Crazy Like a Fox

CRAZY LIKE A FOX 3 STARS

This show has a great cast and good storylines, but little plot in between, otherwise it is a nice happening, and the theme song is very good.

In San Francisco, Harry Fox, Sr. (Jack Warden) is a streetwise private eye. His son Harrison Fox (John Rubinstein) is a straight-laced lawyer trying to have a respectable practice. Harrison is married to Cindy (Penny Peyser) with young son Josh. Despite his reluctance, Harrison keeps getting involved in cases with his father.

It may not be a big deal to some but I really like the peppy opening theme song. It may not be one of the icons but it's one of the better ones. As for the pairing, I like the chemistry and Jack Warden is great. If there is anything missing, it may be a third on the team. It is sometimes Cindy but her role as stay at home mom is limiting. I often wanted Harry to have a secretary. For one great episode, Carol Kane is that secretary. It's a little too much to hope for a great to take that role. Certainly, Cindy could have taken the job. It would also be a great way to connect Harrison with Harry's cases which is often an issue on the show. The cases would have to fall into both of their laps. It may help even more if father and son are forced to work out of the same office. They wouldn't have to do the story gymnastics to get both of them into the cases. The show could have lasted much longer but some jumping around the schedule in its second season accelerated its drop. It's two seasons and a movie.

I loved Jack Warden in this series. Sometimes instead of dialog, he would make a sort of grunting sound that would convey doubt or skepticism. It said so much more than words could. I would love to see this again for Warden's character. It made the series interesting and worth watching. He was so much smarter than his educated son. Also I loved when he would do something crazy like stealing a truck saying "What could go wrong?" Something always went wrong. He was attractive to women too. I would have dated him. Did anyone else love this show like I did? My other favorite of his is the character Tiresias in the Woody Allen film, Mighty Aphrodite. It was great hearing him make his pronouncements in everyman mode.

Loved the show and don't know why it didn't run longer. Wonderful guest stars and great writing. Jack Warden was a brilliant actor. I have binge-watched this at least twice, in addition to purchasing the "return" to CLAF. The mysteries always kept me at the edge of my seat, and I always tried to see if I could figure out "whodunnit." As a writer, I admire the twists to the plots, and the way that drama and comedy were intertwined. So sorry there aren't more than 2 seasons. I am a longtime resident of San Francisco and it was always fun to see if I could identify the neighborhoods where the actions were taking place.

This show was perfect for its time. It mixed some good action and mystery elements with a lot of great humor. Jack Warden plays an old detective type guy who is just really funny.