Minor Adjustments | NBC/UPN | 1995

September 1995 - June 1996

NBC/UPN | 20 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Rondell Sheridan, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Camille Winbush, Sara Rue

SYNOPSIS: Rondell Sheridan stars as Dr. Ron Aimes, a child psychologist who, being a child at heart, has a special gift for talking with children. His wife Rachel (Wendy Raquel Robinson) is the voice of reason and 'straight man' to her husband when it comes to keeping the Aimes family together. She also keeps a close eye on her precocious four-year-old daughter Emma and clever ten-year old Trevor.

The show first aired on NBC and then changed to UPN 8 episodes later.

VERDICT: ★★☆☆☆

I found Dr. Ron's kids to be the stand-out characters of the show. Child actors are often unbearable but these kids were pretty good, specially Camille Winbush as Emma.

CANCELLED TOO SOON? Not terrible, but not overly impressed. Middle of the road kind of show.

Maybe This Time | ABC | 1995

September 1995 - February 1996

ABC | 18 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Marie Osmond, Betty White, Ashley Johnson, Amy Hill, Craig Ferguson

SYNOPSIS: The series stars Marie Osmond as Julia, a mother and recent divorcee running the family coffee shop/bakery with her mother Shirley (Betty White) while raising her 11-year-old daughter Gracie (Ashley Johnson). Rounding out the cast are Logan (Craig Ferguson), who works in the bakery of the coffee shop, and Kay (Hill), owner of the pawn shop down the street.

VERDICT: ★★★☆☆

Charming and witty at times, not too straitlaced - in the first episode, Betty White's character reveals how she's been able to get a good deal on her lease for the past how many years - acting out sexually fantasies with the landlord. The show debuted in the Top 20 but was soon lower down the ranks after a few episodes, so I'm guessing the jokes got tiresome fairly quickly?

I don't believe that I've seen Marie Osmond act in anything before, but she's not bad, and she plays off Betty White fairly well. Betty meanwhile is completely the opposite of her character in Golden Girls. I guess that was intentional. Ashley Johnson is just awful. Thankfully she has improved in the last 25 years, but here she's insufferable. Amy Hill giving her typical OTT Asian portrayal, while Craig Ferguson over plays his Scottish-ness.

CANCELLED TOO SOON? Yes, it's on par with a lot of shows that had several seasons.

Matt Waters | CBS | 1996

January - February 1996

CBS | 6 episodes | Drama

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WHO'S IN IT? Montel Williams, Kristen Wilson, Richard Chevolleau, Sam McMurray, et. al.

SYNOPSIS: Montel Williams - yes the chat-show host - plays science teacher, Matt Waters, a recently retired naval officer, whose brother is tragically murdered in the same New Jersey neighborhood in which Williams character grew up. Matt decides to dedicate his life to helping troubled youth at the New Jersey high school he attended.

VERDICT: ★★☆☆☆

Montel worked on the show while hosting his chat show, but this wasn't for long - Matt Waters lasted for just six episodes. Typical inner city troubled teens, array of ethnic characters, and a character who can't even read and write but has a knack for mathematics (Later in the show Matt convinces her to return to school, offering to write her a check each week so she doesn't loose out on a salary). Scenes are delivered with such seriousness and lines like: 

"Sometimes you gotta lose the battle to win the war"

"Don't through the rest of your life wondering what you could've been".

[On empty seats in the classroom] "The hardest part of this job isn't dealing with the filled seats, it was dealing with the empty ones, because the empty ones remind you of the ones that got away."

Montel isn't that bad, but doesn't quite work as the lead. The title of the show puts me off - Matt Waters. MW...Montel Williams. Not a stretch. Character names in TV shows are always a bit meh anyway. A working title was "Educating Matt Waters" which is a bit better.

In the first episode, Montel, I mean Matt, returns to the school that he attended, soon becoming the talk of the faculty, namely the sister of his ex-girlfriend. She says:

"I know more than I ever wanted to know about Matt Waters"

"Did he shave his head back then?"

