ONE SEASON WONDERS: Chicken Soup

On Wednesdays, I look at shows that lasted one season or less. Today I am looking at 1980s flop Chicken Soup!

CHICKEN SOUP

Programming Details:

September 12, 1989 - November 7, 1989

8 episodes

ABC

Starring: Jackie Mason, Lynn Redgrave, Rita Karin, Kathryn Erbe, Johnny Pinto, Alisan Porter, Brandon Maggart, Cathy Lind Hayes

Created by: Saul Turteltaub and Beanie Orenstein

Plot: Jackie Fisher (Mason) is a middle-aged Jewish man living with his mother, Bea (Karin). He starts dating a woman, Maddie (Redgrave) with three children (Erbe, Pinto, Porter), but the catch is that she's Irish Catholic.

Brief Pilot Review:

The plot for this series tells you all you need to know about the kinds of jokes it focused on, primarily the culture clash between a Jewish man and an Irish Catholic woman. I'm not very familiar with Jackie Mason as a comic but this show clearly seemed to be designed for people who liked his brand of humor. It's heavy on jokes from him that aren't very funny and are delivered in the old fashioned, New York comedian way that doesn't play well now and may have even seemed dated in 1989. 

I didn't find Mason appealing at all in the lead role. He seemed like a caricature who might have been alright in a supporting role but did not work at all as a central character. He did direct addresses to the camera to begin and end the episode and was more enjoyable and real at the end. At the beginning, it seemed like he was doing his shtick. Lynn Redgrave was better but she was laying the Irish accent on pretty thick. The best part of the pilot was Rita Karin. Even though she was playing a pretty stereotypical Jewish mother role, Rita Karin had a couple good line deliveries. I would have liked to have seen more from a young Kathryn Erbe as there seemed to be a nice back and forth between her and Redgrave.

What Went Wrong:

The leash was not long for Chicken Soup because it had one of the best timeslots on any network. It got to follow the breakout hit Roseanne, which was a continued smash in its second season. Roseanne was the cornerstone of the entire network so ABC obviously had hopes for Chicken Soup to give that prime slot. The series didn't do poorly when looking at the ratings without knowing the context, it even ranked as #13 for the season. But retention was everything back in those days and the show was losing a very large number of Roseanne viewers. This is one of those situations where you really have to wonder how many fans of the show were even out there or how many would have left a test pattern on after a huge success.

It didn't help matters for Chicken Soup that Jackie Mason got himself embroiled in controversy during the 1989 New York City election for Mayor. Mason was campaigning for Rudy Giuliani and made racial remarks about rival David N. Dinkins. Giuliani dropped Mason for the remarks (my, how times have changed) but ABC didn't right away. The reverse seems like it would happen today. ABC stuck with the show for another couple weeks but ultimately it was pulled in November after just seven episodes. Coach returned for a second season and was a more compatible fit with Roseanne. Mason continued to be a successful stand-up with multiple one man shows on Broadway. At age 89, he is mostly retired though he still lends his voice to The Simpsons once in awhile. Lynn Redgrave passed away in 2010.

Tomorrow: A look at the first season of F Troop!

Next Wednesday: A One Season Wonder look at 1995 flop The Monroes!