Shark Bytes

I still enjoyed JLD and her sister in the second season, but it was not the same show at all. A big disappointment! The original concept was a good one. But that clock. .it was like they thought the viewers were not smart enough to catch on to what they were doing so they had to put in a clock as if to say, "see, this is real time." Trust me, we all would have caught on without the clock. It would have been a lot more cool to let viewers catch on. Besides, not all episodes had to be in the so called real time as that would be too much of a limitation. And the title, "Watching Ellie". . like "Clocking Ellie" or some such thing? How about "Time for Ellie" or "Ellie Takes a Licking (and keeps on ticking)" or the equally bad "Stop Watching Ellie?" Hey now, I love Julia Louis - Dreyfus. And I loved hearing her sing (it really was her singing for those who had any doubts). And her sister is hot! Love her too. I loved it when they both would laugh together, and their laughter felt real too. The title of the show should have been "Julia". . .and her character's name Julia Louis. Sure, why not? Keep it simple. Just like Bob Hartley on "Newhart." I guess Eleanor Riggs has some reference to Eleanor Rigby. Also, Julia seemed too smart to be wasting her time on a married guy she worked with. Being close friends who where there for each other would have helped us care about them. The show had potential. Just got off to a slightly misguided start and never got the chance to develop, as the reworked version lost all the potential spark the original version had. But, I honestly felt bad for the dude in season two when his big screen plasma television got smashed. . .he was so happy, until then.

No the only reason it lasted as long as it did. IS THEY TOTALLY CHEATED. And played only a few episodes a season, then wouldn't play it all. They finally played just one episode this year, and after no one watched this piece of ****, they finally tanked it. They knew that this stupid yuppie would make the Seinfeld curse and so they cheated, and still couldn't win.

I read that this piece of crap has been canceled. Three cheers for the Seinfeld curse. The only reason this junk lasted as long as it did was because "Ellie's" real life hubby was some kind of big shot on the project. Maybe she can go back to working for "Mr. Pitt."

They did the single camera thing the first season, that was cool... but then the second season looks like any other sitcom out there... bad move

It took me several years to warm to Julia's Elaine Benes character on "Seinfeld". Unlike many others, I didn't like the character Elaine when she was written too soft & whiney in the early seasons. The writing seemed to be too conscious of the fact that she was the lone female amongst a group of males. Once the writers started seeing Elaine as just one of the guys she became funnier. At least for me. I know many people felt she degenerated into a hose-bag in the later seasons but that's what I loved about her. Not just that but she was funnier when she became meaner & as petty & shallow as the guys were. She is probably my favorite character from the later seasons and George is my favorite from the earlier shows. As far as "Watching Elle", as much as it pains me to do it, I'd have to vote Day One on a jump. To me, this show is just another example of how much of an anomaly "Seinfeld" was. I mean I really can't see any of the cast being successful on their own and the evidence of Julia, Jason & Michael's flop sitcoms bear witness. Jerry may have his stand-up but even that is not nearly as funny as it used to be. But the 4 of them together was as Banya would say: GOLD....pure GOLD!!! I don't know why they don't just give in and re-group for another season. It can't be any worse than what they've done separately. But in order to do that, Larry David would be required(as far as I'm concerned) and as long as he's got the incredibly funny "Curb Your Enthusiasm" doing very well for him on HBO I don't see it happening anytime soon. And if they were to re-group they would need to do it within the next 5 years or forget it. That said, "Watching Elle" is actually pretty depressing viewing. There are some very talented people involved and it's a shame to see it wasted on such a misguided effort. If Julia were to try again(b/c I don't see this one lasting much longer) if I were her I'd look outside her marriage for her next creative partner. Brad Hall just doesn't seem to have it. Did he ever?!

