Hello to those who don't know (which I expect is most of you) I'm relatively new to the board but not new to the site. I've lurked on this board since it's inception and mostly hung around the OF board when RAFO was WoT. I haven't made many posts since I've been here, but I felt compelled to talk about this, since no one has yet. Here goes... haha

So NBC infamously debuted Seinfeld's much hyped "The Marriage Ref" in the middle of the Winter Olympic's closing ceremonies (a move which was criticized, at least by yahoo bloggers who happen to be my primary source of news at the moment). I'm a big Seinfeld fan, I love both his sitcom and his stand up, so naturally I watched the show.

I'm assuming most of you know the concept and format, but I expect there are a lot who are unfamiliar. The basic structure of the show features a host/ref three guest commentators (Seinfeld appears to be a permanent commentator though) and a feuding couple. The couple presents the show with the problem, the commentators/judges discuss and give their opinions and the host/ref weighs in, effectively deciding the "winner" of the argument.

Episode 1 I thought was good, with plenty of potential, though a bit scripted at times. Episode 2 I haven't watched all of, but it seems better than the first.

So far the show has heavily relied on comedy from the commentators, which is fine since most of them have been funny people. The problem I see is that relying on guest commentary can only go so far. It's clear, IMO, that the host is going to have to be the one to carry the show. And right now, that's not happening. In fact, the host, Tom Pappa, seems stiff, uncomfortable and heavily dependent on his scripted jokes. He's pretty much not funny and seems overwhelmed by most of the guest judges and definitely by Seinfeld. If Pappa doesn't get his act together, or Seinfeld gets a new judge, I can't imagine the show succeeding.

But alas, the show is young, Pappa is new, and it has solid writing and a good concept. The show will probably never be the powerhouse Seinfeld and other NBC sitcoms were in the late 90s to early 2000s, but I can see it as a solid show with good ratings for a number of years. At the very least, it's the beginning of a solid lineup for NBC. Good news for a station that hasn't had a solid early primetime lineup since Joey, I mean, Friends .

You can watch the full episodes on nbc.com.