The Michael Richards Show

Can someone please explain to me why this show was greeted with so much hostility? Everyone in America ostensibly loved the character of Kramer on "Seinfeld," the number one show on TV when it ended in 1998. When "The Michael Richards Show" premiered two seasons later, critics and viewers were waiting with bibs on and knives raised... they called it "horrible," "terrible," and refused to watch it. With that type of public sentiment its no surprise the show only lasted seven episodes.

"The Michael Richards Show" was good... sometimes great. I loved him from his brilliant physicality on Seinfeld but before that as retarded janitor Stanley Spadowski in "UHF" and as the Bow-Tie Killer in "Problem Child." TMRS featured not only Richards and a colorful ensemble cast but- best yet- the writers from "Seinfeld"! (Including Spike Feresten, Gregg Kavet & Andy Robin) Sure, Richards was basically playing Kramer but the premise of him as a private detective allowed him to get into a wide variety of physical and comical jams. The writing was always smart, never cheap sitcom humor, and like Seinfeld every episode featured multiple story lines. In one episode the elderly Bill Cobb is particularly mean to Tim Meadows... when Meadows asks Richards for advice Richards informs him that Cobb has "death grumpiness," an ailment that all old people get just before they die. Meadows goes through the rest of the episode treating Cobb like a fragile baby, telling him how much he loves him and how much he's going to miss him. The old crank, of course, has no idea what's going on. It was hilarious.

Was TMRS television's greatest product? No. Should the show have gone on another 8 seasons? Never. Was it a funny and intelligent series that deserved better treatment from fans and critics? Absolutely. If they release the DVD you'll see what I mean.

GRADE: B+

The premise revolves around private detective Vic Nardozza. Every week he gets a case assigned and he tries his best to solve them, always with wacky consequences. We also get to see the personal lives of his boss and co-workers.

This show really takes its sweet time to find its footing. The first couple episodes are hard to watch in every single way. The writing and humor feels awkward, the characters don't gel together and Michael Richards, as talented as he is, can still barely squeeze a laugh out of me. He gets a few nice slapstick moments, but that's it. The theme song is nice at least.

The cases are also dealt with in a very labored way, as if the writer can't think of how to make them interesting.

About halfway through, it starts to get a little better. Some of the jokes are actually legitimately funny, the characters start to click more and even the acting in some areas improves.

I inititally found Tim Meadows the most annoying part of the cast, but he gets to prove his worth after a while. William Devane gets the bad luck of portraying one of the most boring characters, but in the final episode he finally has a chance to prove he has comedic chops.

It's fun to see guest stars like Gregory Itzin, Ed Begley Jr. and Jeff Garlin(!) make appearances as well.

There are even some successful attempts at satire, which was definitely unexpected.

However, even when the series gets better there are still parts where I just feel bored, and due to ending so quickly it never reaches its full potential. Who knows, maybe in season 2 this could have been one of the better post-Seinfeld projects Richards acted in.

But because it got cancelled after only 8 episodes this simply remains a curiosity at best.

A titan of physical comedy and nonsense syllables, Richards does provide what one expects from a comedy: laughs. I was tickled at least a few times (yes, laugh-out-loud funny, not just a smile).

He manages to distance himself almost completely from Kramer which is no mean trick considering he's meant to deliver a similar level of yucks. So, I laughed.

But I also cried. Much of the show just sits there. William Devane enters and, despite his charm, seems like he's accidentally stumbled onto the wrong stage and then just tries to fit in. The Tim Meadows character is even more displaced. Bill Cobbs and Amy Farrington have potential. Mind, this isn't because two actors can act and two can't. They all CAN, but only the last two are remotely integral characters to the show (at least as the premier was written). I'll certainly give it another chance and hope Devane and Meadow's get better lines and plotting.

I watched the show when it was out and was disappointed. I think Michael Richards has a talent for physical comedy and as a fan of Seinfeld, figured I would give it a try. I don't really remember specifically why I did not like it.

I do remember one funny episode where they had a racist dog that kept trying to get away from Tim Meadows and kept getting injured in the process.

Though given the current revelations about Michael Richard's racist outburst this episode is probably a lot less funny now.

That's really all I can think of to say. I think brevity should be valued. How about a five line minimum to just weed out the "it sucked" comments?

I expected to see a lot more from the series premiere of the Michael Richards show. All of the actors, who are all quite seasoned, did a very shabby job. Especially Mr.Devane. Tim Meadows also didn't give us much in the way of a character, just a lot of meaningless lines. And Mr.Richards himself- I was quite disappointed, he wasn't funny, he tried to be and failed, which is the worst type! To me the writing is one punchline after the other, but the most irritating part of the whole show was the very loud and very untimely laugh tracks. I will continue to watch, praying that it gets better.