I only wish someone could explain to me why anyone saw fit to build a decently written situation comedy around as loathsome (on virtually every level) a character as "Old Christine" (Julia Louis Drufus - OK, the writers - pushing her "edgily oblivious" persona from the old Seinfeld show to new levels of self centered repulsiveness).<br /><br />A genuinely first rate supporting cast has been assembled around her from the always charming Clark Gregg as her long suffering ex husband, Richard Campbell, to Hamish Linklater as her refreshingly laid-back brother/nanny Matthew and even the fresh faced Trevor Gagnon as her (thus far dramatically unchallenged) son Ritchie Campbell (destined for a lifetime of therapy with this horror of a "mother"). IMDb doesn't see fit to list . . . , Christine's best friend and business partner - and the only actual life-like woman in the show - among the lead characters and more's the pity. She almost saves it from being an unalloyed half hour exercise in unfunny misogyny and the only nearly unwatchable entrant in an otherwise first rate Monday night comedy lineup on CBS.<br /><br />The old Seinfeld crew slowly piled up the dysfunctional quirks for most of the run of the show so that we got to LIKE the characters before their "quirks" became psychopathic. The final episode somewhat ridiculously relegated them to a jail cell which few fans could honestly lament, but we stayed to the end because of that deep well of affection and identification we had built up before they went off the deep end (well, the *supporting* Kramer was always pretty much there, but we were only given him in relatively small doses).<br /><br />"Christine" has been something like a female Kramer, embodying the worst nightmares of any acquaintance we've ever had from the very first episode. Whatever masochism allows "fans" to laugh at her in the same "at least my friends and I are not THAT bad" - or worse, though it's difficult to believe - "see, I'm *normal*" mode many looked at Archie Bunker with through the years of ALL IN THE FAMILY escapes me.<br /><br />As a life long (if liberal) Republican, I suppose "red state" right wingers want to believe Christine is what moderates and liberals are *really* like (in their Rush Limbaugh/Pat Buchanan dreams). To that extent, the show isn't just unfunny, it's actively offensive - but then, no one ever said conservatives could be funny. To the extent this ...CHRISTINE remains on the CBS schedule, it may be the first commercially successful right wing attempt at "satire." More's the pity.