Le monde de Dave

I am surprised by some of the other comments regarding Dave's World. I think the series was generally pretty good. It was an old-fashioned comedy, one with laughs and character observations, and NO social commentary or Emmy-targeted sob-story episodes.

I was a fan of Dave Barry in the early 90s - and forgive me any Barry fans - but I did not think that his columns were so remarkable that the TV show was an insult to his work. Barry generally seemed to write from an urban "aw, shucks!" hapless male perspective, and Dave's World reflected this.

And, apart from Seinfeld, and a few other comedies, I do not think there were all that many shows from that period that were better than Dave's World. The show did not get the recognition it deserved, primarily because it was not trendy. It did not showcase a bunch of 30-something actors playing 20-somethings, did not have a "cool" city or neighborhood as its setting (back then Florida was Golden Girls territory), and did not feature 90s lifestyle hot keys (grungy youth, coffee drinking, the IT world, emerging celebrity culture) in its plots.

When I get a chance, I shall pick up the DVDs and sit down to a good, healthy, ingenuous laugh.

Dave is a man that likes to take it easy, so his weekly sport column is always handed in late. Mostly they sit in the livingroom drinking beer and playing cards. Dave, his wife, their kids, Sheldon and Kenny. Kenny is Daves boss, and he is always thinking about women. Sheldon is a successfull doctor who is divorced, and a bit tense. Harry Anderson is ok, and Patrick Warburton drops by from time to time. He is just like he is in Seinfeld. This show is great when you have just woke up Sunday morning. Senseless.

"Dave's World" didn't have much to do with its source material, the work of Pulitzer-winning columnist Dave Barry, whose columns, unlike the series, rarely contain so much sap that people have to blow their noses with a pancake. The poker-table banter between Shel, Kenny and Dave and Patrick Warburton's occasional appearances usually provided a chuckle. Generally speaking, this show strained to stay within its family-fare pretext. Maybe this had to do with the show being broadcast on CBS, which targets an older viewer demographic. Still, it suffices for killing a spare half hour.

Okay, so this is not The Dick Van Dyke Show, but it is a decent sitcom. And that's what I loved most, this was a real sitcom. No drama or social commentary in any of the Dave's World episodes. They were just funny and stupid. This is far overdue for DVD.... As for the Dave Barry comparison. Dave's an excellent writer, I have all of his books. But, that doesn't mean his story on film would be very entertaining. Harry Anderson and Patrick Warburton gave standout performances - enough so that I remember them in roles other than Night Court and Seinfeld, respectively. Harry captured Dave probably better than anyone else could. I was very disappointed when this was canceled.

I liked this programme - especially the episode with the neighbour's rabbit.