Ned and Stacey

I am insanely critical of comedies (as you'd find out if you browsed through my movie reviews) and I tend to despise sitcoms in general, but "Ned and Stacey" was one of those sitcoms I actually embraced. I recall enjoying the show when I was a teenager, so I figured it was worth purchasing the first season on DVD. Well, it was a delightful trip down memory lane. I still find the show very funny, and it makes me feel even more proud that Thomas Haden Church is now a household name. Way, way before "Sideways" came out, there was "Ned and Stacey." Church's impeccable comic timing definitely contributes to the magnitude of the show. I didn't feel he was annoying or over-the-top, like some of the other IMDb users. Trust me, I have a low tolerance for obnoxious comic actors. But Church has a unique comic ability that is comparable to few others. Debra Messing was great on the show as well. I'm not a "Will and Grace" fan, and thought the show was completely overrated. I wasn't impressed by Messing on that show, but I think that was mainly because she was working with less-than-satisfactory material. When she did "N & S," she hadn't had any sitcom experience. But her delivery and timing of each joke was solid. Not to mention the chemistry between her and Church was solid. To top it all off, the show was blessed with a fine supporting cast. Nadia Dajani and Greg Germann rounded out the superb cast. The dynamic between Church and Germann is hilarious, with Church being the loudmouth and Germann being the soft-spoken pushover. No one plays a soft-spoken pushover better than Germann. And Dajani was pitch-perfect at playing a pure cynic who's always prepared with a smart-aleck remark. My only mild criticism of the show was the segments during the closing credits. I've never been a fan of movies or TV shows playing outtakes over the credits. It's fun watching them in Jackie Chan flicks, because we find out the difficulty it takes for him to perform his elaborate stunts. But in other cases...what's the friggin' use? When the show didn't play outtakes over the credits, it played alternate scenes where ridiculous things would happen, like Dajani's character being poisoned by Ned by him slipping arsenic into her drink. Again....what's the use? But that's about the only bad things I can say about "Ned and Stacey." At the heart of the show is a brilliant premise: Two single people being forced to pretend like they're married, while juggling their individual love lives? Pure brilliance. And for those of you who don't live on the East Coast, the concept of marrying someone to get an apartment in Manhattan is not too far out of whack. It's slightly unfortunate that the show was canceled after its second season, but not too unfortunate. At least the show wasn't too hyped up and didn't run into its tenth season, in which the writers would inevitably run out of ideas and conjure up ridiculous premises for episodes and tack on celebrity cameos, whether they make sense or not. Now that we're in the DVD age, it's not too late to check out this underrated gem. Even if you don't want to cough up the cash for a DVD, you can probably find reruns of it playing on USA or some other basic cable channel.

I miss this show! Thomas Haden Church was always funny as Lowell on "Wings", and proved his talent even further on "Ned and Stacey". It was also no surprise to see Debra Messing go on to such success as Grace, of "Will and Grace". Thomas Haden Church's character, Ned, had the best wardrobe ever on T.V.! The dialogue was intelligent and witty. The premise, though contrived, was more believable than most sit-coms. I would like to see this show released on DVD, and I would really like to see Church in another show.

This was only on my radar because I wanted to see the few episodes in season two written by Charlie Kaufman. Big fan of his films, and after realizing his TV credits included work on two of my all-time favorite comedies (Get A Life & The Dana Carvey Show) wanted more examples of how he wrote half-hour comedy. They were some of the funniest for sure. However, the show as a whole was very enjoyable. It really is basically a two season pilot for Will & Grace, but I think I like it better. I'm young enough I only knew Thomas Hayden Church as the heel Lyle in the George of the Jungle movie we watched on VHS a lot as kids. From my child's eye (haven't seen that movie in years) he was very funny in that, and stole most of his scenes. Church is hilarious and over the top of in this role, and I think his energy provides a better foil than Will would later. Eric (Gregg German) and Amanda (Nadia Dajani) deserve mention as well, both actors do a great job and bring a lot to the show. Debra Messing sings right on key, no issues here, basically playing a softer Grace Adler. Tough to find this show (I lucked out with cheap DVD at flea market), but if you can find it I recommend watching.

Ned (Thomas Haden Church) has a terrific job as an ad executive in Manhattan. But, alas, the big boss tells him that he can't promote him further up the ladder until he's a stable family man, with a wife. This is not what Ned wants to hear. Also working at the agency is accountant Eric (Greg Germann) who is married to the lovely but catty Amanda (Nadia Dajani). The two wedded folks decide to fix Ned up with Amanda's sister, Stacey (Debra Messing), a writer for a newspaper called the Soho News. The blind date, dinner for both couples, doesn't go well, as the ad man and the journalist are polar opposites. Not long after, Stacy sees one of Ned's ads and realizes he "stole" an idea she had thrown out in casual conversation. Miffed, Stacey heads to Ned's apartment, to tell him off. But, wait, Ned's digs, which he inherited from an alzheimers stricken aunt, is gorgeous and Stacey longs to get away from bunking with her parents. What if, she proposes, ha ha, to Ned, we get married, in name only? Neddie could get his promotion and Stacey could get her own room in a beautiful, well-situated apartment? It's a go! But, from day one, bickering goes back and forth, making everyone, including Eric and Amanda, wonder if the marriage will last. Then, too, just what are the ground rules about the twosome's romantic life? This series, which I probably missed from working two nights a week for years, is a delight. Church was fresh off his stint on Wings and Messing hadn't found stardom as part of Will and Grace but the duo works beautifully together. Church's dry wit and Messing's zaniness make for a very nice romantic comedy show. German and Dajani are also very funny and deft, as are the other supporting actors. In addition, Ned's apartment is quite glamorous, as are the costumes and alternate sets. Nice, too, is the script and timely direction. All fans of mixed-matched romantic love tales should try to add this one to their collections.

Greg Germann stole this show, not unlike his efforts on "Ally McBeal". Debra Messing was far less annoying here than she currently is on "that show". Thomas Hayden Church was sublime as the me-centered womanizer he illuminated with "Ned".

I do a polka of disgust when clever, acerbic comedies like "Ned & Stacey" meet an untimely death and crud like "Yes Dear" & "Good Morning Miami" live on. Tis a travesty.

This delightfully original series lived a micro-short life in syndication, but your chances these days of seeing it are about as likely as seeing a sequel to "Rabbit Test". It's a low down crying shame. First "Herman's Head", now this.

The verdict has been delivered by broadcast TV: Strip it of life, dress it up, make it palpable for the masses, and viola! Hit.

Long live "Ned & Stacey". R.I.P.