Sam suffit

This was a great series starring Pam Dawber ("Mork & Mindy") as a San Francisco photographer whose life was turned upside down when her teenage sister Patti (Rebecca Schaeffer) came to live with her. Samantha (Dawber) never really knew whether to treat Patti as a friend, sister, or child, and sometimes, she treated her as all three.

The series premiered in 1986, and after mild success on Monday nights, CBS tampered with its schedule and moved it to Saturday nights opposite NBC's successful comedy lineup. Unable to find the show, its audience dwindled to one of the lowest on network TV, and CBS canceled it in mid-1988, after only half of the second season had aired.

A little over a year later (July 1989 to be exact) Schaeffer, then a promising movie star ("Scenes from the Class Struggle In Beverly Hills") was shot and killed in her Los Angeles home by a deranged fan who had idolized her as the young, energetic character she played on "My Sister Sam." Contrary to popular belief, "My Sister Sam" left the air 15 months BEFORE Schaeffer was murdered. Not long thereafter, USA Network picked up syndication rights to the series, eventually running all 44 episodes (including those never shown on CBS).

The show's writing was crisp, sharp and witty, and the acting, especially that of the young, never-before-seen Schaeffer, was top notch. Years later, the WB sitcom "What I Like About You" (2002-2006) re-introduced the premise with some success, but did not match the promise of its earlier sitcom cousin.

It would be a joy to see this show again on DVD.

Sam Russell (Pam Dawber) is a 29 year old commercial photographer working out of her spacious San Francisco studio loft. Dixie Randazzo (Jenny O'Hara) is her assistant and J.D. Lucas (Joel Brooks) is her agent. Jack Kincaid (David Naughton) is her neighbor from across the hallway and a globe-trotting news photographer. She lost her parents at 16 and her younger sister Patti Russell (Rebecca Schaeffer) lived with aunt Elsie and uncle Bob in Oregon. Then Patti moves in after Elsie took away her guitar.

Pam Dawber is cute and so is Rebecca Schaeffer. They are the sweetest sibling duo. Pam Dawber was essentially the straight man with Robin Williams. None of the actors on this show is a wacky comedian. It leaves the show cute but not that funny. Sometimes, it's left to Dawber to do the wackier antics. Jack is the obvious romantic target but he's always stuck in the friends zone for all of first season. The writing struggles to put them together and their romance has a tough time starting. Patti is in desperate need of a school best friend and romance of her own. The show needs to do more with Patti in her school. It's all too centered on Sam when it should center on both sisters. The diet episode is probably the most compelling considering the fitting combination of body imagine issue and Sam's fashion photographic job. I definitely remember the Scott Bakula episode from its initial run but I doubt I watched much more especially after it got moved around in the schedule. It's simply not that funny no matter how lovely the sisters are. Rebecca Schaeffer was murdered a year after the show's cancellation. It's sad to not know how bright her star could have shined. She has a sweet innocence which could have brought her a long way.

Both Mindy and Samantha really were as nice as Shirley Feeney should have been--and certainly as pretty as Shirley. Miss Dawber is unforgettable, reportedly as nice in real life as on both shows. It was nice to see her without Robin Williams' antics (no offense to a great comedian, but they did get a little distracting).

What I really can't forget, a perfect warm-up for her charms, is the theme song, "Room Enough for Two." It was as warmhearted as the WELCOME BACK, KOTTER theme song--this time with a sweet show to match. I haven't heard anyone sing this song since SAM, but the words were among TV's sweetest.

Both actresses are appealing and lovely, but the show is not much of anything. Honestly without the laugh track you would have a hard time spotting the jokes. Most are slight. None are laugh out loud funny.

When it came out there was some interest because of Pam Dawber's long history as Robin Williams' co star. After this she did one bad movie with John Ritter and one dull TV movie and that's about it. She's appealing but not much beyond Williams' "straight man." As for her younger co star, we won't ever know if she would have done more, sadly. But this series didn't have much for either of them to do except look pretty.

I used to watch this show when I was a little girl. Although I don't remember much about it, I must say that it was a pretty good show. Also, I don't think I've seen every episode. However, if you ask me, it was still a good show. If you ask me, everyone was ideally cast. In addition, the costume design was great. The performances were top-grade, too. I just hope some network brings this series back one day so that I'll be able to see every episode. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that I'll always remember this show in my memory forever, even though I don't think I've seen every episode. Now, in conclusion, when and if this show is ever brought back on the air, I hope that you catch it one day before it goes off the air for good.