4 replies to this topic

[Cynic]

Network description per the Futon Critic:

For most people, their wedding day ignites dreams of a bright future and the hope of fading into the sunset with the one they love. But for some brides and grooms, the reality of "til death do you part" hits come sooner than expected. Narrated by Emmy Award-winner Marlo Thomas, HAPPILY NEVER AFTER tells the true stories of people who meet untimely ends on or around their wedding days. Leading viewers through these tales of romance, sex, greed and betrayal is Dr. Wendy Walsh, a clinical psychologist and relationship expert. As this new series suggests, perhaps love found is not always happily ever after.

Yet another poorly-made true crime show on ID Discovery, this time with the hook that the crime victim was newly married.

I don't expect much from these types of shows, but this one is truly awful. The worst part for me is the frequent talking heads from their supposed relationship expert. Her "analysis" is generally of the blatantly obvious common sense variety, but she often veers into the bizarrely sexist territory. Some nuggets of her wisdom have been (barely paraphrasing) "women love big rocks, because it shows the man has money to waste", "women dream of men who can provide them financial security", and "women love male attention, it makes them feel like they must be worth his love". Ugh. No doubt some women may feel that way, but the sweeping generalizations bug. Plus, she often makes her proclamations in the most laughably dramatic way with exaggerated facial expressions and the camera pulling in for sudden close ups as if to emphasize certain points like dun...dun...DUN. Hate.

[urlittledogtoo]

I love this show!! It's so bad it is FANTASTIC! Especially Miss Talking Head 'relationship expert' (I guess actual profilers wouldn't touch this thing) with her pretty pretty princess background screen and scroll lettering and her smiling proclamation of inanities regarding 'what women are looking for'.

But the crimes themselves are pretty interesting. Not enough to fill an hour so they rehash and rehash and rehash the same scenes over and over with the dramatic recreations but seriously! At least there's some meat on the crime bones. True crime has become so popular that these types of shows are scraping the bottom of the interest barrel and profiling crimes that if handled well would barely be interesting or fill an hour. I get to the end of them and I think, where's the hook? What made this worthy of an hour long tv episode? HNA however, has quite the hook in crimes. They just handle them a little cheesily.

As a lover of true crime shows (and I will deny it to anyone who asks!) I can appreciate a good wedding day stabbing or a boiled head in the freezer.

[ncw12371]

Totally agree about this show being too long, urlittledogtoo. This show could be done so much better in half an hour. The relentless rehashing following every commercial break is too much.

[jalfredprufrock]

I like this show except for the relationship expert - she's really, truly terrible. Even Candice DeLong is more subtle than this woman.

[urlittledogtoo]

Yes, the relationship 'expert' is truly terrible. Wonderfully horrible. Whenever they show her little segments I feel like I am watching a skit from Chelsea Lately, she has that whole gleeful nuttiness about her.

But the stories are truly interesting, and mostly ones I haven't heard about before. Sometimes I suspect they made them up for the show and the whole thing is a performance art project on true crime shows, but sadly I believe these things really happened to people.

"Every little girl wants to find a knight in shining armor to save her and take her away on his white horse!" LOL God save us all from Miss 'Expert' and her cliched pronouncements on women, love, and marriage. :)