Oh, how I’ve missed the eccentric families of Wife Swap. Their general wackiness can cure any case of the Monday blues. That said, let’s start with Sheila Rush, an avid dog lover, whose husband, Ray, and son, Tyler, felt that they came last in Sheila’s set of priorities. For Sheila, her six dogs are her entire world. She doesn’t want friends because she wants to have more time with her dogs. She makes her husband sleep in the downstairs guest room, while the dogs sleep with her in the bed. She spends a hundred thousand dollars a year on dog clothes (which seems atrocious and kind of sad, since that much money could probably clothe and feed so many needy people) and $3 a week on dog food. Her dogs eat fine steak off fine china, but her husband and son eat fast food off of paper products.Sheila made me cringe a lot. She was definitely mean, like a little kid trying not to listen to anyone else’s point of view because she considered herself the only mouthpiece ...
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The final hour opened with Molly’s Titanic fantasy, in which she was saying goodbye to Sam, the one she loved, and looking to be rescued by Lou, the stable one who could seemingly offer her everything she needed. Waking up, she whispered that she didn’t need to analyze that dream too closely. Because, of course, she was looking to Lou to be her stable savior, while Sam was the one she lusted for. This final hour gave us a proper chick-lit ending. Molly rediscovered herself without the safety of male companionship, revived her creative career, savored her strong friendships, and waited until she was fully ready to be with Sam, who had finally rejoined the real world. But before we delve into the ending, let’s reminisce about this final hour of The Starter Wife. I was thrilled that Kenny finally got what he deserved. Basically, his arrogance was eliminated, piece by piece, until he was just a humiliated fool. He let his house go to waste, his former assistant left him t...
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So Sam and Molly finally slept together. And not just in a bed — they slept together outdoors, too. I’d be kind of shy about it, but I guess outdoor lovemaking is liberating, and that was what Molly was after. How pretty did Cricket look in her black dress? Of course, I think she could’ve done better than Harry Hamil, the creepy overzealously sexual Realtor. I know Cricket wanted to get back at her husband for having the affair with the nanny, but the Realtor wasn’t that cute. I’m glad she chickened out in the middle of the makeout session. She’s a better person than that. At last Molly admitted to Joan that she was wrong for sneaking Joan out of rehab and that Joan should give up drinking because she could seriously injure herself. Molly urged Joan to tell Pappy the truth, but Joan didn’t fess up. I feel bad for Joan. She has so many friends and family, but she lies to them without hesitation, all to keep drinking. At least we finally got some ins...
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For all of you who guessed that Lou Manahan was still alive and had faked his suicide… you were right! I had a tiny feeling that that was possible, but I didn’t think he’d come back into the fold, even if he had faked his own death. Faking your death is kind of, well, final. Of course, in Molly’s world, crazy things seem to happen.Let's start at the beginning of the hour, which opened with another of Molly’s film-noir dream sequences. This time she and Joan were bickering over Sam. Joan called him a killer, Molly called him her lover. (The scene kind of took me back to the Will & Grace days, reminding me of the relationship between Karen and Grace, especially with Joan’s constant judgements of Molly’s choice in men, and Joan’s drinking problem.) I’d be a little concerned, too, if my close friend were dating an accidental killer who had been under suspicion for having killed Lou, all thanks to a band-aid that was left at the scene of t...
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I’m a huge fan of chick lit. I love stories where the female heroine has to learn about herself, and also gets to fall in love, maybe for a second time, for all the right reasons. And that’s what this is. It’s television’s throwback to chick lit, starring Debra Messing, whose most recent foray into the romantic comedy genre was 2005’s The Wedding Date (which I really liked). And can I say, I really enjoy Debra Messing as Molly Kagan, the jilted wife of a Hollywood movie boss. She’s just so charmingly amiable, accessible in a way that makes you want to root for the characters she plays.Molly Kagan, whose seemingly perfect life falls apart before our eyes, is worth rooting for. She’s not like the other rich wives who drive their matching SUVs, gossip abrasively, and worship at “the altar of perpetual upkeep.” When she drops her daughter Jayden off at school, Molly actually gets out of the car to kiss Jayden and say goodbye, ignoring the ann...
