The Michael Richards Show

My wife and I loved this show. I thought it was absolutely hysterical, and Tim Meadows shined here as well (compared to his mundane SNL stint). I'm saddened to hear that the show was cancelled. It was a terrific sitcom, very funny and very smart.

Can someone please explain to me why this show was greeted with so much hostility? Everyone in America ostensibly loved the character of Kramer on "Seinfeld," the number one show on TV when it ended in 1998. When "The Michael Richards Show" premiered two seasons later, critics and viewers were waiting with bibs on and knives raised... they called it "horrible," "terrible," and refused to watch it. With that type of public sentiment its no surprise the show only lasted seven episodes.

"The Michael Richards Show" was good... sometimes great. I loved him from his brilliant physicality on Seinfeld but before that as retarded janitor Stanley Spadowski in "UHF" and as the Bow-Tie Killer in "Problem Child." TMRS featured not only Richards and a colorful ensemble cast but- best yet- the writers from "Seinfeld"! (Including Spike Feresten, Gregg Kavet & Andy Robin) Sure, Richards was basically playing Kramer but the premise of him as a private detective allowed him to get into a wide variety of physical and comical jams. The writing was always smart, never cheap sitcom humor, and like Seinfeld every episode featured multiple story lines. In one episode the elderly Bill Cobb is particularly mean to Tim Meadows... when Meadows asks Richards for advice Richards informs him that Cobb has "death grumpiness," an ailment that all old people get just before they die. Meadows goes through the rest of the episode treating Cobb like a fragile baby, telling him how much he loves him and how much he's going to miss him. The old crank, of course, has no idea what's going on. It was hilarious.

Was TMRS television's greatest product? No. Should the show have gone on another 8 seasons? Never. Was it a funny and intelligent series that deserved better treatment from fans and critics? Absolutely. If they release the DVD you'll see what I mean.

GRADE: B+

Watched this recently on YouTube; it was only Richards rehashing his Kramer mannerisms with lousy scripts and a supporting cast that looks like they were held hostage at gunpoint. Richards' "Seinfeld" reputation must have been the only reason this horribly written show made it to air; it seems like two failed pilots would have given NBC a clue as to what they were in for. Awful.

Michael Richards is a hugely talented comic actor, who stole almost every scene as Cosmo Kramer on "Seinfeld." He is one of the best physical comics out there, and one day I hope he will hit it big in either TV or the movies (hopefully he'll make more comedies like "UHF" and "Unstrung Heroes" and not ones like the hugely disappointing "Trial and Error"). But this show is as lame as can be! And I guess the creators thought it would add flair to assemble one of the biggest ensemble casts in sitcom history. That way Tim Meadows, William Devane and Bill Cobbs can have equal time at wasting their talents. As Robert DeNiro said in "A Bronx Tale," "There's nothing worse than wasted talent." "The Michael Richards Show" is a prime example.

My score: 2 (out of 10)

The premise revolves around private detective Vic Nardozza. Every week he gets a case assigned and he tries his best to solve them, always with wacky consequences. We also get to see the personal lives of his boss and co-workers.

This show really takes its sweet time to find its footing. The first couple episodes are hard to watch in every single way. The writing and humor feels awkward, the characters don't gel together and Michael Richards, as talented as he is, can still barely squeeze a laugh out of me. He gets a few nice slapstick moments, but that's it. The theme song is nice at least.

The cases are also dealt with in a very labored way, as if the writer can't think of how to make them interesting.

About halfway through, it starts to get a little better. Some of the jokes are actually legitimately funny, the characters start to click more and even the acting in some areas improves.

I inititally found Tim Meadows the most annoying part of the cast, but he gets to prove his worth after a while. William Devane gets the bad luck of portraying one of the most boring characters, but in the final episode he finally has a chance to prove he has comedic chops.

It's fun to see guest stars like Gregory Itzin, Ed Begley Jr. and Jeff Garlin(!) make appearances as well.

There are even some successful attempts at satire, which was definitely unexpected.

However, even when the series gets better there are still parts where I just feel bored, and due to ending so quickly it never reaches its full potential. Who knows, maybe in season 2 this could have been one of the better post-Seinfeld projects Richards acted in.

But because it got cancelled after only 8 episodes this simply remains a curiosity at best.