Review of "Imaginary Mary" on ABC From The TV MegaSite

Tweet This Page

Fight hunger and malnutrition.
Donate to Action Against Hunger today!

WELCOME to The TVMEGASITE.NET
Primetime TV Shows Reviews Pages

TV Show Reviews

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Imaginary Mary cast

"Imaginary Mary" review by Eva Diaz 3/30/17
Airs Tuesdays 9:30/8:30 on ABC

I was really curious to see the show because Jenna Elfman ("Dharma & Greg") plays the lead character, Alice, a workaholic PR exexutive whose parents divorced when she was six. She invented an imaginary friend named Mary, a furry computer graphic character that's voiced by Rachel Dratch. Everything is going great in Alice's career until she meets Ben (Stephen Schneider) and falls in love with him. He's divorced and has two teenagers and a little girl. Since Alice is insecure about her relationship with Ben's kids, her imaginary friend Mary shows up to help her. I enjoyed parts of this show, and Elfman does a lot of physical comedy -- she's always excellent at that. The cast is great, and Elfman and Schneider have great chemistry together. The child actors are all funny as well. The only thing I had problems with is the imaginary Mary character. Although Dratch does a great job voicing her, I really think she isn't needed and serves more as a distraction from the stories, rather than an addition.

I think this show would be great without Mary. She looks like a female pPillsbury doughboy without the hat, but with big ears. ABC has done a great job of creating family comedies from the Johnsons on "black-ish," to the DiMeos on Speechless, to the Wongs on "Fresh Off the Boat." This could be another great fish-out-of-water romantic comedy -- she's a single woman trying to relate to her boyfriend's kids, even though it's hard for her (but she does it because she loves him). I would watch that, and then as my brother pointed out while we were watching the show, Alice would have to stay with Ben forever, and either they would have to get married or live together because the premise of the show wouldn't work if she was in another relationship. I also wonder: if Alice becomes more secure in her relationship with Ben, would Imaginary Mary disappear and never come back? Then they would have to change the name of the show. I give this show 3 and a half stars just because I think it won't last too long because it has boxed itself into a corner by its own concept. I will keep watching, though, to see if the show can fix these problems.

MORE INFORMATION

“IMAGINARY MARY”
Alice (Jenna Elfman, “Dharma and Greg,” “Friends with Benefits,” “EDtv”) is a fiercely independent career woman whose life is turned upside-down when she meets the love of her life – a divorced father with three kids. This triggers even more upheaval when the slightly unhinged imaginary friend she created as a child suddenly reappears to help her navigate the transition from single girl to a woman ready for a family.

The series stars Jenna Elfman as Alice, Stephen Schneider as Ben, Rachel Dratch as Mary (VO), Nicholas Coombe as Andy, Matreya Scarrwener as Dora and Erica Tremblay as Bunny.

The live action/CGI hybrid comes from “The Goldbergs” team Adam F. Goldberg (writer/executive producer), David Guarascio (writer/executive producer) and Doug Robinson (executive producer). Mary CG animation is designed by Patrick Osborne (creator of Academy Award-winning animated short “The Feast”), who is also executive producer. The pilot was directed by Shawn Levy (“Night at the Museum,” “Cheaper by the Dozen”), who is also executive producer.

The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television, Happy Madison and ABC Studios.

Hashtag: #ImaginaryMary
Twitter: @ImaginaryMaryTV
Facebook: facebook.com/ImaginaryMary

SERIES PREMIERE - Pilot (3/29)

LIFE GETS COMPLICATED FOR ALICE
WHEN HER CHILDHOOD IMAGINARY FRIEND RETURNS,
ON THE SPECIAL PREVIEW OF ABC’S ‘IMAGINARY MARY’

“Pilot” – A fiercely independent career woman, Alice has her life turned upside-down when she meets Ben, a divorced father with three children, and soon falls head-over-heals for him. This triggers more upheaval when the imaginary friend she created as a child, Mary, suddenly reappears as she is nervous to meet Ben’s kids for the first time, on the special preview of “Imaginary Mary,” WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 (8:30–9:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network.

“Imaginary Mary” stars Jenna Elfman as Alice, Stephen Schneider as Ben, Rachel Dratch as Mary (VO), Nicholas Coombe as Andy, Matreya Scarrwener as Dora and Erica Tremblay as Bunny.

