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Tom Papa talked to Star Tribune about Madonna, Jerry Seinfeld and his attraction to ice fishing. Here are some of the highlights:

Q A lot of viewers were also not quite sure what to make of your show. Do you worry that it might be too different?

A Not at all. Who wants another show that’s derivative of something else? This is something refreshing and new. Sometimes it’s a bit of a reality show, but that’s only for two minutes. Somebody gets a prize, so in that way it’s a game show. In other ways, it’s a talk show.

Q I know Jerry knows a lot of famous people, but I’m sure they wouldn’t do it just as a favor. Why are the big names signing up?

A I think a big part of it is that we’re giving them a platform they can’t get anywhere else. Usually someone is pushing a book or a movie and there’s all these pre-interviews. It’s a marketing machine. Here, it’s just three funny, bright people having a blast, letting their hair down. I think that really appeals to them.

Q For one of the promos for the show, you and Jerry flew into Duluth to do some ice fishing. Why Duluth?

A We were just thinking of the funniest things that men do to get away from their wives. We thought that instead of doing it in a studio, it’d be cool to go out on an actual frozen lake. The crew was shocked because Jerry and I took like over 30 pratfalls. We were like kids out there.

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In preparation for the show “The Marriage Ref” Jerry Seinfeld gave an interview to StarPlus, here are the highlights:

Q: What do you and your wife fight about?

Jerry Seinfeld: There’s only one thing. I don’t think it’s a good enough issue for the show but whenever we go to the theatre I get very nervous about being late because I’m a well-known person I hate to go into the theatre late. I get very anxious about getting out of the house on time.

Is she habitually late?

No, she’s not, but I get anxious and if she’s just a couple of minutes late, I always go, “It’s the theatre. Why do we have to do this?”

How do you keep the bickering of couples from just getting annoying in this show?

We pick out the ones, you’ve never seen a couple fight over “The dog’s dead. Should we stuff it or not?” I want to see how that works. I think there’s an unlimited supply of this. Well, here’s the most interesting thing about the show to me. Maybe not to anybody else. Couples in fights perform. Regular people that are so boring you’d never want to spend ten seconds with them. When they are fighting, they are hilarious. They say funny things in funny ways like the way you want, you would want an actor to do it. That’s what’s been the most discovery of the show is these couples are funny.

Why do you think that is?

Because emotion drives comedy. Emotion and conflict is the essence of comedy.

Don’t you think that some couples won’t want to watch this show because they can see people fighting at home? Like it’s a little too close to the bone?

No. It’s a relief. It really is a relief. It’s a relief to go, “Well, at least we don’t have that one.” Or, “We do have that one. Let’s see who’s right and who’s wrong.” So either way it kind of pulls you in.

How many celebrity judges are on the panel at a time?

Three. They’re not judges. They’re just advisors.

Almost like lawyers in a way, making a case for either side?

Yeah. We just really want to get some conversation going. That’s why to me it’s really a talk show. I really want to create interesting conversation. I am one of those comedians who is hopelessly stuck on the old Johnny Carson Tonight Show where the guests would stay on the couch and would interact with each other. I’m trying to create that here because I want people to engage with each other, not just with Tom and not just through some boring monologue about how their basement flooded and they couldn’t find a plumber.

Have you disagreed with the outcomes at all?

Yeah, sometimes. Yeah.

What fight subjects are off limits that you won’t touch?

Anything to do with kids, anything that makes you uncomfortable, that seems like the marriage might be in any real trouble. You know what the fights are? You ever go out with another couple for dinner and before the appetizers get there, one starts talking about, “You know what he did the other day?” And you talk about the things that annoy you about your husband, and they start doing the same? All of those subjects at dinner that you would feel comfortable talking to your friend, your couple friends with, that’s what we deal with. That’s really 85 percent of marital difficulties is ridiculous problems.

What about gay marriages?

Oh, yeah, they’re in.