liquidcelluloid-1 Network: CBS; Genre: Family Sitcom, Movie Translation; Content Rating: TV-G; Classification: contemporary (Star range: 1 - 4)Season Reviewed: Complete series (1 season)Let's be honest. 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', as a movie, was a big screen sitcom in it's heart and soul to begin with. Its paper thin characters, silly almost nonsensical script and focus on broadly played ethnic stereotypes makes an almost seamless translation to the small screen in 'My Big Fat Greek Life'. So, I for one don't think the show is creator Nia Vardalos 'cashing in' on the surprise success of her film. It's a logical extension of the movie. For those who have managed to stay awake for the entire movie will find this show has shoehorned its reality in between the last and second to last scene. The honeymoon is over. A few changes have been made, of course, to make this enterprise even more of a sitcom. The name of Vardalos' character has been changed from Toula to Nia as to not confuse the average drive-by sitcom viewer who apparently wouldn't understand why the star's character name is different for her real name. Also big name John Corbett has wisely and expectedly jumped ship for the short-lived but more respectable FX series 'Lucky'. The show fits right in with all the family sitcoms that gorge the line-up at CBS, amplifying how much this concept is like the minimalist family classic 'Everybody Loves Raymond'. 'Raymond's characters are distinctly Italian with all the related eccentricities, but the themes are timeless and stretch across cultures.'Life' is more like the 'Raymond' clones. They aren't the usual white Anglo-Saxon married couples with oppressive families, but they are still Comedies of Familiarity (which lazily only try to get laughs by poking at the most common and obvious domestic jokes and people only laugh at them because it is familiar). Regardless of the endless cultural specific ethnic jokes, which have been broadened out wildly from the movie in an attempt to homogenize the series as much as possible, 'Life' is still just like the other Comedies of Familiarity. It is a one-joke series. Vardalos' jokes are little more than: We're Greek So We Do This, We're Greek So We Do That. She smirks with self-assuredness when making her Windex jokes because she's confident the suckers that loved them in the movie will love them a hundred more times. I understand we're all supposed to get on the bus and root for Nia Vardalos because she's a Hollywood outsider and her stuff is cutesy and harmless. She's pandering, but she's pandering to the married crowd that doesn't mind it. I'll say it: Vardalos is what you'd call, if she was a man, a hack. And we're expected to endure her syrupy sweet scripts and wait it out until this girl irons her show out or cross our fingers and hope she comes into her own and makes something great. Pardon me if I don't hold my breath.Because it's about married life and, yes, an ethnic group that is a minority on TV, people will blindly defend her (despite reported diva antics on the set and in photo shoots) and this kind of series to the death. Hey, if that's your thing, go for it, but this is bottom-of-the-barrel sitcom stuff. 'Life' is so poorly acted by all, particularly when Vardalos is engaging in classic slapstick, it's cringing. The ethnic humor is so broadly played it's fruitless to call it true to Greek life because this fluff is pretty much true for everyone. Yeah, the show is awful, but the movie was awful too. It's more of a lateral move than a step down. CBS got exactly what they paid for. *

Gray-6 The first show was not that good, as it left a lot to be desired from the original movie. However, if you stick with the series it got better, and I would say that now it is on par with the movie. My wife grew up with Greek friends, and she really enjoys the show as there is a lot of truth in their actions.

Chris Horry OK, so it's not supposed to be a sequel to the Movie. Moreover, it's a spin-off with a slightly different plot, some names changed and a different male lead.The movie should have been left as it was, it just does not translate well to the small screen. The jokes, which in the movie where fresh and hilarious are all too predictable in the TV show. The acting seems flatter, the writing just doesn't have the same punch. Why? Because we've seen it all before! Unless the writers can think up some new material I don't think this show will be around much longer.Pet hate: when, oh when, will US TV makers understand that canned laughter is annoying and unnecessary? DON'T DO IT!!

eahoover I happened to be watching "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" the same night as the first episode aired. First of all, besides Toula's name changing, the series doesn't exactly start where the movie leaves off. In the movie, Gus gives the couple the house at the wedding reception, but in the series he gives it to them after the reception. The movie ends with them living in the house and having their 6-year old. Also, the movie has their house as the one next door to the parents, but the series has the house across from the restaurant.Overall this has some humorous moments. I don't think it will last long - it seems like a Greek takeoff on "Everybody Loves Raymond", only with a larger family.