NBC
If you're a Marriage Ref lover, you've had cause for gloating this month, after NBC announced their renewal of the series for another season. The show has apparently done the network well in its short-lived Thursday night slot. Reality TV-loving couples all over the country are hugging and high-fiving in response to the news, eager to giggle their way through another season of couples mired in silly squabbles just like their own.
Actually, here's the more likely scenario: It's Thursday night just before 10. You and your better half are settling down after a long day to relax in front of the TV. You grab the remote, and click around until you hit NBC. Your partner throws up his hands, whining about your selection of The Marriage Ref (Jerry Seinfeld's show where a panel of celebrities listen to both sides of a couple's argument and declare a winner). The accusations come in a barrage: the show is mindless drivel, a stain on Jerry Seinfeld's near-perfect record, unworthy of 45 precious minutes of your evening. You listen. You take in the arguments. You try to defend why you like the show, but all you can muster is a pathetic, "I don't know, it's just ... funny."
If you've followed the show from the beginning, you'll know that sort of logic would never go over with the experts who help Tom Papa ref his way to a winner. Madonna would call you weak-willed. Larry David would hate on you. Jason Alexander would get up from his chair and imitate your pathetic attempt at defense. So before you get up in a huff to hook yourself to Hulu, why not arm yourself with some good reasons for your television preferences? That way if your partner ever drags you on Ref in some sort of cruel act of poetic justice, you'll be ready for the take-down.