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Cash907 t1_j8hjdql wrote

I recently rediscovered The John Laroquette Show on RewindTV. Holy shit I forgot how good that first season was. It was incredibly bleak for a sitcom, John being a rock bottom recovering alcoholic becoming the night manager of a bus station, trading quips with a very progressive black man who ran the snack counter, in a will they/won’t they maybe romance with a hot as hell hooker with a heart of gold, and a revolving door of high profile guest stars and cameos. Yeah it went to shit in the second season and had just started turning things around in the third before it got shitcanned but man that first season was incredible. It was gutsy in a way broadcast tv wouldn’t dream of these days, and way before it’s time feeling more like an HBO series than NBC. It’s not streaming anywhere so if you have RewindTV it airs on Sunday’s.

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Grantagonist t1_j8ifyy1 wrote

I remember it being pretty great. (My favorite joke, such as I remember it: "You're done already?" "No, someone said 'come in'.")

I don't remember the second season, though. What changed?

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Cash907 t1_j8j9lha wrote

The humor got a lot more bland and “family friendly,” John got a new love interest that was annoying AF and pissed everyone off because we all wanted him to get with Carly, they toned down John’s demons and made his struggles with alcoholism more of a punchline than something serious, Carly gave up being a call girl and bought the bar in the station turning it into a nightclub, Dexter lost a lot of his edge and developed this sort of odd couple relationship with Gene, who used to be more of the moderate blue collar foil to his Malcom X mentality. Basically it became a generic sitcom. It was still good, it just wasn’t the same shocking breath of fresh air wtf am I watching season 1 was.

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ThatPancreatitisGuy t1_j8jaak1 wrote

One of my favorite shows and that’s a good summary. I’d add that the third season veered off into an entirely different direction, much more absurdist and the characters became more like caricatures. But it was really funny and while I preferred the dark, realism of the first season the third season was preferable over the relatively bland second season.

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Grantagonist t1_j8kpltr wrote

Oh man, I forgot about Chi McBride as the janitor!

Cracked me up when I next saw him as the super-serious principal in Boston Public. Such a contrast.

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StoneGoldX t1_j8kvtg1 wrote

And a super young Mila Kunis, at least in one episode.

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rigellus t1_j8l9s90 wrote

Dang I love Chi McBride, my fav part of Hawaii 5-0, anyone know if the three seasons are streaming anywhere else?

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KnotForNow t1_j8jbayc wrote

Thank you! I had no idea this was available.

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