The TV Column

Something about Mary is really quite contrary

ABC’s Imaginary Mary stars (from left) Matreya Scarrwener, Stephen Schneider, Jenna Elfman and Imaginary Mary.
ABC’s Imaginary Mary stars (from left) Matreya Scarrwener, Stephen Schneider, Jenna Elfman and Imaginary Mary.

Whether or not you like ABC's Imaginary Mary will depend, in large part, on just how much of a fan you are of Jenna Elfman.

We all loved the spunky and free-spirited young actress on Dharma & Greg (1997-2002). Elfman was also in the main cast of Accidentally on Purpose (2009-2010), 1600 Penn (2012-2013) and Growing Up Fisher (2014). But nothing has had the impact of Dharma & Greg with its 119 episodes.

Elfman's Dharma & Greg co-star, Thomas Gibson, who was on Chicago Hope from 1994 to 1997, went on to more career success playing Aaron Hotchner on CBS' Criminal Minds from 2005 to 2016. Maybe Imaginary Mary will be Elfman's big comeback, but it will be an uphill climb.

Imaginary Mary has a sneak peek at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, with ABC hoping to attract more eyeballs by slipping the pilot between The Goldbergs and Modern Family.

The series will then settle into its normal time at 8:30 p.m. April 4.

In the comedy, Elfman (who looks at least 10 years younger than her 45 years) plays Alice, a successful and independent public relations executive who seems perfectly content with her life until she's blindsided by love.

Stephen Schneider plays Ben, the blindsiding love interest. He's a divorced father with three kids.

That's a lot for Alice to absorb and old anxieties creep back that trigger the reappearance of Mary, Alice's imaginary childhood friend who helped her navigate life years ago.

Mary, a computer-generated Muppet-like character, returns to help Alice transition from single gal to family-ready woman. Hilarity ensues. Hopefully.

Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live) provides the voice of Mary, and the kids are played by Nicholas Coombe, Matreya Scarrwener and Erica Tremblay.

Will you like the show? The concept is refreshingly wacky and even cute at times, and I like a good romantic comedy as much as the next guy. But I found a little of Mary goes a long way. I've always enjoyed Elfman, but the frenetic dancing fuzzball got wearisome pretty fast. I'm just not certain where they can go from here with the Alice/Mary dynamic.

There will be nine episodes for Imaginary Mary to make an impression.

Bones finale. It's the end of the road for Booth and Brennan as 12 seasons wrap up at 8 p.m. today on Fox. I've already seen the finale and predict that fans will not be disappointed.

I'll not give anything away here. I'll just add that because I'm a member of the Television Critics Association, the Fox folks sent me a little souvenir gift box that contained an actual bone once used on the show. Yes, a bone, over which Brennan may have said, "I am not leaving until these bones lead me to wherever the hell my husband is."

I suspect it's some sort of beef short rib. At least I hope it's a beef short rib.

It's not unusual for Fox to send TV writers a thank you souvenir after a long-running series ends and the sets are broken down. That '70s Show sent me a small square from the yellow living room shag carpet. Glee sent me a small piece of tile from the show's stage. Beverly Hills, 90210 also sent tile from the Peach Pit diner.

Fringe sent a glob of the show's famous amber. And American Idol sent me my very own "Golden Ticket to Hollywood," complete with my name on it and everything. And the Monk folks at USA Network sent me a swatch from one of Monk's many gray suits.

Round 3. Penelope Cruz will play Donatella Versace in the third installment of American Crime Story on FX. The 10-episode season, set for early 2018, will focus on the murder of Versace's brother, Gianni.

More Bang. CBS has negotiated contracts and The Big Bang Theory has a green light for two more years -- Seasons 11 and 12. There will be a pay cut for stars Jim Parsons (Sheldon), Johnny Galecki (Leonard) and Kaley Cuoco (Penny) to a mere $900,000 per episode.

I don't see how they'll be able to get by on that. At 24 episodes a year, that's only $21.6 million each.

In addition, next year CBS will also premiere a prequel, Young Sheldon, about Cooper as a hyper-precocious 9-year-old. Parsons will help narrate the series.

COMING SOON

Friday: Streaming on Hulu, 13 Reasons Why is an adaptation of the 2007 book by Jay Asher about the suicide of a teen girl and the 13 people who may have contributed to her decision to end it all. Selena Gomez is executive producer.. There will be 13 episodes.

Sunday: The 52nd Academy of Country Music Awards airs live at 7 p.m. on CBS.

April 4: A Louis C.K. comedy special titled 2017 will stream on Netflix; Prison Break, last seen in 2009, returns to Fox as a nine-episode "event series." The adventure starts at 8 p.m.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email

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Style on 03/28/2017

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