The Paul Lynde Show

I remember this show. Say what you may, I thought the show was hilarious! The opening credits begin with Paul Simms stepping out of his car. His neighbor yells "How goes the rat race?" Looking over with that unmistakable sneer, he replies "The rats are winning!" Not only must Paul Simms deal with the rat race at work but must also face home-life with his son-in-law, Howie, who not only is smarter than Paul, but is determined not to let materialism get the best of him. In other words, Howie is lazy and has no ambition to do anything more than to live off his father-in-law! His younger daughter is not only nice and well-mannered, but sneaky and forever trying to pull a thing or two over her dear old dad. One episode involved her planning to go out with her girl friends to see "Oh, Bombay" (which is a nude musical like "Oh, Calcutta"). When he got wind of the plan, he grabbed the phone from his daughter and sneered, "Go back to your Cosmopolitan centerfolds" before promptly hanging up the phone. One of the funniest episodes involves Paul Simms and his straight faced long suffering wife, Martha, meeting Howie's parents. Unlike the Simms, Howie's father is the straight faced long suffering husband and Howie's mother is snide and sarcastic, the female version of Paul Simms. This show never failed to leave me laughing. The late, great Paul Lynde was that kind of comedian. He could crack me up just by giving the time of day. It be great if this series could rise from the past as a DVD set!

It's supposed to be about a harried lawyer with a wife and kids but with Lynde it's actually about a campy gay man with a wife and kids. A full season was probably fifteen episodes too long.

I missed this show during its run and while that was no great loss, the reruns are allowing me to actually see it. The format is standard for that time period, the anxious, put-upon father and lawyer who gets no peace at home. Lynde's snide, prissy, nasal delivery never grated on me the way it does on others. He was much funnier in his Munster episodes than on this show but then The Munsters had better writers. Paul Simms' conversations with his still attractive wife (Elizabeth Allen 43 at the time) seem to indicate that their marital relations are fading as they raise their younger daughter (Pamela Ferdin (13 at the time) who's a handful as she enters her early teens. The nubile older daughter (the late Jane Actman, 23 at the time) is married to a beach-boy style genius (John Calvin) who has little ambition. One episode "Whose Lib?" put a different spin on Simms personality when his excited attempt to hire a flirtatious, busty secretary (Barbara Rhoades) fails to his frustration when his son-in-law gets hired instead. To its credit, the show hired a slew of great, familiar TV faces like Rhoades and some social issues are tackled, in a ridiculous way. In "Pollution Solution," the running gag if you can call it that is a smarmy Paul trying to physically restrain over-enthusiastic pollution protester bikini-clad Ronda Copland, a friend of his daughter. There's lot of groping as Ronda struggles to break free from his arms. There are other episodes in which Paul is either flirting or holding younger, sexy women in front of his wife at home or in the office. His kind of veiled, grinning lechery was a big departure from the traditional TV dad stereotype in countless other sit-coms.

On her Facebook page, Pamela Ferdin wrote, "Paul Lynde could be wildly funny, but didn't like kids much and was very serious. He also had a short temper, so it wasn't a fun show for me to work on and it only lasted a year and then it was cut from the air because of low ratings." She had a better relationship with Tony Randall during her time on The Odd Couple.

I don't know if Lynde ever played Felix Unger of The Odd Couple on-stage. He would have excelled in that role.

I have only seen the premiere episode of THE PAUL LYNDE SHOW. Perhaps there were better episodes. If the premiere episode is any indication, however, it seems that Lynde's talents were misused.

Lynde had successfully played an uptight father griping about the younger generation in the Broadway and Hollywood versions of BYE BYE BIRDIE, so it's easy to understand why producer William Asher believed Lynde would triumph in this role on television. But his manic persona which was appropriate for the larger than life stage and film mediums comes off too strong in the intimate television medium. Another liability is Lynde's lack of chemistry with the other actors who play his wife and children. He acts in a campy farcical manner while they act in a restrained realistic style. Lynde never connects with them as a husband or father, merely treating them as straight people. If this was always the case on every episode, it's no wonder THE PAUL LYNDE SHOW only lasted one year.

The most successful televison sitcom fathers have down-to-earth Everyman qualities. Think of Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker, Tom Bosley's Howard Cunningham and even Ed O'Neill's Al Bundy. Paul Lynde became famous because he was memorably fey and iconoclastic. He could never credibly head a typical sitcom family.

I've seen 23 of the 26 episodes and this show really isn't as bad as most reviews let on. While it is nearly impossible to believe Paul as a straight family man, it doesn't hurt the show at all. The writing and plots tread on very familiar ground--that of many other sitcoms of the 60's and 70's--so at times, the show can get predictable. Having Paul head the show, however, is what gives it a unique twist and even when the plots may seem like they've been done before they still feel new. The first time I watched the show I was reminded of the feeling I got the first time I watched the Joey Bishop Show sitcom from the mid 60's. Lynde's character can be described as a flamboyant 1970's Joey Barnes. I do agree with the other review regarding cast chemistry which is pretty thin. Some highlights do come from the various guest stars that are sprinkled throughout, including Jerry Stiller. Recommended and entertaining!