"Taxi" (1978) TV series 1978-1983

Creators:

James L. Brooks
Stan Daniels
David Davis

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

12 September 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

The staff of a New York City taxicab company go about their job while they dream of greater things.

Plot Keywords:

New York | New York City | City | Taxi | Taxicab

Awards:

Won 4 Golden Globes. Another 21 wins & 45 nominations

Cast

Judd Hirsch	...	Alex Reiger (114 episodes, 1978-1983)
Danny DeVito	...	Louie De Palma (114 episodes, 1978-1983)
Marilu Henner	...	Elaine O'Connor-Nardo (114 episodes, 1978-1983)
Tony Danza	...	Tony Banta (114 episodes, 1978-1983)
J. Alan Thomas	...	Jeff Bennett (114 episodes, 1978-1983)
Christopher Lloyd	...	Reverend Jim Ignatowski (84 episodes, 1978-1983)
Andy Kaufman	...	Latka Gravas / ... (79 episodes, 1978-1983)
Jeff Conaway	...	Bobby Wheeler (50 episodes, 1978-1982)

Runtime:

30 min (115 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:PG (season 1) | USA:TV-PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Dover Garage - 534 Hudson Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

John-Charles-Walters Productions

Trivia:

Andy Kaufman had invented the persona for his character in his comedy act prior to working on the show, including the famous line "tank-you-veddy-much". It was the show's writers that came up with the name of Latka Gravas. Kaufman created Latka's language, which he taught to Carol Kane for her role as Simka, by inviting her to dinner and refusing to let her speak English.

Quotes:

Louie De Palma: Jim, your father is no longer with us.
"Reverend" Jim Ignatowski: He never was. He lives in Boston.
Louie De Palma: No, I mean, he's gone on to his final resting place.
"Reverend" Jim Ignatowski: A condo in Palm Beach?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Critic: Miserable (#1.4)" (1994)

Greatest Sit-Com

Taxi was, and still is, the greatest sit-com I've ever seen. The Louie DePalma, Iggy and Rieger characters were simply magnificent creations. I would laugh until I cried while watching this show. It's still funny today in re-runs. Louie's "affair" with Emily (which was revived in a later episode) is particularly hilarious. Iggy playing piano at a black-tie

gala (as Elaine's "date" for the evening) is both amusing and heart-warming. The scripts were excellent as they blended wry, sarcastic humor with some degree of pathos in each episode. This show succeeded at a time when there was no "political correctness" to erode its rough edges. It's very doubtful one of the three major networks would create and air a show like this in today's more conservative climate.