Parents' Guide to

Courting Alex

By Elisabeth Chaney, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Not as funny as it could be, and not for kids.

TV CBS Comedy 2006
Courting Alex Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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What's the Story?

COURTING ALEX is Jenna Elfman's highly anticipated return to TV following her success in Dharma and Greg, in which she played a free spirit married to a strait-laced lawyer. In Courting Alex, Elfman has switched roles, now playing the strait-laced lawyer herself. Addicted to her job and various communication devices, Alex works at a law firm run by her father, Bill (Dabney Coleman). In the first episode, Alex is asked to strike a deal with cute tavern owner Scott (Josh Randall) and, in the process, develops some chemistry with him. The next few episodes follow Scott's courtship of Alex -- including their first kiss, their first date, and their first weekend together, which, although the timeline isn't clear, seemed to happen pretty quickly.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

What's great about this show is the strong role model found in Alex's character. She's a hard-working, driven, professional female, but she's also human, and the show does a decent job of displaying her faults, such as her inability to juggle too many things at once.

However, with so many new and innovative sitcoms on network TV these days, an old-school show with a laugh track really needs something extra -- something that's more of a departure from what we've been seeing for years. And unfortunately, Courting Alex just doesn't have it. The dialogue seems very forced and the plot seems rather canned.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about premarital sex. Is it ever ok? If so, after how many dates? Does it complicate things? How?

TV Details

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