Shark Bytes

One thing that bothered me about the show is that although it was supposed to take place in St. Louis, MO, there were no correct references of it in the show. I can't think of how if the show took place in Chicago, New York, or San Francisco, there will be references to the cities throughout the show!

The classic example, perhaps, of a very promising sitcom undone by the ego of its star. Well, maybe not. Maybe it was the suits, and the marketers. I just remember getting really interested in this show which had such originality to it (Characters who work at night, set in a bus terminal, etc.) to really disappointed when all cast members of the opposite sex (Gigi Rice's hooker, in particular) suddenly having the hots for John Hemingway (Larroquette's character). That's usually a red flag for me right there. And sure enough, what made the show interesting was dropped and the thematic storylines of recovering alcoholics and various other societal "losers" were "whitewashed" into safe, politically correct, sitcom drivel. A real tragedy in television history that might have been.

After the first season, I see a focus group of suburban soccer moms being called in by NBC executives.

"It's kind of funny, but why is it so dark? Couldn't the hooker see the error of her ways and fall in love with John? Couldn't the restaurant owner be less angry, and, you know, not quite SO black? And the cops are funny, but they could be a whole lot wackier!"

The sooner networks allow the talent on the shows to dictate the content, rather than dumbasses in suits, the sooner we get shows that pander to someone other than knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing morons.

I'm so glad to see others here mourning the loss of a TV show that showed potential to be something truly revolutionary. As many others have written here, I stopped watching in the second season. Nevertheless, for a brief shining moment, this show exhibited potential to be the best thing the medium has ever seen. It was true entertainment, not a sit-com. After all, it was not funny all the time...it was trying to be much more than that and had NBC left it alone it could have accomplished its goal. It was real and surreal all at the same time, without apology for either. What the experience told me is that Larroquette is actually a man of integrity and talent, which is probably why I haven't seen him on TV since. Still looking for him though...anyone know where I can find him these days?

The first season was inspired dark comedy. It was brilliant... Later seasons were too squishy (Alison LaPlaca should have been cast as a bondage queen, not a sweet noble nurse), though my favorite episode from that period was the one in which John goes back to his old house "What's with you white people???"

What a brilliant show. Imagine that...a comedy that makes you laugh, and also make you think about the important things in life. John Larroquette is an outstanding actor.

First season: brilliant dark comedy; second season: godawful mess...

The first season was dark and not what American TV viewers are used to. It was even filmed dark. It was brilliant. The second season brought in a love interest and brighter sets. The whole tone of the show changed and everybody stopped watching because it sucked.

I agree that when they "cheered" it up the 2d season, it was not near as good, although still better than many other sitcoms ever were. The dynamics between John and Darryl "Chill" Mitchell were were just right and was my favorite part of this show.

I loved the first season of this show. It was so dark, yet creative and funny. John Larroquette's character (John Hemingway lol) is a recovering alcoholic, just as it Mr. Larroquette himself. He used his own life experiences in the role. Everyone around him was edgy and dark too. The angry young black man, the hooker, the latina woman who felt John stole her job, and the crooked cops. It was great. I still remember the episode where John goes to an AA meeting and unknowingly eats marijuana brownies. He then feels guilty because he fell off the wagon. Now it's that much harder for him to deal with his alcoholism. The other episode that really stands out in my mind was the season ender where his daughter comes to visit him. He had literally never met her. The only reason he got to now was because she was on her way to college and came to see him. I just remember it being so dark, and so well done. And so very very funny!! That's why the second season absolutely stunned me. How could they do that to my favorite sitcom? Suddenly the young black man is only angry in a funny way, the hooker (no longer a hooker) now owns the bar, the latina is comedy relief (nothing more), and he cops degenerate almost into keystone cops. Why, I ask you, WHY? Damn you network execs!!!!!!!

I started watching Larroquette in the spring of 1996 and was very angry when NBC cancelled the show that fall. I was glad when USA started airing it in 2000 and made it a point to watch every day. The show did not decline in its second season. It was only natural for John to have a girlfriend sooner or later. But the program was almost done by the time NBC cancelled it. About six episodes were aired on USA that did not appear on NBC. These episodes are rather pointless. Overall, Larroquette, like the very similar Wings, was one of the best sitcoms of the nineties.

Well...when i heard a while back that John Larroquette was getting his own show, after Night Court had it's run, I was naturally excited. The funniest cast member of NC getting his own show...(Right On!!) The first season I really liked, the show had a lot of room for the characters to develop, and each of the supporting cast had it's own little quirks about them...to really make them stand out. The first season the show had a real dark edge to it, but really, really funny as well. Naturally, I thought the second season, would be just as good, maybe funnier, because the support cast would have more room to develop. (Boy was I wrong!) I watched a couple of shows on season 2, the edge was gone the darkness was gone and Hemmingway moved to a swanky new pad. I liked it when he was in his dumpy apartment instead of his condo. What I noticed about sit-coms is that, when the main character makes a move, the show is really established and so are the other characters. All I can say is about this show is they rushed the main character too fast and the supporting cast. I stopped watching completely when he had his house warming party, and the humour i didn't get, nor could I understand why he would invite bums and homeless people to his house warming... (I didn't understand the concept or the humor.) (Just a Thought....) Great site!! (KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!!!!)

I love Alison La Placa's work but she has to be the female Ted McGinley. She even has a line on this show in response to John saying the he thought she was funny that goes something like "yeah, but people don't get me, I've had six series that were all canceled." In fact in 2001 she was in a pilot called "Nathan's Choice" that never aired, maybe she's now killing shows even before they're broadcast.

I loved this show and I liked Boyz II Men, but when Boyz II Men suddenly showed up in the bus terminal to Mime to their current single, I lost all respect - for them, and the network, and television in general, I mean who benefits from all this shameless cross promotion - certainly not the viewer who gets to see their favourite band inexplicably shoehorned into their favourite show in a move which diminishes both. It's bad enough when Bands are 'featured' on shows like Buffy or Melrose Place, but this sad event was the first evidence that NBC was tampering the show, after this they ditched Chester and brought on Catherine (Why?) promoted John to the day shift (way to quickly) and sealed the deal by involving McGinley, shame NBC shame!

Not really a vote, just an anecdote: I went to a taping during the last season. The show had an unbelievably stupid plot about John trying to return a tape recorder or something, which he nicknamed "Tapey." I kid you not. It was supposed to be a comment on ethics, but it was only mind-bogglingly banal. The warm-up comedian really had his work cut out for him, trying to maintain laughs from the audience. People were walking out in droves. The episode never aired before the show was canceled a few months later. Small wonder. I can't believe this show was ever good -- it must have done the jump long before!