The Michael Richards Show

The premise revolves around private detective Vic Nardozza. Every week he gets a case assigned and he tries his best to solve them, always with wacky consequences. We also get to see the personal lives of his boss and co-workers.

This show really takes its sweet time to find its footing. The first couple episodes are hard to watch in every single way. The writing and humor feels awkward, the characters don't gel together and Michael Richards, as talented as he is, can still barely squeeze a laugh out of me. He gets a few nice slapstick moments, but that's it. The theme song is nice at least.

The cases are also dealt with in a very labored way, as if the writer can't think of how to make them interesting.

About halfway through, it starts to get a little better. Some of the jokes are actually legitimately funny, the characters start to click more and even the acting in some areas improves.

I inititally found Tim Meadows the most annoying part of the cast, but he gets to prove his worth after a while. William Devane gets the bad luck of portraying one of the most boring characters, but in the final episode he finally has a chance to prove he has comedic chops.

It's fun to see guest stars like Gregory Itzin, Ed Begley Jr. and Jeff Garlin(!) make appearances as well.

There are even some successful attempts at satire, which was definitely unexpected.

However, even when the series gets better there are still parts where I just feel bored, and due to ending so quickly it never reaches its full potential. Who knows, maybe in season 2 this could have been one of the better post-Seinfeld projects Richards acted in.

But because it got cancelled after only 8 episodes this simply remains a curiosity at best.

My wife and I loved this show. I thought it was absolutely hysterical, and Tim Meadows shined here as well (compared to his mundane SNL stint). I'm saddened to hear that the show was cancelled. It was a terrific sitcom, very funny and very smart.

A titan of physical comedy and nonsense syllables, Richards does provide what one expects from a comedy: laughs. I was tickled at least a few times (yes, laugh-out-loud funny, not just a smile).

He manages to distance himself almost completely from Kramer which is no mean trick considering he's meant to deliver a similar level of yucks. So, I laughed.

But I also cried. Much of the show just sits there. William Devane enters and, despite his charm, seems like he's accidentally stumbled onto the wrong stage and then just tries to fit in. The Tim Meadows character is even more displaced. Bill Cobbs and Amy Farrington have potential. Mind, this isn't because two actors can act and two can't. They all CAN, but only the last two are remotely integral characters to the show (at least as the premier was written). I'll certainly give it another chance and hope Devane and Meadow's get better lines and plotting.

Don't listen to the negative Nancy's, this show is fun and at least worth checking out once (plus it won't take you very long being that there are only 8 episodes). Michael Richards is great in this, and not too far off at all from Kramer, which I think was a wise choice not to change what works and makes people laugh about his natural humor. The other characters are okay, and the writing is decent, but it certainly has the feeling of a show that wouldn't be around for very long, and it definitely reminds one of similar shows that didn't take and had a bit of a rushed feeling to them, like Norm Macdonald's show 'Norm', which was fortunate enough to get 3 seasons. Without Kramer Seinfeld would have never hit the stratosphere level that it did, and The Michael Richard's Show showcases some of what made Cosmo Kramer everyone's favorite Seinfeld character and had, and still has, them laughing out loud at his silly, yet brilliant, antics.

Watched this recently on YouTube; it was only Richards rehashing his Kramer mannerisms with lousy scripts and a supporting cast that looks like they were held hostage at gunpoint. Richards' "Seinfeld" reputation must have been the only reason this horribly written show made it to air; it seems like two failed pilots would have given NBC a clue as to what they were in for. Awful.