Shark Bytes

I comment Marla Gibbs for taking the chance. Since it did not pan out, I also commend her for making sure she could go back to "The Jeffersons" in the event that it didn't pan out. Believable storyline or not, crazier things have happened in real life. I wish that they would put the 4-6 episodes of the show on dvd, and I would buy it.

I remember watching this show's pilot episode with great curiosity, but was left disappointed. I too found it unbelievable that someone with no leadership qualifications could suddenly be put in charge of a hotel's maid staff. I also recall that Larry (Ferret Face) Linville played Florence's supervisor. On the positive side, Marla Gibbs should be given immense credit. She had the good sense to have it written into her contact that she could return to The Jeffersons if Checking In flopped. There are a few dozen sitcom stars out there who should have been so shrewd.

CHECKING IN jumped from day one. This series was just a bad idea to begin with. Marla Gibbs was wonderful as Florence on THE JEFFERSONS. A great supporting actor that made a mediocre show seem better than it was, but the character of Florence was not special enough to sustain her own spinoff and the idea of Florence running a hotel was just silly. This was a bad idea from the start and it was no surprise that it was cancelled after just a few episodes.

Once again, "familiar to unfamiliar" hinders the central character and burns the producers. Florence's wise cracks were funniest bouncing off George Jefferson. "Checking In" never had a chance.

It seems like right around this time on TV there were a few crummy shows out there that had their own destinies within their titles; and this was one of them…”Checking In”, checked OUT pretty quickly…”Makin’ It”…didn’t MAKE IT, etc.! At the very least they found a way for Marla Gibbs to get back on to “The Jeffersons” in her own smart-ass style and never mentioned this excursion again! Trouble was by then her parent series was fizzling out pretty well on its own after so many seasons! Just out of curiosity, didn’t the “J-Lo” movie “Maid to Order” (or whatever it was called – the previews were enough to turn me off from going to see it) somewhat mirror the premise of this series in a way…anyone? Anyone?

I don't remember the actual episodes of Checking In, but they do show in syndication the set-up story for this show on the Jeffersons where Florence is on-the-spot offered the job as executive housekeeper at a hotel. She is offered with no formal education credentials and no practical experience working in a hotel much less managing a staff. Working for George and Weezie hardly qualifies her for the job. And yet we the audience were supposed to feel sorry for Florence whenever her foil for a boss and her underlings called her on her inabilities. They had every right to question her qualifications since she had none! But in true sitcom fashion, she not only doesn't get canned, she ultimately dazzles and earns the respect of everyone around her. Apparently, this was too much suspension of reality for the audience - with only 4 episodes to its credit, CBS ditched this dreck in almost record time