Sisters three, plot zero in new comedy

By Ryan Blay

Daily Arts Writer

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if someone threw "Dharma and Greg" and "Friends" together? Did you ever wake up late at night, dying for that irresistible sound of a laugh track? Well then NBC has a show just for you.

The quirky plot goes something like this: Steven, a typical architect marries Bess Bernstein-Flynn (Katherine LaNasa). But during her pregnancy, her younger sister Nora (Vicky Lewis, "Newsradio") returns from a two-year African trip and moves in with the couple. Throw in loopy youngest sister Annie (A.J. Langer, "My So-Called Life"), whose main goal in the pilot is to sell her eggs on Ebay. Steven, who annoyingly narrates on occasion, finds that he got more than he bargained for. Rounding out the cast are Oscar Nominee Dyan Cannon ("Ally McBeal") as the sisters' free-spirited mom and Peter Borenz as their father. He doesn't have any adjectives as of yet. The writers may want to work on that.

Wacky twists in tonight's debut include a confrontation with Nora's ex-husband at a cafe, a blow-up between Nora and Bess and a whole lot of bitterness by Nora. Evidently, the writers have decided to focus on Nora. This is wise, because besides being the most well known of the cast, Vicki Lewis is also the most talented. In fact, it is a crying shame she is stuck on this mediocre sitcom. Those who remember her from her role as the quirky secretary on "Newsradio" will long for the outstanding ensemble performance of that show and wonder why it was ever taken off the air. But if that happens, they might miss the really unfunny running gag of women discussing what they ate for breakfast.

After writing for hits such as "Murphy Brown," "Roseanne" and "Ellen," co-writers Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline could regret this little setback. But they really don't have much to work with. Throwing in a blond, a brunette and a redhead and expecting snappy dialogue is not the way to develop a strong cast. Nora's pessimism is, like Chandler Bing's on "Friends," cute to a certain extent. But when it becomes the pivot of the dialogue, then eventually it begins to loss its sharpness.

Perhaps a show can indeed be salvaged from this shaky start. After all, it took "Seinfeld" a few years to develop. But as it stands, "Three Sisters" is exactly that, three sisters waiting for their NBC close-up like the three female co-stars of "Friends."

Courtesy of NBC

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