1st & Ten

"1st and Ten" was to Football what "Major League" was to Baseball. The closest thing I've seen to it since has been Arliss, which had its moments but just wasn't quite as funny as 1st and Ten. I really loved the show. It's definitely in my top ten of all time shows. (I'd still have them on tape if I had switched over my old BETA tapes to VHS in time).

Granted, it was a series, but so what?! It wasn't censored! It was a really funny show, cleverly written, with some great actors, as well as having the professionals popping in.

It would be so nice if it was out on DVD, or at least re-run on HBO... or any non-censored channel.

Found it one day by accident, I was a fan of the show when it first appeared but lost interest after the show began changing characters. having re watched it I find it hard to get thru an episode. no continuity, silly plots. IMHO they lost there best charters, Delta Burke and Coach De Nardo

In the 1980s, pay cable stations like HBO and Showtime had original programming. This is a sitcom about a wealthy divorcée, Diane Barrow, who gets her husband's football team in a scandalous divorce. Being the new team owner, she has a lot of learning too. The team is okay for now. Leslie Easterbrook is always divine and a welcome presence. This sitcom is a bit racy than television sitcoms of the time. Cable allowed more creative freedom in allowing sexual situations, language, etc., By today's standards, this show is tame. I never saw this sitcom until now. It's okay but not great! It's entertaining though! The sitcom is out on location in the football fields and other Southern California locations. Delta Burke shines here in the starring role.

This is impossible to find, and, honestly, I am bitter about that, I loved this show when I was a little kid.

And shows like this need to make a comeback, it's from an era where comedy could still be sophomoric, stupid, childish, and fun. Today it seems that comedy is either a political statement that the audiance is supposed to laugh at not because it's funny, but just to signal that they are in the same tribe...or references that stopped having a punchline and are only asking you to recall something from the past...

...and none of that works for me. 1st & 10 had from highbrow to Eskimo pee jokes and all the stops in between. But it was allowed to back then, it was an era where, with comedy, anything goes. And it was made in an era where HBO ruled comedy and not the dramatic series.

Unfortunately a lot of the jokes do reference the culture and politics of the day, so it comes with a bit of an aged feel to it.

Beyond that, it's one of the rare instances where football and not baseball gets the good comedic showing.

Pros: The theme song is the only thing I can think of that actually had aged well even with cliched lyrics. Cons: Juice, definitely 80s at it's cartoony worst ("The Boz", etc.)