I still have a Betamax recording of "I Married Dora" from the night that Baby Jessica was rescued from that well. Right in the middle of the show they broke away to the rescue and I never did see the rest of that particular episode. Now while I can't recall chapter and verse of the series, I do remember that I did like the show enough to tune in every week. I liked it. Just a nice, quiet little show. If it were to show up on TV Land somehow, which I highly doubt, I'd gladly watch it again. And maybe this time I'll make it through that episode without Baby Jessica getting in on the act! I'll have to look through my collection, but I just might have the final episode as well. Not really the most ground breaking way for a show to end its run, but unique in its own way.
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MCL115031 January 2006
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kbotello5 March 2007Okay, I was only 7 when this show came out. But I remember watching it every Friday night. Juliette Lewis really stuck out to me and years later when I saw her in some movie I knew I had seen her before somewhere, but could not think of the name of the show she was in. Being that I was only 7, I didn't know what the plot of the show was, I just enjoyed watching it and listening to the Hispanic woman's accent. One of "Dora"'s trademarks in the show was that she had this junk drawer in the kitchen. The husband would get so frustrated when he would try to find something in the drawer and start yelling at her. She'd go over to the drawer, pull it out, shake her hip up against the drawer and wah-la... there was the item he'd been looking for. Of course, I thought this was just hilarious.
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Coralknight28 November 2019At a time when the Iran-Contra affair and atrocities coming from the Salvadoran civil war were constant news came this comedy about a beloved maid who happened to be an illegal alien. Elizabeth Peña capitalized on the popularity of her previous character from "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and "Dora" emerged as a wise, emotional, funny and HOT addition to the airwaves. The filming and overall pace was derivative of many commercials at the time (silent fade-to-black narration of the scene). Yet the humor was actually very funny for its time; laughing at topical events, white vs Latin culture, cut-throat 80's business and family dynamics in general. This is definitely an underrated and extremely short-lived series which deserves a lot more attention. Sadly, it could never be made in the current climate, so it's a time-capsule in itself.
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Billy-253 July 2002"I Remember Dora" was one of those great shows that nobody watched. Elizabeth Pena was funny and beautiful. I also remember the last episode having an extremely jarring ending. It had one of the characters leaving the family to take a job in another country. He goes through the door to the plane, leaving the family in tears. He comes back a moment later. "what's wrong?", he is asked. "It was canceled," he replies. "What, the flight?" "No, our series!" At which point the camera pulls back, revealing the sets, lights and crew, and everyone turned and waved good-bye to the camera. I was 13 and remember this being EXTREMELY disturbing, but a brave wink to the few fans the show had.
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afijamesy2k7 December 2022This is a truly, truly worthless piece of junk starring daniel hugh kelly as a man who has to marry an illegal alien to keep her from being deported and all mayhem, this silly idiotic plot has no laughs, only a chuckle or two and the only reason this piece of trash is lower on my list of the very worst tv shows of all time is the finale itself, the finale is far more hilarious then ths piece of trashy junk, it's hard to believe that reeves entertainment the successor to the alan landsberg productions is the same company that did great stuff like bill, adam, gimme a break and kate and allie, reduced to garbage filth like this saddens me and the audience and daniel hugh kelly who was great in hardcastle and mccormick is wasted here, luckily brian keith was smart not to appear in this shlock, this is a real failure and a big disappointment for those involved and what are two days of our lives stars (peggy mcckay and allison sweeney) doing in this mess saddens me?
This is junk. -
monerg22 August 2005"I Married Dora" was notable in many ways. The delightful Elizabeth Peña interacting with "Mester Peter" not only as the housekeeper but also dreaming of truly being Mr. Peters wife. And functioning as a true wife in many ways.
But daughter Kate was unforgettable with a mastery of sarcasm. From such a cute little girl with a amazing resemblance to future super star actress Juliette Lewis.
Most unforgettable episode was where Dora takes the kids to a Latino club. When Mr. Peter finds out where the kids are he has a wild fantasy of the evils of such a club. An absolutely hilarious episode making great use stereotypes! -
theowinthrop17 April 2005This week's NEW YORK MAGAZINE had a comment in the column by the television reviewer that reviewed (in a disparaging way) about this comedy that lasted only one season. The writer mentioned the conclusion of the series where they announced the series was canceled, But the reviewer also felt the show was deservedly forgotten.
Actually it was not a bad little comedy. But it suffered from a bad weekly spot. It was on Fridays, I believe. The plot line is based on the problems of avoiding Dora's deportation by any means necessary (which is like Lucille Ball's determination to get into show business by any means necessary on I LOVE LUCY). Dora's boss, a W.A.S.P., marries her, but her weekly attempts to please him and keep in the country always show that she is a little more with it due to street smarts.
There were other plot points that were never fully covered due to it's short run. The boss/husband was previously married (with children). His wife was on a plane that apparently was commandeered by terrorists four years before, and never heard from again - so there was a potential situation like Tennyson's ENOCH ARDEN of the missing person turning up again.
