TVSquad

Yeah! Wanda Sykes! We've been seeing her in previews for Old Christine since before it launched and this week she finally made her first appearance. She played Christine's friend, Barb, of Barb and Pete. And she didn't have much of a role, did she? Well, hopefully she'll get some more appearances because she is one funny lady.

This episode, Christine let Barb set her up on a blind date. When she arrives at the restaurant, she meets a man she thinks is her date, and nervously admits to him that she got a Brazilian wax and it "feels like I slid down a sandpaper banister." Funny stuff. He admits that he got a salt scrub, ahem, down there. And then it turns out they're not set up with each other after all. Christine's real blind date ends up being a short man without any social skills, but with a phobia about eating food that other people have touched. The other guy's date is Barbie.

Bob Patterson, The Michael Richards Show, Watching Ellie, Watching Ellie (c'mon, it was two entirely different shows after its "retooling"), Listen Up-- All examples and victims of "The Seinfeld Curse," the made-up phenomenon that's been used to explain why former stars of Jerry Seinfeld's sitcom can't hold a show on their own and make it successful. In my opinion, that was just a saying that helped everyone sleep at night; those shows were all garbage. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss' latest foray into the half hour stage, The New Adventures of Old Christine, is fantastic, though -- at least according to this reporter, that is.

Over here at the TV Squad studios, this show has caused a little dissention among the ranks. Some of us fear the "Curse" is just waiting in the wings, while others like myself enjoyed it thoroughly. Regardless of what the majority of America thought of the show, they sure tuned into watch it. Although she didn't beat Deal or No Deal in her first showing at 8:30pm, she did trump the Donald at 9:30pm. Next week is going to remain the true test of her show though to see if she can retain that viewership. Will she sink or swim as she in her new permanent slot next week? Tune in to find out.

This episode was definitely better than the pilot. There was only a tiny bit of interaction with her son in the beginning and, to tell you the truth, I think that's what made the difference. In the pilot, she behaved like she had only just met the little boy and not like she gave birth to him. There was no familiarity there. This episode had fewer kids, more adults, sex, and... Andy Richter!

In this episode, Christine realizes she hasn't had sex for three years. So, she tries to figure out how to go have a one night stand. It turns out there aren't any singles bars anymore, and the best place to meet a guy is at the grocery store.

Well, I liked it. I didn't LOVE it, but I'm definitely on board. I got a lot of good laughs out of this episode, especially during the interactions between Christine and her ex-husband, and Christine and the rich ladies at her son's school. And, I love how she found out about her husband dating a younger woman named Christine.

There are sitcom-y (no, that's not really a word) lines in the show that Julia doesn't really deliver. For instance, the line early in the episode when she told her son to tell people he's "1/16th Native American" didn't really feel comfortable. It was a one-line zinger and she's better than that. However, a little later, when dropping her son off at school and feeling out of place, she nailed the line, "They're already looking at us like the project family the church sent over." So, hit and miss with the funny lines.