Guest starring is Marin Page as Alice (age 6), Jilena Cori as Alice’s mother, Jason Cermak as Alice’s father, Kadence Roach as Alice (age 11), Marci T. House as Mother talent show, Jamie Schneider as Alice (age 18), Braeden Clarke as Boy in Bed, Jaime Callica as Hot Male Bartender and Luke Sykes as Handsome Businessman.

“Pilot” was written by Adam F. Goldberg & David Guarascio (with a story by Adam F. Goldberg, David Guarascio and Patrick Osborne) and directed by Shawn Levy.

The live action/CGI hybrid comes from “The Goldbergs” team Adam F. Goldberg (writer/executive producer), David Guarascio (writer/executive producer) and Doug Robinson (executive producer). Mary CG animation is designed by Patrick Osborne (creator of Academy Award-winning animated short, “The Feast”), who is also executive producer. The pilot was directed by Shawn Levy (“Arrival,” “Night at the Museum,” “Cheaper by the Dozen”), who is also executive producer.

The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television, Happy Madison and ABC Studios.

The Mom Seal (4/4)

ALICE IS ON MOM DUTY FOR THE FIRST TIME,
ON THE SEASON PREMIERE OF ABC’S ‘IMAGINARY MARY’

“The Mom Seal” – When Ben asks Alice to help him with her first mom-like task to pick up Bunny from dance class, Mary quickly discovers the simplest parental tasks are fraught with difficulty. Afterwards, Ben is disappointed when Alice tells him she can’t help with the kids anymore, but things change when Andy enlists Alice’s help to overcome his fear of taking a driving test, on the season premiere of “Imaginary Mary,” TUESDAY, APRIL 4 (9:30–10:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network.

“Imaginary Mary” stars Jenna Elfman as Alice, Stephen Schneider as Ben, Rachel Dratch as Mary (VO), Nicholas Coombe as Andy, Matreya Scarrwener as Dora and Erica Tremblay as Bunny.

Guest starring is Diana Bang as Gigi, Dave Peniuk as Doctor, Nathan Jean as Man, Bronwen Smith as Megan, Aaron Hutchinson as Paramedic, Gabriel Vill as Waiter, Bethany Brown as Uninformed Millenial and Roberta Gardoni as Frazzled Mom.

“The Mom Seal” was written by Sarah Haskins & Emily Halpern and directed by Shawn Levy.

The live action/CGI hybrid comes from “The Goldbergs” team Adam F. Goldberg (writer/executive producer), David Guarascio (writer/executive producer) and Doug Robinson (executive producer). Mary CG animation is designed by Patrick Osborne (creator of Academy Award-winning animated short, “The Feast”), who is also executive producer. The pilot was directed by Shawn Levy (“Arrival,” “Night at the Museum,” “Cheaper by the Dozen”), who is also executive producer.

The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television, Happy Madison and ABC Studios.

The Parent-y Trap (4/11)

ALICE CONTEMPLATES GETTING INVOLVED WITH ANDY’S SCHOOL MUSICAL,
ON ABC’S ‘IMAGINARY MARY’

“The Parent-y Trap” – Andy considers auditioning for the school musical, and Alice gets really involved and learns the emotional highs and lows of being a parent. Meanwhile, Dora creates her own feminist musical when she doesn’t like the underlying message of the show Andy is in, on “Imaginary Mary,” TUESDAY, APRIL 11 (9:30–10:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network.

“Imaginary Mary” stars Jenna Elfman as Alice, Stephen Schneider as Ben, Rachel Dratch as Mary (VO), Nicholas Coombe as Andy, Matreya Scarrwener as Dora and Erica Tremblay as Bunny.

Guest starring is Jennifer Chu as Clara and Will Verchere-Gopaulsingh as Boy.

“The Parent-y Trap” was written by Margee Magee and directed by Peter Lauer.

The live action/CGI hybrid comes from “The Goldbergs” team Adam F. Goldberg (writer/executive producer), David Guarascio (writer/executive producer) and Doug Robinson (executive producer). Mary CG animation is designed by Patrick Osborne (creator of Academy Award-winning animated short “The Feast”), who is also executive producer. The pilot was directed by Shawn Levy (“Arrival,” “Night at the Museum,” “Cheaper by the Dozen”), who is also executive producer.

The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television, Happy Madison and ABC Studios.

The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The TV MegaSite or its other volunteers.

We need more episode guide recap writers, article writers, MS FrontPage and Web Expression users, graphics designers, and more, so please email us if you can help out! More volunteers always needed! Thanks!

Back to the Main Reviews Page

Page updated 4/4/17

Back to the Main Primetime TV Page

Bookmark this section!