What I’m Watching: Modern Love

Modern Love: Season 1, Episode 4 “Rallying to Keep the Game Alive” (B+)

This was probably my favorite episode yet, if only for the fantastic back-and-forth between Tina Fey, a multiple Emmy winner for “30 Rock” and “Saturday Night Live,” and John Slattery, a nominee for his role on “Mad Men.” Fey in particular is a great actress who knows how to do subtle comedy, not always going big like when she ate an entire sandwich on camera at an airport security line but capable of making the most of small moments that could otherwise not be worth much. Slipping on her way out of therapy every time and reacting to her husband’s inability to even notice the fact that she fell was a prime example, and her lack of interest in playing a modified version of tennis was similar. Slattery demonstrated the perfect blissful ignorance of his wife’s unhappiness, and it was sweet to see him spring back into action when she finally confronted him at dinner about her feelings and her desire to get back to a good place. I also recognized the therapist, who was played by Sarita Choudhury, probably best known for “Homeland,” and who contributed exactly what she needed to in her scenes. This wasn’t a particularly enticing story of romance, but I don’t think anyone thinks of this show as representing what always works and is sunny, looking instead at the off-kilter and questionable instances in which things just haven’t worked out but there might still be some hope for salvaging a relationship down the road with the right effort.