I novellini

I'm basing my review of this short-lived John-Charles-Walters produced U.S. sit-com on the first two episodes which have recently, as if by magic re-surfaced online and on my original memories of watching it nearly 40 years ago.

From the same stable as big-hit series employing the same talented directors and writers - the latter principally including the likes of David Lloyd and Earl Pomeranz with long term MTM pedigrees, this was a very funny half-hour comedy which managed to even make the grey-suited legal profession funny. Unlike the more working class backgrounds to say "Cheers" or "Taxi", this programme focused on the other end of the employment scale, young, aspirant lawyers at the old-established legal firm of Buss and Marshall, run by benevolent despot Wilfred Hyde-White as its elderly patriarch, Mr Marshall. In truth he steals almost every scene in which appears, although this is usually because he gets the best !ines. That said, Martin Short, Alley Mills, Joe Regalbuto and the rest of the cast get a good sprinkling of laugh-out-loud lines too in time-honoured James Burrows-directed ensemble fashion.

Sure you can read across characters to their counterparts in the two other shows I've mentioned above, but the different setting and like I say consistently high quality writing helped make it a firm favourite of mine and sorry to see it cancelled after only one series. It's a shame it didn't find an audience and I can I only hope I get to see the remaining episodes some time soon.

The single funniest scene I have seen in my many years of television viewing took place in an episode of The Associates, a series which died way too soon. The scene featured two magnificent veterans, Wilfred Hyde-White and John Houseman in his Professor Kingsfield persona, alone in a conference room debating the true meaning of the word "crapulence". I will leave the rest to the readers imagination except to volunteer that the word refers to sickness resulting from excessive indulgence or intemperance.

The Associates was a gem featuring a group of very talented up-and-comers, gifted veterans and an impressive array of guest stars. James Burrows directed and the show was written by a staff whose collective resume includes work on many of the elite television comedies including The Mary Tyler Moore Show and spin-offs, The Cosby Show, Taxi, Frasier and many more.

Can anyone tell me why the show ended so soon and so abruptly?

'The Associates' was a short-lived American sitcom, from the producers of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' and striving for the same ensemble chemistry as that series, but failing. The setting was a law firm, and the main characters were the firm's new associates: fresh out of law school but already imprinted with the personalities - idealistic or cynical - that they will carry into their careers.

Although an ensemble series, the focal character here was earnest young Tucker, played by Martin Short in a manner that barely hinted at his later success. More interesting is the performance of Joe Regalbuto, who later gave a brilliantly sustained performance as a neurotic balding nerd on 'Murphy Brown'. Here, he plays Tucker's cynical rival, already with an eye towards a junior partnership.

Alley Mills had the thankless role of Tucker's dumpy plain-jane colleague, given few chances to display her skill at physical comedy. In one episode, she caught Martin Short in a flying tackle on the law firm's staircase. If there had been more of this sort of humour, the show might have lasted longer.

Some definite visual appeal was provided by the incredibly sexy Shelley Smith as the incredibly sexy associate Sara James, a blonde ice-princess who is able to get anything she wants (such as a private office) on the basis of her looks. During the brief original Stateside run of 'The Associates', Shelley Smith (a former model) was also starring in some big-budget commercials for Revlon, flogging Lip Quenchers lipstick and other cosmetics. This created the disconcerting effect of the same actress playing a supporting role in the series while starring in the commercials: certainly no visual liability in Shelley Smith's case.

'The Associates' attracted some slight interest in Britain due to the presence of Wilfrid Hyde-White, here playing the law firm's patriarch with a genial touch of senility, in a performance resembling 'young Mr Grace' of 'Are You Being Served?'. In the debut episode of 'The Associates', Hyde-White's character Emerson Marshall tells Tucker a long rambling story about Margaret, the girl he'd loved many years ago in England. The romance ended so embarrassingly that Marshall moved to America and became a successful lawyer. After a long pause, Tucker asks Marshall to tell him what happened to Margaret. He replies: 'She became Prime Minister of England.'

The opening credits of 'The Associates' were accompanied by the distinctive voice of B.B. King singing 'The Wall Street Blues'. a ditty that sounded more appropriate for the Delta than for a New York law firm. (Not least because the name 'Wall Street' evokes the stock market, not a law practice.) Like another sitcom from the same production company - 'Taxi' - this series featured an African-American theme tune for stories about an all-white cast in a white-bread setting ... and in both cases the contrast was a jarring one. There's not much to offer here except an early glimpse of Joe Regalbuto's original hairline, and some (phwor!) eye-catching shots of Shelley Smith in slit skirts.

Here is a rarity: a one season wonder that should have lasted more than one season.

"The Associates", a sitcom about the young lawyers at a prestigious law firm, came from the pen of James L. Brooks, Stan Daniels and Ed. Weinberger, the same geniuses behind the classic "Taxi". But whereas "Taxi" took place in the blue-collar world, this series tackled the white-collar side of the fence.

Short played the Alex Regar-type, the guy who always tried to get things done right but found that things don't always don't work out so smoothly. Every episode found the lawyers faced with dilemmas such as freedom of speech, inner-office romance, fighting to move ahead in the firm, etc. All of this, naturally, handled with the same deft aplomb that Brooks, Daniels and Weinberger gave to taxi drivers.

Consider, too, the fact that such comic pros also were on hand as Regalbuto, as the sniveling Streeter, Thomerson as the hip-yet-loose Danko, Mills as the office cutie Dunn and Smith as the more-sensible female James. Then there was Hyde-White, who played the dottering head of the firm. His constant stream-of-consciousness ramblings were a show highlight.

It's amazing how well I remember this series, not having seen it for so long. But I guess that if a show's that good, it's worth remembering. I'm sure that somewhere in the world, someone is watching "The Associates" and thinking the exact same thing.

Ten stars for "The Associates", good TV worth more than one rerun! Case closed!

I would just echo what the first reviewer suggested; I found the combination of Martin Short and Wilfred Hyde White just amazing; Wilfred used to paraphrase his lines and it looked like the actors geniuinely didn't know what he was going to say. Magic stuff. I haven't seen this series in 20 years, shame it's not on DVD or TV.