TAXI: THE COMPLETE 3RD SEASON - DVD review

First telecast on Sept 12, 1978, "Taxi" was an unusual sitcom because creators Les and Ed Charles and James Burrows seemed to go for poignancy almost as much as laughs. At the Sunshine Cab Company in New York City, Alex Rieger (Judd Hirsch) was the only actual cab driver. The rest of them were something else. Bobby was an actor who had to drive a cab because his talents weren't exactly landing him in the driver's seat on Broadway. Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner) was an art gallery curator who hadn't quite found her dream paying job yet. Tony Banta (Tony Danza) was a boxer who got knocked out as fast as he could climb into the ring. And Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd) was a reverend . . . and a veteran of the Sixties with the drug-scrambled brains to prove it.

Ordering this crew around was the diminutive but nasty Louie De Palma (Danny DeVito), while culturally ignorant immigrant Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman) kept the cabs in working order. The viewing public quickly warmed to this group and "Taxi" finished #9 its first year, tied with "All in the Family." But for whatever reason, by season three the show had fallen off the Nielsen radar.

The show fared much better at the Emmys, winning Outstanding Comedy Series its first three years. Judd Hirsch won best actor and Danny DeVito won best supporting actor for the third season, while James Burrows picked up a directing Emmy for "Elaine's Strange Triangle" and Christopher Lloyd picked up a statue for Outstanding Writing for "Tony's Sister and Jim."

It's a strong ensemble cast that stands up under individual character scrutiny. Pick a character, any character, and watch only that character throughout the episode. Watch the body language, the facial expressions, the nuances of character and the interaction with others, and you'll appreciate how wonderful each of these actors is in their respective roles. Lloyd and DeVito are particularly fun to watch, with the former totally believable as a burnout times ten, and DeVito positively troll-like and nearly subhuman as the lecherous and ruthless little tyrant who's the poster child for the small-dog complex.

Here's the rundown on the 20 episodes:

1) "Louie's Rival"—Louie comes unglued when Zena (real-life wife Rhea Perlman) dumps him for a bartender who isn't as course and unrefined as the abrasive and unintentionally abusive Louie.

2) "Tony's Sister and Jim"—One of the season's best episodes finds Tony trying to set up his sister (Julie Kavner, the voice of Marge on "The Simpsons") with Alex, then reacting with full ring rage when she falls for the flaky Jim instead.

3) "Fathers of the Bride"—When his daughter gets married and Alex is forbidden by his ex-wife to attend, he and Elaine crash the wedding . . . and go from nearly ruining the evening to making it memorable.

4) "Elaine's Strange Triangle"—A very funny "Saturday Night Fever" dance climax highlights this love triangle between Elaine, Kirk (John David Carson) . . . and Tony.

5) "Going Home"—One of the series' most poignant episodes finds Alex accompanying Jim to the home of his rich parents, to see how it is that this fruit could fall so psychedelically far from the tree.

6) "The Ten-Percent Solution"—Bobby gets a crushing blow from his boxer pal when Tony is told he's got the right "look" for a part, not the wannabe actor.

7) "The Call of the Mild"—The cabbies try to bond for a week together roughing it in the wilderness after Bobby gets a taste of the outdoors via a beer commercial . . . but it's no picnic when this crew tries it alone.

8) "Latka's Cookies"—Latka ties to become the next Famous Amos using a recipe that's a hit with Reverend Jim, because it has a touch of illegal substance in it as the secret ingredient.

9) "Thy Boss's Wife"—A funny episode finds Louie warning the gang that one of them is due to be the prey for the boss's wife (Eileen Brennan), who has a fling with a cabbie to get back at her husband every time they have a fight.

10) "The Costume Party"—Another funny one has the cabbies dressing up for what they think is a celebrity bash after Bobby finds a briefcase in his cab with an appointment book full of famous names . . . and a date for the party.

11) "Elaine's Old Friend"—When Elaine picks up a fare who's an old high school rival, she concocts a professor-boyfriend . . . who turns out to be a reluctant Alex.

12) "Out of Commission"—When the medical board revokes Tony's license because he's taken one too many blows to the head, Tony schemes to get back into the ring.

13) "Zen and the Art of Cab Driving"—Lloyd is hilarious in this episode about Jim studying a self-help technique called "dynamic perfectionism" and taking it to the max . . . Ignatowski style.

14) "Louie's Mother"—A classic episode finds Louie moving out of his mother's apartment and throwing the world's worst guys-only party.

15) "Bobby's Roommate"—When Elaine needs a place to live, Bobby asks him to be his roommate . . . something that comes with more complications than either expected.

16) "Louie Bumps into an Old Lady"—Another classic, a variation on the old fraud sitcom, finds Louie in a panic after he hits an old lady with a cab . . . and she sues him for a million bucks.

17) "Bobby and the Critic"—DeVito shines again in this episode about Bobby facing off against a nasty theater critic and writing the kind of letter you do to vent . . . not mail. That is, unless you have Louie for a postman.

18-19) "On the Job, Parts 1 & 2"—The cabbies reminisce when it looks as if the company is going belly-up.

20) "Latka the Playboy"—Latka gets tired of being the cute foreigner and studies Playboy and English language tapes to change his image. What emerges is alter ego Vic Ferrari . . . which would have been funny had it stayed a single episode. Alas, the "Taxi" gang tried to milk this the fourth season, and basically beat this gag to a pulp.

Video: For whatever reason—whether it's the transfer or film stock—Taxi just isn't as sharp as you'd like it to be. With a 1.33:1 aspect ratio stretched to fit a widescreen there's sometimes some fattening of heads on the edges, and the picture is grainy and slightly fuzzy. It's not serious enough to make you want to throttle the manufacturers, but with a show of Emmy-winning caliber you'd wish for better results. The reality, of course, is that restorations are expensive, and I suspect that 1980 film stock just didn't hold up as well as earlier black and white stock and later color film.

Audio: Nothing special here either: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. There's a very, very slight hiss, but otherwise it's average.

Extras: As with most of the TV-on-DVD releases, there are no extras.

Bottom Line: There are some outrageously funny and equally sensitive episodes this season, which reinforced the gap between the viewing public's and Emmy voters' tastes. For my money, the Emmy voters were right. "Taxi" is an intelligent comedy that has as much heart as it does brains. Burrows and the Charles brothers don't mind going for tears as well as laughs, and with this talented cast it really works.