A complete archive of The Medium is Not Enough’s reviews of TV programmes since 2005
US TV
Review: Perfect Couples
In the US: Thursdays, 8:30/7:30c, NBC. Starts January 20th 2010
“Put your best foot forward,” goes the expression. Now, theoretically, NBC has already done that with its Fall schedule, so whatever comes in the form of its mid-season replacements should be its second-best foot, if you continue to follow the metaphor. Given how terrible NBC’s Fall season was (Undercovers, The Event, Chase, Outsourced), root canal surgery should therefore be preferable to The Cape and the other shows that are going to be hitting TV screens in January on the Peacock network.
However, NBC is again trying to put its best foot forward to overcome these negative expectations by previewing what is likely to be the best of the also-rans, Perfect Couples, just before Christmas when not much is on, rather than leaving us to ignore it when the far more packed January schedule arrives. To really give Perfect Couples a chance, NBC has also clearly picked what it thinks is the best episode, too (if you notice, we don’t even have an episode number in the headline this time, since this isn’t the pilot episode or even the second episode – it’s the God-knows-what episode).
Well, if this is the best, oh dear for the rest.
Perfect Couples is a single-camera ‘comedy’ about relationships that features three couples who are friends with each other (so, yes, if you do the math, that’s six friends in an NBC show on Thursday night. Hmmm…). I air-quote ‘comedy’ because it takes 10 minutes to become in any way funny – that’s 50% of its run-time before a joke decides to put its head above the parapet – after which it does raise the occasional titter.
So is there a good reason to watch Perfect Couples when it bursts into our living rooms in January? Well, there’s the cast at least. There’s Olivia Munn, the occasional actress, author, host of Attack of the Show and somewhat controversial Daily Show reporter. There’s David Walton of the rapidly dead 100 Questions.
And then there’s Hayes MacArthur. Who? That would be Mr Ali Larter to you.
Here’s a trailer:
