Bosom Buddies: Cablevision

Bosom Buddies: Cablevision
ABC
January 22, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
C

Jeff Franklin's first of two Buddies stories is probably the worst in the series, when it potentially could've been one of the best.  After all, a lot of the series is about pop culture, so the agency putting on a cable show should've been a golden opportunity.  Unfortunately, it has to be a cable show that sucks, and there doesn't seem to be a way to make that entertaining, or if there is, they didn't figure out how, and so we get moments like Amy trying to be in the show a la Lucy, and Sonny pointlessly spinning the camera, with characterization going out the window.  At least Isabelle's rendition of James Ingram's "Just Once" (left intact, as is the other music on the DVD) is worth watching.

As for Penny Marshall's cameo as herself, you can savor the irony that she would direct Hanks's hits Big and A League of Their Own.  Note that Kip asks Penny if she and "Shirley" hate each other, as the tension on the Laverne & Shirley set was infamous at the time.  (Marshall and Williams have long since made peace.)  If only there hadn't been the lame plot twist of Amy tying Penny up and there had been just the interview, I might've gone with a C+ here.  As it is, get ready to hit the fast-forward button if you watch the episode.

There's probably meant to be some irony to the casting and naming of the character of Mr. Silverman (as in Fred), since Dick Yarmy is not only Don Adams's brother, but he guested on a lot of shows, including That Girl and Mork & Mindy.