Brooklyn Bridge

This is a great television show that can teach you a lot of lessons.Too bad it is not on television anymore,not even on reruns.I use to watch in Bravo.I think Mr.Grier and Grandma were the best characters.Usually,you don't get that many television shows these days that are so entertaining.A television show doesn't have to be laugh-out-loud funny,though it doesn't have to be a crappy police drama either.If this show is on video,I am buying it.

I was very sad when Brooklyn Bridge was discontinued. It was a funny and charming and gentle portrayal of a Jewish family living in Brooklyn about half a century ago. I was among the lucky ones who discovered this program while it was being aired, and therefore had the opportunity to see television at its greatest.

I grew up Methodist,not Jewish. I lived in Oklahoma, not New York. Yet this series felt like family, with some delightful cultural differences. It could be warm without becoming cloying. The people were fully developed, not stereotypes or "characters." The episode in which the Jewish and Irish Catholic families went to a Chinese restaurant is one of the best racial and cultural commentaries I've ever seen in any medium. I wish it could have run forever.

Goldberg's "Brooklyn Bridge" is one of the best television series ever made. But viewers ignored it, as did so-called watchdogs who whine about there not being high-quality programs for families. The cast, led by Gerard as the oldest son, was excellent. The stories about growing up and trying to get along with an extended family were down-to-earth and sometimes poignant. If it comes back to cable, watch it. Every episode was solid, with most rising to a level untouched by TV. "Brooklyn Bridge" should be considered classic television.

This was an amazing show that frankly was too good for television. Most of the time, TV hooks you because it's loud and brash and appeals to the lowest common denominators and that is the main reason why this wonderful show failed. That, and CBS kept moving it around so often that fans had a hard time finding it! Describing the genre isn't easy. It wasn't exactly a comedy, though there were some wonderfully funny moments (such as when Grandpa meets the ball player Gil Hodges after he'd been telling his grandson that they were teammates back in Russia). It wasn't exactly just a period show, though it bore some similarity to THE WONDER YEARS. It wasn't exactly a drama, but the Holocaust episodes which guest-starred Joel Grey brought me to tears. Instead, it felt like you were magically transported from your home to the home of a very decent and normal Jewish-American family who lived in 1950s Brooklyn. And, despite having Marion Ross as the grandma (she was WONDERFUL), it was not a phony HAPPY DAYS type of 1950s--it was like you were really there.

Amazing writing, superb direction and nice and believable characters you could care about and love--this was one of the sweetest and best family shows ever made. If it ever comes out on DVD, I guarantee you I'll be one of the first to get a copy.