Boston Common (1996–1997) User Reviews (22)

Clever dialogue is the best feature about it.

[insomniac_rod · 6/10 · 29 October 2004]

Very funny and clever sit-com that only lasted for one year.

Anthony Clark was funny and convinced as the lead character. Hedy Burress is incredibly charming: her beautiness, sexiness, and talent are impossible to ignore. I'm a big fan of hers thanks of this show.

The character of Leonard was an interesting addition to the show, he was very funny. The rest of the cast also delivered good performances.

Nice cast.

The writing was very clever and that's what made the show a delight to watch. I had the chance to watch this funny show on it's re-runs on Sony Entertainment T.v. Latin American way back in 2000 but quickly stopped re-running it.

A future DVD release looks impossible but hey? we can dream about it.

Watch it if you have the chance you won't regret, this was one of the only shows which all of it's dialogues are funny.

I enjoyed this show endlessly, and I still don't know why.

[fingerscut · 7/10 · 16 August 2006]

"Cute" is an accurate description for this show, and all the good and bad connotations that come with it. As seen in "Seinfeld", the comic - while no doubt is the heart and soul of the show - brings the least to the table acting-wise. Though Clark was serviceable, he wasn't anything more than "Likable and Naive" for the better part of a season and a half.

The on-going crush on the beautiful friend with a killer personality who is *shock* taken by someone with a more stable foothold on adult life is something a lot of us can connect with personally - and was tastefully done. The likability of "Joy" probably rates a 8.5 out of ten - and the show's attaching it's self to these concepts and advantages made it what it was. A cute - if a little contrived - sitcom that can be enjoyed by the light-hearted in the mood for a laugh with a nice little soul.

It "survived" on it's charm(it had plenty) and the comedy of Clark(who has some great jokes) and certainly deserved a longer run than it had. But "Classic" isn't a word that comes to mind, and did little to set it's self apart from other shows. It really pains me to give this show a 6/10, but it could have been much, much better. Childhood nostalgia will always make it a classic viewing experience for me, though.

This show deteriorated after the addition of Roger Reece's character..

[RichmondBread · 7/10 · 18 July 2019]

A country girl from Virginia (Wylene Pritchett), ventures up to Boston for college, along with the help of her brother Boyd. I felt the show had exceedingly great potential. It started off fresh and strong, but it went in the wrong direction in the 2nd Season, especially with the addition of Roger Reece's character - President Cross. A very bad move, and his character was all wrong for the show. ( He wasn't endearing or funny like President Butterfield). That, and also because the show was moved from Prime Time Thursday to the dreaded Sunday night slot, was the other nail in the coffin. As a Virginian, I appreciated the premise of the young Pritchetts dealing with Northeastern snobbery . It's a shame that they failed to mention that Virginia has an Aristocratic blue blooded nature of it's own, that rivals anything in New England. I miss the show and it's a shame it never got to take off and fly right.

Why do networks DO this!?!?!

[vickisubrosa · 18 August 2000]

Why do networks constantly formulate these amazingly funny shows and then take them away? With Boston Common, they it moved around all the time, often to the most Godawful time slots and didn't advertise what they were doing. I was so happy to find the reruns on USA. Of course, these were cancelled eventually, too. I don't see why they would set a show up to fail. That's what they did with Boston Common. No other show has made me laugh like this one did -- if one ever does again, you can be sure it will be cancelled as well. What's strange about Boston Common is that it's by the same people who put out Will and Grace. That show is a gigantic hit. The network treats it like gold. There are even some of the same jokes and I even noticed a sweater that seemed to make it's way from Boston Common to the wardrobe of Will and Grace. Who can explain it?

functional sitcom crew

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 6 February 2017]

Boyd Pritchett (Anthony Clark) drives his little sister Wyleen (Hedy Burress) from their rural Virginia home to big city Boston where she starts school at Randolph Harrington College. Boyd falls for graduate student Joy Byrnes (Traylor Howard) and takes the repairman job at the Student Union. Tasha King (Tasha Smith) is his new sassy black co-worker. Joy is actually going out with pompous Prof. Jack Reed (Vincent Ventresca). To Wyleen's dismay, Boyd stays in her apartment. Leonard Prince (Steve Paymer) is their sad-sack 18th century footwear archivist neighbor.

The writing team of Max Mutchnick and David Kohan are the co-creators. The first season was a late-season shorten replacement and it did relatively well. It sets up a functional group of characters. The central love triangle starts off a little rocky but after a few episodes, Joy's flirtations with Boyd help. They end up in the friends zone in the second season anyways. The second season stagnates as the characters are unable to expand their connections. The show has some sitcom fun but isn't anything long lasting. It probably needs one or two extra characters for romantic possibilities. The addition of Roger Rees is good but Ventresca is essentially diminished by him.

The secret cult known as the...

[pete-291 · 10/10 · 8 January 2001]

Boston Common is very cool. Especially interesting is the secret cult of women known as the Subrosas. When Wyleen manages to get an invitation to join, she turns up her nose. Interesting episode.

Emerson College

[lainiek66 · 8/10 · 2 September 2018]

The student union in the show was bases on Emerson College's student union back when it was still at 96 Beacon St. Anthony Clark and the creators of the show went to Emerson. The show deserved more than a season and a half. What ever happened to Anthony Clark after Yes Dear?

This show NBC failed to appreciate

[jlbernhardsen · 10/10 · 25 January 2021]

This show is a classic and in my honest truth blows Friends out of the water. More interesting and way way way better.

