Key West

Both my husband and I watched Key West with great pleasure...his might have had a lot to do with Jennifer Tilly, who was amazingly attractive in this series. Every character was perfect, the writing was great, the music was wonderful. Today, this series would be like "Scrubs"; a gem to be discovered and given time to catch on. If we had had any idea it would be cancelled so prematurely we would certainly taped every episode. One of my fondest wishes is to finally see a boxed set (videos or DVD) available. Is there anyone or any company that we might all contact to make that happen? Even better, rerunning the series on a cable station...now that gives me hope. Thanks so much for giving me an opportunity to talk about this wonderful series.

My little sister and I didn't know what was different about Key West, but we watched it faithfully, and were mightily disgruntled when it disappeared without apology. The characters, the colors, the dialogue, and some other unnameable thing made this show unforgettable. I'd say 'haunting,' but it wouldn't convey the quiet smile I find when I remember the way Jennifer Tilly said, "Seamus, Baby," when he had that awful fever, or the upbeat-but-not-sappy way the (kooky, but r e a l ) characters interacted. If someone knows where this is available on DVD, I know two nostalgic 20-somethings who'll buy it up in a minute flat.

Which is, unfortunately, mostly what succeeds on TV these days. Shows such as Key West are just too intelligent, and go over the head of Average Joe TV Viewer (or Average Joe TV Executive). With all the proliferation and specialization of TV channels these days, maybe some day we can have an "Intelligent TV Channel" where shows like these can flourish and those too dim to "get it" can just remove it from their channel rotation.

Key West was smart, funny and *very* quirky. No fart jokes or pratfalls, which is probably why it didn't succeed; just a continuous, surreal humor. I didn't even mind that it starred the despicable Denise Crosby. It seemed fitting that she should not only end up in this loony bin, but be in charge of it.

Any TV producers out there reading this -- there's an idea for you. Create an "Intelligent TV Channel", and give us shows like this, or Max Headroom, Brimstone, Cupid, etc. You could even call it that, as a dig at the mindless drivel that pours off the screen most of the time.

When the Fox network was just starting out, they weren't afraid to take chances with unusual material and this is the best example. From the first episode, it was natural to see a resemblance to the contemporaneous "Northern Exposure" (1990), with Seamus as the fish-out-of water corresponding to Dr. Joel Fleischman. But then you hit Episode 3, "The Great Unknown", and you know things aren't going to be the same. This is the unlikeliest thing in the world: Magical Realism successfully translated to an American television program. It will probably never be accomplished again. This series richly deserves to be made available on tape or DVD.

From what I remember of Key West, it was a great show. It was years ago that it was on TV, and I was quite upset when they decided to cancel the show. It would be great if they released it on DVD so more people could see this great show, but as they say "out of sight, out of mind"