Taxi (TV series)

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Taxi is a American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC, and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series focused on the every day life of a handful of New York City taxi drivers working for the Sunshine Cab Company, as well as their abusive boss, Louie De Palma, played by actor Danny DeVito. The show was produced by the John Charles Walters Company and funded by Paramount.

1 Premise/Themes
2 Cast
3 Reviews & Ratings
4 Awards & Nominations
- 4.1 Awards Won
- 4.2 Award Nominations
5 External links

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Premise/Themes

Much of the show focused on the main characters wanting to achieve something more in life than being taxi cab drivers, which made the show resonate with many working class Americans.

Despite the zany humor regularly featured on the show, there was an undercurrent of despair and sadness to Taxi. The show often tackled such dramatic issues as drug addiction, single parenthood, blindness, bisexuality, teenage runaways, failed marriages, sexual harassment, PMS, and loss of a loved one.

The central metaphor of the show was that the cabbies were forever driving other people to important places and events, but themselves going nowhere. All of the cabbies, except Alex, view their job as transitory, a step on the way to something bigger and better. (Elaine was an aspiring museum curator, Tony was an aspiring boxer, Bobby was an aspiring actor). Each episode typically involved one the characters having an opportunity to partially realize their dream and move up the world, but then having the opportunity yanked away.

Only Alex, older and having been beaten down by life, saw himself as a cab driver. Alex's backstory was that he was married with a wife and daughter and a decent office job. He lost everything due to his gambling addiction, and when his former wife sought to have Alex give up any claims of custody over his daughter so that she and her new husband could raise her, Alex gave in rather than fight to maintain some semblance of a relationship with his daughter.

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Cast

In addition to DeVito, Taxi starred Judd Hirsch as Alex Reiger (often misspelled "Rieger"), Marilu Henner as Elaine O'Connor-Nardo, Tony Danza as Tony Banta, Andy Kaufman as Latka Gravas, J. Alan Thomas as Jeff Bennett, Randall Carver as John Burns (from 1978 to 1979), Jeff Conaway as Bobby Wheeler (from 1978 to 1981), Carol Kane as Simka Dahblitz-Gravas (from 1981 to 1983), and Christopher Lloyd as the Reverend Jim Ignatowski. The show was a successful springboard for most of the cast for other roles in television and film.

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Reviews & Ratings

Taxi remains one of the most lauded television shows in American history. During its run, the sitcom was nominated for 31 Emmy Awards and won 18, including 3 for Outstanding Comedy Series. Taxi was also nominated for 25 Golden Globes, with 4 wins (including 3 for Best TV Series - Musical/Comedy), and in 1979 received the Humanitas Prize in the 30 minute category.

While critically lauded, Taxi was never a major ratings success on it's own. It performed respectably during it's first two seasons, even placing in the Top Ten in its' first season behind the ABC powerhouse line-up of Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Three's Company, but numbers plummeted when it was moved from that secure time-slot into more competitive positions. The show was cancelled in 1982 by ABC, only to be picked up for it's 5th and final season by NBC, being paired at first on Thursday night with Cheers (another critically acclaimed ratings disaster at the time, though it would eventually become one of NBC's most popular series).

The show's seasonal ratings were as follows: #9 (1978-79); #13 (1979-80); #53 (1980-82); #73 (1982-83).

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Awards & Nominations

Image:Taxi.jpg

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Awards Won

Emmy Awards:

Outstanding Comedy Series (1979-1981) 3 wins
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Judd Hirsch (1981, 1983) 2 wins
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Carol Kane (1982)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Carol Kane (1983)
Outstanding Support Actor in a Comedy Series Danny DeVito (1981)
Outstanding Support Actor in a Comedy Series Christopher Lloyd (1982-1983) 2 wins

Golden Globe Awards:

Best Television Series-Comedy (1979-1981) 3 wins
Best TV Supporting Actor Danny DeVito (1980)

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Award Nominations

Emmy Awards:

Outstanding Comedy Series (1982-1983) 2 nominations
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Judd Hirsch (1979-1980, 1982) 3 nominations
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Danny DeVito (1979, 1982-1983) 3 nominations

Golden Globe Awards: