Nat Hiken's "You'll Never Get Rich" (later renamed "The Phil Silvers Show", but commonly known as "Sgt. Bilko") was the first //really good// American sitcom. It was actually funny. (The same basic premise -- a con man in the Army -- would later be "borrowed" by "F Troop".)
I was 14 when "Car 54...", Hiken's follow-up series, premiered. It just wasn't up to "You'll Never Get Rich". Oh, there was a great episode or two (the one in which T&M attempt to get tickets for a play remains a classic), but the show, as a whole, disappointed me. Nothing in it matched Phil Silver's constant conniving.
Watching reruns, I realize how unappreciative I was of the generally smart writing. The humor is mostly character-based, not the piling on of lame jokes and forced humor. New York, being the city it is, offered plenty of room for oddball situations (a lode which would further be mined by "Barney Miller".)
"Car 54..." isn't a truly great sitcom, but it's better than 95% of the sitcoms that have (dis)graced American television. It's worth an occasional viewing.
I was 14 when "Car 54...", Hiken's follow-up series, premiered. It just wasn't up to "You'll Never Get Rich". Oh, there was a great episode or two (the one in which T&M attempt to get tickets for a play remains a classic), but the show, as a whole, disappointed me. Nothing in it matched Phil Silver's constant conniving.
Watching reruns, I realize how unappreciative I was of the generally smart writing. The humor is mostly character-based, not the piling on of lame jokes and forced humor. New York, being the city it is, offered plenty of room for oddball situations (a lode which would further be mined by "Barney Miller".)
"Car 54..." isn't a truly great sitcom, but it's better than 95% of the sitcoms that have (dis)graced American television. It's worth an occasional viewing.