On Wednesdays, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at The Tony Danza Show!
THE TONY DANZA SHOW
September 24, 1997 - December 10, 1997
5 episodes
NBC
Starring: Tony Danza, Maria Canals, Shaun Weiss, Majandra Delfino, Ashley Malinger and Dean Stockwell
Created by: Ian Gurvitz
Plot: Tony DiMeo (Danza) is a single father to two daughters: 16 year old Tina (Delfino) and 11 year old Mickey (Malinger). He is also a sportswriter who works with assistant Carmen (Canals). Rounding out the main cast is Tony's father, Frank (Stockwell) and his apartment's bellboy, Stuey (Weiss).
Tony Danza has played basically the same character in all of his sitcoms and I have a feeling they are a lot like Danza himself. They are always named Tony and they are always blustery Italian guys with hearts of gold. On Taxi, he was part of a large ensemble and surrounded by great cast members while being buoyed by great writing. On Who's the Boss? he was the clear led but it was a more fully realized show and once again, there were strong cast members around him. Danza was good in those two shows so this isn't really a knock on him but The Tony Danza Show sort of showed us what would happen when you strip away the things that made those other shows great and all that's left is Tony's sitcom persona.
There were so many stock sitcom situations and bland performances that made this series feel so cookie-cutter and Danza was not able to elevate any of it even as a sitcom pro. The other characters were all archetypes - the rebellious older daughter and the quirky younger daughter. It's never the other way around is it? The sassy assistant. The gruff but lovable father. The quirky "neighbor" (in this case, a bellboy - which is odd?). None of them said or did anything different that what we've seen in tons and tons of sitcoms over the years. No performance stood out, no situation felt different or unique and Danza was just going through the motions. It was just so blah.
Tony Danza was a pretty familiar sitcom face by the time he got a show named after him. After breaking out as part of the ensemble in Taxi, Danza found the most success on the eight season run of the huge hit family sitcom Who's the Boss? from 1984-1992. The Tony Danza Show was his second attempt since Boss to return to the world of sitcom stardom. His first post-Boss attempt was Hudson Street on ABC in 1995. That show put him in a workplace sitcom so The Tony Danza Show was more of an attempt to put Danza back in the setting that worked for him. For a fourth straight sitcom, Danza was playing a character named Tony and they all had the similar and well-tread Danza persona. NBC wooed Danza back to TV with a 22 episode commitment.
The Tony Danza Show was tasked with leading off a Wednesday night lineup that included two other new sitcoms - Built to Last and Working. The only returning sitcom was 3rd Rock From the Sun. The sitcoms had all different styles - family sitcoms & workplace sitcoms, realistic ones & fantasy ones. It was sort of NBC's night to put all their shows that didn't track with their hip upscale audience on Tuesdays and Thursdays with shows like Friends and Frasier. Reviewers shrugged at the show. Variety said the show "can't help but scream yesteryear" while the Chicago Tribune called it an "exercise in dull averageness." Despite NBC's success on other nights, Wednesday was a mess. The series was pulled for November Sweeps and then cancelled for good after a couple more episodes in December despite the large commitment. Danza has continued to find steady work but never waded into sitcom waters... or at least hasn't yet, but a potential Who's the Boss revival looms in the future...
Tomorrow: Very Very Stock Market!
Next Wednesday: A One Season Wonder look at Nothing Sacred!
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