I Married Dora

"I Remember Dora" was one of those great shows that nobody watched. Elizabeth Pena was funny and beautiful. I also remember the last episode having an extremely jarring ending. It had one of the characters leaving the family to take a job in another country. He goes through the door to the plane, leaving the family in tears. He comes back a moment later. "what's wrong?", he is asked. "It was canceled," he replies. "What, the flight?" "No, our series!" At which point the camera pulls back, revealing the sets, lights and crew, and everyone turned and waved good-bye to the camera. I was 13 and remember this being EXTREMELY disturbing, but a brave wink to the few fans the show had.

"I Married Dora" was notable in many ways. The delightful Elizabeth Peña interacting with "Mester Peter" not only as the housekeeper but also dreaming of truly being Mr. Peters wife. And functioning as a true wife in many ways.

But daughter Kate was unforgettable with a mastery of sarcasm. From such a cute little girl with a amazing resemblance to future super star actress Juliette Lewis.

Most unforgettable episode was where Dora takes the kids to a Latino club. When Mr. Peter finds out where the kids are he has a wild fantasy of the evils of such a club. An absolutely hilarious episode making great use stereotypes!

This week's NEW YORK MAGAZINE had a comment in the column by the television reviewer that reviewed (in a disparaging way) about this comedy that lasted only one season. The writer mentioned the conclusion of the series where they announced the series was canceled, But the reviewer also felt the show was deservedly forgotten.

Actually it was not a bad little comedy. But it suffered from a bad weekly spot. It was on Fridays, I believe. The plot line is based on the problems of avoiding Dora's deportation by any means necessary (which is like Lucille Ball's determination to get into show business by any means necessary on I LOVE LUCY). Dora's boss, a W.A.S.P., marries her, but her weekly attempts to please him and keep in the country always show that she is a little more with it due to street smarts.

There were other plot points that were never fully covered due to it's short run. The boss/husband was previously married (with children). His wife was on a plane that apparently was commandeered by terrorists four years before, and never heard from again - so there was a potential situation like Tennyson's ENOCH ARDEN of the missing person turning up again.

There was also a nice addition to the cast - Henry Jones, that dependable character actor. It was his first regular role on a comedy series since his two year stint on Cloris Leachman's PHYLLIS. Here he was a W.A.S.P. aristocrat, who constantly got to see that his fine contacts meant nothing. In one episode, Dora learns Jones knows Nancy Reagan (they are old friends). She convinces him to make a phone call asking the President (through Nancy) to kill some immigration problem. No problem to Henry, he insists. We watch him make a few calls, and he eventually does get Nancy. We hear a pleasant conversation (of course, only from Jones side) going on. After two minutes, a promise to see Nancy and Ronnie when they are back home, Henry hangs up. Dora is looking daggers at her, as he realizes he never got to ask Nancy for the favor!

Not a bad show really, which, with a better time slot, might have made it. But not one of the worst films - not by a long stretch.

At a time when the Iran-Contra affair and atrocities coming from the Salvadoran civil war were constant news came this comedy about a beloved maid who happened to be an illegal alien. Elizabeth Peña capitalized on the popularity of her previous character from "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and "Dora" emerged as a wise, emotional, funny and HOT addition to the airwaves. The filming and overall pace was derivative of many commercials at the time (silent fade-to-black narration of the scene). Yet the humor was actually very funny for its time; laughing at topical events, white vs Latin culture, cut-throat 80's business and family dynamics in general. This is definitely an underrated and extremely short-lived series which deserves a lot more attention. Sadly, it could never be made in the current climate, so it's a time-capsule in itself.

This was an otherwise forgettable exercise in inter-ethnic comedy. Just like in "The Nanny", the WASP is the well-off, supposedly in command male, which made mainstream America comfortable as the maid/nanny shows that her colorful Salvadorian/Jewish relatives are actually nicer than some of his grasping relatives or associates; before he gets around to noticing that the 'ethnic' hired help is hot stuff. (It helps, in this case, that they already have a paper marriage.)

Two things are worth mentioning about it, however; first, it was the introduction of Elizabeth Pena, she with the facially large nose, slightly closed eyes, and superbly sexy voice -- sort of a throaty drawl with a very slight Cuban undertone. Catch her in "Lone Star" or "Tortilla Soup" if you want to see her at her best. The second, as I recall, was the way the show acknowledged its poor ratings. At one point Dora made a virtual pistol shot at a TV Nintendo game, and stated that she wished she could zap "Beauty and the Beast" in the same manner. And at the end the someone in the cast announced that the series had been canned - and came out for a bow in front of the studio audience. A nice touch, when most canceled sitcoms just disappear into the ether without a by-your-leave.