"Payne" (1999) TV series

Directors:

Dorothy Lyman
John Pasquin

Writers:

Steve Atinsky (staff writer)
Jennifer Fisher (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

15 March 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Based On British TV Series | Remake

Cast

Julie Benz	...	Breeze O'Rourke (9 episodes, 1999)
Ellen Albertini Dow	...	Flo (3 episodes, 1999)
Donna Hardy	...	Ethel Perlmutter (3 episodes, 1999)
Raymond Ma	...	Larry Ming / ... (3 episodes, 1999)

Also Known As:

Royal Payne (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min (9 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Big Phone Productions

Trivia:

In the opening credits, the Whispering Pines sign alternates between falling forward, falling back, doing nothing, or in one episode, being split in half by hurricane force winds.

Movie Connections:

Remake of "Fawlty Towers" (1975)

Payne-fully bad

This really ought to qualify as one of the worst television shows of all-time, no kidding. Right up there with Supertrain, The New Odd Couple and all the others in that elite category, that rarefied air. And the fact that it's a cheap knockoff of John Cleese's masterpiece Fawlty Towers isn't even the issue. The jokes and situations are hardly original and the characterizations are downright awful. I actually felt embarrassed for Larroquette, who I think is one of the most underrated comic actors in the world. Granted, he's no Cleese, but he's not that far below him, either. JoBeth Williams was just terrible, as are the Polly and Manuel ripoff characters. It's just plain tasteless, lame and stupid. That Larroquette's character on the show is actually named "Royal Payne" should give you an idea of the intelligence level involved in the humor. "Night Court" and the fabulous "John Larroquette Show" have this turkey beat eight ways to Sunday. An absolute piece of garbage. 0 * out of 4