Rating: 
Summary: Nia's Big Fat Greek Mistake
Review: "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is a wonderfully funny movie, a romantic comedy classic, and creator/star Nia Vardalos should've left it alone. But no, she tried to milk the "Greek Wedding" cow for all it was worth and came up with this woefully unfunny---and completely unnecessary---TV series, "My Big Fat Greek Life," which was promptly cancelled after only a handful of episodes (when asked why, the CBS president told TV Guide, "Well, you saw the ratings, and you saw the show"). The charmingly funny Greek family from the movie was reduced to doing pathetic sitcom shtick for the TV series, and I knew that something was very wrong when Vardalos changed her character's name from Toula to her own real-life name of Nia. Can you say, "ego"?You know what---I'll even go out on a limb and say that it was the TV show that costed Vardalos that much-deserved Academy Award for Best Screenplay for "Wedding," as the Academy must've thought to themselves, "We can't give an Oscar to something that's not good enough to win an Emmy." What a terrible, terrible shame. So, my fellow "Greek Wedding" fans, let's all keep the bloom on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"'s rose: stick with the movie, and just forget that this lamebrained TV show ever came into being.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as a good as the movie, but the movie was so good...
Review: ...that of course the show isn't going to compare. None the less, it was a very warm, funny series while it lasted. I wish that the show had lasted. It was considerably better than most of the crap that's on tv today. I was thrilled to hear that it came out on dvd. I was afraid it would be lost forever.
Rating:
Summary: One of the worst tv shows ever made
Review: After seeing the horrid previews for this show on commercials,all at once I hated it and wanted to watch every episode. I finally got that chance this week when the ENTIRE series was released on a single DVD. Ordinarily I would have said, "You couldn't pay me to watch this garbage" but then my boss at the video store did just that, considering it played on the tvs in the store all day. Believe me, you don't need to pay attention to catch all the witless 'humor' that is crammed in this trainwreck of a mis-match culture clash steriotype-based spin-off.
First of all the movie wasn't all it was hyped up to be. So this tv show is as if you took the original selling points of the movie that appeal to the mass of morons out there, but took out any bit of humor and decent acting or writing.
The only reason I am wasting my time writing this late night thrown together review is because I noticed there were no others. Why? Because me and my coworkers were the only people to ever watch the show.
From the unthinkabley humorless flash backs to Nia's childhood in the oddly bronze tinted greece that try to squeeze in what seems to be a shot at jokes, to the piss poor replacement for the leading male role from the movie, to the hackneyed and receycled bits from the movie, to the already worn thin appeal of the ultimate steriotypes for each character in her hilariously large greek family, this show was just waiting to be canceled. I can't say enough bad things about it, and I just cant find one good thing to say in its defense.At least I can now say not only did I watch every painful episode, but i got paid for it. If only everyone in america had the same privledge maybe the show would still be on the air.
Rating:
Summary: Oh, The Humanity...
Review: After the success of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", the success of "My Big Fat Greek Life" seemed almost assured. More than 22 million people tuned in on the first night. However, it barely managed to finish out its first season of 7 episodes before cancellation and spawned numerous "What happened?" articles throught the world of entertainment reporting come May. So, in spite of this, the Columbia-Tri Star have pushed ahead with a DVD release of those seven episodes, possibly hoping to capitalize on the shreds of success still clinging to the name. Maybe they're hoping that people who never heard of the TV series will pick up the DVD? Well, I for one have to admit that morbid curiosity got the better of me, and I got the DVD yesterday to see if I'd missed anything after watching only the first two episodes in first-run. Unfortunately, the answer is 'no'. The lines are still as un-funny in the later episodes, the characters continue to mug for the camera just as much, and Steven Eckholdt continues to be an exceedingly mis-matched choice for Nia Varadalos's renamed character Nia. To add insult to injury, there are no extras on the DVD worth mentioning, just a few trailers for other TV shows. As with the release of "Iron Chef USA" on DVD, I really can't recommend this DVD to anyone that doesn't have a desire to own bad, failed programming. I wish I could, since I like the characters, the actors, the concept, and even the idea of a TV show based on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". The execution, though, killed it all...
