Let's be clear, The Marriage Ref is a terrible show. There's really no two ways around it. The host is unlikeable and unfunny, it's rushed, the connubial quarrels are only chosen for their ridiculousness rather than their ability to be debated (i.e. the notion that there are "sides" to choose in these situations is only the case about half the time), and so on and so on. I caught a little of the premiere (I didn't turn the TV off in time after 30 Rock) and I witnessed Jerry Seinfeld play along and embarrass himself and try and sell it the way NBC was trying to sell it. It was kind of a disaster.
And yet, last night, I couldn't help but at least give it a chance to win my attention, as two of my favorite comedians/personalities, Larry David and Ricky Gervais were on the show. It didn't disappoint, but not for the reason I would have necessarily predicted (i.e. them being plain ol' funny).
Instead of embracing the format of the show, the quippy hamminess of it, they called a spade a spade. They brazenly acknowledged how weird the show was, how uncomfortable it was to be there, how fatuous it was that the two of them (with the uber-famous Madonna) were doling out relationship judgment, and how screwed up the couples were. It was awesome.
Here's what Ricky Gervais said after they finished with the first segment:
"What is going on? [pause, laughter] What is going on? This is a strange program. I feel like someone's put crack in my drink. What is going on? This is the weirdest show I've ever been on."
And he was right! The Marriage Ref is wildly bizarre. But what made the rest of the episode so fascinating was that Larry David and Ricky Gervais didn't pretend to try and fit in with the celebrity-on-TV nonsense that we've normalized.
For example, Dancing With the Stars, Celebrity Apprentice, The Surreal Life, are all shows in which supposed "celebrities" (and though I put that in quotes they are technically celebrities, we kind of know who they are ... usually) go on TV and take some inane competition with absolute seriousness* and the network and the celebrities and the audience (hereafter referred to as Audience A) enter into this strange pact of acceptance in which nobody seems willing to point out how goddamn ridiculous it is.
* Well, as far as I can tell. I don't actually watch these shows.
Which is why last night was something really crazy and enjoyable. In the middle of one of these shows, one in which the rules of artificiality and disingenuousness have been clearly established by a neutered Jerry Seinfeld and Eva Longoria and whoever else, two of the all-time hilarious cynics somehow found themselves in the middle of it and wouldn't or couldn't play along.
It was like the scene in Into the Woods where the characters notice the narrator on stage and bring him into the story. In this case we (the cynical Audience B, separate from Audience A established in the previous paragraph who like to indulge in these programs) were like Sondheim's ITW narrator pre-involvement, and then our exact sentiments and criticisms were voiced by David/Gervais in the show as they fulfilled the role of the post-involvement ITW narrator. The sarcastic and judgmental remarks that would normally only exist in my Audience B living room with my equally sarcastic and judgmental friends now existed within the program itself.
But, even more interestingly, this didn't destroy the established, "normal" procedure of The Marriage Ref. The host* continued his dopey shtick, and now juxtaposed to the realism that David/Gervais were bringing to this ludicrous venture, he became even dopier, goofier, and more awkward. But he was unrelenting in his inveterate hosting personality and the pre-chosen couples were just as surreal and outlandish and Madonna oscillated between the David/Gervais camp (as she's been a pretty outspoken celebrity guest for years) and the celebrities-as-themselves-on-TV status quo.
* If you haven't realized by now, I don't even care enough about him to google his name. I think they call him "Poppy" or "Tommy" or something. I don't know.
So, what resulted from this was this odd "two-shows-in-one" arrangement in which people on the show were both selling it and mocking it simultaneously. For many viewers (though I'm not sure TMR even has many viewers) it probably seemed like David/Gervais (and especially David) were just being cantankerous, but it was actually a self-awareness rarely seem under the reality TV umbrella. Kind of the way shows like Jersey Shore or The Two Coreys present themselves as serious for the enjoyment of Audience A, but are probably meant more to be laughed at and watched ironically by Audience B. But these shows do not acknowledge their popularity within Audience B. There is no voice of Audience B present in the shows, only the voice of Audience A. Last night's TMR, thanks to David/Gervais, directly appealed to Audience A and Audience B concurrently, seemingly without even the awareness of A-type personalities appearing on that show at the same time (viz. the host, the couples).
Of course, with a cast of celebrities for the future weeks who will be all too happy to be on TV and will no doubt do their best to banter with the host and make lame jokes*, I fear we've seen TMR's Haley's Comet. But, for that one night, it was one of the most delightful clashes of intent I've seen on TV.
* Next week: Cedric the Entertainer, Martha Stewart, and Jason Alexander! Oh boy.
Watch it here, if you dare.
Probably no more entires for about a week. Hopefully this will tide y'all over.
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