The summer of '94 saw three replacement shows - "The Boys," "The Building," and "The Good Life" - that beat the hell out of the majority of network sanctioned tripe. Of the three, "The Good Life was easily the best. When Drew Carey hit it big, I hoped it might spark some interest in this forgotten gem, like say a run on a certain cable comedy channel. Alas, "The Good Life" remains buried in the annals of TV history, with only Drew's show and Shay Astar's role on "3rd Rock" as pale reminders of what once was. I fondly recall the episode in which those two discovered a mutual love of the Grateful Dead. Drew's tie-dye was a sight to behold. And "Don't forget to Clark the door!" - that should have gone down as one of TV history's classic lines.
Add a Review
-
staircar2 November 2001
-
snap0780112 November 2006I remember something about John Caponera demanding more money per episode. NBC had just plugged the show by airing an episode after the Super Bowl, and people liked the show. Unfortunately, air-times were changed, and I got the impression that when NBC heard Caponera's demands, they were like "you're not all that", and rewarded him with a cancellation.
I'm surprised nobody mentioned Justin Berfield who went on to star in "Unhappily Ever After" and "Malcolm In The Middle". I never saw Jake Patella after that series, and barely saw Eve Gordon.
I'll be first on the list if they ever release this show on DVD. I think I have one episode on tape, the Marry Lou Murray episode. "Ahh, we'll always have tape." -
tgibbs27916 June 2001Absolutely hilarious sitcom! It had a fresh, distinctive comic tone, unlike anything else on the air before or since. The acting was great, the writing was crisp, and the situations and characters were unique. And above all, it wasn't just another sex-sex-sex sitcom, like every OTHER show on TV. So naturally, it was misinterpreted by critics, ignored by audiences, and only lasted a few months.
Caponera and Carey had a fantastic chemistry. If the show had lasted, we'd be talking about them as one of TV's great teams. Eve Gordon was hot(and funny) as Caponera's wife. The whole cast was good. They had a fantastic rapport.
"The Good Life" ran two or three months, tops. It's just another example of NBC squandering a good show while they keep garbage on the air for years. "The Good Life" and a wonderful Al Franken sitcom called "Lateline" got the shaft while junk like "Suddenly Susan" ran for years. What a way to run a railroad!
One fast anecdote: in one episode, Monty Hoffman's character Tommy is playing ping-pong when the boss walks through the office. Instead of scrambling to get back to work, Tommy just shrugs and says "Good thing I'm union!" I still use that line.
Where can we get this gem on tape? I'd buy every episode offered without hesitation. -
wademan-320 August 2007My buddy and I were at Universal Studios in CA and were recruited to go be in the audience of a TV show. They told us the title of the show was "The Bowmans." They put us in a bus and took us to the studio and then dropped us off back at the park about 3 hours later. It was pretty cool.
What I remember most is Drew Carey. I knew who he was from his stand-up. The warm-up comedian was really stupid and no one was laughing. He had his girlfriend there and seemed to be trying to impress her. So after a bit, Drew Carey took over doing the comedy between takes and was hilarious!! I thought it was a shame the show got canceled. -
circusof35 September 2007This is one of the funniest shows ever! I know it didn't last long, but I wish they would release this on DVD. The episode when they broke there bosses statue and sneak in to fix it is great! When they play Nerf basketball on there lunch break and keep score by what the ball strikes! "Hit futuristic looking collar" "Check"! Absolutely the best! Drew Carey was very funny, but definitely NOT the center of attention. All the cast had there moments. This show could easily be a hit today, especially since the television is packed with so many ex-comedian's with a hot wife type sitcoms. Hollywood loves to remake and repackage things, why not start here?
-
Bastosk24 May 2005I remember watching the show whenever I could. My NBC affiliate kept preempting it for garbage they were airing. I can remember the comment about the CFL teams. "What would you like to name yourselves?" "Rough Riders." "Nah... We've Already got a Rough Riders" "How about.... Rough Riders?" "C'mon, we need the teams..." Thank goodness Drew got his own vehicle, but what a shame that this dissolved away into nothing. The kids were cute, but I remember a guest appearance by one character later on Full House. I know that Drew even had him on his show as a guest once, too, but by then it was WAY too little, too late. It seemed like he was doing a dying man a favor. Or, how about the promo during the Olympics of the three-man Bobsled team. It didn't suffer from lack of promotion, just consistency, and local network support, along with LOW watching.
-
owlstarrez8 January 2005We absolutely loved this show when it was aired and we were highly disappointed when the show was canceled. It was canceled right before it hit it's prime. I don't think the networks know what they are doing when they cancel shows such as this, even today. You just get used to something and wham! It's gone. The networks need to keep listening to the viewers as we the viewers ultimately make the choices, I believe. It is the viewers who keep the ratings. The Good Life was one of the most hilarious shows around, I never saw my husband laugh so hard in his life. I hope this comes out on DVD/VHS soon as we'd buy without hesitation.
Thanks. -
turtleturk24 November 2005Way too short of a run. They sure squeezed a load o' laughs into 13 episodes and I loved 'em all. One the biggest laughs ever came from this show when Tommy wanted to surprise himself with a gift he sent to himself. When asked how it could be a surprise, he explained: I pick some things I do like and some things I don't like in a catalog, copy the cat. #'s only down, jumble them up, pick one and order it. It shows up, he opens it and proceeds to grumble about what a piece of crap gift he just got. Then Drew takes it. Not too funny in my little synopsis, but it was great on the show. Wish I could see it again on DVD. The episode where John takes his son to the track on a school day is a riot too. And a note for the Drew fans out there that aren't familiar with this show. He was the cool guy that got the hot chickies, believe it or not---and he was a riot. I do happen to have the episode where his son's class visits the lock warehouse on "What My Dad Does For A Living Day." I'm desperate to get the rest of the shows. Hope to see the DVD someday. Turtleturk
-
Glenrob22 June 2004This truly was a worthy (and, most important, funny) series that was cut down before it ever reached its prime. In hindsight, it had sort of the feel of "The Drew Carey Show" (duh, Drew Carey was in it) meets "Everybody Loves Raymond."
Funny, engaging, a tiny bit risqué in one episode, but mostly just good, clean family fun. A real winner that somehow lost. And now we've made the prime-time transition from warm, witty sitcoms to "reality" television that has nothing at all to do with reality -- unless you've ever been shipwrecked and had to live 30 days on an island populated in part by cameramen and TV hosts.
"The Good Life" deserved better, and we as television viewers deserved and continue to deserve better. -
adamcook5 June 2001This show, while only on for a few months with 13 episodes, was one of the funniest sitcoms that I can remember. I was surprised when it was taken off the air. If anyone has any information on how I may be able to get a hold of tapes of this show, please email me (note: those "00" are zeros)