Car 54, Where Are You?

I was much too young to enjoy this when it was on (I was 3 when it went off the air) but was blessed to see it on Nick at Night. I wish they would bring it back again or if it's on DVD, I must have it! This show about two 'hard working' New York City cops was witty and intelligent. Many of my generation think of the sitcoms of the 1950s and early 1960s and picture simple, basic and not terribly funny humor. Picture "Small Wonder" in black and white. This show had heart and some very clever writing. The simplest of everyday situations that a cop can face were turned into comedy gold. It was the "Barney Miller" of it's day. If any of you dear readers ever get a chance to see any of these episodes, check out the one where Toody and Muldoon have a chance to go out fishing on a boat. The lengths they go to to arrange their schedule so as to be free to go out, and the ONE thing that fouls it up are complex and hilarious.

The cast was wonderful as well, and of course they would be, otherwise this terrific writing would have been wasted. It's not.

I agree with Gilda, Car 54 is a classic that has not been given the same credit as "I Love Lucy" or "The Honeymooners", also some of my favorites.

The writing on Car 54 was superb. One of my favorite episodes is about the evil landlord "Pocrass." I love it!

Boy, I am still waiting for a DVD or two of this classic television show, giving us seasons worth of episodes, not just a couple of episodes on tape. This show was a comedy classic; one of the best ever.

This particular VHS tape I am reviewing features two past shows, one of which is one of my all-time favorites: "The Taming of Lucille." Humor is subject but to me that episode is one of the funniest ever on TV as henpecked "Gunther Toody" (Joe E. Ross) tries to turn the tables on his wife. After he and partner Francis Muldoon (Fred Gwynne) watch a presentation of "The Taming the Shrew" in Central Park, and later Toody sees his cousin Al dominate his wife Rose, he thinks he can do the same....with hilarious results. Beatrice Pons, as "Lucile," is a hoot, too. Ross and Pons played the same roles in the earlier "You'll Never Get Rich" television how featuring Phil Silvers as "Sgt. Bilko."

The other episode is a famous one, too, although not as funny. In this show, Toody winds up on the Jack Paar show, hosted by Hugh Downs. A fellow policeman is "discovered" as a real comic and is invited on the show, only to get stage-fright and be rescued by Toody, who then takes his place as the star comic. He's invited back and....well....deja vu all over again, as Yogi Berra supposedly once said.

These are two shows guaranteed to give you a lot of laughs for 50 minutes (25 minutes per show). I just hope someone the whole series becomes available.

This is the only police show I remember from those earlier days that shows members of a professional police force in such a light hearted way. As a retired cop myself, I know it was obviously not to be taken seriously of course. In my opinion, a lot of things on that show, though not all, could happen in real life. This is especially true when the cops are off duty and get into situations which include their personal life. Even a lot of the on duty antics are not out of touch with reality, such as when the guys are alone in the locker room. It truly shows law enforcement in a relaxing, humorous way. Cops really are human!

I grew up in the Bronx when this was a prime time series in New York. In fact, I lived a block away from the old Biograph studio where the series was filmed; some of the location scenes were filmed in the Tremont section of the Bronx (the 53rd precenct). Watching the old episodes, you will see such actors as Maureen Stapleton, Nipsey Russell, Charlotte Rae, Mel Stewart, and Ossie Davis who were based in the New York area at the time. New York was the television broadcast capital at the time until the mid '60s before productions left for Hollywood. (Other studios like Filmways in Harlem produced shows like "Naked City"). The closing credits of the "53rd precinct" is actually the exterior of the Biograph studio-The show is still funny after all these years due to the writing of Nat Hiken and you can hear the old radio influence in the dialogue and story plots( A good book to read about Hiken: " King of the Half Hour" sold at Barnes & Noble). Thanks for the memories