Imaginary Mary - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Here!

[Kromm]

Why do people keep hiring Jenna Elfman?

I'm not kidding. Even once you get around the Aggressive Scientologist bit, she's also this known quantity for failure--since after Dharma & Greg she's had like a dozen different stab at things that have all failed. You'd think network execs would be tired of seeing her name on top of show proposals.

[BetterButter]

‘Imaginary Mary’ Order Trimmed By ABC

[Ms Lark]

After last night's preview, I'll say I liked the smart mouth puppet (Mary), but Jenna Elfman is pretty much a deal killer for me, always. I totally agree with Kromm above. Wish they had used a different actress.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Ms Lark
I just discovered Rachael Dratch is the voice of Mary. Explains why I like her!

[Deskisamess]

Terrible show. And what was up with the background noise and sound? It sounded like a subway running in the background.

[AConspiracy]

I'm not a fan of smart-mouth kids and manufactured teenage angst so I'll pass.

[Dilandau]

Meh, that was awful. Seems like yet another "business woman needs to be fixed through the power of family and kids" type of deal.  The main characters had no chemistry as a couple, why am I supposed to root for these bland people in a bland romantic situation? The guy and his kids are straight up unlikable. They were obnoxious and also bland. The only character I did like was the imaginary friend, but she doesn't really seem necessary to the show besides being a gimmick.

Thank god it's going to be in a timeslot that I don't usually watch.

Edited March 30, 2017 by Dilandau

[Dilandau]

Posted twice.

Edited March 31, 2017 by Dilandau

[Beezella]

I like Jenna Elfman. I think she's gorgeous and adorable. This show is awful. Her love interest is boring. The kids, especially the older boy are hideously annoying. The Mary thing is ugly and not funny. That thing eagerly and sneakily watching Jenna make love, eeeeeuuuuuuuwwwwww! Heavy drinking is never funny. Bad show! No biscuit.

[Notwisconsin]

They had a preview of the pilot and I saw it on ON DEMAND. It was actually rather good. It compares favorably with those Marky Mark and the Teddy Bear movies. Anyone else seen it?

[Notwisconsin]

I created an episode thread for the pilot. There are lots of great possibilities, but they all involve getting rid of the family.

[biakbiak]

I thought it was awful. 

[Latverian Diplomat]

So much Jenny Elfman acting weird and then sitcom dad mansplaining real life to her. Do not want.

The kids are badly written, no teenage boy would ask a grown woman he just met those kinds of questions, and middle daughter is too old to be crushing on a fictional character, I think. I thought the kid actors did OK with what they were given however.

[Oldcrone]

Oh.  My. Gawd!  This is sooooo sooooo bad. Not even Jenna Elfman- who at one time was the Queen of Quirky- can save this. What a total waste of time. Cliche after cliche, bad acting, really bad CGI and the writing is horrendous.  Did I mention the writing was bad? As in awful? If not, let me assure you....it was non-existant. What the hell were the writers, directors, TV programming big wigs thinking? How the hell did the talk Rachel Dratch and Jenna Elfman into this? Really sorry - as I have always liked Jenna Elfman and Rachel Dratch. But this show has zero chemistry.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Jenna Elfman and Rachel Dratch on Build discussing Imaginary Mary:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

When Ben asks Alice to help him with her first mom-like task to pick up Bunny from dance class, Mary quickly discovers the simplest parental tasks are fraught with difficulty. Afterwards, Ben is disappointed when Alice tells him she can't help with the kids anymore, but things change when Andy enlists Alice's help to overcome his fear of taking a driving test.

[Dobian]

On 5/26/2016 at 4:01 PM, Kromm said:

Why do people keep hiring Jenna Elfman?

I'm not kidding. Even once you get around the Aggressive Scientologist bit, she's also this known quantity for failure--since after Dharma & Greg she's had like a dozen different stab at things that have all failed. You'd think network execs would be tired of seeing her name on top of show proposals.

I try not judge anyone on their lifestyle and will generally watch anyone in a movie or show regardless of their religion, politics, or whatever, but I draw the line at Scientology.  And I've read articles by former Scientologists who have interacted with her and it is one ugly picture.  Saw her in the audience of Dancing with the Stars last night to pimp her new show.  I hope the imaginary friend doesn't become suppressive or Elfman will have to disconnect from her.  Which would end the show.  Which might be a good thing.

[biakbiak]

31 minutes ago, Dobian said:

I hope the imaginary friend doesn't become suppressive or Elfman will have to disconnect from her.

Pretty sure the show wilbe cancelled before that would be a possibility. The only good thing about Jenna is her brother in law.

