Suddenly Susan

One of the reasons that Suddenly Susan works for me is the ensemble cast of characters including Brooke Shields. Even though she is the star of the show, she manages to evolve her supporting cast of characters like the unbelievable Vicki and Judd Nelson as her boss Jack Richmond. The show is well-grouped with this cast of zany characters working at a fictional San Francisco newspaper. When tragedy struck the cast, the loss of David Strickland who played Todd was so catastrophic for the cast and crew for it to ever recover from his loss. David Strickland committed suicide in a Las Vegas hotel room. The cast was never the same again without him. The pairing of Vicki and Susan living together brought great laughs. These two should get together and spin off the characters into their own series. The show was never an Emmy winner or critically acclaimed. But from all reports, this show actually had a pleasant environment to grow and mature. Brooke Shields as a producer was not afraid to let her supporting cast branch out which is why I like this show.

This was never a wonderfully written program. In comparison to shows like Frasier, Friends, Seinfeld, even Mad About You, the plots, the jokes, were just thin. One good reason why is that the subplots never meshed with the plots.

For example, I just watched a rerun of one: the subplot is about the photographer taking pictures of Nana in order for Shields to present a portrait to her grandfather. Predictably, the photographs are far more racy than Shields expects. The main plot is about Griffin's jealousy over Shields' "sudden" success as a star player on Griffin's basketball team - the jealousy spills over into jealousy of Shields' beauty (and she responds that no one has life easy, being so tall, etc.). The plot has NOTHING to do with the subplot. They could have been put in different episodes - that's not very good writing.

For me, the reason for watching the program is to watch Brooke Shields -whose graciousness, modesty and essential sweetness come through in all she's done as an adult. (I was too old to be a fan in her "Endless Summer", "Blue Lagoon" days). More than any other actress, she has that Mary Tyler Moore character's humility, that eagerness to please. I would expect that she is always one of the most diligent actresses in any project.

When someone so beautiful is also so obviously this lovely seeming a person, one's in danger of losing one's heart. That's why I watched this fairly weak program. Shields deserves better writers - and she's really born to be a movie star, not one on television.

After watching reruns of Suddenly Susan over the last couple of months I got strangely addicted to it. I find myself really looking forward to the "new" old episodes every day. I don't usually fall for American sitcoms, I prefer British sense of humour, but I really got to like this show. I love the characters (especially those in the first three seasons), and unlike some other viewers who have commented on it, I think there is real chemistry between Susan and Jack. I also think that Luis is an excellent character.

Brooke Shields was long overdue for recognition when she was finally given her chance to shine in this funny, quiet, unassuming little gem. What people seem to forget was, that it finished its first year in the top 4 in the Nielson ratings. It more than held viewers from the lead in show. Then NBC foolishly moved it. Always the kiss of death...or at least the beginning of the proverbial handwriting on the wall. However, this show defied the odds and improved in years 2 and 3! Thanks mainly to Brooke's self-deprecating humor and delivery which was reminiscent of Mary Tyler Moore. And supporting her was the cast's individual and unique contributions which were also reminiscent of that glorious cast of MTM. Now, in all fairness the shows writing didn't rival the show I have just used in comparison, but it more than surpassed shows that were on TV for triple the number of years than SS. It is more than worth your time for viewing! One day, if she returns to Movies and TV, Mrs. Henchy will receive her long overdue awards of merit to go with her long overdue "awards of motherhood"!

The one and only reason I ever tuned into this show was to see Judd Nelson on a regular basis. And on that point I was not disappointed. I found him to be charming and engaging and quite funny. And a pleasant surprise was the comedic abilities of the late David Strickland. He had an endearing quality combined with a knack for delivery. The glowing review ends there. Brooke Shields was hit and miss, with a strong emphasis on miss. She could be humorous at times, but it was usually due more to circumstance than her delivery or timing. Kathy Griffin's Vicky had an obnoxious nastiness that could wrangle a snicker out of me every now and again. But, Aundrea Benewald and Nestor Carbonell were forgettable window dressing for the most part. The last season was not pleasant and I think I only suffered through the season opener. I don't try and sit through any of the fourth season re-runs, even if nothing is on but infomercials.