Daddy schafft uns alle

I was up late one night last week and channel surfing when I heard an old familiar favorite theme song. " got my front porch swing, a glass of lemonade". I thought I had died and went to heaven. Is it possible ? Yes, Evening Shade was actually on CMT. I loved this show when it originally aired on CBS in the early 90's. I found the warmth and humor so refreshing and was a loyal viewer until the end. Burt and his cast were close in real life and that brought a wonderful humanity to the screen. The talent alone on that show was enough to make it believable. But knowing that these actors, Micheal Jeter, Charles Durning, Hal Holbrook, Ozzie Davis, Marilu Henner, and of course Burt Reynolds had not only worked together in the past, but actually were friends made the chemistry on the show so enjoyable to watch. I have spent the last week hoping to see Evening Shade on the CMT line-up, but I have been disappointed. If anyone knows anything about any DVD sales or any station listing it, please post. THANK YOU. HAPPY WATCHING.

One look at the cast of this show and it's clear that the level of professionalism is second to none. Forget the fact that the show had excellent writing and a wealth of talent to draw from; just to watch the likes of Hal Holbrook, Ossie Davis, Elizabeth Ashley, Charles Durning, Ann Wedgeworth, Michael Jeter, Burt Reynolds and Marilu Henner breath life into these wonderful characters was a joy to watch. These are actors at the top of their game. And let's give credit where it's due. This is a cast and crew who are friends and colleagues of Burt Reynolds. This series places at the top of my list of shows I miss the most. Here we are, some ten years later, and TV time is dominated by trashy daytime talk/theme shows and reality-based garbage on prime time. It's discouraging, to say the least.

This show was so well done. It was a wonderful time watching the cast perform on each show. I would like to ask if anyone knows if this show will be or has been put on DVD for the general public to purchase. The one episode that stands out in my mind is a two-part episode where Burt R., Charles D. and Michael J. lose their clothes and the fun that entails. I just happened to tape both parts of this episode. I have played them for my 6 year old daughter and my 11 year old son. They actually sit there and LOVE them. They have asked to see this over and over again. Oh why didn't I record all of them? The acting and humor are first class. It was a visual humor. Even the music adds to the whole package of the show. The setting really makes you want to be there with them. An Evening Shade Reunion would be a big hit if it was advertised with clips from original shows. If they really pushed, it might work. If it worked, then maybe we would see reruns on the tube. Come on, put it on DVD!! Let's get this show on disk.

....which is such a shame because it really was very well acted and the writing was excellent, very witty and sharp and it will be difficult to repeat that kind of standard these days. I notice that there was a recent show out called 'A minute with Stan Hooper' which tried to emulate 'Evening Shade', and it did the job very well...but still didn't match up in my opinion.

Burt Reynolds was surrounded by a wonderful cast but he barely had to speak, because they did the work for him! Still,it wouldn't have been the same without him - he was perfect in the role and Marilu Henner was perfect as his wife.

The much missed Michael Jeter was the highlight of the show for me. He was so funny...a classic character actor with so much talent. But he wasn't alone, this show was full of fantastic actors; Ossie Davis, Charles Durning, Marilu Henner & Hal Holbrook are the actors that I remember...but I was just looking at the IMDb list of actors I see that Hilary Swank and Leah Rimini were in the show too - its fabulous to see that such quality stars started offin this great little, much respected show.

I really wish they'd repeat it on one of the comedy channels, it would be such a waste if it wasn't shown again.

I admired many of Burt Reynolds performances... he never seemed to take himself seriously but would take on any kind of role. Comedy to drama, to action and playing a lovable character to a despicable jerk. That is acting. He has done well at that and has the box office and numerous awards to back it up, but when he surrounded himself with a bunch of close friends who also happened to be first rate actors... the magic of Evening Shade happened. Well scripted first rate story lines all fluidly performed by this stellar cast. I often surf the net looking for information on a DVD box set release. Shows of much less stature, and certainly much less quality are already out so I keep on hoping to spend some more quality TV viewing evenings... in the town of Evening Shade!