All Is Forgiven

It's New York City. Paula Winters (Bess Armstrong) is marrying Matt Russell (Terence Knox) and meeting his 16 year old daughter Sonia Russell (Shawnee Smith) for the first time. He has a rising health donut company. She interviews for the producer's assistant job at the soap opera "All Is Forgiven" and gets the producer boss job. Nicolette Bingham (Carol Kane) is the head writer. Oliver Royce (David Alan Grier) is the new writer hire in episode two.

This is a late-season NBC sitcom replacement show. They burnt through the nine episodes and dropped it. The workplace sitcom part works pretty well especially with Carol Kane and David Alan Grier. They are really great individually and combined. The home part only half-works. Paula trying to be Sonia's mother is good story material. I've never considered Terence Knox as a sitcom actor. His St Elsewhere character really sticks and he works better in drama. This should really be a workplace sitcom. Maybe Shawnee Smith can be a teen actor on the show.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who remembers this show. I enjoyed it a lot, not to mention I'm the same age as Shawnee Smith and had a thing for her. Two lines in the show that stick out for me are when Carol Kane's character said, "You've caught me between social engagements; my debutant party and my funeral." There's also the exchange between Bess Armstrong and her husband, when Bess has booked a vacation to Mexico, but he says he has some news for her. Enthused for her planned trip, she insists he sings the news to her, so to the tune of "Aye Yai Yai Yai," they sing:

Matt: You know my daughter.

Paula: Her name is Sonia Russell.

Matt: Well she got kicked out of school again and she's come to live with us forever.

Having read the other comments, I have to mention two very funny scenes I still remember from this show. (I do remember also the one where everyone is humming the "Tennessee Waltz" over the intercom.) One scene I remember is when the new head writer comes aboard and meets the soap opera diva. The diva wants to get heads up on what the plots will be, so the writer, who doesn't want to get into trouble, fishes for bribes of new clothing from her by saying (roughly) "Well, you know I would give you the 16 neck, 34 sleeve shirt from my back, but I don't want to be caught with my 32 waist, 34 inseam pants down. Now I'm sure you know that if the size 12 shoe was on the other foot, I couldn't give you any information about upcoming plots." The other moment I remember fondly is where the daughter is on a curfew and explains that she couldn't get home in time for her curfew because she promised a dance to a boy, but the band played 'Stairway to Heaven' - the long version - "and (she explains), you know, you can't dance to that" so she had to wait for a song she could dance to even though she kept telling the boy "I have a curfew." Oh, another moment I remember is when the Bess Armstong character has asked the new (somewhat dim) soap opera actress to go participate in the opening of a new mall, and she runs her opening speech by Bess Armstrong which starts "Welcome to the new _____ mall. Even though shopping malls represent the worst kind of commercialism that is the ruin of our society, I welcome you." Bess Armstrong says that she didn't realize that this was an ethical point with that actress and says she'll try to find someone else whose feeling about shopping malls is a little more positive and the actress says, doubtfully, "okay, if there is such a person." The writing on this show was superb, even though the plots were sometimes a little flimsy. I would love to see episodes of this again.

I loved the plot of this sitcom: a woman gets a job as a secretary at a soap opera then because of a sudden power vacuum becomes the producer during her first day on the job. Bess Armstrong is a fine actress, but the character was too average--she needed to be either crazier or stiffer. Either would have made for more comedy. One scene, however, has stuck in my memory, a comedy classic: the head writer of the show (Carol Kane) is visited by her great lost love from the past, a man she never got to dance with. She is meeting with him in an office while the others wait outside, and she asks them to hum "The Tennessee Waltz" over the intercom so the couple can dance. The music starts out VERY tentatively and they begin to dance. As the music builds and gets more confident, the dancers talk, agree to go somewhere else to get better acquainted, and leave. The hummers continue their song to the empty office, adding harmonies, counterpoints and flourishes, never knowing they're playing to an empty house.

Terrific show, indeed.

The writing was ahead of its time, but the show never had a chance to smooth out the rough edges. The acting was all a bit stagy and overplayed. I'm sure they would have improved if they'd even had a full season.

One of the best lines came from Terence Knox's character, Matt. He was concerned that the family never had supper together. Here's a paraphrase (most likely) of the lines:

Even the Borgias sat down to eat together....They didn't all get up, but at least they made the effort.