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Giraldo’s comedic timing increased the humor of the show, but a few critics wondered how he’d do as a judge after just finishing up his second divorce. Greg, who’s also NBC’s host of ‘The Last Comic Standing,’ did often have a different opinion from the other judges on the panel, Jerry Seinfield, Tom Papa and Gwyneth Paltrow. But was his opinion authentic, or to increase his comedic effect? Is it possible he’s a little soured after just finishing up his second divorce? Watch the video below and decide!

Source: Examiner

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It’s a common problem for couples: one person has a really good friend of the opposite sex, and the partner is skeptical and jealous of him/her. On ‘The Marriage Ref’ (Thu., 10PM ET on NBC), guest judge Jay Leno shared that he and his wife of 30 years had this issue as well — though with a twist.

“I had a friend who was a stripper named Silver Moon,” he explained to host Tom Papa. “Now Silver Moon was my friend. We never had a relationship; I would go to her for guidance. My wife tended to frown on Silver Moon, so we are no longer friends.”

Source: AOL TV

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This week on “The Marriage Ref”, host Tom Papa is accompanied by three celebrities, namely Kirstie Alley, Jimmy Fallon and Sheryl Crow.

Source: Ace Show Biz

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On the ‘Tonight Show’ (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on NBC), ‘Marriage Ref’ host Tom Papa shared what he considered the best relationship advice ever given to him: to lie.

Source: AOL.

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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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Here are some of the reviews of the first episode of ‘The Marriage Ref’:

EW:
…there was an undeniable spontaneity not only among the premiere’s guest judges — Alec Baldwin, Kelly Ripa, and Seinfeld — but also during the taped segments featuring the couples who provided the arguments. Granted, my defenses were weakened by the mind-blowing Olympics finale that included William Shatner spouting Dadaist poetry, but I thought The Marriage Ref was silly fun.
Hosted by Tom Papa, an excellent stand-up comic (he killed on a recent David Letterman), The Marriage Ref is just what you’ve seen in the ads. We and the judges watched tape of a couple’s outlandish argument, and Papa referees the dispute by concluding, “I’m ready to make the call!”

NY Times:
A simple search of Twitter Sunday night yielded thousands of comments about the show. Some of the comments were upbeat, calling the show “hilarious,” but many more, it seemed, were savagely critical. Television critics were virtually united in their disapproval. “Divorce papers have been filed. West Coasters, you’ve been warned,” wrote Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly.
But the Twitter buzz during the East Coast preview was so bad that Daniel Fienberg of HitFix said “it wouldn’t surprise me if NBC airs an ‘Office’ repeat at 10:30 PT,” shorthand for Pacific time.

Others joked about bringing Mr. Leno back to prime time.

NY Daily News:
Even without a replay, the consensus call on Jerry Seinfeld’s new “Marriage Ref” so far is, “Yer out.”

That’s not what struggling NBC wants to hear about the long-awaited new Seinfeld project on which it spent its most valuable promotion slot, the half-hour after the Olympics Sunday.

But then, “The Marriage Ref” didn’t give NBC much to hang its hype on. It turned out to be a flimsy “reality” show in which celebrities milk a silly videotaped argument between a civilian couple for way more jokes than it deserves and then pick a “winner.”

Time called it “the most God-awful mishmash of a comedy-variety show.” Long-time Hartford Courant critic Roger Catlin said “absolutely nothing funny happened.” Greg Evans of the Huffington Post said Seinfeld “owes us nothing and delivered in spades.”

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Tempers flared as twice-divorced Madonna weighed in with her views on married couples’ real-life domestic disputes in new US TV show The Marriage Ref.

On the show, the pair get the hump when they realise the Ref – US comic Tom Papa – has the power to ignore the votes of the celebrity panel on whether the husband or wife wins the row.
Madonna shouts: “It’s two against two!” after Papa sides against her and Gervais.
Papa, who takes the side of fellow panel member and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David, tells her: “I have the final say.”
Gervais asks: “What are we here for? It was two to one! Why does he get the final vote?”
Papa says: “You’re the advisers but I make the ruling.”
But defiant Madonna refuses to back down and hits back: “Why? You’re not the panel.”

Read more: Monsters and Critics

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The Marriage Ref (NBC, 10:30pm, Sunday Feb. 28th): Series premiere. “Panelists Jerry Seinfeld, Alec Baldwin and Kelly Ripa weigh in on couples marital grievances before host Tom Papa makes the call deciding which parties are the winners of the tiffs.” One of these marriage experts just doesn’t belong here.