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Local lizard squabble heads to 'Marriage Ref'
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Published: March 10, 2010
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A Wesley Chapel couple takes a squabble over a pet lizard to NBC's "The Marriage Ref."
Tony Banner says when he first brought Iggy home three years ago the iguana was only about a foot long.
Tony's wife, Laura, says she wasn't too keen on adding the bright green reptile to a household that already had two kids and three cats.
But Iggy grew on her and he grew in size.
Now the 5-foot long big boy has the run of the house. "He likes to lie on the couch and he gives little kisses," says Laura.
Iggy also gets specially prepared meals and, according to Laura "he's very intelligent."
"He intelligent for a lizard," noted Tony with a touch of sarcasm during a Tuesday telephone interview.
Tony says his wife of 14 years pampers Iggy so much that the reptile is treated better than he is.
And that is the issue Thursday on "The Marriage Ref," NBC's new light-hearted reality show created by Jerry Seinfeld.
The Banners' pet issue is reviewed and analyzed by celebrity guests Larry David, Ricky Gervais and Madonna as well as the resident "Ref," comic Tom Papa (a Seinfeld pal).
Seinfeld has said the idea for the show came from a little squabble he had with his own wife Jessica. A friend happened to be at their home at the time and they asked him to weigh in.
Airing the issue helped resolve it, he said at a news conference in January. Seinfeld is executive producer and sometimes appears as a panelist.
The Banners say the panel and "the Ref" were funny. "And we were excited that Madonna was there," says Tony. "We both grew up watching her and she's such an icon."
"It's not like we were on Dr. Phil or Oprah," he adds.
"But it was insightful and we learned a lot about our relationship," says Laura.
Tony says he applied to be on the show after seeing a solicitation for couples online. The producers called and liked the lizard love triangle story, he says.
A video crew was dispatched to Wesley Chapel. The Banners presented their case to the panel back in Los Angeles via a video web connection. Iggy even gets some face time. The episode airs at 10 p.m. Thursday on NBC.
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