Edwin J. Viera
The Nutt House
When Mel Brooks writes a movie, people watch. When Mel Brooks wrote a television show, everyone can’t sit still long enough to watch it. That is the unfortunate story of The Nutt House. This show was about the hotel of the same name which has gone from being a once-glamorous and well-respected establishment to having the same reputation as some fleabag motel. In an effort to bring the hotel back to financial solvency, the hotel’s owner, Edwina Nutt, played only in the pilot by Cloris Leachman, brings in her grandson, played by Brian McNamara, to write a new chapter in the hotel’s life.
Brooks’ penchant for physical and farcical comedy shines in this one-hour comedy as he brings the sight gags made famous in Spaceballs, Silent Movie, and the series Get Smart. Aside from her role in the pilot as the hotel’s owner, Leachman stars as a tamer variation of her character from Young Frankenstein, Ms. Frick, the head housekeeper. Her co-star in crime is Harvey Korman as the hotel’s self-deprecating manager, Reginald Tarkington III. The show is hilarious since it combines excellent verbal comedy with great sight gags.
The show had a laugh track added in but was filmed as a single-camera format using an expansive set. Korman and Leachman steal the show in each scene they are in but there is an element of hammy drama between McNamara and Molly Hagan as Sally Lonnaneck as their relationship develops throughout the series. Considering each episode of the show was an hour-long, watching The Nutt House was like watching a Mel Brooks movie every week. However, it was Brooks’ style of comedy that led to the show’s downfall.
Much like ABC’s Police Squad! and No Soap, Radio, this series was so sight-based that people missed the comedy because they couldn’t sit down to watch it. In a perfect world, The Nutt House would have been Brooks’ well-received long-awaited followup to Get Smart. This show was amazing but could have been perfectly suited as a feature film just as much as a series. Unfortunately, the 10 episodes of this series have been lost to comedy history and can be found sparsely online.
666 Park Avenue
After Pan Am and another show, GCB, failed to capture any attention, ABC tried out a show based on Gabriella Pierce’s novel of the same name, though a name is all they truthfully share. 666 Park Avenue centers on the residents of a building called The Drake, situated at 999 Park Avenue. The show earns its devilish title because the owner of the building is billionaire Gavin Doran, played by Terry O’Quinn. Aside from being a ruthless businessman, he is a supernatural being who can grant anyone what they want with the price being their soul. His wife, played by the ever-alluring Vanessa L. Williams, is sort of a huntress, looking for those to give their souls to Gavin.
Young couple Henry Martin and Jane Van Veen, move to The Drake after they are made the building’s co-managers. Though there are other co-stars to this show, the other main star is New York City’s Ansonia Hotel. Similar in appearance to Whipstaff Manor from 1995’s Casper, The Drake’s dark presence in the series is a place of luxury for residents but a place of dark power for Gavin. Though not quite a gory series, the show was never afraid to spill some blood in the cringiest possible ways. One such instance is when a man pushes a knife outhrough the side of his abdomen.
666 Park Avenue had great promise and would have worked well with an additional season or two. The show was soapy like many drama’s on ABC but the horror element added a cunning edge to give the show more bite. While the show was not a direct adaptation of its source material, it works just the same. But, the show was canceled due to flailing ratings and plenty of controversy over the name and invocation of religious themes. Not wanting to leave the fanbase hanging, the producers of the show gave viewers a rushed finale that left more questions than answers, especially when the episode, called “Lazarus: Part 1” was probably supposed to have two parts. It’s a shame such a well-written series met such an untimely and forced ending.
Stark Raving Mad
If this show had become a long-term success, the characters of Adrian Monk and Barney Stinson might not be alive today. Stark Raving Mad was an odd-couple comedy about some serious oddballs. The show centered around book editor Henry McNeeley, played by Neil Patrick Harris, who has numerous phobias and has a great fear of germs. While working his way to the top of the book world, he is forced to become the editor of the eccentric horror novelist Ian Stark, played by Tony Shaloub. Stark delights in macabre antics of mayhem, usually at Henry’s expenses.
While the idea of an odd pairing is one of the most commonly done television show ideas, the characters were similar to pairing Gomez Addams with Ward Cleaver. The first season focused on Ian and Henry working together to get Ian’s second novel completed. Rounding out the cast is Eddie McClintock as Jake Donovan, Ian’s slightly dim assistant, Dorie Barton as Tess Farraday, Henry’s girlfriend, Heather Paige Kent as Maddie Keller, a waitress working to get her degree, and Harriet Sansom Harris as Audrey, Henry’s boss.
Though several of the episodes feature Ian attempting to prank Henry just for the fun of it, and Henry looking to prove he can manage to work with someone like Ian, the show also took a look at the difficult challenge of overcoming writer’s block and Ian’s slight complications with imposter syndrome. The show was a hit with ratings that rivaled ABC’s NYPD Blue. Unfortunately (though fortunately for fans of Monk and How I Met Your Mother) this show was cancelled, which left Shalhoub and Harris free to take on roles that brought them great acclaim.
