not enough witty texture in the script.

The other actors, I never saw before. I recall Clark Gregg, playing the ex-husband, in a few things before but never in a comedy. Therefore, everyone else would be a fresh new face, that is, until the added comedic talent of Wanda Sykes. This addition also qualified my decision not to watch.

Now before you boo me, let me give you my reasons. Ms. Sykes had a cute sitcom entitled, Wanda at Large, where she was the lead. She played a single career minded woman desperate to date. Shortly after her premiere, she came out announcing her life style choice of being a lesbian. For me, it made the character in the sitcom not as believable and soon after her announcement, the show was cancelled. She then had another sitcom that came and went so fast, I don't recall the name of it. Alright that's 2 shows under her belt (or so I thought). I saw a couple of her stand up performances and realized that she reminded me of another comedienne. It wasn't because of her material but that whiny-twang in her voice. It couldn't be anyone else but Rosanne Barr. How? I don't know, but she did it and another reason why I wasn't going to watch the show. Wanda then had a night time talk show on Fox that lasted a little longer then the first sitcom. When seeing her on The New Adventures of Old Christine, I had to give her props for keeping the fickle entertainment industry interested in her. Still, I didn't watch the show.

When The New Adventures of Old Christine went into syndication, I happened upon it. I don't recall which one of the episodes I watched; however, since then I have seen each one a few times and still laugh at the continual reruns. The writing is fresh and innovative. Wanda Sykes puts a wonderfully credible quality to Julia Louis Dreyfus zany antics. The odd relationship with her brother (played by Hamlish Linklater) and ex-husband are ideal for today's extended family and other social miscreants that come from it.

CBS may not know how to promote a decent show and ABC should not miss the opportunity by passing on such the treasure. Here's a tip: Lately I have been watching entirely too much T.V. and what I didn't see is any of those actors from the Christine show come on Leno, Rachel, Wendy, Martha, Oprah, or any of the other talk shows that America watches. What's up with that? If CBS doesn't have a clue, ABC can snatch up the treasure of that comedic genius.