Fridays

This show was always great! I wish it could be brought back as repeats! There are a few skits that come to mind. Mark Blankfield playing a Pharmacist with unusual events happening to him, and his famous line "I can handle it". Or, Michael Richards playing the little boy burning little green plastic army men out on the lawn turned into a dirt pit, making a loud ruckus, and his Mom (played by Maryedith Burrell) having her moments with him. Or, Bruce Mahler dressing up a dancing chicken and playing the piano. Or, Darrow Igus playing the Jamican Man showing what he can do with fish and other items. And Melanie Chartoff, the cutest comedian ever! And the show also had great musical guests, Boomtown rats, J Giels Band, John Cougar, Plasmatics, B52s, ACDC, and many others. A great show. If you have been lucky enough to experience the show, I hope the above comments brought back some great memories. :-)

A devoted Fridays fan

Friday's was ridiculed as a poor man's Saturday Night Live and I think that's an unfair assessment. The show had a wealth of talent with a brilliant Mark Blankfield, a very funny Melanie Chartoff and our first look at Michael "Cosmo Kramer" Richards. It displayed inventive, cutting edge comedy and simply awesome musical guests (among which was a must-be-seen-to-be-believed performance by British punkers The Clash and the shock theatrics of The Plasmatics). Unfortunately, Fridays never quite caught on with the masses and died a rather premature death. I'm sure everyone has heard about the brawl involving Andy Kaufman on one episode. Even though it was staged, the hype surrounding it was just as funny and a great stunt. Along with SNL and SCTV Network 90, Fridays gave America in the early 1980s a reason to stay home on weekends. Those of us who remember late night TV back then should consider ourselves very lucky to have had a show to watch of this calibre. I was very disappointed when it was canceled. I think there would be no Kids In The Hall or Mr. Show without the late night comedy TV shows of the late 70s/early 80s. Fridays is certainly on that list.

I loved Fridays. That's why I had to comment on what I read about it here. Despite what the plot outline says, it had musical performances every week. I remember seeing The Cars perform one time and at the end of the show, Michael Richards stood next to Ric Ocasek (dressed just like him) and he looked like his twin!

It was also John Roarke that did the perfect Reagan impersonation. In fact, Roarke's impersonations in general were just awesome.

I'd really like to see all the episodes go to DVD. Michael Richard's performances alone merit that. Add to that Blankfield's Pharmacist, Chartoff's news and really all of the performer's characters and you have a very enjoyable show.

Friday's was one of the best shows I have ever watched. It was well written and superbly performed. I would love to see the show re-runs so they could be enjoyed by a whole new generation of people. The character development was superior to anything on television today. I was trying to tell my 21-year old about this show but words can't describe the superior comedic performances that appeared week after week. I still don't understand how lesser-quality comedy shows survived while this one didn't. The pharmacist and the angry little kid (played by Michael Richards) was side-splitting comedy at its best. I still chuckle when I think of some of those crazy skits. Any ideas out there on how to revive the shows for syndication?

Okay, I'll be really honest. I DID NOT see the infamous Andy Kaufman episode. I have heard so much about it, it has become a part of my memory.If I did, I don't remember it, at all. I tried to watch this show, but when it was on, I was usually out on a date, or doing something else.

I DO remember some of the great skits, such as Michael Richards going from Ronald Reagan to Richard Nixon, in a bit called "Altered Statesman", a play on the hit movie of the time "Altered States". I recall the group "Devo" being on, and the great ongoing bit about drugs, "Do we eat it, No-no no-no! Do we smoke it, ya-ya ya-ya!!!"

It WAS edgier than Saturday Night Live ever was, as it had to compete with the concept that SNL was king. But, if you remember, SNL went into a decline with the 80-81 cast, and critics were sure that "Friday's" would live a long life. I think that the show suffered from being shuffled around with it's start times. I don't know if local ABC affiliates would push the show back to show local programs, or the network just kept moving it. I remember seeing it in late '81, starting well after midnight, central time.

A perfect candidate for DVD/VHS release, or being shown on TVLand, or Comedy Central.