The Naked Truth

Come on, the naked truth was such a funny show. Tea Leoni is simply one of the funniest undiscovered actress in Hollywood. the show was specially funny when some stars appears there. i still remember one episode with Tom Hanks in a cafeteria, playing with his zipper and a couple of waiters trying to help him, while Tea Leoni was having an interview with a mayor newspaper editor, she couldn't resist the situation anymore, jump over the editor, grab a camera and took several pictures. Then she regret and gave the films to Mr. Hanks, and he whispered her: I do this all the time. Plop. Funniest Tom Hanks scene since his appearance in Family Ties

Tea Leoni plays Nora Wilde, a serious photographer, who is going through a bad divorce. She wants her freedom but it comes at a cost. She wants to legitimate photography but is hired to work for the tabloids as a paparazzi. Her boss is played by the wonderful and divine Holland Taylor. The show was well-written most of the time. TEa's Nora was beginning to develop into quite a memorable character but the network just didn't support comedy and they still don't. Even when they brought in George Wendt from Cheers, they made unnecessary changes in casting and characters. The show was fine in the beginning and the audience was getting used to it but then the network botches it up like a bad plastic surgery.

This is the only way I can describe the 3 seasons of this show. As with other shows that aren't in a league with "Friends" and "Frasier", the Powers That Be 'retooled' the show after the first season (the Good). Then the show just went from Bad to Ugly and was gone. I became a fan of Téa Leoni because of this show--back then, she was correctly described as "a cross between Lucille Ball and Sharon Stone"--and I was very disappointed when they 'retooled' and eventually cancelled the show (by that time, I was just happy they put it out of it's misery). This is a classic example of If-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it Syndrome. (And, by the way, calling Mark Roberts' character 'Stupid Dave' was funny!!!) I'm still a fan of Téa's (and her husband--I think his name is David-something;~}), and if this was the show that put her on the map, then it was worth it.

27 year old Nora Wilde (Téa Leoni) divorces her cheating newspaper magnet husband Leland Banks. She proclaims that she doesn't want a dime and gets back only her name. He blackballs her as a photojournalist from the industry and she can only get a job on a tabloid. Camilla Dane (Holland Taylor) is her new boss and Nicky Columbus is a fellow photographer. Chloe Banks (Amy Ryan) is her step-daughter.

The first season has Leoni trying to be the new Lucille Ball with some success. Holland Taylor is great. The premise should allow for celeb cameo like Extras. Nicky is a problem but Chloe is a bigger problem. Amy Ryan is in her late 20's and she has always seem like an older spirit. She's only two years younger than Leoni in real life. The role fits more as a younger flakey spoiled rich girl. Non of that screams Amy Ryan. At least, she should be Nora's roommate or get a job at the Comet to piss off her father. The first season is a zany single gal sitcom. It has its moments and has some fun.

The show moved from ABC to NBC for the second season. Amy Ryan gets faded out. Some retooling is tried like adding Norm from Cheers except he's mean but not mean enough to be funny. Stupid Dave is now just Dave. He turns from loveable idiot to stupid weirdo. While Nick is not that good, the rotating door of bad dates is worst. Mark may as well be a blank. Her new home is more homey. Her first season home is an empty Laverne & Shirley L.A. apartment which is interesting and a little quirky. NBC turns the show into a more standard 90's network workplace sitcom. It loses a bit of spice but probably fits better with the rest of the network comedies. The show gets a nice bump from the network change.

The retooling continues in the third season. Only Nora, Camilla, and Dave survive the purge. Dave is the best secondary character but Dave stops being stupid and stops being fun. Holland Taylor is the other important actress. They join another paper with a whole new cast. Jake is a lesser Nicky but at least, he's more than Mark. The show loses its chemistry. Leoni even tries changing her hair. The viewership takes a nosedive and the show gets cancelled. It's a failure in retooling.

I stumbled across rerun syndication of this show several years ago, and fell in love with it. It features Téa Leoni and Holland Taylor and kept me laughing, one episode after the next. I guess it didn't make it so big, and was cancelled after a few seasons, but I believe it was a good run, and would suggest watching it...if the opportunity arises.