There was also a nice addition to the cast - Henry Jones, that dependable character actor. It was his first regular role on a comedy series since his two year stint on Cloris Leachman's PHYLLIS. Here he was a W.A.S.P. aristocrat, who constantly got to see that his fine contacts meant nothing. In one episode, Dora learns Jones knows Nancy Reagan (they are old friends). She convinces him to make a phone call asking the President (through Nancy) to kill some immigration problem. No problem to Henry, he insists. We watch him make a few calls, and he eventually does get Nancy. We hear a pleasant conversation (of course, only from Jones side) going on. After two minutes, a promise to see Nancy and Ronnie when they are back home, Henry hangs up. Dora is looking daggers at her, as he realizes he never got to ask Nancy for the favor!
Not a bad show really, which, with a better time slot, might have made it. But not one of the worst films - not by a long stretch. -
symph0natic26 February 2006I saw every single one of the 13 episodes when they originally aired back in the Fall of 1987, and loved most of them--especially the first & the final episodes! I recognized Juliette Lewis as a major star in the making back then, and thusly was so pleasantly surprised when she was cast in Cape Fear (1991) and eventually earned a well-deserved Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actress!
Here's one bit of irony that I remember from the pilot episode (and am surprised that no one else has commented on): When it looks as if the U.S. Government will deport Dora, Peter at first engages in a series of interviews with potential housekeepers, all of them hilariously unfit in one way or another. (Including a weird Indian woman who thought she was answering an ad for a "Horsekeeper", lol!)
Afterwards, he asks his kids, Kate & Will, who they liked. They both immediately respond, "Dora." Peter then remarks that one of the interviewees "seemed okay," to which Kate responds with something like (not an exact quote), "Yeah, if you don't worry too much about her going off on some kind of killing spree." I remembered this line years later when I saw Kate (Juliette Lewis) in the incredibly great & incredibly disturbing NATURAL BORN KILLERS (1994) in which she plays a character who, with Woody Harrelson, goes off on a killing spree!! :-)
Anyway, LOVED THIS SHOW! Admittedly, it probably didn't have a lot more great episodes in it at the time it was canceled; however, most of the episodes that were made were great! And it brought us the always interesting, unique, talented and wonderful Juliette Lewis!!! -
heckles1 November 2001This was an otherwise forgettable exercise in inter-ethnic comedy. Just like in "The Nanny", the WASP is the well-off, supposedly in command male, which made mainstream America comfortable as the maid/nanny shows that her colorful Salvadorian/Jewish relatives are actually nicer than some of his grasping relatives or associates; before he gets around to noticing that the 'ethnic' hired help is hot stuff. (It helps, in this case, that they already have a paper marriage.)
Two things are worth mentioning about it, however; first, it was the introduction of Elizabeth Pena, she with the facially large nose, slightly closed eyes, and superbly sexy voice -- sort of a throaty drawl with a very slight Cuban undertone. Catch her in "Lone Star" or "Tortilla Soup" if you want to see her at her best. The second, as I recall, was the way the show acknowledged its poor ratings. At one point Dora made a virtual pistol shot at a TV Nintendo game, and stated that she wished she could zap "Beauty and the Beast" in the same manner. And at the end the someone in the cast announced that the series had been canned - and came out for a bow in front of the studio audience. A nice touch, when most canceled sitcoms just disappear into the ether without a by-your-leave. -
richard.fuller129 November 2005Here it is, the end of 2005 and TV Guide and TVland are both recognizing the final episode of 'I Married Dora' for it's wink to the audience.
The episode-in-question aired December 18, 1987. It didn't get blockbuster ratings like the final MASH, Who Shot JR or The Fugitive.
Put in perspective, Dallas' infamously notorious dream sequence was May 16, 1986.
Dora finale, May 18, 1987.
St. Elsewhere finale, May 25, 1988.
Newhart finale, May 21, 1990. Newhart put all the tongue-in-cheekiness in perspective. Nothing can outdo Bob Hartley's dream sequence, I'm afraid.
So where does Dora stand? It recognizes more than any other show that a show is simply written.
Dora will be recognized along with Burns and Allen, Garry Shandling and the televised play, HOuse of Blue Leaves, with Swoozie Kurtz, John Mahoney and Ben Stiller, for its toying with the audience.
The show will never applauded as a great show, but then what is a great show? High ratings and Emmys don't guarantee a show won't be forgotten, no more than box office and Oscars guarantee a movie will be a classic.
There stands Dora, for that final episode. A classic. -
suzan2813 September 2006i slightly remember this series and i'm trying to remember the name of the actress who played his young daughter, would you kindly put who else was in the cast, it's a great help..but when all i know is him...that's just plain being unfair Susann
i think that the actress might have been Christina ricci, but when i went to her page it wasn't listed...i do remember one of the young up and comers, if i'm not mistaken..but it sure would be good if you could put the rest of the cast, i know that the show didn't even last a year, but i kind of enjoyed it all, and would like to know who the rest of the cast is/was
Susan