Rating:
Summary: Why did they bother?
Review: As soon as I saw the teasers on TV for the series "My Big Fat Greek Life", I knew we were in trouble. Sure enough, I thought the first episode was terrible. Gone were the heartfelt performances, creative writing, and general good feeling of the movie. Introduced were campy portrayals, crap writing, and general sitcom non-sense. It made me sad they tried to cash in on the movie's success with this abomination. It did not make me sad when they yanked it off the air.
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Short-Lived, Mostly LacklusterTV Series
Review: Following the enormous success of the 2002 film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", Brad Grey, Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos (who wrote and starred in the film), along with 8 other people, produced a TV series sitcom with a similar cast and plot entitled "My Big Fat Greek Life". The series aired on CBS in the spring of 2003, but poor viewer ratings brought about its quick demise after only 7 episodes. Characters that appeared in the TV series that had also appeared in the original film and remained unchanged were Maria Portokalos (Lainie Kazan), Gus Portokalos (Michael Constantine), Nick Portokalos (Louis Mandylor), cousin Nikki (Gia Carides) and Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin). Nia Vardalos, who played Fortula 'Tula' Portokalos in the film, changed her character's name to Nia Portokalos Miller for the TV series. John Corbett, who played Tula's husband Ian Miller in the original film, was unable to appear in the TV series due to a previous commitment to another TV series. (That TV series, "Lucky", was cancelled by Fox after 13 episodes.) So, in place of John Corbett, Nia's husband in the TV series was Thomas Miller as played by Steven Eckholdt. Whereas the 2002 film had been expertly written and successfully drew the audience into its tale of self-discovery and love for its main character, 'Tula' Portokalos, the TV series instead focused primarily on jokes and less engaging, often predictable plot lines. My rating for each of the seven episodes, as well as each episode's air date, are as follows: 1. "The House Gift" (3, 2/24/2003). After returning from their honeymoon, Nia and Thomas are surprised to learn that Gus and Maria have purchased them a new house. 2. "The Empire Strikes Back" (3.5, 3/3/2003). Following the hospitalization of a close friend, Maria and Gus decide to write wills that give the restaurant to Nia instead of Nick. 3. "Ariana" (4, 3/9/2003). Cousin Ariana (guest appearance by Rita Wilson) visits from Greece following her divorce from her cheating ex-husband. Nia wants to help Ariana build an independent life, but Gus and Maria have other plans for her. 4. "The Free Lunch" (1.5, 3/16/2003). The worst written and edited episode of the series, Nia tries to get a loading zone permit for the restaurant. Notable guest appearances include Ken Campbell Rusty Schwimmer. 5. "Big Night" (4.5, 3/30/2003). After Thomas foolishly tries to impress Gus by lying that he knows Pete Sampras, Nia, Voula and Nikki run into Yanni (himself) instead. 6. "Nick Moves Out" (4.5, 4/6/2003). Tired of being taken care of, Nick decides to get an apartment of his own in spite of his parents' objections. 7. "Greek Easter" (3.5, 4/13/2003). Nia wants to impress the family by cooking Easter dinner and surprising Gus with a surprise visitor. Notable guest appearnace: John Aniston.