"He's bald?!"

CANCELLED TOO SOON? I think had it been more of an ensemble show, it would've worked a bit better. Maybe if it had been given a bit more time, things would have been different.

The Louie Show | CBS | 1996

January - March 1996

CBS | 6 episodes (1 unaired) | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Louie Anderson, Bryan Cranston, Laura Innes, Kate Hodge, Nancy Becker-Kennedy, Paul Feig.

SYNOPSIS: Louie Anderson plays Louie Lundgren, a psychotherapist in Duluth, Minnesota. Due to a costly repair bill for his roof, Louie needs to find a housemate to offset the cost - Californian Gretchen answers the ad, recently only deciding to move to Minnesota because people in the midwest live average live a 1.3 years longer.

VERDICT: ★★★☆☆

"I've been wanting to do a sitcom for a long time," Louie says to the studio audience as the show opens, "but never have been able to figure it out..." going by how the show panned out he didn't quite figure it out - six episodes were produced but only five aired. Apparently, Anderson wasn't too pleased with the final product due to network meddling.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? I liked it, Louie wasn't annoying as I expected, and the show had a good mix of nutty characters.

Local Heroes | FOX | 1996

March - April 1996

FOX | 7 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Ken Hudson Campbell, Louis Ferreira, Jason Kristofer, Jay Mohr, Paula Cale

SYNOPSIS: Four Pittsburgh guys who met in high school - dopey Eddie, who lives at home with his widowed mother, sort of engaged Mert, talkative Stosh who drives a taxi, and Jake who works in retail - still like to hang out together mostly at their local, Blue Lou's, and reminisce about the good days.

Seven episodes of the show were produced but only five actually aired.

VERDICT: Another show about a group of guys who have been friends since high school and constantly talking about stuff that happened 20 years ago. It was described at the time as a "blue-collar version of Friends", by people who had never watched Friends, I'm guessing.

The show opens what is presumed to be a funeral - sombre mood, best suits, black armbands - but it's actually the wedding of one of their friends. Oh the hilarity! The guys then share their immature attitudes on marriage. Later on, they decide to steal a goat - the mascot of a rival pub - even though they're pushing 40 and should really know better.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? No, I wouldn't watch further episodes, although the scenes with Eddie and his mother (Rhoda Gemignani) and sister (Tricia Vessey) were funny.

Live Shot | UPN | 1995

August 1995 - November 1995

UPN | 13 episodes | Drama

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WHO'S IN IT? Jeff Yagher, Cheryl Pollak, Bruce McGill, Wanda De Jesus, Hill Harper, Sam Anderson, et. al.

SYNOPSIS: "In the television news business, there's one hard and fast rule: you're only as good as your next...LIVE SHOT"

Live Shot is a fast-paced ensemble drama focusing on the staff of a Los Angeles television newsroom. As the series opens, Alex Rydell is about to begin his first day as KXZX Channel 3's news director. He's moved from Boston to Los Angeles with his young son in tow, leaving behind a dissolving marriage in the process. 

In the first episode, the team uncover a police cover-up involving the murder of a local socialite (which was followed over in a story-arc not resolved by the end of the show), later on in the episode a bomb goes off in the newsroom - nicknamed "the chopped liver bomb" - the origins of which were also carried over into a later episode.

VERDICT: The ensemble cast is interesting, although a little busy. The show has major network quality, although very mid-90s: full-screen graphics of the show's title in/out of each commercial break, and flashy jump cuts set to a pop music soundtrack (The "Do be do be do do dos" from Annie Lennox's "No More I Love You's" play through the episode, then later changing to her 1995 single "I Can't Get Next To You", and then the episode closing with "Why" also by Lennox - I guess someone was a fan!). The storyline of Alex and his son is a little boring, but the episode otherwise makes up for it.

