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Jan 19, 2011 Web Exclusive By Jeremy Nisen

Three couples, each character with quirky or distinct personality traits that make for a variety of interest dynamics, both within pairings and couple-to-couple. Perhaps on paper this may seem appealing, but the execution—less the performers and more the source material and direction—is lacking in the pilot to Perfect Couples. The relationships within each coupling have vaulted over recognizable into cliché. The most annoying and egregious example is the relationship between Vance and Amy (David Walton and Mary Elizabeth Ellis), which bypasses merely over-the-top and veers into cartoonish; and not in a compelling way. The rah-rah, go-team attitude of Rex and Leigh (Hayes MacArthur and Olivia Munn) is grating and neither drives the story or creates any comedic friction. The third couple, Dave and Julia (Kyle Bornheimer and Christine Woods), is probably the closest to a classic sitcom couple: wife works more than husband, which creates some dialog, but thankfully never strays into the “what a loser he is” archetype. They are definitely the least annoying, but, at least in the pilot, are a little vanilla too.

The short story is the pilot is trying way too hard. The broad strokes aside, there are some really funny one-liners, which bodes well for future episodes. Optimistically, the plotting and scripts could become more relaxed and the performances could follow, with the whole package becoming a bit more natural.

Some of this potential is realized in a second episode that came with the screener, entitled “Perfect Health,” which softens Leigh’s character from decidedly dull and goody-two-shoes into a slyly demented version of a ’50s housewife. Rex also grows leaps and bounds from his cardboard, ex-jock characterization in the pilot. Vance’s interactions with characters that aren’t his wife are fairly compelling (though the Vance/Amy couple still grates). With a more compelling crew with which to interact, the “straight couple” of Dave and Julia rise with the tide.

Recommendation: Skip the pilot—the premise is obvious and doesn’t need to be explained. But give a future episode or two a shot. Each performer has some level of individual charm that could really emerge as the product catches a second wind (especially MacArthur, Walton, and Munn). The pilot is only worthy of a 3/10, but “Perfect Health” merits a 6/10, so we’re settle on a 5/10 rating for the series for now. (www.nbc.com/perfect-couples)

Author rating: 5/10