Car 54, Where Are You?

Car 54 was the funniest show ever to grace the airwaves. The acting was dead-on perfection and the writing far superior to anything we have on-air today. The funniest episode involved a parrot that Captain Block had for years but was unable to teach it to talk. After one day with our heroes, the parrot ends up saying "I hate Captain Block", repeatedly. This is the funniest show I have ever seen! My husband first showed it to me shortly after I came out of the hospital for surgery. I laughed so hard that I thought my stitches would pop and I had to beg him to shut it off until later! If you have never seen this show you are in for a tremendous treat!! I love this show; when will it come on DVD? I can't wait to show all the episodes to our children.

This is the only police show I remember from those earlier days that shows members of a professional police force in such a light hearted way. As a retired cop myself, I know it was obviously not to be taken seriously of course. In my opinion, a lot of things on that show, though not all, could happen in real life. This is especially true when the cops are off duty and get into situations which include their personal life. Even a lot of the on duty antics are not out of touch with reality, such as when the guys are alone in the locker room. It truly shows law enforcement in a relaxing, humorous way. Cops really are human!

Boy, I am still waiting for a DVD or two of this classic television show, giving us seasons worth of episodes, not just a couple of episodes on tape. This show was a comedy classic; one of the best ever.

This particular VHS tape I am reviewing features two past shows, one of which is one of my all-time favorites: "The Taming of Lucille." Humor is subject but to me that episode is one of the funniest ever on TV as henpecked "Gunther Toody" (Joe E. Ross) tries to turn the tables on his wife. After he and partner Francis Muldoon (Fred Gwynne) watch a presentation of "The Taming the Shrew" in Central Park, and later Toody sees his cousin Al dominate his wife Rose, he thinks he can do the same....with hilarious results. Beatrice Pons, as "Lucile," is a hoot, too. Ross and Pons played the same roles in the earlier "You'll Never Get Rich" television how featuring Phil Silvers as "Sgt. Bilko."

The other episode is a famous one, too, although not as funny. In this show, Toody winds up on the Jack Paar show, hosted by Hugh Downs. A fellow policeman is "discovered" as a real comic and is invited on the show, only to get stage-fright and be rescued by Toody, who then takes his place as the star comic. He's invited back and....well....deja vu all over again, as Yogi Berra supposedly once said.

These are two shows guaranteed to give you a lot of laughs for 50 minutes (25 minutes per show). I just hope someone the whole series becomes available.

Car 54 Where are You? is one of the funniest TV series to ever appear on television. The chemistry between the dim-witted but affable Gunther Toody (played by Borscht-belt stand-up comic Joe E. Ross ) and his cultured but painfully shy bachelor partner Francis Muldoon ( played by the pre-Munsters Fred Gwynne ) rings true in every episode. You definitely get the feeling watching this comedy that these two cops are closer than brothers. What really makes this series outstanding though is the superior writing and the supporting actors. Wally Cox, Nipsey Russell, Godfrey Cambridge, Charlotte Rae, Ossie Davis, Jake LaMotta ( the subject of Scorcese's 'Raging Bull' ), Rocky Graziano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Jack Gilford..these are just a handful of some of the well-known actors and personalities you'll see when watching this series.

I recently found the entire series for sale on the internet and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Oooo.....Oooo!!"

I was much too young to enjoy this when it was on (I was 3 when it went off the air) but was blessed to see it on Nick at Night. I wish they would bring it back again or if it's on DVD, I must have it! This show about two 'hard working' New York City cops was witty and intelligent. Many of my generation think of the sitcoms of the 1950s and early 1960s and picture simple, basic and not terribly funny humor. Picture "Small Wonder" in black and white. This show had heart and some very clever writing. The simplest of everyday situations that a cop can face were turned into comedy gold. It was the "Barney Miller" of it's day. If any of you dear readers ever get a chance to see any of these episodes, check out the one where Toody and Muldoon have a chance to go out fishing on a boat. The lengths they go to to arrange their schedule so as to be free to go out, and the ONE thing that fouls it up are complex and hilarious.

The cast was wonderful as well, and of course they would be, otherwise this terrific writing would have been wasted. It's not.