ONE SEASON WONDERS: Alright Already

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a show that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at 1997's Alright Already!

ALRIGHT ALREADY

September 7, 1997 - May 4, 1998
21 episodes
WB

Starring: Carol Leifer, Amy Yasbeck, Stacy Galina, Mitzi McCall, Maury Sterling and Jerry Adler

Created by: Carol Leifer

Plot: Carol Lerner (Leifer) is a single woman running an optometry shop in Miami with her best friend, Renee (Yasbeck). She also has an interesting relationship with her parents (McCall & Adler) and younger siblings Jessica and Vaughn (Galina & Sterling).

Brief Pilot Review:

There were things to like in this pilot, which definitely had a distinct voice from Leifer. I can understand why there was an interest in building a show around her. She was a strong personality even when certain elements in the pilot didn't work. Her comedic timing was on full display when she was interacting with the neighbors and pretending she had a child so they would turn their music down. It sort of had the feel of a Seinfeld episode, which is where Leifer came from before this show. It was a little lie that snowballed and got funnier with each passing moment.

The strangest part of this pilot though was how disjointed it was for the entire pilot with the main cast. Carol had a scene with Amy Yasbeck at the beginning and end of the episode and was on the phone with her on-screen mother. But for much of the pilot, there were three separate stories happening that had nothing to do with each other. Carol doesn't share a single scene on stage with her family until the tag scene, which is very short. How odd is that for a pilot? It makes me wonder if this was intended to be the pilot. The stories with the family and Yasbeck's character don't work all that well so it made it seem like this was a show that was going to only be funny 1/3 of the time.

What Went Wrong:

In the Fall of 1997, The WB had been in existence for just two and a half years. They were still trying to find their identity. That identity eventually became young skewing dramas (and they already had a few on the air by Fall 1997 like 7th Heaven and Buffy the Vampire Slayer). But their first brand was comedies. They launched with a night full of comedies and then launched a bunch more in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons. By Fall of 1997, they had a few anchors On Sunday night, that included shows like The Parent 'Hood, Unhappily Ever After and The Jamie Foxx Show. They ended the night in Fall 1997 with two new shows: Tom Arnold's latest attempt at a sitcom with The Tom Show and Alright Already, which was notable for being created by and starring Carol Leifer, a Seinfeld writer and the inspiration for Elaine on that show.

The show seemed out of place on The WB as it was a network that mostly dabbled in juvenile sitcoms and African American skewing ones. Alright Already was neither of those. It seemed like it belonged on a network like ABC with its comedy based around a comic and a domestic/workplace blend. Reviews were mixed. Variety said Leifer "squeezes uncomfortably into an uncomfortable sitcom" but The Washington Post called it one of the fall's best new sitcoms. Alright Already made it a full season but it was a one and done show. By then, The WB had launched Dawson's Creek and its shift from comedies to dramas was well underway. Leifer co-created The Ellen Show in 2001 but has mostly stayed away from regular series TV since.

Tomorrow: Very Very First Meeting!

Next Wednesday: A One Season Wonder look at The Brian Benben Show!