![]() In fact, Hiken apparently intended to hand off Car 54‘s keys, as he did at the end of Phil Silvers‘ second year, so he could go on to helm a new show whose pilot he hoped would be picked up, The Magnificent Montague, a radio sitcom he tried several times to bring to TV. But Hiken couldn’t follow through on the threat of dropping his comic star, and this angst manifested itself in his work - not only did he ration Ross’ weekly airtime, he also seems to have divested himself emotionally from the series. Now, although I find Two’s diminished returns palpable - and not solely confined to its back half - I’m sympathetic to the writer’s plight, for the only reason Hiken sought to shrink Ross was because of the actor’s notorious difficulty, which allegedly got so bad that Ross was nearly fired midseason. And while the show has always successfully enjoyed employing notable guest stars and offering material to funny peripheral players like Al Lewis and Charlotte Rae, both of whom have more to do this year under the guise of this becoming more of an ensemble effort, with the series’ core duo in the figurative backseat, the dramatic sincerity that helped distinguish Car 54 from Phil Silvers, and elevated its baseline by reducing mediocrity, is rescinded, and it becomes even more reliant on its weekly (often gimmicky) ideas. Ross’ Toody, which in turn means there’s less time given to the series’ main relationship between Toody and Muldoon (Fred Gwynne), whose dynamic is supposed to be its continuity-providing bedrock. Additionally, Car 54 uses its characters less often as a springboard for story in Two, principally because Hiken was deliberately attempting to minimize the usage - mostly in the back half of the year - of Joe E. This is also what happened on Phil Silvers, right before (and then certainly after) he departed, as the ideas upon which scripts were founded grew less comedically sharp and interesting, in part because the series’ reliance on its careful but trademark plotting became more templated and less surprising. And despite a sturdier foundation of both character and premise making Car 54 a more legitimate sitcom than Phil Silvers, only Hiken is able to successfully replicate the guiding voice - his voice - that informs the way story exists on his series once he tires, the show tires. ![]() I previewed part of the problem in our previous post when recognizing why idea-driven series like creator Nat Hiken’s tend to exhaust themselves early, for when comedic notions are paramount, a show is only as good as its comedic notions. However, there are also many not-so-great episodes too. So, as we saw with Season One, there are many great episodes. Before we discuss why, I want to reiterate that we’re still dealing with a show whose regular quality far exceeds most of its contemporaries and, out of all the sitcoms we’ve covered here from the ’62-’63 season, it’s still one of the best. Last week I opined that the second season of this classic comedy has a diminished rate of excellence compared to its freshman predecessor. ROSS, FRED GWYNNE, BEATRICE PONS, PAUL REED and AL LEWIS. ![]() ![]() Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! This week, we’re concluding coverage on the best of Car 54, Where Are You? (1961-1963, NBC), which you can currently enjoy on DVD and Amazon.Ĭar 54, Where Are You? stars JOE E.
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