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Nobody Is Good Enough For These Mommas

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By WALT BELCHER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 16, 2008

The meddling mother, a stock stereotype character on many sitcoms, comes to life tonight on a new reality program.

The three matriarchs on NBC's "Momma's Boys" are not as intrusive or manipulative as Doris Robert's Marie Barone on "Everybody Loves Raymond" but they're more annoying because they aren't playing it for laughs.

"American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, a self-proclaimed momma's boy, created and produced this sad little six-episode dating competition. It debuts at 10 p.m. on NBC.

It's like "The Bachelor" with a twist. Three single guys and their mothers are housed in a splendid mansion where 32 attractive, single women are vying for attention.

The guys will date them. The mothers will rate them. The pack will be culled.

The eligible dudes include Floridian Michael Sarysz, 25, a firefighter from Plantation; Robert Kluge, 24, a real estate broker from New York; and JoJo Bojanowski, a college student from Michigan.

They are good-looking, clean-cut types who appear to enjoy being doted on by moms Lorraine, Esther and Kahlood, which raises the question: Just how desperate are the bachelorettes?

The group includes the usual suspects, with the selfish attention seekers, the mean-spirited and the earnest love seekers.

In addition to going on dates with the three "boys," the single ladies will be tested on household skills such as cooking and cleaning.

But bachelorettes are at a disadvantage from the get-go because no woman is really going to be good enough for these mothers.

One of the moms, Mrs. B, is shockingly bigoted. The majority of the bachelorettes are thin Barbie blondes. But there are some whose race and ethnic background do not please this mother who doesn't want her son to date Asians, blacks, anyone who is overweight or of the Jewish faith.

SUPER SPOTS: NBC still has a few commercial slots left in Super Bowl XLIII but those are expected to be sold even in this economy. The network is asking a record $3 million per 30 seconds.

Some longtime Super Bowl advertisers, such as Anheuser-Busch and Pepsi, will be back for the game, which airs Feb. 1 from Tampa. Missing, however, is financially troubled GM, which has bought airtime during the Super Bowl for about a decade.

The folks who make Budweiser also make the best Super Bowl spots. One will feature a Clydesdale that emigrates from Scotland and suffers through different jobs until finding his true calling.

VIDBITS: Lauren Graham, of "Gilmore Girls" fame, has signed on to a comedy on ABC. She will play a self-help expert who can't follow her own advice.

•Fox News Channel's conservative host Sean Hannity won't have a liberal co-host on his new "Hannity" talk show.

It replaces "Hannity & Colmes" on Jan. 9. The departing Alan Colmes will remain as a pundit for Fox News and might get his own show later. Hannity will have a rotating panel of guests that includes a liberal, a conservative and a wild card.

IDOL UPDATE: Changes are coming to "American Idol" when it returns for an eighth season with a two-night, four-hour event on Jan. 13 and 14, Fox announced Monday.

There will be three weeks of audition episodes instead of four, meaning less time for the really awful acts.

Also, more contestants will make it to Hollywood to compete, 36 people versus the two dozen of past seasons.

On March 5, there will a special "Wild Card" episode featuring the judges' favorite remaining contestants, and the top 12 finalists will be selected.

The "Idol Gives Back" charity fundraiser is taking the year off but is expected to return in Season 9.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

"The Biggest Loser: Families," 8 p.m. NBC

On the season finale we will learn which group wins the $250,000 prize.

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