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Two Guys, a Girl And A Television Series
A Review of the Eternal Triangle...

Not quite as solid, though still entertaining is "Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place." Ryan Reynolds and Richard Ruccollo star as the two guys, Berg and Pete, graduate students who pay for their education by working at a pizza joint. Living upstairs from the duo is their pal Sharon, nicely played by Traylor Howard ("Boston Common").

There is a welcome lack of sexual tension amongst the trio. It's surprisingly refreshing to see men and women just being friends, without worrying that they'll be playing musical beds like the so-called fri

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The world of televised 90's twentysomething angst had it's very own version of Truffaut's classic in the Fox dramedy, "Significant Others." Easily the whiniest show in recent memory, the series featured Eion Bailey, Jennifer Garner and Scott Bairstow as its immensely unlikable trio. Oddly enough, the relationship between the three characters in "Significant Others" is the closest of all the shows mentioned here to that in "Jules and Jim." That doesn't make me want to slap them any less, however. If you haven't seen the show yet, there's good news for you: you'll never have to. Fox pulled the plug after only three airings.

The best of the current homages is MTV's city-com "Austin Stories," the funniest show on television. It stars Laura House, Howard Kremer and Brad "Chip" Pope as three twentysomethings living in the bustling Texas college town. Each of the actors started as a comic, but they write most of their own dialogue, so they relax into their characters a lot easier than most comedians turned actors. While the trio seldom seem to like each other, it is always obvious that they love each other. That simple fact of life is one of Truffaut's great themes, brought home most effectively in "Jules and Jim's" bittersweet finale.

Exactly what it is that brought about this recent spate of Truffaut-esque television is a mystery, but it's probably bad ju-ju to question it when the suits start ripping off talent that is actually worth the effort.

When will the Fellini-esque shows to start popping up is the next question. Network television needs more busty women and midgets and clowns to liven things up a bit. And if it's good enough for Jerry Springer...

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