At the time of the show's launch, UPN was a fairly brand new network and attempting to branch out into different genres - it's most successful show at the time was Star Trek Voyager. In the case of Live Shot, it's cancelation was more that viewers were not aware of the show, rather than a testament to the quality of the show.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? Yes! Deserved much better. Thankfully, all episodes are on YouTube.

The Last Frontier | FOX | 1996

June - July 1996

FOX | 6 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Jessica Tuck, Anthony Starke, Patrick Labyorteaux, Leigh-Allyn Baker

SYNOPSIS: Kate moves to Anchorage, Alaska, on a six-month assignment building a tourist resort for a hotel conglomerate - "the greedy bastards building that eye-sore on Red Shirt lake!". She's less than pleased when the only suitable accommodation that she can find is sharing with three 20-something immature males - Reed, who runs an outdoor adventure company, Billy, a conservative architect and the straightest of the three, and Andy, a not too nice Air Force intelligence officer.

The show ran for six episodes in summer 1996. There's no evidence of how it performed (one can only assume).

VERDICT: Has its moments, but nothing overly memorable. The Alaskan setting was interesting, but not explored within the pilot - this could be a story told anywhere.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? I'd have to say no.

L.A. Firefighters | FOX | 1996

June - July 1996

FOX | 6 episodes | Drama

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WHO'S IN IT? Jarrod Emick, Christine Elise, Miguel Sandoval, et. al.

SYNOPSIS: L. A. Firefighters follows the lives of the members of Fire Company 132 in Los Angeles.

The show was burned by critics and real-life firefighters called for a boycott of the show (they even held a press conference to denounce it), saying it made them look unprofessional and that "just about every scene is rife with sexual innuendo". The show was supposed to return in the fall and a further seven episodes were produced but were never aired in the US.

VERDICT: The show opens with a baby in a crib - thick smoke pouring out of the air vent, the building soon a raging inferno. Minutes later, a fireman tackling the blaze, and not wearing proper protective equipment, quips: "Is it me, or do you smell something burning?" (the baby does survive, btw). The action scenes are good, but the dialogue between the firefighters when they're not on the scene is just so clunky and cliché - for example, asking whether a female colleague is gay, or delivering doubly cliché lines such as: 

"I've been protecting you since we were kids!"

"You always have to be a hero, don’t you, Jack?"

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? No, not a forgotten gem. I could barely get through the episode.

Kindred: The Embraced | FOX | 1996

April - May 1996

FOX | 8 episodes | Supernatural Drama

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WHO'S IN IT? Mark, Frankel, Kelly Rutherford

SYNOPSIS: San Francisco police detective Frank Kohanek suspects influential businessman Julian Luna of being heavily connected to the mob and is deadset on bringing him in. While investigating the homicide of Julian's bodyguard on a lead from an anonymous tipster, Frank discovers the secret society of vampires, or "kindred" as they call themselves, that have taken up residence in the city. Unfortunately, kindred law states that telling a human about the existence of vampires is punishable by death. And Julian just so happens to be the leader, or "prince" of the kindred and the one responsible for carrying out that sentence. By the end of the 1st episode, the two men are at odds with each other, with Frank vowing to kill Julian for what he has done. 

VERDICT: ★★★☆☆

The show was cancelled by FOX after only 8 episodes. Efforts were made by a US cable network to continue production of the series, but this was abandoned when series star Mark Frankel was killed in a motorcycle accident in the fall of 1996.

At the time, critics described the show as a mix of The Godfather and Melrose Place... with vampires. The show was based on a role-playing game, and due to the numerous changes and "sanitization" of the game's elements for mainstream television, there is a noticeable divide between fans of the game and fans of the show. Some are fans of both.

The show is very 90s in how it looks and feels, but there is some good action, drama, and the on-location shots of San Francisco gives the show more credence - think early days of Charmed. The show was released on DVD and I think I will seek it out.

CANCELLED TOO SOON? Yes Definitely!

