Pasadena, Calif. – They are the fire and ice of CBS sitcom stars.
One can’t stop talking. The other senses that less is more.
One has a so-so new series she’s promoting to death, the other has the better, more distinctive comedy and she lets the work speak for itself.
Jenna Elfman, who had a terrific run as the hippie-dippy half of “Dharma & Greg,” is relentlessly plugging “Courting Alex,” which premieres Monday (8:30 p.m. on KCNC-Channel 4.) It’s an old-fashioned sitcom about Alex, a single female lawyer, boosted by the casting of Dabney Coleman as her successful-lawyer father.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who had a historic run as Elaine on “Seinfeld,” is quietly tempting the alleged “Seinfeld curse” with her new comedy, “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” due in March. Judging by the first three episodes, this is an off-kilter comedy about a good divorce. Louis-Dreyfus plays the mom who is in daily contact with her ex, and his girlfriend, the “new Christine.”
The script for “Christine” is smart and soulful, capturing the peculiar brand of ineptitude, nastiness and self-loathing that Louis-Dreyfus has trademarked, combined here with basic good intentions.
As “old Christine,” she is a semitragic figure: a mom who puts her children first while lamenting the emptiness of her adult life, irked by her ex-husband’s endlessly sweet squeeze.
“Christine” works because it has a clear vision and was written from the heart. Created by Kari Lizer (“Will & Grace”) and Andy Ackerman (“Seinfeld”), it is based on Lizer’s life.
Lizer, a mom who endured a friendly divorce, said her aim was to create a character who is an imperfect but well-meaning parent, like herself.
“What I’m dying to see parents do on television is make mistakes and have to apologize to their kids. I am humbled by the ex- perience,” Lizer said.
Louis-Dreyfus is realistic about the odds. The “Seinfeld” alums have fumbled. Jason Alexander’s “Bob Patterson” and “Listen Up” were the worst failures, but Louis- Dreyfus didn’t click with “Watching Ellie” and Michael Richards bombed with his self-titled show.
Does she feel the pressure?
“Frankly, even if I’m not working, I feel pressure because I’m a hysterical kind of person,” she said. “Show business is difficult. And even to have a hit is difficult. And then, once you have a hit, to get another hit, it’s difficult!
“It’s hard to do, to hit them out of the park every time, but that mustn’t keep you from trying. I just love doing this. I just keep batting at the ball, baby.”
The script for Elfman’s “Alex” feels less contemporary, the character less specific. Maybe that’s why she feels the need to cite her comedic inspirations – “Carole Lombard and Claudette Colbert are my reference points” – and talk about “fine-tuning my craft.”
Elfman speaks in a profoundly actress-y way: “It really requires so much focus because all of the comedic turns, mixed with all the storytelling, and the storytelling has turns and levels and emotion to it that I find it requires precision choices as an actress.
“And I have to really make sure I define all the energy moments with the comedy and story and the character. I find I really have to stay on my toes for that, which I love, because it’s very stimulating as an actress.”
Of course, where one critic sees irrelevance in a sitcom, the actress sees intentional nods to the classics – think “Mary Tyler Moore” and “That Girl.”
“I own them on DVD,” she said, “I love the retro element. I want this character to be completely modern yet timeless.”
Elfman riffed at length about her “values” and those she sees lacking in certain colleagues.
“A lot of my peers that I’ve worked with, they’re not on time,” she said. “They think it’s absolutely OK to have attitude. … They have a sense of some sort of entitlement. And they don’t get that it’s like – it takes a village to make art.”
Louis-Dreyfus, asked whether, as a woman and an actress, she had doubts about being called “old” in the title, she feigned alarm and responded, “Do you think it’s a hideous mistake?”
Ultimately, she said, “I like the self-deprecating nature of the title. It speaks well to the tone of the show.”
And to the tone of the actress.
TV critic Joanne Ostrow can be reached at 303-820-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com.
