What I'm Watching: The Starter Wife (Series Premiere)

The Starter Wife: Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2 "Premiere" & "Hour 2" (C-/D)

I was really excited for this show, as the previews I constantly saw during the Monk marathon last week made it look like the greatest and most dramatically excellent show ever (reminiscent of promos for "The Riches"). My expectations were far too high. This show is much too bouncy and glittery, and the chemistry between Debra Messing and all her male costars is dreadful. If it is possible, the show simulatenously focuses too much on Messing's character's life and too much on the problems of the minor characters. Little is interesting, and the characters are mostly unlikeable. Messing is uneven at best, and Joe Mantegna is the only real standout of the cast, but he really is not trying too hard. Not to be completely negative, the opening credits are inventive. But for the remaining four parts of this USA mini-series, count me out.