Parker Lewis ne perd jamais

Although "Parker Lewis" was not a very long-running series, it shortly became very popular in my home country Hungary when it was bought by channel TV2. It took stock characters and stereotypes to the very limit of reality, while the creators successfully avoided clichés and kept focusing on the consistent high quality of the jokes, whether textual or visual. After multiple reruns, this show still leaves a nostalgic feeling in just about everyone who had spent their tens and twenties in the time the show was aired around Europe. The unique style and exceptionally good sitcom humour of Parker Lewis makes it one of the most outstanding comic series of the nineties. You can still hear people quoting the series and synchronizing their watches every now and then. Should it be released on DVD (as it is rumoured by an online petition), the producing Columbia Tri-Star can make sure that there will be many orders from Hungary and from Europe as a whole. Hope we get a release soon.

I love it. I do. This, IMHO, is what a teenage/youth comedy should be. A perfect example of how a series can be intriguing, funny and yet explore the very real situations high school students come face to face with every day. And it does this without being crude, without offensive language etc. Having seen the series, some of the other similar series like Sweet valley high, Saved by the bell and, yes, Ferris Bueller (TV series) look like pale imitations and wannabes. Granted, Parker isn't for everyone. The surreal situations may alienate or simply bother some viewers. But it depends on the person.

Give it a try.

Somebody happened to say "coolness" to me yesterday who was wearing this obnoxious shirt, and it made me instantly remember this show. I religiously watched this show in college. The first season is nothing short of pure genius. Absolutely helarious with irreverant characters, whacky plots, and some camera work that rivals the Cohen brothers in Raising Arizona.

Every now and then you can catch somebody on Ebay selling off the entire show on VHS. If you get a chance to see an episode, don't miss it. Its genuinely funny stuff.

However, beware the 3rd season. The show's popularity seemed to cause it troubles with the Studio Execs so they retooled the show in the 3rd season and killed off a lot of its charm. Most of the 3rd season episodes are booooooring standard sit-com fair.

This show was clever and funny -- and so the network really didn't get it. Some of the satire of middle-class "morality," school bureaucracy, and human egotism was too sharp for the tastes of those folks who prefer every sitcom to be a carbon copy of every other sitcom, all of which are Punch & Judy shows.

Parker was a bright student with a couple of loyal buds who constantly fought their way out of the snares created by the unimaginative world around them. The show was creative, imaginative, funny, and touching. I'm glad to see that it has a new life on cable reruns.

Mental note: Watch the show!

I have only fond memories of this show and for me it set the standard for teen comedies when it was running. The later competing Ferris Beuller show didn't hold a candle to it. The site-gags were well done, the cheeziness of the show was an asset, not a liability, and it was consistently witty and clever; the likes of which hadn't really been equalled until the Buffy series arrived on the scene many years later.

Still, I have yet to find this in any video or DVD form. I'd really like to watch the series again (as would my then-college roommate when the series came out). It was a sleeper and still has a semi-cult following. It's a shame that it is yet another common example of good series' that keep falling victim to TV execs who only care about dumbed down franchise material and instant gratification.

What's the hold up folks? Put out the DVD boxed set now!!!!