If you had to name your five favorite Car 54 episodes, what would they be? Here's mine (in chronological order):
Quiet! We're Thinking
Toody Undercover
The White Elephant
Here We Go Again
The Biggest Day of the Year
"Toody Undercover": (A great episode spotighting Joe E. Ross ... "He yelled 'COP!" is all I can say!!! Occupancy, August 1st; (exasperated Charles Nelson Reilly is a great reason to tune in, not to mention the great Molly Picon; What Happened To Thursday? (Sylvia Schnauzer realizing how lucky she is NOT to be married to Charles Boyer instead of to Leo has to be seen to be believed!; The Paint Job (the lost kid at the episode's beginning is too funny for words!; Get Well, Officer Schnauzer; (Leo exclaiming: What am I having - A SALE!!!?)
These above five, in no particular order of favorites, are just excellent. But actually, of the entire series, I have 60 favorite episodes!
The Biggest Day of the Year
What Happened to Thursday
Quiet We're Thinking
I Hate Captain Block
Get Well Officer Schnauser
In no particular order:
1. SOMETHING NICE FOR SOL. It's the pilot, but it aired second. To me, it's an episode that showcases all of Car 54's strengths: the camaraderie among the officers, the constant activity in the station, the colorful characters, the funny yet natural-sounding conversation.
2. GET WELL, OFFICER SCHNAUSER. A clever plot line with plenty of unexpected twists and turns.
3. WHAT HAPPENED TO THURSDAY? Car 54 had the wonderful ability to take a story in a bizarre, preposterous direction, but do it in a way that made sense along the way. Each step is logical. But by the end, something completely absurd has happened. This episode is the perfect example.
4. OCCUPANCY, AUGUST FIRST. I always loved the fact that while other sitcoms of the period avoided any mention of ethnicity or geography, this show is really in your face with its New York sensibility. These are Jewish, Irish, Italian, and black characters in the Bronx, and they don't shy away from it. They emphasize it. This episode does that. And it's funny. And it has a stronger ending than the similar episode I WON'T GO!
5. TOODY UNDERCOVER. Possibly the funniest overall storyline in the entire series, executed hilariously.
Some that were already posted would be in my top 5, but these too-funny episodes also deserve a mention:
- "Lucille Is 40" (hilarious mistaken intentions)
- "Pretzel Mary" (2 outstanding guest character actors)
- "Change Your Partner" (showcases some other 53rd Precinct officers)
- "See You at the Bar Mitzvah" (touching and heart-warming)
- "The Taming of Lucille" (classic comedy)
Just saw "The Biggest Day of the Year"...hysterical! I was laughing out loud...Al Lewis is a riot in this episode...sooooo funny!
shareok the one and only episode I ever saw of this show was the Christmas episode, and I thought it was hilarious! especially that woman at the table singing about her boyrfriend or something, and she said something funny about the UN, I just thought the whole episode was hilarious and it made me want to see it again. the whole thing with the uncle from the munsters talking about the order of "charity" and then he wants to beat up the one guy, was abolsutly hystiercal, we were laughing so hard! now I have to see the rest of this show, Geez they just don't makeem like this anymore! so sad.
Realism, Remakes and Unnecessary Sequels are ruining movies!
Boom, Boom, Boom,
Something Nice For Sol
Love Finds Muldoon
I Hate Captain Block
Here We Go Again
I really haven't watched the series since Nick@Nite took it off the air a zillion years ago. I probably can't remember a full five favorites, and I don't know the titles and am too lazy to look them up. But here are some of my favorites, using just a quote from each episode to identify it. In no particular order:
1) "Same as last year!"
2) "'Cops!' He yelled 'cops!'"
3) "My wife spends every cent I make. She buys everything! But in all the years we've been married, not *one* ounce of International Sulphur!"
4) "I'll tell you what's wrong with New York... you can't get a license to keep an aardvark!"
I'm not sure what to pick for a fifth. Two candidates that spring to mind are the Taming of the Shrew one, and the one where Gunther can solve all the crimes because the criminals are using his favorite tv show for crime ideas.
The Shari Lewis-Fred Gwynne blind date episode featured a great sight gag. When Muldoon opened the door, he didn't even see tiny Shari at first(and she wasn't shown at first on camera).
The episode where the elderly couple repeated the line "we like green" cracked me up. Don't remember the plot.
My 5 favorite episodes are (not in chronological order) the following:
I Hate Captain Block
Christmas at the 53rd
How High Is Up?
Occupancy, August 1st
Toody Undercover
This was such a funny show and almost everything was goofy, that you just had to watch it, sort of like the last season of Lost in Space. The characters were all loveable. But that parrot knocked me on the floor when it finally spoke. HA HA HA.