Not to be confused with the current film of the same name, Taxi was one of the funniest shows in television history. There simply hasn’t been a sitcom to feature so many cast members who would go on to bigger but perhaps not better things. Christopher Lloyd’s Reverend Jim has to be one of the best characters television has known. In its third year Jim would finally be around for an entire season. The show simply swept the Emmys in its third year with statues going to Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Lloyd (oddly enough, for a script he penned for the series). This is the year Andy Kaufman delivered Vic Ferrari to the show’s mythology. Taxi was hitting its stride on all fronts in season three. This is the show at its peak.
Synopsis
Louie DePalma (DeVito) is a short but sadistic dispatcher for the Sunshine Cab Company. Each week the show explored the follies of Rev Jim (Lloyd), Tony (Danza) the underdog boxer, Bobby (Conaway) the wannabe actor, Elaine (Henner) the art critic, and Alex (Hirsch) the ace cabbie.
Audio
This is your standard no frills Dolby Digital mono track. The dialogue is clear and there are no major flaws in the dynamics of the sound. This track is pretty flat, but it delivers everything you need.
Video
Each episode of Taxi is presented in its original broadcast 1.33:1 full frame format. The master prints are obviously pretty worn here, and it shows. Again it appears that no attempt was made to clean these prints in any way. The colors are relatively stable, but look for a lot of specks and defects in all of the episodes.
Special Features
Nada
Final Thoughts
If you’ve never seen Taxi, this is the season to start with. Everything was finally in place. This is the Taxi most of us remember from its original run. Most of the TV Land top episodes can be found on this release. There’s still 2 more years to go, and you’ll definitely want more. There really aren’t that many sit-coms I consider must haves. Taxi is one of them. It really is “Okey Dokey.”
