rudyardk
Joined Apr 1999
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rudyardk's rating
Early on, this low-budget series was a loving and refreshing homage to both the movies and the radio shows of the late 1930s and early 40s. Never especially realistic, Remember WENN was able to be both a tribute to AND an affectionate parody of the writing and acting styles of the pre-WWII era, with plucky heroines and confused-but-stalwart heroes delivering screwball dialogue amidst contrived coincidences and the odd cliffhanger.
The whole cast is good-to-excellent. Particular honours go to Melinda Mullins as station diva Hilary Booth, who is ALMOST as talented as she thinks she is (Mullins steals every scene she's in). And the wardrobe and costuming is outstanding -- Hilary's hat collection alone is practically a lead character on the show.
After a while though, the writing gets stale. Characters don't really develop, they're just shoved from situation to situation as plots dictate, and are assigned arbitrary attitudes. As well, plots are recycled, or try to rely on frantic activity in place of actual story progression. There are other issues, too: later episodes often just merely stop rather than come to a satisfying ending; and a cringe-inducing attempt at an ongoing love triangle is simply painfully mishandled from the word go, and should have been completely jettisoned at the script stage. Consequently, by season 4, what had been a pleasant, occasionally delightful minor bauble of a series is mostly a chore to watch.
Season 1 is an 8/10, though. Thereafter, season 2 is a 7, season 3 is a 5, and season 4 is, sorry to say, a 4.
Still, check out an early episode to get the flavour of this show at its best. It's no lost classic, but Remember WENN does have its own quirky, nostalgic charm.
The whole cast is good-to-excellent. Particular honours go to Melinda Mullins as station diva Hilary Booth, who is ALMOST as talented as she thinks she is (Mullins steals every scene she's in). And the wardrobe and costuming is outstanding -- Hilary's hat collection alone is practically a lead character on the show.
After a while though, the writing gets stale. Characters don't really develop, they're just shoved from situation to situation as plots dictate, and are assigned arbitrary attitudes. As well, plots are recycled, or try to rely on frantic activity in place of actual story progression. There are other issues, too: later episodes often just merely stop rather than come to a satisfying ending; and a cringe-inducing attempt at an ongoing love triangle is simply painfully mishandled from the word go, and should have been completely jettisoned at the script stage. Consequently, by season 4, what had been a pleasant, occasionally delightful minor bauble of a series is mostly a chore to watch.
Season 1 is an 8/10, though. Thereafter, season 2 is a 7, season 3 is a 5, and season 4 is, sorry to say, a 4.
Still, check out an early episode to get the flavour of this show at its best. It's no lost classic, but Remember WENN does have its own quirky, nostalgic charm.
A pretty 'meh' episode. Tony is going to get a fight with a beloved ex-champion coming out of retirement. The problem? The champ is such a great guy (personable, funny, sincere, and dedicating the fight to an orphan who is in the hospital) that nobody really wants to see him lose -- including Tony.
Louie has a couple of funny moments, as he details his long history of betting against Tony on fights and tries to figure out which way to bet this time. And there are a few decent bits of business for Bobby, Elaine, and Alex. (No Jim in this episode -- this was filmed before he became a permanent cast member. No Latka either.)
But there's not much memorable about the episode overall. It IS, however, better than the next episode ("Tony and Brian") which follows directly on from this one. That one may be Taxi's worst.
Louie has a couple of funny moments, as he details his long history of betting against Tony on fights and tries to figure out which way to bet this time. And there are a few decent bits of business for Bobby, Elaine, and Alex. (No Jim in this episode -- this was filmed before he became a permanent cast member. No Latka either.)
But there's not much memorable about the episode overall. It IS, however, better than the next episode ("Tony and Brian") which follows directly on from this one. That one may be Taxi's worst.
The unlikely romance of Louie and Zena continues, and Louie now faces the next significant hurdle: meeting (and meeting with the approval of) Zena's parents. Louie's solution is to bring Alex along, so he can have Alex signal him when he does something wrong...and so Louie can show Zena's parents the "classy kind of guy" he pals around with.
When given a spotlight episode, DeVito seldom disappoints -- and he's in good form here. This isn't a perfect episode, mind you. It's hard to fathom just what Zena sees in Louie, or why she'd think her parents would even tolerate him. But there are enough laughs in Barry Kemp's script and in the cast's performances to make this an enjoyable half-hour.
When given a spotlight episode, DeVito seldom disappoints -- and he's in good form here. This isn't a perfect episode, mind you. It's hard to fathom just what Zena sees in Louie, or why she'd think her parents would even tolerate him. But there are enough laughs in Barry Kemp's script and in the cast's performances to make this an enjoyable half-hour.