Shark Bytes

The mid-nineties has been acknowledged as a kind of golden age for sitcoms. Seinfeld was going strong, Friends quickly established itself, and some of the new kids - News Radio, Third Rock - were well written and strongly character-based. While Almost Perfect was more on the periphery of these truly great comedies, it wasn't half-bad by comparison. In fact it was almost perfect, at least in the first season. Unfortunately, like many a good U.S. shows, "reworking" destroyed it. By the second season the magic had gone. What had started off as a kind of tale of a post-modern, neurotic Rosalind Russell, was, by the second season, just another tired workplace comedy-soap. Same thing happened to Suddenly Susan. What a shame.

Although Nancy Travis has the reputation for killing good shows, she IS hot!

The only to worth watching this forgettable, one-note sitcom was the cute D.A. boyfriend, played by charming Kevin Kilner. At the start of the second season, however, Kilner's character was gone, leaving us to deal with the insanely annoying Nancy Travis. (They should have kept Kilner and sacked Travis!) I stopped watching at that time, and it seems most other poeple did as well, for teh show was off the air by season's end.

This show never had a chance since Nancy Travis was cast - however it did have one of the most romantic lines ever on TV. Mike telling her, "I don't need your permission to take care of you." Whoever wrote that line - thank you.

Jumped when Mike, the DA boyfriend, left the show. The entire premise was the Nancy Travis character balancing her "almost perfect" work life with her "almost perfect" relationship with Mr. Right. They canned half the premise! Stupid writers. It's a shame, because the first season of this show was funny and likeable. The cast was a good ensemble, especially Nancy's writer coworkers. As I recall, the second (last) season was just dreadful. The show no longer had any focus. In desperation they even tried to get Nancy together with the young blonde writer, possibly the most flat romantic pairing in TV history. I adored the actor in a supporting capacity but he just didn't fit as a romantic lead, especially after Mike. But I do agree that Mike and Nancy's break-up was gold. Any relationship really CAN end in just three sentences!

When Mike was written out. BUT his final episode was my favorite sitcom episode ever. Truly almost perfect.

when her first boyfriend was written off.

From the very first episode, alas. I suppose the writers were trying to break the mold by eliminating the romantic tension and having their heroine find her guy in the very first episode. The guy (Mike, the DA) however was horribly irritating and unattractive, and the only tension left in their relationship was the overdone "I want to have a career and a relationship too" crap. It became tired very very quickly.