Phyl & Mikhy

This was an attempt at a Cold War sitcom that fell flat. Phyl(lis) is a young American athlete who falls in love with Mikhy (Mikhail), an athlete from the then-Soviet Union, who defects in order to live with Phyl and her family. It's a set-up for lots of bad fish-out-of-water jokes, along with a cute-and-cuddly KGB agent (Michael Pataki) who follows Mikhy in hopes of getting him back to the Soviet Union.

The only reason why I recall this at all is because I attended one of the shows in 1979 when they were filmed. We laughed dutifully, but even as teenagers at the time, we easily predicted this would go nowhere. When it actually made it onto TV in 1980, it had to have been about the same time that Jimmy Carter had announced a boycott of the Moscow Olympics over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It made the already-ridiculous premise even more absurd.

I must admit I was only 9 when this show aired, however it really sticks with me. It was a show that poked fun at an Eastern Block person suddenly thrust into life in the US.

What I remember most were two things. First was how the main character "Mikhy" would address his father-in-law, he would say "dead, pup, Mix" - of course he was calling "Dad, pop, Max." I also vaguely remember something about him running up a credit card because he thought it was free money, or your typical "isn't it great in the West, they give money away for free?" gag.

Anyway, it didn't last long, but I think I remember it because Mom did the whole "Dead, pup, mix" thing forever after the show was gone.

All in all a cute show from what I remember, which is more than one can say for a lot of sitcoms that survive much more than 6 episodes. I don;t think it was all too deep, but Mom and I liked it.