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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Short-Lived, Mostly LacklusterTV Series, February 23, 2004
Following the enormous success of the 2002 film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", Brad Grey, Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos (who wrote and starred in the film), along with 8 other people, produced a TV series sitcom with a similar cast and plot entitled "My Big Fat Greek Life". The series aired on CBS in the spring of 2003, but poor viewer ratings brought about its quick demise after only 7 episodes. Characters that appeared in the TV series that had also appeared in the original film and remained unchanged were Maria Portokalos (Lainie Kazan), Gus Portokalos (Michael Constantine), Nick Portokalos (Louis Mandylor), cousin Nikki (Gia Carides) and Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin). Nia Vardalos, who played Fortula 'Tula' Portokalos in the film, changed her character's name to Nia Portokalos Miller for the TV series. John Corbett, who played Tula's husband Ian Miller in the original film, was unable to appear in the TV series due to a previous commitment to another TV series. (That TV series, "Lucky", was cancelled by Fox after 13 episodes.) So, in place of John Corbett, Nia's husband in the TV series was Thomas Miller as played by Steven Eckholdt.Whereas the 2002 film had been expertly written and successfully drew the audience into its tale of self-discovery and love for its main character, 'Tula' Portokalos, the TV series instead focused primarily on jokes and less engaging, often predictable plot lines. My rating for each of the seven episodes, as well as each episode's air date, are as follows: 1. "The House Gift" (3, 2/24/2003). After returning from their honeymoon, Nia and Thomas are surprised to learn that Gus and Maria have purchased them a new house. 2. "The Empire Strikes Back" (3.5, 3/3/2003). Following the hospitalization of a close friend, Maria and Gus decide to write wills that give the restaurant to Nia instead of Nick. 3. "Ariana" (4, 3/9/2003). Cousin Ariana (guest appearance by Rita Wilson) visits from Greece following her divorce from her cheating ex-husband. Nia wants to help Ariana build an independent life, but Gus and Maria have other plans for her. 4. "The Free Lunch" (1.5, 3/16/2003). The worst written and edited episode of the series, Nia tries to get a loading zone permit for the restaurant. Notable guest appearances include Ken Campbell Rusty Schwimmer. 5. "Big Night" (4.5, 3/30/2003). After Thomas foolishly tries to impress Gus by lying that he knows Pete Sampras, Nia, Voula and Nikki run into Yanni (himself) instead. 6. "Nick Moves Out" (4.5, 4/6/2003). Tired of being taken care of, Nick decides to get an apartment of his own in spite of his parents' objections. 7. "Greek Easter" (3.5, 4/13/2003). Nia wants to impress the family by cooking Easter dinner and surprising Gus with a surprise visitor. Notable guest appearnace: John Aniston.
My overall rating for the short-lived TV series "My Big Fat Greek Life" is 3 out of 5 stars. Had the same writing quality been applied to the TV series as the film, it would have likely been able to sustain better ratings and had more than 7 episodes. Unfortunately, the series' two best episodes (#6 and #7) didn't appear until the number of viewers had dropped following several lackluster episodes and one terrible one.
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