'' 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 .
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 Parent hood,
Blindness ,
Bisexuality , teenage
Runaway s,
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. Most of the cabbies view their job as transitory, a step on the way to something bigger and better. Elaine is an aspiring museum curator, Tony is an aspiring boxer, and Bobby is 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.
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 .
''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).
- 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 Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Danny DeVito (1981)
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Christopher Lloyd (1982-1983) 2 wins
- Best Television Series-Comedy (1979-1981) 3 wins
- Best TV Supporting Actor Danny DeVito (1980)
- 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
- Best Television Series-Comedy (1982-1984) 2 nominations
- Best Actor in a TV Series-Comedy Judd Hirsch (1979-1983) 5 nominations
- Best TV Supporting Actress Marilu Henner (1979-1983) 5 nominations
- Best TV Supporting Actress Carol Kane (1983)
- Best TV Supporting Actor Tony Danza (1980)
- Best TV Supporting Actor Danny DeVito (1979, 1981-1982) 3 nominations
- Best TV Supporting Actor Jeff Conaway (1979-1980) 2 nominations
- Best TV Supporting Actor Andy Kaufman (1979, 1981) 2 nominations