If Not For You | CBS | 1995

September - October 1995

CBS | 7 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Hank Azaria, Elizabeth McGovern, Debra Jo Rupp, Reno Wilson, Jane Sibbett, Peter Krause

SYNOPSIS: Craig and Jessie lock eyes on each other at a Chinese restaurant and instantly fall in love. Their only problem is that they are already involved with other people - Jessie is due to get married to Elliot, while Craig is engaged to Melanie. They meet properly at Craig's workplace, a recording studio named Gopher Records, where Melanie is recording a books on tape series.

Despite being placed right after Murphy Brown, the show lasted four episodes, leaving three unaired (I'm not sure if those unaired episodes were ever broadcast elsewhere). Prior to broadcast, the show was in a bidding war between NBC, ABC, and CBS, who despite winning the bid, apparently lost faith in the show before even airing one episode.

VERDICT: Not groundbreaking, but an interesting concept. The show is set in Minneapolis; usually this would be a NYC kind of show.

A scene with Craig and Jessie about Chinese food leads to the discussion on the status of Hong Kong and how in 1997 it reverts back to the Chinese. Craig says to his colleague: "I forget to pay my rent, and I'm supposed to know when some country's lease is up now?"

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? Deserved better than four episodes.

Hudson Street | ABC | 1995

September 1995 - June 1996

ABC | 22 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Tony Danza, Lori Loughlin, Jerry Adler, Christine Dunford

SYNOPSIS: Tony Danza starred as Tony Canetti, a divorced detective in Hoboken, New Jersey, who shares custody of his son Mickey with his ex-wife. In between work and raising his son, Tony also starts a romance with crime reporter/obituary writer, Melanie (Lori Loughlin).

The series received good reviews and initially placed in the top 10 (partly due to its placement between Roseanne and Home Improvement), but was canceled after one season.

VERDICT: This is the 3rd of four series that Danza plays a character called Tony. All Tony's, no matter the job, are pretty much the same person.

The first episode is set a year after Tony's divorce. Although he's keen to get himself out there, he feels that he's not lacking in any female attention. His colleague comments: "Arresting a hooker and driving her downtown does not consist of a date!". He later goes on a date with Lori Loughlin's character, Melanie, but Tony's pigheadedness ruins any possibilities, leading to Melanie giving a scene stealing speech and running out of the door. The next day, Melanie turns up at the station to apologise and to drop the news that she has been promoted to crime reporter, meaning that Tony will be seeing a lot more of her. He welcomes her by telling her: "I think you're gonna make a rotten crime reporter. You're not tough enough!" and gives her a false tip off.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? It feels like it would be one of those "will they, won't they" kind of shows. Nothing too special.

Hope & Gloria | NBC | 1995

March 1995 - June 1996

NBC | 35 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Jessica Lundy, Cynthia Stevenson, Enrico Colantoni, Alan Thicke, Taylor Negron.

SYNOPSIS: Hope, an old-fashioned, highly-strung television producer at WPNN-TV, forms an unlikely alliance with Gloria, a brash, tough-talking beautician, after they become neighbours in an apartment complex in downtown Pittsburgh. Gloria soon takes a job at the TV station where Hope works.

The show was a mid-season replacement in March 1995, running for 11 episodes until May 1995, then a further two episodes in August and September 1995. The 2nd season premiered two weeks later, running for a full season of 22 episodes. 

VERDICT: The episode I watched was from the 1st season, episode 11 titled "Sisyphus, Prometheus and Me" which aired in November 1995. In this episode, Gloria learns she's pregnant and contemplates a third marriage to Louis (I'm guessing that they had been married twice before). For some reason they plan a wedding to take place live on air. Hilarity ensues when the minister fails to show (Burt Reynolds offers to step-in), and Hope gets locked in the prop room.

In a season two episode, titled "A New York Story" (watch here), following the news that Hope's divorce is final, the duo take a weekend trip to New York City to celebrate. Arriving in New York, they stop by a coffee shop named...Central Perk, where they mistake Lisa Kudrow's character, Phoebe Buffay, for an actress from All My Children, asking a customer in the coffee shop: "Isn't that January from All My Children?," 

to which he replies: "I don't know, I watch Days of Our Lives".

