TV Reviews : ‘Love Stories’ Lacks Dramatic Intensity

After being accustomed to weekdays full of talk shows with spouses who’ve tried to maim or murder each other and soap operas scorched by torrid affairs, there’s something sort of sweet about the new syndicated “Love Stories.” Also . . .

Borrrrrring .

Premiering at 10:30 a.m. today on KNBC Channel 4 and XETV Channel 6, “Love Stories” is from the people who bring you “People’s Court.” A half-hour episode consists of two couples recalling their romances: Each half of the relationship separately gives his or her account to the camera, and each half’s recollections are juxtaposed with the other’s with the goal of somehow attaining a cohesive narrative.

We also hear from each couple how they’ve broken up. What we don’t learn from host Kristian Alfonso until the end of the program is “which couple gets back together and how . . . they did it.” Whoopee. If this unsuspenseful device is the best that “Love Stories” has to offer in dramatic intensity, it may be in trouble.

There is virtually no energy here, no defining lines or sharp edges. The stories tend to come across as repetitive and uninvolving, with everyone except the alluring Alfonso merging into a single droning monotone.