| So, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has a new sitcom starting up (The New Adventures of Old Christine), prompting entertainment journalists everywhere to ponder the so-called "Seinfeld Curse," which is supposedly some sort of hex that prevents Seinfeld cast members from enjoying any further success in the realm of TV comedy.
Well, I don’t believe in curses, and I think it’s silly to blame the early cancellations of such post-Seinfeld fare as Watching Ellie (2002 – 19 episodes), The Michael Richards Show (2000 – eight episodes) and Bob Patterson (2001 – 10 episodes) on sorcery. A more likely explanation for audience disappointment is that people were expecting these shows to match Seinfeld’s phenomenal success right out of the gate. It’s hardly a fair comparison –– we’re selectively remembering the best moments from a show that had nine seasons to find its footing. If Seinfeld only ran for 10 episodes, none of us would remember it at all – in fact, many of us would never have heard of it.
Seinfeld’s greatest strength was its outstanding supporting cast, and these memorable actors are now seeking new projects. Some of these new shows will be hits, some misses. I haven’t seen Old Christine yet, but Louis-Dreyfus is talented, sexy and funny, and I wish her the best of luck.
I suppose the main reason I’m fed up with this "curse" nonsense is that it completely discounts everything the cast has done since 1990, including Jason Alexander’s fantastic voice acting in the cult animated series Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man (1994). I can’t be the only one who loved this series – it ran for four years, clocking in at 70 episodes. That might not seem like much compared to Seinfeld’s 180-episode run, but for a satirical animated series as edgy and twisted as this one, it’s an astounding success. The series chronicles the adventures of the title character, a reprehensible anthropomorphic duck, as he tackles the daily challenges of detective work, parenthood and his own misanthropy.
Alexander is perfectly cast as the contemptible mallard – he manages to make Duckman’s most despicable lines actually endearing. Amazingly, even though Alexander makes no attempt to disguise his extremely recognizable voice, he never once sounds like George Costanza. The animation and voice work combine to form a wholly distinct character, and one greatly missed by this viewer. There seems to be no plans to bring the series to DVD, which is an appalling shame.
Speaking of hilarious cartoon series that should be on DVD but aren’t, where the hell is The Tick (1994)? Thirty-six episodes were made, but only three of them got released on VHS – episodes No. 1 ("The Tick vs. the Idea Men"), No. 2 ("The Tick vs. Chairface Chippendale") and No. 30 ("The Tick vs. Arthur"). What a missed opportunity! Viewers want to see other classic Tick moments, such as Dinosaur Neil, the Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight (sic), the Eastern Bloc Robot Cowboy, the Mad Science Fair, Little Wooden Boy and of course, the Tick’s faithful "dog" Speak.
There are enough fans of the obtuse superhero out there to make a season one DVD set an instant bestseller, so where is it? Oh sure, we’ve got the live action series with Patrick Warburton as the invincible yet dim crusader, but any Tick fan will tell you it’s just not the same. C’mon folks, lend your voices to the cause and get this beloved comedy released on disc! To quote the Tick himself, "Honk if you love justice!" |
Copyright ©2006 FFWD. All rights reserved.