Freak Magnet Dave

It's very rare that a new television show is entertaining. So many of them are the same lame formula that has been done to death. It wouldn't be so bad if the writing was actually clever and had the ability to actually solicit a laugh from the viewers, but sadly, this is not normally the case.

One exception is The New Adventures of Old Christine with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The premise of the show puts Louis-Dreyfus in the lead as "old" Christine, so named because her ex-husband is dating this younger cupcake who is also named Christine (aka "new" Christine). Old Christine lives with her young son (guessing he's around 7-ish), and her younger brother. She maintains a friendly relationship with her ex, who normally brings new Christine into the picture with him.

I am so thrilled to see Louis-Dreyfus back on the air. I LOVED her in Seinfeld. Quite frankly, she was the main reason I ever watched the show. Her Christine character brings along many of the Elaine-isms that I so enjoyed watching in the past. A bit desperate, a bit aloof, self-deprecating, and always hilarious. There were a few occasions in last night's episode that actually caused The Squeeze to literally (yes, I MEAN literally) fall off the couch onto his knees pounding the chair trying to catch his breath because he was laughing so hard. Hearing Christine tell her son that he has to go to his swimming lesson because he can't keep telling people that he won't go in the water because he's having his period cracked up right up. Later on when she was talking to her friend (played by Wanda Sykes) about having a Brazilian wax and saying it looked like "a hair arrow pointing to my C-section scar" we just about died.

The premise of last night's show was Christine's desire to find a decent guy to date. Her friends set her up on a blind date, and she reluctantly agrees. In preparation for the date, she goes to a spa, and after a few minutes of uncomfortable chit chat with the girl at the front desk, she decides on a Brazilian wax.

She waits in the lobby of the restaurant and in walks a tall, attractive man who tells the hostess that he's meeting a blind date and has no idea what she looks like. Christine hears this, and comes over, introduces herself, they start chatting, so comfortably, in fact, that Christine tells him that she got waxed for the date and told him it felt like she slid down a sandpaper banister. As it turns out, this guy was actually not her blind date, but someone else's. Her blind date walked in after this was discovered. Of course, her date was a bit of a lunchbag letdown, complete with his own lunch bag. As if things weren't bad enough, her blind date has this "thing" about people touching his food, so he brings his own chicken leg out of his coat pocket.

I won't tell the whole story, but suffice to say, things took a turn for the better, but let's see how long that lasts. All I can say is I certainly hope the Seinfeld curse misses this gem.