"Days? I stopped watching that when they replaced the original Bo." and the character is played by the actor (Peter Reckell) who played the original Bo from Days of Our Lives. 

Lisa Kudrow then plays Phoebe Buffay pretending to be January from All My Children. After signing autograph as Phoebe Buffay, she says: "Oh I must be in character....TV movie of the week...ooh I've got to go..Where's my baby!...that's the name of it...where's my baby?! Where's my baby?!" as she runs out the door. Hope and Gloria are then met with the real New York when they stroll down the wrong street and meet a homeless man wearing a crown and carrying an invisible dog leash.

The crossover is meta on meta but enjoyable. Usually other Friends related crossovers happened on Friends, but to see Central Perk and Phoebe Buffay on another entirely unrelated show was quite interesting. I guess it only came about because both shows were produced by WB and aired on NBC.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? Yes! I enjoyed the two episodes that I watched. Although the show was apparently broadcast here in the UK in 1996, it's odd that it's never been shown since then.

High Society | CBS | 1995

October 1995 - February 1996

CBS | 13 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Jean Smart, Mary McDonnell, David Rasche

SYNOPSIS: High Society, inspired by the British TV show Absolutely Fabulous, revolves around two New York City women - Ellie a foul-mouthed trash novelist who smokes and drinks heavily and her best friend, Dott, who publishes Ellie's books via her publishing house (having won it in a divorce settlement). Dott is a mother with a preppie college-aged son, Brendan, who is regularly subjected to the relentless sexual advances of Ellie. At the publishing house, the women work with a flamboyant gay male secretary named Stephano and sleazy Peter, who co-owns the company.

The show's ratings were strong, but with the network wanting to tone down the show and apparently Roseanne Barr threatening a lawsuit (she had recently obtained the rights to create an American version of Absolutely Fabulous), rather than continuing past the initial 13 episode order, the producers and network mutually agreed to call it quits.

VERDICT: I originally saw all episodes of the show when it was broadcast on BBC2 in the late 90s and it left quite an impression (they also showed Jean Smart's other one-seasoner, Style and Substance). The similarities with Absolutely Fabulous are that the two central characters - women of a certain age - act in an outrageous, drunken, campy, and decadent manner, without either really having a grasp on reality or giving a crap about what anyone thinks of them. 

In the pilot episode, the women's former college friend, Val, arrives after she decides to leave her philandering husband, and later reveals that she's pregnant and needs someone to help her through her pregnancy - "Haggish impregnated suburbanite taken in by stunning socialites!" (Val was later written out of the series without explanation after the sixth episode). The Washington Post commented on the show: "Female characters on the show act like drag queens -- men playing women -- and mean drag queens at that, since the portrayals are mighty unflattering. The whole thing plays like a misogynistic nightmare"

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? Over-the-top with some funny one-liners, beyond the difficulties it faced I can't imagine that it would have continued for a long time otherwise. 

High Incident | ABC | 1996

March 1996 - May 1997

ABC | 32 episodes | Drama

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WHO'S IN IT? Matt Beck, Matt Craven, Cole Hauser, David Keith, Louis Mustillo, et. al.

SYNOPSIS: High Incident, created by Steven Spielberg and apparently set within the same fictional universe and neighbourhood as "E.T." (Spielberg's 1982 blockbuster), takes a gritty look at life for the officers of the El Camino Police Department where the war on crime is being fought, one criminal at a time, and the casualties are mounting up. 

The show returned for a 2nd season, but for some reason it went out at 8pm on Thursday nights - this was opposite Friends, which was already in its third season, so High Incident didn't stand a chance.

