With so many show worth saving out there, you wonder why NBC would bother with something like "The Tony Danza Show."
To be blunt, this just isn't worth anyone's time. And yet, after a horrible start in September and a trip to hiatus-land, Danza and Co. return tonight at 7:30 on Ch. 5.For the third show in a row (including "Who's the Boss?" and "Hudson Street"), Danza stars as a widowed father. He's a sportswriter - although any resemblance to an actual sportswriter is purely coincidental.
Part of the problem is that this looks like it was built from a pre-fab sitcom assembly kit. It's labored, stilted, and the writing consists of one lame punchline after another.
And not only is there nothing new here, but it's been done better before - most notably in "Who's the Boss?"
Tonight's episode comes up with what could have been a clever gimmick - but wasn't. Carole Kane, who co-starred with Danza in "Taxi," reprises her role as Simka Gravas from that show.
Tony ends up in a cab driven by Simka. (When he asks who long she's been driving, she tells him, "My husband was in the business" - a reference to Latka (the late Andy Kauffman), who played the mechanic at the Sunshine Cab Company.
And while this might have been a clever idea, it falls as flat as the rest of the show. Having Simka say to Tony, "You know something? You remind me of a boxer I once knew" is as predictable and lame as the rest of the show.
There's only one possible explanation for why NBC is keeping "The Tony Danza Show" alive - NBC Studios has part ownership of the show, giving the network a vested interest in the program.
Fortunately for viewers looking for a sitcom on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., there are two far better alternatives - "Dharma & Greg" on ABC and "Murphy Brown" on CBS.
MARY AND RHODA: Well, the plans are moving ahead for the return of Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern. ABC has ordered 13 episodes of the new sitcom starring the old characters for next season.
(This is not, however, a guarantee that the show will ever make it on the air. ABC still has an out - albeit with a reported six-figure penalty clause. And problems could arise down the line.)
At any rate, Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper are still on track to reprise the characters they played in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1970-77) and "Rhoda" (1974-79). There aren't a lot of details, but here's where it stands right now:
- The show will be filmed - and, presumably, set - in New York City.
- Both Mary and Rhoda will have been married (in Rhoda's case, remarried) and widowed in the years since the original series went off the air.
- Both Mary and Rhoda will have grown daughters - Mary's named after Rhoda and Rhoda's named after Mary.
Hmmmm . . . sounds just a bit contrived, doesn't it?
Actually, the more I think about this revival, the more misgivings I'm feeling.
Expectations are going to be so high they're going to be all but impossible to live up to. Is there any way that this show could possibly live up to "Mary Tyler Moore," one of the greatest series in the history of television?
There are some disturbing parallels between the TV careers of Mary Tyler Moore and Tony Danza. Both got their first big breaks as supporting characters in well-regarded shows - Moore in "Dick Van Dyke" and Danza in "Taxi."
Both then moved on to star in their own shows - "Mary Tyler Moore" and "Who's the Boss?" - where they achieved their greatest success. Both attempted comebacks that failed badly.
(Moore had "The Mary Tyler Moore Hour," "Mary," "Annie McGuire" and "New York News"; Danza had "Hudson Street" and, now, "The Tony Danza Show.")
My great fear for this new Mary and Rhoda show is that it will besmirch the fond memories and the reputation of the old "Mary Tyler Moore Show." Maybe it would be better left alone in all its glory on Nick at Nite.