This show is horrible and sometimes difficult to watch. Julia's attempt at "Jazz scat"--I guess that's what she's trying to do--to the countless pictures of her annoying mug, and the fact that Brad Hall created it . . . and that is just the opening credits. NBC should drop this show and make a different one with Steve Carrell, Don Lake and the dude from Fargo . . . those seem to be the only three actors on the show worth a damn. Or just give Steve Carrell his own show, I can't believe that he quit the Daily Show for this crap. He deserves better.

This show jumped twice - the first minute of the first episode of the first go around, and the first minute of the first episode of the "rework." Louis-Dreyfuss must have some contract, or NBC is as blinded by Julia as CBS was by Bette. Or a combination of the two. Nothing else could explain why this hideous show was brought back for a second chance. Please, someone just give up, put this piece of garbage out of its misery and let something else occupy this valuable chunk of prime time.

Let's face it, this show was always there in the splash zone. But it really jumped the shark in the second season, when it lost the only elements that made it at all unique (the real-time format, Ellie's relationship with a married man). Not only is the comedy too wacky now, but the situations are totally predictable. Maybe they should have gone in the opposite direction and tried a more serious show with light touches of comedy, ala Days and Nights of Molly Dodd. Couldn't have been any worse than what we have now.

I'll be in the minority here and say that after it got warmed up Watching Ellie was a nice, quirky, funny show for the rest of the first season. I admire Julia Louis-Dreyfus for taking on such an unusual concept and making it work. Then they completely destroy it in the second season. Yes, the clock could be distracting, but did they really need to completely abandon the whole real time/single camera/closed set concept and put the characters into a completely standard sitcom format? The creators of it didn't have the guts to stick with their concept when the going got a little rough, so I won't be watching Ellie any more.

This show might not have jumped if not for the fact that Seinfeld is on every night and a lot of people are sick of seeing these characters on, even if on a new show. If Seinfeld was off the TV for a few years, then Ellie came one, it would be a fresh start for the show, and the other Seinfeld alumni.

Say what you will about Julia's singing, or "that stupid clock," but I had the sense they were at least trying something new. Never knee-slapping funny, but fresh in an offbeat way. I thought it had promise, but I admit I got pulled away when Andy Richter debuted in the same slot three weeks later. So they yank and retool it and, after a year, it returns. What an embarrassment. Worn-out sitcom zaniness, with a laugh track that underlines how desperately unfunny it all is. Please, NBC, you crippled it--now put it out of its misery!

Way back in the first season (before NBC decided they needed another regular sitcom), they had it in real time, with a clock. That's fine, but then I notice the clock secretly speeding up, like a second only was half a second. I forgive you, Julia, but it's only accelerating the boat, taking you right over that shark.

I really wanted to like Watching Ellie, but it was just dreadful. I know that they tried to make different than other sitcoms, but if there are no laughs, what's the point? The big problem I had was that there were too many unnecessary characters (forgive me if I can't remember their names; that's how bad this show is). The ex-boyfriend that still pines for Ellie was bad enough, but the worst was the married, needy sister who apparently has no life of her own, who has to call Ellie at the worst times over something stupid, has this need to borrow Ellie's clothes. Ditch the sister!! Also, is it just me or does Ellie's married British boyfriend look like David Gray?

This show jumped the shark on Day ONE. The lack of laugh track was nice but it wasn't a funny show anyway. And I haven't seen any posts about the title of the show. "Watching...Ellie?" ELLIE? Julia Louis-Dreyfus is most well-known for her portrayal of "Elaine" on Seinfeld. Ellie, Elaine? Does anyone else get it.

Good show...hope it makes it back as a winter (2003) replacement...BUT two things: 1) After the first few episodes, when the clock counted down thru the entire episode, it ceased to do that, only counting down at the beginning and the end, and right before and right after commercials. I timed it and it was only about 20 1/2 minutes. I guess 8 minutes of commercials and promos weren't enough for America's most self-important network. 2) The idea of the lead character being a single woman dating a married man without consequence for either. Am I the only one who thinks this is NOT okay?