VERDICT: Typical routine police fare, but done well. I can see why it didn't experience success, though - this type of show isn't really suited for an 8pm time slot. A lot of the action takes place in the police cars - radio chatter in the background, officers engaged in conversation - the scene then quickly jumps to a high action incident; chasing a suspect across the road, pulling up to an all-out brawl between residents of an apartment building, or attending to a routine traffic stop that ends with the the fatal shooting of one of their own officers.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME?  Yes, I would watch more episodes (and it has a great theme tune).

Good Company | CBS | 1996

March - April 1996

CBS | 6 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Wendie Malick, Lauren Graham, Seymour Cassel

SYNOPSIS: Good Company was set at the offices of Blanton, Booker & Hayden, a Manhattan ad agency. Art director Will would rather be a serious painter than an ad man and his recent Cleo Award win has given him serious thought to changing career. However,  newly appointed creative director Zoe pooh-pooh's his plans to quit and assigns him to jazz up a new toilet-paper line (toilet paper with baking soda!). Other characters include Ron, the account director, Liz, another copywriter, Dale, a junior art director, and Bobby the agency's president and CEO.

Six episodes were made, and there's very little evidence of the show.

VERDICT: It's not bad, but there's nothing overly unique or stand out - it's a run of the mill workplace sitcom set in New York. For some reason the time is given in the corner of each scene - adds nothing. Wendie Malick plays Zoe, a high powered no-nonsense business woman. After Will tries to quit she tells him: "I think someone needs to remind you that this is a place of business. You can't just sit around and drink cappuccino and discuss your personal problems all day like you were a cast member of that show Friends, because I've got news for you - this isn't, and we ain't!"

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? Well...I like Wendie Malick, but the show didn't make an impression.

First Time Out | The WB | 1995

September - December 1995

The WB | 16 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Jackie Guerra, Leah Remini

SYNOPSIS: First Time Out follows Jackie, a Yale graduate who, while owning a trendy hair salon in Los Angeles, attends law-school classes at night, and longs to find a man and not have to settle and return to her scumbag ex-boyfriend Mario "that stupid macho malhecho"

.

Jackie shares an apartment with her friends Dominique, a cynical assistant at Ventura Records, and Susan, who's about to get her psychotherapist license and is neurotic herself. Rounding out the cast are Madeline, a yuppie executive who lives across the hall, and Nathan, Jackie's klutzy, sex-obsessed childhood friend.

The show started off well and The WB ordered a full season of 22 episodes, but later cut it back to 16 episodes, then left four unaired.

VERDICT: A little bit predictable, almost trying to prove itself, but still enjoyable nonetheless. Jackie Guerra is a bit overweight and some of the comedy stems from this - "The only people I ever meet are middle aged Beverly Hills women who walk up to me and say "You have such a pretty face, have you ever tried the Atkins diet? You know, my daughter lost 870-THOUSAND-pounds!". Leah Remini plays her typical type here as Jackie's somewhat constantly pissed off roommate, Dominique.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? I'd say so, Jackie Guerra carried the show well. I would have called it "Jackie!"

Dweebs | CBS | 1995

September - November 1995

CBS | 10 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Corey Feldman, Stephen Tobolowsky, David Kaufman

SYNOPSIS: Carey, someone who barely knows the difference between microchip and potato chip, takes a job as an office manager at a fictional Seattle software company called Cyberbyte. The company is raking in enough money to move from its oil-stained garage headquarters – shades of Woz and Jobs – into a clean, modern, office building. Carey does most of her interacting with Cyberbyte’s trio of wisecracking, jargon-spouting programmers - the "dweebs" - whiny, neurotic Morley, clueless, sheltered Karl, and snarky, sleazy Vic. 

I'm only onto the D's here and this is the 7th CBS show that didn't last longer than the 1995-96 TV season. Ten episodes were produced but only seven aired. 

VERDICT: Not bad - in the first episode Carey throws a party which gives an introduction to the Dweebs - Vic, a know-it-all type (played by Corey Feldman), whose form of social chit chat is to tell someone: "the leather they use in German cars causes rectal warts in mice," the Dick Solomon type Karl (played by Stephen Tobolowsky), who turns up wearing a cape and later entertains the guests playing boogie woogie on the piano, and Morley, who when told he's a little early, sits in the hall rocking back-and-forth, later asking one of Carey's friends: "I've heard that women who've known each other a long time their menstrual cycles become synchronized". 

