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COPYRIGHT 2006 All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of The Condé Nast Publications Inc.
The character that Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays in her new show, "The New Adventures of Old Christine," on CBS on Monday nights, will remind viewers of Elaine Benes, the character she played on "Seinfeld." That's a good thing for everyone. Among the most engaging sitcom characters are the ones who are both inherently annoying and constantly being put in circumstances that force them to become still more annoying, even though they're often the aggrieved parties. Ralph Kramden, Murphy Brown, the character played by Larry David in "Curb Your Enthusiasm," the foursomes of "Seinfeld" and "Will & Grace," Michael Scott, the bad boss played by Steve Carell in "The Office," based on the character that Ricky Gervais created in the immortal original--they all dig holes for themselves that they have a practically impossible time getting out of. Christine isn't as selfish or as defensive as Elaine was, though there are funny moments when she comes close--and in the bargain makes you almost forget her awful post-"Seinfeld" comedy, "Watching Ellie," which came and went a few years ago. The new title, though, is as uncatchy as the old one; in addition to not having any kind of ring to it, "The New Adventures of Old Christine" has the bugaboo word "old" in it, not to mention the fact that it calls up the Stephen King opus "Christine," whose title character was an automobile....
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