The New Adventures of Old Christine is a quirky TV series starring Seinfeld’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus.  Due to the writers’ strike of 2007,  season 3 is only 10 episodes long.  Christine goes through a lot of crap in season 3 like losing her boyfriend Mr. Harris to her insane schedule.  As a single mom who is also an entrepeneur (Christine owns an exercise gym), she is a very busy woman.  The show does a really good job of addressing a lot of the real challenges working, single moms face in today’s society.    She has a hard time finding a man who is not only compatible with her ( Christine is a tad crazed, narcissistic and outspoken), but also compatible with her life.  She is confronted with her failed marriage on a daily basis by having to watch her ex-husband with his younger girlfriend “new” Christine (who she gets along with very well) and the life they are building together.  At one point Christine’s ex-husband even accidentally buys old Christine’s dream home to share with new Christine.  

Christine is continuously faced with these assaults on her sensibilities from being set up on a blind date with a younger man (who turns out to be a lot younger than she ever imagined) to having to deal with the snarky remarks from two evil moms from her son’s school.  It’s easy to see this show’s demographic – one look at the cover of season 3 says it all:  Christine’s wearing support hose, there’s a glass of wine on the coffee table, a bag of potato chips are on the couch, papers are flying, and yet she still pulls off a glamorous look with silky, shiny hair and a sexy Marilyn-esque dress.  It is a brilliant display of the controlled but chaotic life of any supermom, whether single or married, and Dreyfus plays her superbly.  To some, that might seem a narrow margin of viewers to aim for ( in spite of the success of shows like Sex in the City and Desperate Housewives).  But Christine is funny, intelligent, and even poignant at times.  Her relationships with her ex and his girlfriend, her brother, and her best friend (played by the hilarious Wanda Sykes) are all quite healthy – full of sarcasm and brutally frank – but healthy nonetheless.  TV shows with this sort of quality don’t usually last very long.  Case in point:  Arrested Development.  The New Adventures of Old Christine is so good, so thought-provoking, so right on, and funny to boot, that it’s almost too good.  You can purchase it now on Amazon and get free shipping.

 I don’t know if Julia Louis-Dreyfus has ever been in Christine’s situation (the actress is an heiress on top of all the millions she’s earned on her own), but I’m sure she knows a few Old Christines.  I know I do.  

Rating:  A

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