Kathy Griffin plays a party guest who spends the evening avoiding the dweebs, later telling Carey when she urges her friends to speak with the Dweebs: "Carey, I have two regrets in life - I never learned to play the piano, and I didn't leave this party an hour ago!"

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? I guess the timing was wrong for the subject matter - 1995 was just on the cusp of the home computer use. Broadcast and cancelled before its time!

Deadly Games | UPN | 1995

September 1995 - January 1996

UPN | 13 episodes | Sci-Fi, fantasy

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WHO'S IN IT? Christopher Lloyd, Cynthia Gibb, James Calvert

SYNOPSIS: From Executive Producer Leonard Nimoy, Deadly Games focuses on the battle between Dr. Gus Lloyd and the evil characters in his homemade video game. Bursting into the real world after an antimatter experiment goes awry, these characters are programmed to destroy anyone or anything that gets in their way, including their inventor. Gus must confront the immediate problem of "playing" each round of the game to keep the bad guys from achieving their programmed goals, which include the annihilation of love, laughter and life on earth.

VERDICT: The episode starts with Christopher Lloyd's character, Sebastian Jackal (the main villain of the show), holding a damsel in distress hostage in his bunker, while his henchman wanders around like some half quarterback, half Frankenstein's monster. It's soon revealed that this is a video game played by James Calvert's character, Dr. Gus Lloyd, and all the characters are based on people in his life. Problem is, he's having a hard time to successfully complete the game. The "game" footage is odd - although it is cartoony and over-the-top, it's not distinguishable from other footage, so you're not instantly aware that these sections are part of the game. Gus' accelerator then explodes (causing his vat of liquid to overflow - normal in video game production?), allowing the characters to come to life (they step out of the TV and just look the same as in the "game"). His villainous characters are let loose in the real world and Gus doesn't really seem overly concerned at first but later barges into his ex-wife Lauren's house with a gun, (don't worry, it was just a water gun, which can repel his characters), because the damsel character is based on her, so naturally the characters will go after her first. Later on Gus says to Jackal: "The game isn't over yet, Jackal! There's always next time!" a catchphrase perhaps? Gus and Lauren must then work together to battle the villain of the week.

Odd concept, but interesting. Very cable TV, low budget, although perhaps that was intentional? If this was made today it would be on SyFy for sure.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? Well..maybe? All 13 episodes are available on DVD. 

The Crew | FOX | 1995

August 1995 - June 1996

FOX | 21 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? The only actor I recognise is Christine Estabrook

SYNOPSIS: The Crew, created by Marc Cherry, follows the lives of a group of flight attendants working for the fictitious Regency Airlines. Jess and Maggie work together and are roommates in South Beach, Miami. Their colleagues include Paul, who is gay (and it's mentioned several times); Randy, a southern ladies' man; Lenora, former flight attendant now supervisor; and Captain Rex, the airline's new pilot.

The show aired consistently from September 1995 through January 1996, returning in May for a further five episodes. So I'm guessing it was cancelled after the first season aired.

VERDICT: From the outset, the studio audience - possibly rented from Married With Children - ruin everything and are practically pissing themselves laughing at jokes that are just not that funny. One joke, which would not fly today (get it - fly?) is between supervisor Lenora and Paul - he says to her: "We were all just noticing that you don't cast a shadow" she snarkily replies: "Dear Paul, dear sweet heterosexually challenged, Paul! I so admire gay humour. It's so witty, so biting...so illegal in 37 states!" Another gay pun is when Paul, trying to guess if the new pilot is gay, says "I'm getting mixed signals on my Gaydar!" leading the audience to laugh and groan, almost in a sickened way.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? No. Not Mark Cherry's best work. The show is very "early days of FOX".