[GreekGeek]

I thought I'd give this a try since the premise sounded interesting, but I won't be watching again. I just can't buy Jenna Elfman as a super-competent businesswoman, with or without an imaginary friend. The boyfriend and his kids didn't interest me either. 

I see Rachel Dratch is the voice of Mary, but was that also her playing the co-worker with the advice on healthy snacks and such? I thought she looked quite a bit like an older Debbie Downer.

[Dilandau]

On 3/31/2017 at 10:45 PM, Latverian Diplomat said:

middle daughter is too old to be crushing on a fictional character, I think.

I know people well into their 30s who crush on fictional characters.

[Matt K]

The ads for this looked dreadful so the only thing I have to add is I wish they called it ImagiMary.  

[Latverian Diplomat]

1 hour ago, Dilandau said:

I know people well into their 30s who crush on fictional characters.

People in their 30s don't have to worry about taking shit from fellow tweens.

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, Latverian Diplomat said:

People in their 30s don't have to worry about taking shit from fellow tweens.

I know several teens and tweens that crush on fictional characters that don't get crap from theit peers. It doesn't seem weird at all.

[Notwisconsin]

The boyfriend forcing her to try again to drive the younger daughter home from school for the second time was abuse. Elfman's character is clearly mentally ill and it's become unwatchable.

[AncientSand]

Hmm, I kind of liked it.   It was a bit rough, like most pilots, but I laughed out loud a handful of times.  That's all I can ask from sitcoms these days.  

[iMonrey]

I like the cast but the premise is flimsy. They don't really need "Mary" for any reason other than to have a gimmick. Alice could just as easily have a best friend to serve as her sounding board. The gimmick of "Mary" doesn't add anything, she's not particularly amusing really, any more than a quirky best friend would be. 

Quote

So much Jenny Elfman acting weird and then sitcom dad mansplaining real life to her.

And that's troublesome as well. I actually find it offensive whenever a woman on TV who has no interest in kids is portrayed as someone mentally "broken" that needs to be "fixed" by . . . having kids. Plus it's not something you can drag out for multiple seasons. 

The second episode was better than the pilot but I feel like this show is on shaky ground.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I see Rachel Dratch is the voice of Mary, but was that also her playing the co-worker with the advice on healthy snacks and such?

No that wasn't Dratch, it was someone else. 

I thought Alice freaking out in the ambulance was kind of funny. But now I'm starting to wonder about the ex-wife; where is she? Do the kids live with her part-time or does the father have full-time custody? Why did they break up? Seems like there's a lot going on here we don't know about. And Ben went from asking for a favor as a one-time only thing to "you have to get used to doing this" in lightening speed. 

[jumper sage]

I find this so stunningly stupid I won't be watching.

[Notwisconsin]

this is 'calvin and hobbes' done wrong.

[backformore]

I've always like Jenna elfman. But this is a stupid mistake for her.  It's like some guy can meet a woman and immediately give her responsibility for his kids, and that's ok? No, he's being an ass.  

And yeah, having an imaginary friend when you're a child is normal. Having one when you're an adult is psychotic.

[Perfect Xero]

I think they were together for a while before she met the kids in the first episode, they just jumped past that part.

[biakbiak]

On 4/18/2017 at 5:09 PM, Perfect Xero said:

I think they were together for a while before she met the kids in the first episode, they just jumped past that part.

Yeah there was a time jump that was mentioned on screen , I want to say as ,much as six months but it easily could have been three.

[Anela]

I watched it last night, and also thought that the imaginary friend was unnecessary. I did laugh a few times, and the "mom dance" was funny, but a best friend could have subbed there.

One bit that made me laugh out loud, was when the kids arrived home, and she swiped open the curtain, to check out the drop from the window. 

[Anela]

Three months. Then she met them, because the dad woke up to a call, saying they would be home in a few minutes. 

[msrachelj]

yeah, it's cancelled . stupid show. 

can't stand jenna elfman but did love the imaginary thing and the actress voicing it.

[readster]

22 hours ago, msrachelj said:

yeah, it's cancelled . stupid show. 

can't stand jenna elfman but did love the imaginary thing and the actress voicing it.

It really wasn't a bad concept at all. Let's face it, as adults when we had a pretty crazy life as was shown in the various flashbacks with Jenna's character. It wasn't too surprising that Mary appeared after everything, but sadly you had a cast that just didn't gel right together. The kids were cliches and the writers didn't get them at all. I think if they would put more thought in the characters, and more showing of the main character's life growing up instead of the first 8 minutes of the pilot over the course of the series. I think it would have came off better.