Wedding Bells doesn't suck!

I've had a love-hate relationship with David Kelley over the years. Picket Fences was okay, but I hated - HATED - Ally McBeal. Boston Public was great, and Boston Legal was fun until it turned into a complete joke. There is an arc that all David Kelly shows take. Here's my problem with his stuff: For the first two years they are pretty good - funny, quirky (sometimes too quirky) and just a little over dramatic. Then in year three everything tanks and the show turns into a complete soap opera, nothing like its former self. Happens every time.

From the commercials I really thought I was going to hate his new show, The Wedding Bells. I wasn't even going to bother watching it and didn't put it in my Tivo. Then Fox sent me a screener DVD, so I figured what the heck? I watched it. Not only did it not suck, it was actually pretty darn good. The core Kelley characters are all here, and the casting is dead-on. The actress who plays straightlaced Jane is particularly endearing.

The show is about three sisters who take over their parents' wedding planning business after their divorce. It starts well after the takeover and is loosely based on a real-life wedding palace in Long Island that is reknowned for fancy schmancy I-dos. The first episode does a good job of introducing us to the main characters and one recurring one that could get pretty annoying (a spoiled bride-to-be played by Missi Pyle of Galaxy Quest & Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). The second episode (which will actually be the third to air) delves further into some of the more serious sides of some of the relationships, but balances it with a funny and genuinely touching wedding story.

There is a lot of potential here for weddng storylines and guest stars (in just the first two shows: Kelley standby Fyvush Finkel, Delta Burke and Erin Gray). I just hope it doesn't turn soapy (but even if it does, I have two years to enjoy it). Check it out - the pilot airs tonight with an encore on Friday if you missed it.

Posted by tivogirl at 5:04 PM