"Watching Ellie" (2002) TV series 2002-2003

Creator:

Brad Hall

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

26 February 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Real Time | Sitcom | Character Name In Title

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Eleanor 'Ellie' Riggs (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Darren Boyd	...	Ben (16 episodes, 2002-2003)
Steve Carell	...	Edgar (16 episodes, 2002-2003)
Lauren Bowles	...	Susan (16 episodes, 2002-2003)
Don Lake	...	Dr. Don Zimmerman / ... (16 episodes, 2002-2003)
Peter Stormare	...	Ingvar (11 episodes, 2002-2003)

Also Known As:

22 Minutes with Eleanor Riggs (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min (19 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hammond's Reef

Trivia:

For the first season, 13 episodes were made but NBC only aired 10 of them

Movie Connections:

Featured in 101 Biggest Celebrity Oops (2004) (TV)

Re-tooling `Ellie'

I note how some people here were berating the unusual elements of "Watching Ellie" in its original brief run (oh the clock, it hurts my tiny head!), but now that it's accommodatingly been turned into "Just Shoot Will and Grace's Friends in Veronica's Closet," I don't yet see their follow-up critiques. Just as well. Give the show a chance to get going again.

Indeed, it's hard to argue with anyone who simply states that something is not funny to them, but one of the reasons that we see idiotic phenomena on TV like 50 or 60 almost indistinguishable "reality" shows, or "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?" five nights a week, is that anything that deviates from the familiar is heartily urinated-upon by the loudest, most reactionary complainers. At the risk of sounding like a pointy-headed art house goon, maybe my real beef is with the taste of the general public.

Anyway, we have now been dutifully given a more conventional version of "Watching Ellie." Given the talent and money invested, I guess it was worth a shot. Try to give it a chance, at least, and watch a few before kicking it around. For those who instinctively compare it to "Seinfeld," although there's really no good reason for such a comparison, try watching the VERY FIRST episode of "Seinfeld" again. Whenever I see it, I'm reminded of how tedious it seemed to me and a lot of other people at that time. That show was very lucky to have survived its slow start, and last night's "Watching Ellie" at least seemed to hit the ground running, so to speak. I got some laughs out of it, and it has the potential for a lot more in time.