Or why I never fell in love with "Taxi".This TV show had a lot going for it, but never reached "greatness" in the sense of true monumental groundbreaking material. It had great chemistry among the talent involved, but the plays, though broken up into four acts for TV, read more like psychological comedies, dealing with a variety of urban social topics, and "solutions" thereof.Whether it's Devito's short man's complex lording it over his employees and lechery towards Marilu Henner's character, or the young boxer and actor striving for the big time but having their hands tied by driving hacks. Each seeks to escape their doldrums, and come to discuss and experience their troubles in a group therapy garage that is a place of emotional healing and comedy.What better medicine than laughter? Well, being a California kid who attended theatre I could appreciate the sketch and thesping, but the themes seemed crazy or obnoxiously eccentric and just plain out there and out of touch. And why was that? Probably because a need was felt to create a socially forward thinking show to help people deal with really crazy and just plain silly inner city psychology. Hence the music, hence Hirsch's character feeling like a shrink, hence the eccentricities of the stories and characters. All presented as if we had just stepped out of Taxi to attend some theatre a block or two away from Radio City Music Hall (minus the Rockettes... you can't have everything).Entertaining, fun and funny, and for me personally it was a time killer before the Dukes of Hazard came on. With a more mature mind I can see it for what it is, and, ironically enough, actually dislike it a bit more than I had previously, all the while still appreciating the theatrics.Ergo, if you're a fan of this show, and want to own the series on DVD, then maybe you better check yourself into Bellevue New York.

Please help push Paramount into releasing Seasons 4 & 5 of "Taxi" by sending an e-mail to the following address: [email protected] Taxi is my favorite sitcom of all time and I am dying for the release of the final 2 seasons that contain some of the best episodes! For those of you Taxi fans, take a peek at the list of the episodes included in the final 2 seasons. Among the gems are Ellegant Iggy, the Schloogle, Louie and the Blind Girl, Jim the Psychic, Take My Ex-Wife Please, The Unkindest Cut. The list goes on and on. Check out the titles at www.tviv.org. The best part about the Taxi series was the writers' ability to have you laugh and cry within the span of a few minutes. The characters were extremely well developed, particularly in the case of Alex and Louie. The addition of Reverend Jim proved to be a brilliant addition to the ensemble. As much as John was a part of a few good episodes, his character was less interesting than the others.

It doesn't happen very often, but from time to time in history the human race has managed to create something so supreme, so perfect and so outstanding that not even does it become a wonder, but it also lifts the entire creativity in man to a higher level and sets a new standard according to what people are able to create and how they evolve. The show Taxi is the result of one of those man made manifestations.Its real, its genius and its surprising. Its the art of acting, humor and intelligence come together. It captures centuries of human knowledge and wisdom. So marvelous put together, that not only will it be the best creation of its time, but its also an ideal for all times.Many shows since are a reflection of TAXI, with many ideas, taken more or less directly from the show, and have become famous on that base. But they will never ever reach the hight of the original: TAXI Which once and for all proofs what a unique and unbeatable masterpiece TAXI is. A true wonder. Now, then and forever.

This series to me is more of a drama than a comedy. The charters are well developed. Without this series, no one would know who Judd Hirsch (Alex Reiger) even is. But Alex is a straight man in this show who everyone plays off. There are attempts at UN-intelligent humor on occasion, but often the absurdity of the character is played up too hard for quick laughs. This show made Tony Danza who I have never found very appealing even when he did Who's The Boss?. Louie De Palma (Danny Devito) is a funny talented guy who made a lot out of the run of this show but at the same time, his comedy is often limited in this because he always has to be the obnoxious & over-bearing boss, Louie. Andy Kaufman (Ladka) is funny, but often in this is given UN-intelligent dialog.The amazing thing is that every character except Alex is dis-functional in one way or another, yet Alex, the normal guy, is made out of such thin cardboard, that you often wonder what actually holds him together with all the loonies around him. Christopher Lloyd (Jim) was the most consistent of the loonies around Alex, but really hit his stride later in the Back To The Future Series. Even Elaine Nardo (the shows sex symbol) has her problems, although the most memorable quote from the series comes to me from her. I think it was Louie De Palma who was analyzing all the characters in one episode who quick analysis of Elaine in one sentence summed up her abilities on the show. "Nardo has knobs!" Overall, this is the WINGS of the 1980's. It was a steady show which has brief moments of genius but usually is more urbane than funny. Amazing how the urban characters in this show interact at lower levels than you'd expect.There were some very funny episodes, ironically the funniest one is one which makes broad slap stick type fun of gay people. While not politically correct now, I would highly recommend that episode as Alex Reiger (Judd Hirsch) gets some major funny stuff in that episode.