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I had a few problems with Ashley Pitney. One, she had this whole theory that real men shouldn't tap dance. Gene Kelly tap danced. So did Fred Astaire. Both were men. Neither one was really a "girly man." Men can tap dance or do ballet. But Ashley seemed to be against that. She wanted her boys to play sports and be tough men. She said dancing was for little girls in tutus, which bothered me. Because both boys and girls can dance, play sports, do whatever. Ashley Pitney seemed to have a very specific idea of gender roles that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. She waited on her husband and boys hand and foot, which is fine if that's what she prefers. While Alan Pitney gambled online for hours and her sons played video games, she did everything. But she didn’t mind. Ashley Pitney didn’t know what to do when she was transplanted into the Silver household, where the man waited on the wife hand and foot and the boys enjoyed tap dancing more than sports. Instead of trying to engage...
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Andy Baldwin, The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman
U.S. Navy Lt. Andy Baldwin now swoons for one woman only. We caught up with the doc, who hands out his last rose tonight (at 9 pm/ET) on ABC's The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman.
TV Guide: Were you skeptical because of how some other Bachelor relationships ended?
Andy Baldwin: I'm not a prince and I'm not a Firestone heir. You know, [the show] has been successful, [too]. Trista and Ryan [Sutter] are having a baby, and Byron [Velvick] and Mary [Delgado] are getting marrie
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Finally, we have a new episode of Wife Swap. Yes, it seems to be that ABC has moved it to Friday nights, but hopefully that’s only temporary. At least we have a new episode. And I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed by these quirky families. I’ve missed seeing the families each week, getting a glimpse into their lives and witnessing how they react to drastic differences from what they’re used to in their households. It’s entertaining and calming to me, for some reason, to know that such unique families exist out there. I always wonder where they find these families and if they’re real. And I always wonder how I’d fare in each of the households. I’d definitely find it hard to stay in the Browne family. The dad, Trenton, seemed like a sweet enough man who found it hard to discipline his kids. His wife, Christie, liked to have fun with her boys, which meant she drove the getaway car when they toilet-papered neighboring houses. (I wonder if their n...
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I was a little nervous about the Grimes family when I saw them making that answering-machine message — “We’re not in Japan, but we’ll get back to you as soon as we can,” or something like that. I don’t mind musical answering-machine messages, but it was something about Lori Grimes’ eyes. Her eyes were always wide open and she was always smiling and happy. I know that smiley, happy people exist in the world, but those eyes of hers made me nervous. It was a combination of her slightly crazy eyes and her penchant for singing whatever action she was doing, like making cheesecakes or getting kids out of bed. I just didn’t trust her and I don’t know why. Lori Grimes seemed like a sweet, nice enough person, but whenever she or her husband, Doug, or her kids used the word “training,” that familiar sense of nervousness returned to me. Why do they use the word "training" when discussing how they “teach” their kids? Why not use t...
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So, let’s talk about this explosive table meeting. I’d heard whisperings about the explosive scene and seen the frantic previews, but I had never seen this episode until the repeat tonight. I’m still trying to figure out what caused it. First, Kim Carrao leaves the house because cowboy Randy Ridgely is being belligerent. On the way to the table meeting, Randy’s gearing up to fight Kim’s husband Louis. They get to the table meeting. Kim talks first. She accuses Randy of not doing anything she asked. He responds by saying she didn’t do anything at all, and she was a bad influence on the kids. He says she brought a “trough” of candy into the house, which makes Louis laugh (it made me laugh, too, 'cause it wasn’t really a trough, it was just a bowl and he was freaking out over candy of all things), which makes Jen angry at Louis for laughing. “What’s so funny?” she barks at Louis. Then Louis starts telling Kim how much of a pru...
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