Elfman moves in to White House
Talk about a Dharma Initiative. Jenna Elfman, who played the optimistic half of the titular married couple on Dharma & Greg, returns to the small screen — and this time Ms. Elfman goes to Washington.
Elfman plays U.S. first lady Emily Nash Gilchrest on 1600 Penn, NBC’s White House comedy airing a sneak-peek Monday. (The show officially debuts Jan. 10.) A stepmom abhorred by her kids, Emily is wound as tight as the average Jersey Shore gal’s skirt.
Her husband is Dale Gilchrest, played by Bill Pullman, a fictional president again 16 years after starring in Independence Day. While there aren’t any marauding aliens in 1600 Penn, there are a couple of teens — and some grumps would argue there isn’t much of a difference.
Much of the physical comedy comes from sunny goofup Skip (Josh Gad, The Book of Mormon), with the requisite sullen daughter Becca grousing about courtesy of Charlottetown native Martha MacIsaac.
The West Wing, it’s not — but maybe that’s a good thing. With the U.S. election giving late-night talk shows more jokes than they could shake an “applause” sign at, political comedies are having a moment.
Still, you have to wonder, will viewers suffer from White House fatigue? 1600 Penn tries to shoulder through the ennui, striking a balance between family bonding, zippy banter and the gravitas of running the free world.
You can thank the guys behind 1600 Penn for that: Former presidential speech writer Jon Lovett is an executive producer, along with Gad and Emmy-winning director Jason Winer (Modern Family).
Some of the gags on 1600 Penn are broad — we’re talking flaming-chair-flying-through-a-window broad. It could get tiring, especially if you’re not the type to wax poetic about the comedic genius of Chris Farley.
The storylines could use a nip and tuck, but there’s something sweetly optimistic about 1600 Penn. If a family this dysfunctional can band together under the political microscope, then there’s hope for us mere plebs eating popcorn on the couch. (Monday, NBC, Citytv)
• Last chance for Team Blake’s Terry McDermott and Cassadee Pope and Team Cee Lo’s Nicholas David to show what they’ve got before the fate of The Voice’s goes into the hands of its American viewers. Monday’s final performance episode for the third season’s Top 3 paves the way for Tuesday’s two-hour finale, featuring a killer lineup of guests including, um, The Killers, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson and Bruno Mars. (Monday, CTV, NBC)
• Get into deep-freeze mode with Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas, the TV special based on the film franchise that most thought would be extinct by now. In his rush to help decorate for the holidays, Sid accidentally ruins Manny’s favourite baubles and believes he’s now on Santa’s naughty list. (Monday, Fox)
• Star Trek’s George Takei guest-stars on Hawaii Five-0 on Monday, 37 years after popping up on the original series. Takei reportedly worked with a Samoan dialect coach to perfect a Hawaiian accent for his role as Chin Ho’s sketchy uncle, Choi. (Monday, CBS, Global)