Women in Prison

Women in Prison (1987-1988) was a series created by the producers of

Married with Children. The show started off great but sadly like all

sitcoms they ran out of ideas. Despite a fast start the show simply ran out

of gas before it even completed a lap. The cast was excellent but the

situations and the dialog was real mundane and mediocre. A funny premise

that didn't know what to do next after it's initial run of episodes. Too bad it was canceled before it could really find it's groove.

I'm Mike Tee Vee, see you next time!

I used to watch this religiously- it was one of the first Fox shows, and at the time, a new broadcast network was such a novelty, that I gave everything on it precedence over the other broadcast outlets. If I were a Nielsen family, I'm sure Fox would have been appreciative- but as it was, the people who controlled the Nielsen box stayed away from the Women in Prison in droves.

WiP was an attempt to create a sitcom with unique and fun character interaction; shows like M*A*S*H and Mary Tyler Moore Show and Taxi all were premier examples of this kind of dynamic. I can't fault WiP's producers and actresses for trying, but the show never got off the ground.

All of the characters were cliched; there was the tough old butch, the fresh young innocent, the tarty prostitute, the no-nonsense guard. The dialogue never rose above the quality of, say, a syndicated sitcom like She's the Sheriff, and production values made this look like it was filmed in a gymnasium with paperboard tubes for prison bars.

Nice try, though.