ONE SEASON WONDERS: Maggie

MAGGIE

Programming Details:
October 24, 1981 - May 21, 1982
8 episodes
ABC

Starring: Miriam Flynn, James Hampton, Margie Impert, Judith-Marie Bergan, Billy Jacoby, Christian Jacobs and Doris Roberts
Created by: Erma Bombeck

Plot: Based on books by Erma Bombeck, Maggie Weston (Flynn) is a housewife living with husband Len (Hampton) and sons Mark and Bruce (Jacoby & Jacobs) outside of Dayton, Ohio. There is a third son, LJ, who is never seen because he's "always in the bathroom." Rounding out the main cast are Maggie's friends (Impert, Bergan & Roberts). 

Brief Pilot Review:

It's pretty clear from the credits what kind of a sitcom this is. It's a dreadfully typical and dumb sitcom that has many "misadventures." Things like the husband trying to pour his coffee in the morning and realizing the pot is empty - hilarious! I would think someone like Erma Bombeck, well known for her decades of humorous newspaper articles, would be able to write something that was a little less typical and generic. What helps the show is the presence of Doris Roberts, she is easily the best part of the show. Even saddled with inane material, she is capable of making it work. The rest of the cast is less strong with Miriam Flynn doing an okay job but not really capable of being the lead character in a sitcom and James Hampton being annoying more often than not. 

I do think the bit about the oldest son not being seen because he's always in the bathroom is a funny gimmick but perhaps it may have gotten tiring after an episode or two. There was a very bizarre bit where there were captions under one of the characters to explain what she's actually thinking. That sort of thing happens more now but was especially odd for 1981. I'm not a big fan of it now and it doesn't work here either. I always find that an excuse for trying to be funny without being able to get there organically. It's a cheap way for an unearned laugh. 

What Went Wrong:

Maggie aired on Saturday nights at 8pm. That might sound like a complete death slot but it wasn't really the case back in 1981. Later in the night, ABC aired popular shows The Love Boat and Fantasy Island, but the 8pm hour was a mess. Erma Bombeck was also a much more familiar name in 1981 than she is now. In addition to her newspaper columns, she also appeared regularly on Good Morning America. So there had to be some hope that this would be a premise that would connect and coudl help ABC fix the one hour of Saturdays that wasn't working for them.

But it wasn't meant to be. The reviews were tepid and the show struggled to find an audience. The Love Boat continued to build on the 8pm hour in a big way which made it look weaker. There were suggestions that Bombeck herself might have been a better star than Miriam Flynn but that's assuming that she could actually act and who knows if that is true. A winning personality on talk shows doesn't necessarily equate to someone who can perform in a scripted comedy. The series aired just four weeks in the Fall of 1981 before being yanked from the lineup and burned off with four more episodes in the late spring. Bombeck continued to be a successful columnist until 1996 while Doris Roberts obviously had the most success in the cast.

Tomorrow: A look at the eighth and final season of Bewitched!

Next Wednesday: A One Season Wonder look at 1990s flop Charlie Grace!