The Ellen Burstyn Show

This show had a great cast featuring Oscar Winner Ellen Burstyn with Elaine Stritch playing her mother and Megan Mullaly playing the daughter with a young son. Sadly, the show never caught on to public attention. But with great cast, how could you go wrong? Well, this was the era of nothing but sitcoms and now we have nothing but reality shows and dramas. In the 1980s, New York City tried to bring back comedy shows to prime time. Unfortunately, New York City never accomplished in even a close victory aside it's main rival, Hollywood or Los Angeles. The network lost a good opportunity but not allowing this show to grow and expand. It had a talented cast and the writing could have gotten better in time. Sitcoms take time to develop an audience.

This was a terrific little show, well-made and gently funny, which was doomed from the start. Ellen Burstyn agreed to do a series, but the show was stuck with a terrible lead-in ("Life With Lucy") and a terrible timeslot (on Saturday night), and Burstyn, while a fantastic actress and movie star, wasn't the kind of star likely to draw a large audience from name-ID alone. With Megan Mullally as her daughter (about as far from her "Will & Grace" character as you can get) and Elaine Stritch as her mother, plus one of the cutest child actors ever as her grandson, Burstyn was ably supported in this family sitcom. Unfortunately, no miracle occurred, and the show was cancelled in a matter of weeks.

Its been years since aired and always remembered this show. The scene that comes to mind most is of Elaine playing piano tunes for the family but ends up with her singing Nevada Harry. Had a great cast (but always loved Ellen and quick witted Elaine), and the sophistication of the comedy writing was quite good. I believe the reason this show lasted one year is that people didn't get it--this family's give and take. Perhaps too sophisticated the humor. Mom show took me 6 episodes to understand the humor behind that family, and cant stop watching it. I wouldn't have stopped watching Ellen's show either.

I think one of the reasons this show didn't get picked up for more episodes and seasons was that it was too smart for it's time. It relied on witty dialog and clever turns of phrase, which likely sailed over the heads of many people. Sorry, but it is true. When you look at the "dumbed-down" fair offered by the plethora of other shows offered in this year - this jewel was obviously cast among the swine. There seems to be more room these days for smart shows - I think of "The Big Bang Theory" as a fine example. Some of the quick dialog on that show will go missed if you aren't a bit of a technical geek, or someone who loves to watch Nova or the Science Channel. But if you do "get it", it is incredibly smart and funny.

The only reason I noticed this show at all was my long term obsession with Lucille Ball and her anxiously awaited return to a new sitcom, however I was disappointed since they had her doing the same old things in her 70's that she did in her 30's...not pretty. So I was more than entertained by the show that followed!! The Ellen Burstyn show was witty, funny and above all showcased the comedic talents of Elaine Stritch! If they had given it a few more episodes or changed the time slot it may have worked, and even though I love Ellen Burstyn and Megan Mulally ,(hello who doesn't), they really were just straight men for Elain...hmm maybe it should have been called "Elaine!". If you can find any of the episodes, watch it with an open mind, I think you will love it!