Chico and the Man

This show was well on its way to becoming one of the all time classics when the tragic death of Freddie Prinze occurred. You had the two classic themes in the show. One was the theme of age versus youth and the other was the clash of cultures between Chico and Ed. This latter them is reminiscent of the show which aired on the same night and network as this one, "Sanford and Son". You could pretty much see Ed in the Fred Sanford role and Chico in the Lamont role and it basically was the same, the older father figure constantly clashing with his young charge over how to run the business. It was these qualities that helped make this show the semi-classic that it was. Also, the supporting cast of Scatman Crothers as Louie, Della Reese as Della and Ronny Graham as Reverend Bemis really made it a fun show. Unfortunately, when the tragedy happened and they brought in Gabriel Melgar to play Raul (a.k.a. the new "Chico") that's when the show went downhill. They should have canceled the show at that point and spared us the pain of watching it decline. If that had happened it probably would still be remembered as a good sitcom.

I grew to love 'Chico and the Man' when they were first showing a marathon of it's episodes on TV Land. I found it to be intriguing, funny, enticing, and intellegent! The show was about the trials and trubulations of an old, embittered, and cynical old man who was an owner of a car garage in Southern California named Ed Brown. And he gets help from his co-workers Chico and Louie. In every episode, Chico always tries to find ways to help Ed Brown break down the walls he built around himself.

Jack Albertson had a lot of talent and charisma for this sit-com and so did co-star Freddie Prinze. And the catchphrase, "Lookin' Good" became a popular one. And after Freddie Prinze committed suicide, it was said in the show that Chico moved on and now owned his own garage and Ed Brown adopted an orphan boy named Raul who became his new 'Chico'. The characters in this show are were all funny in their own way, especially Louie the garbage man!

Chico and the Man is an awesome sit-com and maybe one of the best ones from the seventies. Try to catch it on TV Land if you can! Take my word for it, it's that good! Call your boss! Call your teachers and principal! Call your co-workers! Call your friends! Inform your family! Watch Chico and the Man! I give this show 5 stars! Oh, and whatever happened to Gabriel Melgar?

I began to watch "chico and the man" on TV Land. I fell in love with this show. Freddy Prinze had to glow to him and it was beautiful. Watching the episodes of "chico and the man" after Prinze's death is haunting. You sit there watching and thinking who the hell are all these other people? Like everyone else I wished it had a different ending.

For four years this show was on the air, and in that time, it went from a promising comedy into a tragic situation that sought to simply fulfil its bargain and quietly leave the air. Now, it is an interesting study of how things so good can go so bad so quickly. Veteran actor Jack Albertson was riding high on his success in 'Subject was Roses', 'Posiedon Adventure' and 'Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'. Freddie Prinze was making it in stand-up, like Sienfeld and Carrey have done. Put the two together and after 'Sanford and Son' and a hit was born. We watched the shows and laughed, relating more to Prinze than the geriatric Albertson. Guest-stars galore were everywhere from Cesar Romero to Shelley Winters. Then Prinze shot himself and my young mind could not comprehend what that meant. Oddly enough, of his few appearances on programs, someone did joke with him on another show about if anything happened to him, the show would be called "--- and the man". I couldn't grasp the meaning of the words: commit suicide. Albertson, Della Reese and Scatman Crothers carried on with the show and a replacement latino was brought in, Gabriel Melgar. Eventually Reese departed and a young lady named Monica HIll joined the cast. The show had taken a truly bizarre turn. All it was missing by then was occasional musical numbers. Apparently Albertson was just completing any commitment made to the show and then he would not return either.

There was an episode where they attempted to address the other Chico with Albertson and young Melgar. Melgar asked what happened to the other Chico, Albertson hesitates to say, but I thought the assumption was he had died. I believed they had even said this much at least. That this conversation is taking place in a church is truly thought-provoking. When Albertson would die a few years later, I thought that was it. Chico and the man were gone now, both of them. Who knows where Prinze could have gone. I have never heard Albertson speak about what happened or if there were any telltale signs that were missed. Della Reese later would have Redd Foxx die in her arms on 'The Royal Family'. It will always be a poignant memory to this child's hood and I will always enjoy the song, sung by Jose Feliciano, who did appear in an episode and sing it.

Finally, the show is on DVD. So far, just a one disc set, but it contains six great episodes, including the pilot and important episodes that really focus on the relationship between Chico and Ed Brown, and the personalities of both men to help explain how two such different people could care so much for each other. This was a terrific show and had Freddie not died, it could have run for a decade, if Freddie wasn't a movie star by then. Let's hope we can see more episodes released in the future. This was a show that Chicanos could be proud of and that still entertained everyone else.

And yes, the "Cousin Pepe" episode is in there!