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Mr. Right elusive on Ex List

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, October 2, 2008

By Hal Boedeker

The Orlando Sentinel

Bella Bloom (played by Elizabeth Reaser, left) is an attractive 30-something business owner looking for love on The Ex List. Anne Bedian plays her psychic.


CBS / CLIFF LIPSON

For Bella Bloom, love is not in bloom. Rather, for the heroine of CBS’ The Ex List, love is like an elusive object in a desperate scavenger hunt.

This slight but charming comedy, which debuts at 9 p.m. tomorrow on Channels 4 and 12, offers a good cast along with questionable dialogue and a dicey premise.

Bella (Elizabeth Reaser) takes a psychic’s warning seriously: Marry within a year or remain single forever.

Another warning: Mr. Right is someone she dated.

This means viewers will suffer with Bella as she revisits a lot of Mr. Wrongs. First up: an emotional rock musician (Eric Balfour) who holds grudges and lashes out at Bella in song. Love is a battlefield for him, all right.

It’s easy to root for Reaser, who won many admirers for her Ava/Rebecca role on Grey’s Anatomy. With a big grin and a friendly style, Reaser yearns without turning mushy.

Your enjoyment, however, could depend on the dialogue about pubic grooming. Clever or too much information? I vote the latter, especially since I’ve just met bantering lovers Augie (Adam Rothenberg) and Vivian (Alexandra Breckenridge).

Bella’s other concerns include a flower shop, an unsightly mole and soon-to-wed sister Daphne (Rachel Boston).

Bella shares custody of a dog with last ex Elliott (Mark Deklin), who won’t commit to marriage. He seems to be Mr. Right — so much for Bella’s hunt.

Bella often sees signs that send her scurrying back to the psychic. Here’s a bad sign: Executive producer Diane Ruggiero, who adapted this version of an Israeli series, departed after seven episodes. She and CBS reportedly couldn’t agree on the show’s direction.

So despite a game leading lady, The Ex List is going to have a hard time wooing viewers. In TV, love means knowing how to finesse silly premises.

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