Season 1 was superb: gritty, realistic characters who behaved like they lived gritty, realistic lives...unapologetic hookers, transvestites, bums, and alcoholics who were hilarious. Almost like watching a play...like "Hot L Baltimore" in the 70s. As the sign on John Laroquette's wall said, "This (was) a Dark Ride." Weird, fun, occasionally disturbing because it was a lot more lifelike than the usual sitcom.Season 2? Blatantly obvious that the network got nervous about all those hookers, transvestites, bums, and alcoholics not being apologetic...the fix was in, they cleaned it up, and the show became just another basic sitcom about a bus station. I was sad to watch it go.

The writing was very good, much in the same vein as Night Court, but situated in a bus stop managed by a recovering alcoholic (played brilliantly by John Larroquette)Other cast members were strong and believable. My favorites cast members included the cook at the coffee shop in the bus station and the hooker, and cops who frequently hung out at the bus coffee shop. Like Night Court, some episodes touched the heart, while others were just for laughs.The show followed on the heels of the canceling of Night Court in 1992 after a nine year run. Larroquette's strong showing in a supporting role as Dan Fielding opened the way for this chance at heading up a new show. I would call it a spin off and followed in the same lines as the successful Night court format of scripts and cast. While I felt the Larroquette show did a magnificent job, for some reason the show didn't capture a large enough audience and only lasted two seasons before the ax fell and the show was can-celled. Maybe a different night would have exposed the show to a larger audience.

From the start "The John Larroquette Show", was bright, literate, willing to touch on sensitive issues, and hilarious to boot. But its audience was marginal by network standards, and each year it received a makeover in hopes of boosting the ratings. Season launching episodes were not at all subtlety titled "Changes", "More Changes", and "Even More Changes" as fair warning to long time viewers. By the beginning of the fourth and final season "The John Larroquette Show" had in many ways become indistinguishable from the rest of prime time television. Still quite funny thanks to a very talented collection of actors and writers, but its rough edge was gone.

I don't think I hardly missed an episode of 'Larroquette' during its all-too-short two-year run. Larroquette was superb as world-weary, wisecracking John Hemingway and the supporting performances were typically strong. This show had its zaniness and a serious element; perhaps it wasn't predictable enough to gain a large and steady viewership that would have ensured its survival.