"My Big Fat Greek Life" (2003) TV series

User Rating:

3.5/10   

Director:

Pamela Fryman

Writers:

Mark Beltzman (episodes)
Marsh McCall (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

24 February 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The honeymoon is over...now the real fun begins.

Plot:

The continued adventures of the Portokalos family from the film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", starting when Nia and her husband return from their honeymoon.

Plot Keywords:

Based On Film | Cultural Conflict | Cultural Difference | Greek | Immigrant

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Nia Vardalos	...	Nia Portokalos (7 episodes, 2003)
Lainie Kazan	...	Maria Portokalos (7 episodes, 2003)
Steven Eckholdt	...	Thomas Miller (7 episodes, 2003)
Gia Carides	...	Nikki (7 episodes, 2003)
Louis Mandylor	...	Nick (7 episodes, 2003)
Andrea Martin	...	Voula (7 episodes, 2003)
Michael Constantine	...	Gus (7 episodes, 2003)
Victoria Adams	...	Young Nia (7 episodes, 2003)

Also Known As:

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:30 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG | Canada:G | UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:PG (some episodes) | UK:U (some episodes) | USA:TV-PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Brad Grey Television

Trivia:

John Corbett had to turn down the role of Thomas Miller because of his contractual obligations to "Lucky" (2003). Nevertheless, he agreed to be a guest star on the show, portraying Thomas Miller's best friend, but the series was canceled before his guest appearance could happen.

Quotes:

Nia: Yes, we have boundaries. And pots and pans.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Nia Vardalos (2007) (V)

Must..unplug..laughtrack..

What was the first thing I noticed wrong about the sitcom version of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"...besides the obvious absence of John Corbett? The stupid laugh track. I cringed when I heard that damn repetitious laughing at every stupid joke. As many of you, I greatly enjoyed the movie..and I was in the process of watching it on DVD when I realized that the TV show was about to come on. So, I put the movie on pause.

It was only when I got to the part where the family said to 'Thomas'..."You look different!" (a painfully obvious joke about the different actor, a lackluster Steven Eckhardt who played 'Mark' on "Friends").

'Cousin Nikki' was noticeably rounder..probably because she was either pregnant or just had her daughter when the pilot was filmed. No matter. It wasn't TOO noticeable. Gus was too..I don't know. Whiny, I guess. Lanie Kazan was pretty much the same. As was Nick, but more nosy about his sister's life.

Now to Nia. First of all, I think it was just plain stupid to change the two main character's names. Why did they find that this was necessary? I personally liked the name Toula. It was cool. It was different. And I liked the named Ian. It wasn't cool, but he had the same name as Gandalf. Just because it was a different actor playing the part didn't mean that they had to change the character. Her acting in the sitcom was only sub-par. She seemed to be trying to hard.

Now about Eckholdt. In the movie, Ian was sweet and willing to go the distance to be accepted into Toula's (or NIA's) family. Are we to believe that Thomas said "To Hell with it!!" after they married? It's possible. Maybe he decided he couldn't put up with her family's crap. Well, it has happened before. But I just found myself disliking Thomas more and more as the minutes droned on, until I wanted Nia to serve him some poisonous souvlaki to rub him out. The character I liked was Aunt Voula. Andrea Martin is wonderful. Thank God "MBFGL" still has her.

I'm being too negative. As the show progressed, it grew on me a little until Gus pointed out that the house was across from the restaurant, not next door to him. Of course, I'm sure the show will grow..let the actors settle back into their characters, give them some material to work with that will ignite genuine laughs, not like the uncomfortable laughs derived from me during the pilot. Material that will not just give a cheap laugh. Material that would've probably been in the movie if it was a little longer.