My overall rating for the short-lived TV series "My Big Fat Greek Life" is 3 out of 5 stars. Had the same writing quality been applied to the TV series as the film, it would have likely been able to sustain better ratings and had more than 7 episodes. Unfortunately, the series' two best episodes (#6 and #7) didn't appear until the number of viewers had dropped following several lackluster episodes and one terrible one.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Short-Lived, Mostly LacklusterTV Series
Review: Following the enormous success of the 2002 film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", Brad Grey, Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos (who wrote and starred in the film), along with 8 other people, produced a TV series sitcom with a similar cast and plot entitled "My Big Fat Greek Life". The series aired on CBS in the spring of 2003, but poor viewer ratings brought about its quick demise after only 7 episodes. Characters that appeared in the TV series that had also appeared in the original film and remained unchanged were Maria Portokalos (Lainie Kazan), Gus Portokalos (Michael Constantine), Nick Portokalos (Louis Mandylor), cousin Nikki (Gia Carides) and Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin). Nia Vardalos, who played Fortula 'Tula' Portokalos in the film, changed her character's name to Nia Portokalos Miller for the TV series. John Corbett, who played Tula's husband Ian Miller in the original film, was unable to appear in the TV series due to a previous commitment to another TV series. (That TV series, "Lucky", was cancelled by Fox after 13 episodes.) So, in place of John Corbett, Nia's husband in the TV series was Thomas Miller as played by Steven Eckholdt. Whereas the 2002 film had been expertly written and successfully drew the audience into its tale of self-discovery and love for its main character, 'Tula' Portokalos, the TV series instead focused primarily on jokes and less engaging, often predictable plot lines. My rating for each of the seven episodes, as well as each episode's air date, are as follows: 1. "The House Gift" (3, 2/24/2003). After returning from their honeymoon, Nia and Thomas are surprised to learn that Gus and Maria have purchased them a new house. 2. "The Empire Strikes Back" (3.5, 3/3/2003). Following the hospitalization of a close friend, Maria and Gus decide to write wills that give the restaurant to Nia instead of Nick. 3. "Ariana" (4, 3/9/2003). Cousin Ariana (guest appearance by Rita Wilson) visits from Greece following her divorce from her cheating ex-husband. Nia wants to help Ariana build an independent life, but Gus and Maria have other plans for her. 4. "The Free Lunch" (1.5, 3/16/2003). The worst written and edited episode of the series, Nia tries to get a loading zone permit for the restaurant. Notable guest appearances include Ken Campbell Rusty Schwimmer. 5. "Big Night" (4.5, 3/30/2003). After Thomas foolishly tries to impress Gus by lying that he knows Pete Sampras, Nia, Voula and Nikki run into Yanni (himself) instead. 6. "Nick Moves Out" (4.5, 4/6/2003). Tired of being taken care of, Nick decides to get an apartment of his own in spite of his parents' objections. 7. "Greek Easter" (3.5, 4/13/2003). Nia wants to impress the family by cooking Easter dinner and surprising Gus with a surprise visitor. Notable guest appearnace: John Aniston.
My overall rating for the short-lived TV series "My Big Fat Greek Life" is 3 out of 5 stars. Had the same writing quality been applied to the TV series as the film, it would have likely been able to sustain better ratings and had more than 7 episodes. Unfortunately, the series' two best episodes (#6 and #7) didn't appear until the number of viewers had dropped following several lackluster episodes and one terrible one.
Rating:
Summary: What were they thinking?
Review: I can not believe that CBS is still trying to make money off this crap. If the show was so terrible that it couldn't finish one season on basic cable, what makes you think it is good enough to own. This is a watered-down pathetic version of the movie. If you can't get all the original charecters, then you shouldn't even try. The Sex and the City guy is not the husband in this show. BOO! Don't pay for something that you didn't watch when it was free on TV. Very Bad.
Rating:
Summary: Big, Fat still Funny
Review: I rented the dvd last night and I'm glad I did. I laughed hard
and even watched some episodes twice. Constantine shines again and so does the rest of the cast. Brilliant acting, they seem to enjoy it. I don't know why the show was cancelled or why some people don't understand the difference between movie and sitcom. The writers also deserve credit cause they really did capture the spirit of being Greek and presented Greek life as it really is. So don't be a xeno to a good sense of humour. Rent/buy this dvd.
Rating:
Summary: Sooooooo Funny!
Review: I thought this series was great! It tool a few episodes not to long for John Corbett's pretty face, but once you get over it, you realize how great this show is! Not sure why it was pulled becasue there are so many sitcoms that are so horrible that have been on for awhile. Nia and the rest of the cast are great. That's why I am buying this DVD! Nia, PLEASE make a sequel to MBFGW! I swear, it's my life too-even the crazy yaya! Enjoy!
|
