This week for my Top 10 Tuesday, I am counting down the Top 10 characters from the classic sitcom Taxi!
John Burns disappeared from Taxi after the first season and few even noticed because he had not really made any impression. I almost considered not even putting him on the list but he just narrowly made it at #10 because I don't think he was a bad character, just an underdeveloped one. He had a few moments to shine (I particularly remember some funny moments during the Christmas episode when he's on the phone with his wife throughout the poker game). I think Taxi didn't need another likable straight man because Alex was that but he was harmless.
9. ZENA SHERMAN
Before she made a splash on Cheers, Rhea Perlman played a very different character on Taxi. She wasn't as sharp tongued because she was dating the most sharp tongued character on the show. Zena was a decent character in her own right but he greatest purpose on the show was humanizing Louie. If a nice girl like Zena liked him, there had to be something to him and that was important for his character development.
Tony Banta is the lowest series regular who was on for much of the run of Taxi because it's mostly just Tony Danza being himself. I like Danza at times (I think Who's the Boss? is an underrated sitcom for example). But he needs the right vehicle and this isn't it. In a sitcom full of top notch acting performances, Danza is very clearly a weak link. When the character of Tony works, it's because of the writing. Tony can be a likable character, but there's really not much to him.
7. BOBBY WHEELER
Bobby Wheeler was a very strong character in the early years of Taxi who was phased out as the series went on. Some of that was due to Jeff Conaway's off-screen troubles and part of that was because of the rise of some of the other characters as the most dynamic elements of Taxi. But Bobby was a sympathetic character who brought a different kind of energy to the show when he was on. His attempts and forays into acting were a nice contrast to the blue collar nature of the show.
6. SIMKA GRAVAS
Taxi struck gold when they cast Carol Kane as Latka's love interest, Simka. There are very few actors out there who could have matched Andy Kaufman's insanity but Kane was up to the challenge. She not only made Latka a more endearing character, she was also completely goofy and quirky in her own ways as well. Her very distinctive voice and adherence to her country's customs provided a lot of laughs in the later seasons of Taxi.
Until Simka became a series regular in the final season, the only female regular on the show was Elaine Nardo. And she was a great character who was notable not because she was female. Taxi was actually pretty revolutionary in that way because most early sitcoms with only one woman in the main cast would make her character more superficial. But Elaine was as fully realized as any other character in the garage. I hesitate to use the phrase "one of the boys" because it sells short the way the character fit into the group but the show certainly respected Elaine as her own character and reaped the rewards as a result with a solid performance from Marilu Henner.
4. LATKA GRAVAS
I wonder how a character like Latka would be received today. I would hope that he would be embraced like he was back in the 70s and 80s but I'm not so sure. Maybe because he's a generic foreigner and not from a real country, it would slide but who knows. All I know is Andy Kaufman was electric in the role whether he was being the sweet and innocent Latka, the suave and irritating Vic Ferrari or any of his other personalities (he did a tremendous Alex Reiger impression too). Along with Jim Ignatowski (more on him below), Latka brought a sense of surrealism to the show that made it all the more entertaining.
Alex Reiger was the heart and soul of Taxi. Although he had a few quirks and oddities, he was primarily a straight man and one of the best ones in TV history. One of the most famous qualities of Alex is that he was ultimately "just" a cab driver. He wasn't aspiring to some other career like most of the rest of the cabbies. That feature, which seems like a boring trait, actually made him quite interesting. Although the show was primarily a comedy, Alex was responsible for much of the drama that happened over the course of five seasons and Judd Hirsch was a master in the role.
2. JIM IGNATOWSKI
One of the wildest and weirdest characters in TV history, the ex-hippie Jim Ignatowski was pretty iconic. More than anything, he was at the center in what I would consider one of the Top 5 comedy scenes in TV history. The famous "what does a yellow light mean?" is one of the funniest bits ever done in a sitcom and Lloyd plays it to perfection. His line deliveries and general befuddlement throughout the entire series were hilarious but if you need to see a minute and a half to understand why he's so great, watch that "yellow light" scene. In fact, I just did again while writing this paragraph.
I remember many years ago when TV Guide ranked the greatest characters of all time and Louie De Palma came in at #1. I was angry at the time because I thought there were many other characters that were better. I still would rank Lucy Ricardo or Michael Scott ahead of him and maybe some others but Louie has definitely moved up on the list over the years for me. I have come to appreciate what a nuanced character he is and how Danny DeVito was able to make a wholly unlikable character someone who you couldn't help but root for every once in awhile. Sure, sometimes he was completely unbearable and that was funny too. But sometimes you could see through the very gruff exterior and see the deep insecurities and that was where the character really shined.
Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at 1976's All Fair!
Next Tuesday: Top 10 Bewitched Characters!
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