On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. Here is a look at Uncle Buck!
UNCLE BUCK
Programming Details:
September 10, 1990 - March 9, 1991
16 episodes
CBS
Starring: Kevin Meaney, Dah-ve Chodan, Jacob Gelman, Sarah Martineck
Developed for Television by: Tim O'Donnell
Plot: Based on the 1989 film of the same name, Buck (Meaney) is a slob and traditional "guy's guy" who is forced into a caretaker role for his nieces Tia and Maizy (Chodan & Martineck) and nephew Miles (Gelman) after his brother and sister-in-law are killed in a car accident.
Unlike when I reviewed Ferris Bueller last week, I haven't seen the Uncle Buck movie so I had less to compare it to. It was certainly less stylized than Bueller though and more of a traditional sitcom. It relied heavily on the idea that Buck was completely unfit to be a parental figure only to prove by the end of the pilot that he really could do the job. We've seen that a million times before and since and this pilot didn't bring anything new to that trope. I know John Candy was a very popular actor who was well regarded in the movie but without having seen that, I though Kevin Meaney was effective enough in the title role. He wasn't given a lot to work with but he made the most of it.
Within the first minute of the episode, Sarah Martineck's character, a young girl, says "you suck" and that generated quite a bit of controversy at the time for a family show but it seems pretty tame today. The kids were serviceable but pretty standard sitcom kids of the 80s. They were all types (rebellious older daughter, smart/nerdy son, precocious younger daughter) and relying a little too much on being cute instead of being good actors. TV sitcom kids in general have gotten much better in recent years. One thing that was super obnoxious was the theme song which was not only an annoying tune but it was also paired with some horribly dumb staged 1980s-style scenes like Buck shaking his head at Tia's wardrobe. Sitcom legend Audrey Meadows was strong in a recurring role as the grandma.
As I mentioned last week with Ferris Bueller, there were quite a few TV shows based on movies in the Fall of 1990. Uncle Buck was a very recent movie at the time and CBS had high hopes for the show as it gave the series the 8pm Monday slot, moving the previous occupant (Major Dad) to 8:30pm. This wasn't an attempt to jumpstart the night. CBS had success on Monday nights with comedies and they still chose to give Buck the lead-off slot so that definitely gives a clue of how they were feeling about it. It wasn't meant to be though. While Buck was disappointing in the ratings on Monday, another new sitcom, Evening Shade, was showing some promise on Fridays.
In November, CBS made the decision to flip the timeslots of the two shows. Shade fit like a glove on Monday nights and had a nice run there with strong ratings and Emmy nominations and wins. Meanwhile, Buck aired just two episodes on Fridays before being yanked off the lineup. It resurfaced on Saturdays for five more episodes before it was gone for good. Another attempt at a TV version of Uncle Buck happened in 2016 on ABC with Mike Epps in the title role. It had just one summer run of eight episodes that did okay by summer standards but did not get renewed. Epps is the one surviving Uncle Buck out there as John Candy died at 43 in 1994 and Kevin Meaney died at 60 in 2016.
Tomorrow: A look at the second half of Get Smart Season 1!
Next Wednesday: A One Season Wonder look at 1990's Cop Rock!
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