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May 25, 2012

Old Christine: A Long Day's Journey Into Stan

by Anna Johns, posted Apr 18th 2006 10:11PM

new adventures of old christine; julia louis-dreyfus(S01E07) Ew! That title is gross! Especially because we all know 'Stan' is really Andy Richter with a moustache. *shudder*

I was very thankful that this week's episode wasn't about the pet rat that Christine brought home from Richie's classroom. I kind-of expected the story to go along the lines of losing the rat or the rat dying. Why, exactly, was that rat even in the story? Just for the one joke about it staying the night? That's an awful lot of set up. Anyway, that's why I appreciate this sitcom. It doesn't go the direction of other sitcoms by dealing with stupid problems like a lost rat. Instead, it deals, in a very funny way, with big issues like loneliness.

This episode was pretty much all Christine, with the minor characters playing, well, very minor roles. Christine's ex-husband takes their son to the movies and brother Matthew has a date (with the girl who played 'Jan' in the Brady Bunch movies!), so Christine is left to fend for herself. She goes to a restaurant by herself, ends up annoying the people next to her, having her purse stolen, commiserating on her break-up with Burton, and, in the end, she caves in and calls... Stan. Andy Richter does such a great job making that character so smarmy and pathetic. No big laughs this episode, but it was still pretty amusing.

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parsnip

Well, I don't get it, so many of the posters liking this show. But then, I'm very picky. When it comes to sitcoms, there have only been a handful that I thought were funny--well-written and well-acted: Cheers, Everybody Loves Raymond, Seinfeld, Mary Tyler Moore.
My husband and I watched Christine--there was not one line that made us laugh or even smile. We both wondered aloud--what's the point of writing a sitcom when you can't write funny lines? And then to have that loud awful laugh track underscoring the lame lines! Aarg!
When will the TV powers-that-be realize that good clever writing is what makes a show--not the stars? You can have good actors in a show, charming comedians and comedienes, and a charming ensemble of actors, but they'll sink if the lines just aren't funny.

April 25 2006 at 11:50 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Heather

I love this show! Am I alone in wishing that Burton would make his way back to Christine's? I felt something special brewing there!

April 20 2006 at 3:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chris McMahon

Well, I couldn't disagree more with phish73 (the phrases you wind up typing on the internet).

They deal with real issues in a funny and entertaining way instead of funny things in an attempt to be entertaining.

April 19 2006 at 9:16 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Thomas

I liked the line from her son about being lost during the movie because all the penguins looked the same. Dunno why but that really tickled me.

April 19 2006 at 4:28 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
phish73

sorry to say, but this show BLOWS!
i cant relate to any of the characters, and it just isnt funny. there is nothing original about the script, same old crap.

April 19 2006 at 12:14 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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