Key West

Both my husband and I watched Key West with great pleasure...his might have had a lot to do with Jennifer Tilly, who was amazingly attractive in this series. Every character was perfect, the writing was great, the music was wonderful. Today, this series would be like "Scrubs"; a gem to be discovered and given time to catch on. If we had had any idea it would be cancelled so prematurely we would certainly taped every episode. One of my fondest wishes is to finally see a boxed set (videos or DVD) available. Is there anyone or any company that we might all contact to make that happen? Even better, rerunning the series on a cable station...now that gives me hope. Thanks so much for giving me an opportunity to talk about this wonderful series.

When the Fox network was just starting out, they weren't afraid to take chances with unusual material and this is the best example. From the first episode, it was natural to see a resemblance to the contemporaneous "Northern Exposure" (1990), with Seamus as the fish-out-of water corresponding to Dr. Joel Fleischman. But then you hit Episode 3, "The Great Unknown", and you know things aren't going to be the same. This is the unlikeliest thing in the world: Magical Realism successfully translated to an American television program. It will probably never be accomplished again. This series richly deserves to be made available on tape or DVD.

It's been 8 years now, so much has been forgotten, but when this show was on, it was unlike anything else on, or ever seen. Some of the ideas presented made you think, but it was also a fun and entertaining show, like a very upbeat version of Twilight Zone or Outer Limits. Better yet,unlike sitcoms the actors had better things to do than argue with or take cheap shots at one another. What happened, was it too positive and upbeat for TV? A year after this show was terminated, X-Files caught on and was a success; a show that was similar to, but no better than Key West. This show would likely have been successful if it had been given an even chance (remember Star Trek, which first was shown in 1966 but didn't really catch on until 1968). Does anyone out there really know why this show was terminated so prematurely? In addition, is there anyone out there selling copies of this first class series on video cassettes or DVD? I've never been a big fan of TV shows, but when this one came on, I was hooked. It seemed all the more real as I just came back from a visit to Key West in February 1993. Since this show was terminated, my hours of TV viewing declined and haven't watched much since, except for news and the odd nature show. With less hours devoted to TV watching, I've found time for many other fun and exciting pursuits, including skydiving! One must consider that when good shows like Key West are canned and garbage shows like sitcoms or Survivor continue, network TV stations probably want to get us off the couch and outside. Maybe FOX TV is a major shareholder in Performance Design parachute manufacturers or Mountain Equipment Co-op (outdoor equipment sales)!

My little sister and I didn't know what was different about Key West, but we watched it faithfully, and were mightily disgruntled when it disappeared without apology. The characters, the colors, the dialogue, and some other unnameable thing made this show unforgettable. I'd say 'haunting,' but it wouldn't convey the quiet smile I find when I remember the way Jennifer Tilly said, "Seamus, Baby," when he had that awful fever, or the upbeat-but-not-sappy way the (kooky, but r e a l ) characters interacted. If someone knows where this is available on DVD, I know two nostalgic 20-somethings who'll buy it up in a minute flat.

Sebastian Knowlton's comments were right on the money: Fox, as usual, short-changed the fans of an innovative series and left us with nothing but fond memories. We never even got re-runs, so if we weren't recording it as it was broadcast, memories are all that's left.