"Women Come And Go But A Stuffed Dog Is Forever"

The month of February has been, to date, the most uneventful month of my life so far (read: my unemployment status, my foggy future, etc. etc.) But tonight, thankfully, this month has managed to give me some laughs by airing a relatively funny talk show about marriage, appropriately titled The Marriage Ref.

Comedian Tom Papa hosts the show, accompanied by three judges - Alec Baldwin, Kelly Rippa and Jerry Seinfeld. Papa shows the audience video footage of a couple and their respective problem (tonight's two problems consisted of (1) some husband's dead stuffed dog named 'the Fonz' that he keeps around the house like a stuffed animal, which his wife, understandably, can't stand and (2) one husband's encouraging of a stripper pole addition to his bedroom, met by hostile opposition from the Mrs.) And after they air the footage, the judges discuss, throw in their two cents and then video chat with the couple at stake to give them the verdict: who's in the wrong, and who's in the right?

Aside from the fact that Baldwin should probably be the LAST guy to discuss the morals of who's right and who's wrong in the holy institution of marriage, he does, as usual, steal the spotlight. When Baldwin is dressed to the nines in a suit, any suit, whether it cost him $200 or $2,000, I can never divorce him from his character Jack Donaghy from 30 Rock, pompous and overtly sarcastic. But maybe that's not really his character after all. Maybe that's just Baldwin?

Call me the anti-everything-funny here, but I'm not a huge Seinfeld fan. Yes, his show was funny, but he, individually, is not. And Kelly Rippa is, well, Kelly Rippa - loud, annoyingly blonde and skinny, and whose feedback is as important to this show as Paula Abdul's was for American Idol. (Need I say more...?)

However, all is not lost yet for The Marriage Ref. It has some promising guest stars in the future - Ricky Gervais, Larry David and Tina Fey, to name just a few. And if the couple's problems may not be interesting (and tonight's most certainly were not) hopefully the guest appearances will be! Stay tuned, folks...