Underrated Show That Wears Well Over Time

[tgibbs279 · 10 February 2001]

"Boston Common" was a good show, but never one of my favorites. But in the years since NBC canceled it, TV in general has gone from bad to worse, and now "Boston Common" looks fantastic compared to current shows. At least it has an original premise; when you think about it, there really haven't been that many shows set on a college campus. The cast was good, the writing was clever, and the show offered something new. I wasn't a huge fan at the time, but I now I realize that good shows are so rare, we need to hang on to them when they come along.

Unique...

[tittlemouse · 21 July 2000]

There's an element to this show that's unexplainable. It leaves you feeling good. The writing was superb, the cast was talented, and this was one of the few '90s sitcoms that didn't constantly rely on sex for material. Great show! Thanx to USA, reruns are still on, but for how much longer?

Hilarious comedy!

[Op_Prime · 11 January 2000]

Boston Common was a hilarious show. How could NBC be dumb enough to cancel it? The answer they give us is bad ratings, but they wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't moved to such bad time slots. Anthony Clark is the best on the series, being the funniest of all, with Hedy Burress close behind. Thankfully, USA reruns this short lived show. Thank you USA network!

Very funny show

[cubedwellar · 10 October 2000]

Boston Common was so very funny! Anthony Clark was perfectly cast as Boyd...the man who left Virginia to win the heart of Joy. I really thought the ratings were good for the show, so I am not sure why it was cancelled. If you get a chance to see it on the USA network, do it! It will leave you laughing all day.

What happened??!!

[bigben-3 · 1 December 1999]

I still can't believe why would they take this good show off-air. This is one of the funniest shows on TV. The wild, wacky, and funny cast of Randolph Harrington delivers such great performances and gave "humor" a new meaning. Boyd, Wyleen, Tasha, Joy and the rest of the cast are really funny, and are such talented comedians. I would still laugh every time I watch this show.

Thanks to USA network, I'd still reward myself a few laughs..

again, why, why, why???

[chillintacos · 5 October 2001]

this was another great show (i made a comment on 'the secret lives of men' another incredibly great show) i thought is was hilarious and laughed every time..i dunno why they cancelled it but they shouldn't have!

Excellent comedy! Why was it cancelled?

[Zigg-3 · 5 August 1999]

Boston Common ranks right up there with the best sitcoms I've seen. Anthony Clark does a superb job as Boyd, and the chemistry between him and Hedy Burress playing his sister Wyleen is awesome. The rest of the cast (with the possible exception of Vincent Ventresca as Jack Reed, who comes across as pretentious) rounds out everything very well. Highly recommended!

If there is one show I would love to see return, this is it.

[USagain · 29 July 1999]

Boston Common may be my favorite situation comedy ever. I never missed an episode. I still watch it, in rerun, on USA. It's on every weekday at 10:00 AM. It's hard to believe I can watch the same episodes over and over, and still laugh at all the same spots. Anthony Clark, who plays Boyd, has a special talent for comedy. His antics while getting into, and out of trouble, leave me in stitches. Every actor in this show was made for their part. I can't express how disappointed I was when the show was cancelled. If there is one show I would love to see return, this is it.

It's a cute sitcom about being away from home for the first time.

[Pacey-3 · 10 June 1999]

Boston Common is a really cute sitcom about a young girl (Wyleen) going so far away from home for college for the first time. It should not have been cancelled. It's on in reruns on USA network at 10:30 a.m. Watch it for a little while, and see for yourself.

I love this show and I think that Anthony Clark is very funny.

[Tat-2 · 5 August 1999]

I watch this show all the time and I love Anthony Clark. He is so funny and so cute. Anthony Clark brings a lot of humor to this show as well as Hedy Burress. This show makes me laugh so hard. I love this show and I think that Anthony Clark is very funny.

The best show to ever be canceled after one season!!!

[ash-73 · 21 September 1999]

I love this show so much. I know it was canceled because of bad ratings but I think it was because the network moved it around so much. There is no reason why this wonderful show could not be put back on the air. Why do networks give up on great shows so fast??? If they would have stuck with this show it would be a huge hit right now. Remember Sinfield didn't get good ratings to begin with either. Shows just need time to find their audience you no vision network execs.

Should have lasted longer then The Naked Truth

[mack3175 · 22 February 2002]

This show takes place at Boston college. Where Boyd(Anthony Clark) is staying with his sister. Boyd is staying up there to impress a young lady. This show was very funny. And it only lasted one season. NBC keeps canceling the wrong series. Another good series gets dumped.

A guilty pleasure

[MovieMilhouse21 · 15 June 2003]

This is another one of the many guilty pleasures that was on the USA network. This was one of the many shows that I used to love on the USA network. My favorite character was Leonard. He was kind of weird, but in a totally good way. I was really mad when they took this show off the air. I had a whole lineup on the USA network that I would watch on days when I was off from school and this was one of them. I am mad that the USA channel stopped playing my shows.

The Pritchett's were not from West Virginia

[damned_mad · 24 November 2005]

The main characters in the show were not from West Virginia, as the plot outline states. They were actually from Gladys, VIRGINIA, 24554.

Don't know where it is? It's about half way between Brookneal and Alta Vista. Still lost? I could keep naming towns and you still wouldn't know. It's literally in the middle of nowhere south of Lynchburg.

Is this information important or helpful? No, but as a Virginian it was my duty to make the correction.

I originally found the show somewhat amusing, but stopped watching it because I felt the writers presented an inaccurate depiction of residents of The Old Dominion.