‘Ned And Stacy’ Season-End Kiss Goes Nowhere
At the end of last season, FOX’s “Ned and Stacey” (Sunday at 8:30), an “Odd Couple” of the ‘90s, left viewers wondering whether romantic sparks were going to fly between the two.
You may recall that Ned (Thomas Haden Church) arrived home with his boss and some clients to find Stacey (Debra Messing) naked with her boyfriend Alex. At the height of a huge quarrel, in which Ned kicked Stacey out, passion took over and Ned kissed her.
She felt something, but did he?
Ned has become one of television’s finest examples of a self-centered, egotistical chump. He makes Archie Bunker and George Jefferson look like philanthropists. And Church plays Ned frenetically maniacal.
He married Stacey because he needed a wife quickly to pose as a family man to win a promotion. Stacey agreed to the sham nuptials because she wanted a decent place to live in Manhattan.
Ned is the kind of character everyone loves to hate. You keep tuning in each week hoping to see if maybe he can display just one iota of a redeeming quality.
Stacey is assertive, outspoken and smart - the perfect foil for arrogant Ned.
So, did the kiss at the end of last season spark a romance?
Not!
If you tune in the second season premiere, Ned is as irascible as ever. Here’s how he expresses his opinion of Stacey: “I feel an intense ambivalence, some of which doesn’t border entirely on the negative.”
The episode has its funny moments.
It also has tasteless interludes: Ned propose a commercial in which a husband throws dinner rolls he doesn’t like at his wife. Are you laughing yet?
xxxx Highlights “Extreme Comedy,” ABC tonight at 8: Comedians such as David Alan Grier, Sandra Bernhard and Jeremy Piven attempt to do what they fear most. Among the memorable moments is Piven battling a sumo wrestler. “Jack Reed: Death and Vengeance” (1996), NBC Sunday 9: Brian Dennehy (who also directed) reprises his role as Chicago cop Jack Reed. He’s dispatched to investigate a triple homicide involving a gang of immigrants led by a ruthless mad man. “For Hope” (1996), ABC Sunday at 9: Have hankies ready for this heartbreaking tale of a 40-year-old single mother-devoted teacher (Dana Delany) who suffers from the debilitating disease scleroderma. (One’s skin and vital organs start to harden.) Comedian Bob Saget (“America’s Funniest Home Videos”) directed this tale, loosely based on the life of his late sister. “Titanic” (1996), CBS Sunday and Tuesday at 9: The story of the folks aboard the Titanic in 1912 was done much better in 1958 as “A Night to Remember.” You might prefer getting on a slow boat to China over suffering through Part 1.