New Adventures Revitalizes Sitcom Charm

“The sitcom is dead!”

That has been the rallying cry of industry types and the public alike ever since the end of Friends. Yes, there have been hilarious, even brilliant, half-hour shows gracing the airwaves in the past few years—series like Arrested Development, 30 Rock, and The Office. But in spite of their respective Best Comedy Emmys, the viewership of these programs has been shaky at best. Furthermore, with their absurdist humor and filmic one-camera style of shooting, they are anything but traditional.

Still, the cry of the sitcom’s untimely death seems like a premature proclamation by an industry that tends to indulge in rash and harsh criticism at the slightest misstep. If only people took notice of The New Adventures of Old Christine—a show chugging solidly along for three seasons now—they would realize that although the sitcom’s ultimate savior is still waiting in the wings, the genre has not flat-lined yet.

The show’s premise is simple. Christine Campbell, played with verve by Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the role that finally shattered the so-called “Seinfeld curse,” is a happily divorced woman, trying to navigate the world of dating once again. She must also contend with countless awkward situations, like trying to save face among the haughty mothers at her son’s private school. She gets along quite well with her immature ex-husband Richard (Clark Gregg), but less-so with his much younger girlfriend, also named Christine—hence the title of the show. The entire ensemble, including Hamish Linklater as Christine’s goofy live-in brother, is great, but Dreyfus, in the end, stands alone. The only other person to come close is the always-welcome Wanda Sykes, playing Christine’s best friend and gym co-owner, Barb.

Since the beginning, not much has changed. Christine is as neurotic and luckless in love as ever, but perhaps thanks to the show’s shortened runs, each episode still feels fresh. The third season premiere, which aired last Monday, saw Christine finally engaged in a relationship with the man by whom she had been enchanted all last season—her son’s former teacher Mr. Harris, played by the charming Blair Underwood. But a few episodes later, she will once again be alone. Yet, even in a relationship, Christine is still her overanxious self. She refuses to shave so that she will not be tempted to have sex with Mr. Harris, leaving herself with a “hair chastity belt.” It is this kind of quirky, over-the-top humor that seems to pop out amidst the “been there, done that” sitcom world.

Watching Dreyfus in her Emmy-winning role is a curious experience. She is frazzled and frantic, obscene and absurd—a 30 Rock-ian Liz Lemon of a character existing in the laugh-track addled world of Mary Tyler Moore. The writing is quick-witted and edgy, the performances both nuanced and broad, but still, the format itself seems outdated and hokey at times. The transitions and editing between individual scenes—not to mention the simulated studio audience hysterics following every quip or wisecrack—seem forced in comparison to other comedies.

And yet, despite its format, Christine works. Moreover, it delights. The juxtaposition of frenetic characters existing in a slowed-down world is exactly what allows the show to zip along where you would imagine it to drag, to shock when you least expect to be taken aback. The traditional sitcom isn’t dead—it just needs a little more of this kind of voltage.