On Wednesdays, I take a look at a show that lasted one season or less. This week, I am looking at 1994's 704 Hauser!
704 HAUSER
April 11, 1994 - May 9, 1994
5 episodes
CBS
5 episodes
CBS
Starring: John Amos, Lynnie Godfrey, T.E. Russell, Maura Tierney
Created by: Norman Lear
Plot: A series set in the same house as the iconic series All in the Family. Now living at 704 Hauser Street in Queens is a black family - the Cumberbatches with outspoken patriarch and Democrat, Ernie (Amos), his understanding wife, Rose (Godfrey) and his conservative son, Thurgood (Russell). Rounding out the main cast is Thurgood's white girlfriend, Cherlyn (Tierney).
I should start by saying I'm generally not a big fan of Norman Lear shows. I recognize and respect his place in TV history but I've always found most of his shows to be so forced with the topical issues. I'm a fan of The Jeffersons but that's about it. I think the idea of setting a show in the same house as the Bunkers only exemplified how forced the political arguments (which were very 90s, by the way) were. I did appreciate it that the show commented on the similarities of the arguments through a grown-up Joey Stivic (guest star Casey Siemaszko) but it just felt like we got to know the situation (conservative son with liberal father) and then the arguments just flew for the rest of the episode. Maybe that's my biggest problem with Norman Lear shows - it always just feels like a bunch of arguing as opposed to raising social issues through characters like the MTM shows did.
The best thing about this pilot is John Amos. He is up to the task of carrying the show and did a nice job filling the Archie Bunker role without being a carbon copy of the character. He had a couple good line deliveries and gave some different levels to his performance (or as many levels as he could with the writing mostly being at one shrill level). The rest of the cast was solid too including a young Maura Tierney who had pretty good chemistry with T.E. Russell and some good laugh lines. The biggest problem was a 90s show trying to be too issues-based is it had all been seen before. At least in the 1970s, even though I didn't like most of the issues show, it was something new for TV. The integration of character and politic should have been smoother and more blended by 1994.
Norman Lear had a legendary run in the 1970s and into the 1980s with his myriad of hit shows but by 1994, he wasn't churning out hits year after year. After working more on political causes in the 1980s, he had already had two failures in the 1990s with Sunday Dinner and The Powers That Be. 704 Hauser was certainly the most blatant attempt to tap into his former glory with the setting in the exact same physical house as All in the Family. Lear also commented that he wanted to do another political show in a new political era with the Clinton administration and the rise of talk radio led by Rush Limbaugh (who is mentioned by name in the pilot). John Amos was also a Lear veteran, having starred on Good Times in the 1970s so this was certainly an attempt to have new success through past success.
704 Hauser was greeted with negative reviews and negative comparisons to All in the Family. Variety said the show had "prop characters, dated dialogue and stale ideas" while the Orlando Sentinel said it was an example of Lear "refusing to move on" in a scathing review that also said the viewer will nod off "etherized by waves of gaseous sitcom formula." The series was placed on Monday nights, which was CBS's most successful night for sitcoms. But it also premiered in April and back in the 1990s, April was a wasteland filled with repeats before May Sweeps. 704 Hauser only aired five episodes before it was cancelled. Lear has not been credited as a creator on a show since, though he was an executive producer on the Netflix/Pop reboot of One Day at a Time and of course he is still beloved for his run of 1970s hits.
Tomorrow: A look at Perfect Strangers Season Six (Part 2)!
Next Wednesday: A One Season Wonder look at Phenom!
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