Fired Up

Every time I see a clock tower apartment on TV, usually on a real estate program, it reminds me of this great show. It made me want to live in one, I died when I saw a huge 4 clock tower penthouse on Selling New York, all glass with a glass elevator taking up the whole floor. I don't know why but this show made me wish to live in a clock tower with a spectacular view. I have a great view, but if I could remodel and money wasn't a problem, I would build my own space with a clock with a window seat.

The clock took me in, the show itself, when it wasn't being manipulated by NBC, was comedic genius, kept me there, I was sorry to see it go.

After being fired from her corporate job, self-centered Gwendolyn Leonard (who pretentiously pronounced her name Len-nard) was reduced to moving in with her former assistant, Terry Reynolds, and starting up a new promotions business. Terry frequently found herself at her wits end with her former employer, but this provided good comic fodder for her brother Danny's writing. Danny also shared the clocktower loft apartment (the set was later used in "Birds of Prey," amongst other shows) and worked downstairs at Clockworks, a bar owned by Guy Mann, who openly pursued a revolted Gwen. Also frequently seen were scene-stealing Mrs. Francis, a humorless unemployment agent who later opened up an eggroll shop; and Guy's son Ashley, who was a female impersonator.

"Fired Up" debuted as a midseason replacement in 1997, replacing another midseason show called "Just Shoot Me!" Both wound up with spots on the fall schedule -- "Shoot Me" retained a cushy timeslot on Tuesday nights, but "Fired Up!" was moved to Monday nights with other girl-in-the-city shows "Suddenly Susan," "Caroline in the City" and "The Naked Truth." Unlike "The Naked Truth," "Fired Up" didn't get a complete overhaul, but the network quickly began messing with the formula and both shows were prematurely canceled...

NBC decided to force theme nights on their Monday night comedies. There was "Blind Date Monday," "The Full Monday" (musical episodes) "Retro Monday" (spoofs of classic shows) and other moronic themes that ran throughout the four shows. "Fired Up" still retained moments of brilliance until the end, but it was evident that NBC was forcing the writers into territory where they wouldn't normally have gone. As the second season progressed, they kept piling on celebrity guest appearances, adding more recurring secondary characters and ridiculously amping the sex factor. Soon the show got bogged down and strayed further away from the hilariously pithy writing that flourished in the initial season's eight episodes. Adding further insult, NBC routinely screwed up continuity by running episodes out of order before finally canceling the show with five unaired episodes (that eventually aired during the show's extremely brief run on USA).

Sharon Lawrence was so perfect in her role and had such impeccable comic timing that it's almost hard to believe she's better known for dramas, and the whole ensemble had terrific chemistry. It's really a shame that the show didn't become a long-running hit, annoying that it hasn't aired in a decade... and thoroughly frustrating that's it's not available on DVD.

"Fired Up" started off slow but like many tv shows, it got better as it went along. There were some wildly funny parodies of other shows (such as "Mission Impossible"), some hilarious send-ups of movie cliches (the "High Noon" moments in the ep entitled "Mr. New York") and a lot of funny, original notions. The series deserved better than got. The acting was excellent. Special kudos, big-time, to Leah Remini as the ultra-competent secretary, and Jonathan Banks as the mysterious bartender Guy Mann. Not to mention some outlandish guest-stars like John De Lancie. I wish the series had lasted longer.

This was an okay tv show. Not the best tv show NBC ever turned out (Seinfeld) but certainly not the worst (Suddenly Susan). In my opinion, the show was to short lived. Despite some imperfections, it was a good show. It was good actors and good writing. The only wrong with it, was it's timeslot. Yes, the competition killed it. Unfortunate.

This was a great show, witty dialogue, funny characters, and a great cast. I really liked seeing Sharon Lawrence in this comedic role. The show was so much better then all the other new NBC shows of the time. I was very upset/surprised when it was canceled.