Suddenly Susan

Brooke Shields was long overdue for recognition when she was finally given her chance to shine in this funny, quiet, unassuming little gem. What people seem to forget was, that it finished its first year in the top 4 in the Nielson ratings. It more than held viewers from the lead in show. Then NBC foolishly moved it. Always the kiss of death...or at least the beginning of the proverbial handwriting on the wall. However, this show defied the odds and improved in years 2 and 3! Thanks mainly to Brooke's self-deprecating humor and delivery which was reminiscent of Mary Tyler Moore. And supporting her was the cast's individual and unique contributions which were also reminiscent of that glorious cast of MTM. Now, in all fairness the shows writing didn't rival the show I have just used in comparison, but it more than surpassed shows that were on TV for triple the number of years than SS. It is more than worth your time for viewing! One day, if she returns to Movies and TV, Mrs. Henchy will receive her long overdue awards of merit to go with her long overdue "awards of motherhood"!

This show and its ensemble of characters was one of the funniest and creative shows on television. The comedy's center was the workplace with each character finding his/her own niche, completely separate and different from the others. Brooke Shields was excellent as the foil to many pranks/quips relating to her relationship with her cohorts, especially after the addition of Maddie. Unfortunately the shows strengths diminished after the death of David Stickland and the departure of Jack and Maddie. The whole show's premise and hilarity was lost with the addition of Eric Idol and the change to the magazine as well. Bring back the origin of this sitcom. David Strickland must have never known how he affected so many in his life. It is a shame, God rest and bless his soul.

This was never a wonderfully written program. In comparison to shows like Frasier, Friends, Seinfeld, even Mad About You, the plots, the jokes, were just thin. One good reason why is that the subplots never meshed with the plots.

For example, I just watched a rerun of one: the subplot is about the photographer taking pictures of Nana in order for Shields to present a portrait to her grandfather. Predictably, the photographs are far more racy than Shields expects. The main plot is about Griffin's jealousy over Shields' "sudden" success as a star player on Griffin's basketball team - the jealousy spills over into jealousy of Shields' beauty (and she responds that no one has life easy, being so tall, etc.). The plot has NOTHING to do with the subplot. They could have been put in different episodes - that's not very good writing.

For me, the reason for watching the program is to watch Brooke Shields -whose graciousness, modesty and essential sweetness come through in all she's done as an adult. (I was too old to be a fan in her "Endless Summer", "Blue Lagoon" days). More than any other actress, she has that Mary Tyler Moore character's humility, that eagerness to please. I would expect that she is always one of the most diligent actresses in any project.

When someone so beautiful is also so obviously this lovely seeming a person, one's in danger of losing one's heart. That's why I watched this fairly weak program. Shields deserves better writers - and she's really born to be a movie star, not one on television.

One of the reasons that Suddenly Susan works for me is the ensemble cast of characters including Brooke Shields. Even though she is the star of the show, she manages to evolve her supporting cast of characters like the unbelievable Vicki and Judd Nelson as her boss Jack Richmond. The show is well-grouped with this cast of zany characters working at a fictional San Francisco newspaper. When tragedy struck the cast, the loss of David Strickland who played Todd was so catastrophic for the cast and crew for it to ever recover from his loss. David Strickland committed suicide in a Las Vegas hotel room. The cast was never the same again without him. The pairing of Vicki and Susan living together brought great laughs. These two should get together and spin off the characters into their own series. The show was never an Emmy winner or critically acclaimed. But from all reports, this show actually had a pleasant environment to grow and mature. Brooke Shields as a producer was not afraid to let her supporting cast branch out which is why I like this show.

Suddenly Susan is one of my wive's and my favorite series. It always makes us laugh out loud which is unusual of today's sitcoms. We are sorry we didn't discover it until it was on reruns. Of course, some humor is funnier than other and all is subject to the mood and personality of the viewer. In my opinion, Suddenly Susan stands head and shoulders over contemporary sitcoms and also has a little bit more heart than other shows which makes all the difference in the world.