Remembering Unhappily Ever After

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https://raritania.blogspot.com/2023/...ver-after.html

Not very long ago the Guardian caught up with Bobcat Goldthwait, and discussed with him what he's been up to lately. Apparently he's back doing stand-up, with the fan base coming out for his shows significantly a carry-over from earlier, and his part as Zed in the Police Academy films (seen in movies two through four) apparently important here.

I noticed that unmentioned was the sitcom Unhappily Ever After, in which Mr. Goldthwait voiced "Mr. Floppy," the stuffed bunny that the show's protagonist, now living in the basement of the house out of which his wife kicked him out, believes talks to him and with whom he has conversations.

The show in question would seem to have a number of claims to a place in pop cultural history (apart from its odd premise, of course, of which Mr. Floppy was just a part). Created by Married . . . With Children (MWC) co-creator Ron Leavitt with fellow MWC veteran Arthur Silver (who wrote and produced for the show over a long stretch of its run) it was an obvious variant on the theme and complement to the original pop cultural phenomenon. It was (like The Wayans Bros.) part of the "starting line-up" of Wednesday night sitcoms with which Warner Brothers launched its broadcast network, "The WB," in 1994 (now defunct, but not going before it made its mark on pop culture). It was also a significant early credit for a number of its cast members, who went on to other, bigger things--like Kevin Connolly (Entourage), Justin Berfield (Malcolm in the Middle) and Nikki Cox (Las Vegas), while the same might be said of Kristanna Loken (who appeared in nine episodes as the nemesis of Nikki Cox's character). And it lasted the hundred episodes that were then the target for show-runners, because that was the magic number that opened up the possibility of syndication, where the really big money was.

I found the show worth a watch, and stuck with it down to the finale. Of course, few others did so, the show never acquiring the cachet of the original. (The story goes that when John Milius cast Ed O'Neill as a Navy JAG in the film version of The Flight of the Intruder test audiences laughed so much just seeing O'Neill that they decided to cut out the bit and reshoot it with Fred Thompson--a problem that Unhappily's Geoff Pierson does not seem to have had.)

One may chalk up the show's weaker impression to MWC's having got there first, and more easily shocked audiences in the more staid '80s than the "extreme" '90s. Alternatively one can attribute to the show having got too extreme, been a little too dark and weird to really find a strong echo with a wide audience. If one is inclined to think the failing had nothing to do with the premise or other content and everything to do with its promotion by the network. (The WB definitely made its mark with shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and other young adult-oriented contemporary fantasy, as well as young adult soap operas like Dawson's Creek--but I cannot think of a single WB sitcom that achieved much popular recognition.) And afterward there was not much of a chance for Unhappily to find, for example, a "cult" audience or anything else of the sort after finishing its original run. (Wikipedia reports that due to poor ratings in its mere two years in syndication the show has not been on the air in North America since 2001, was never released "on physical media," and is unavailable from any streaming service in the U.S., though it seems to have done better abroad, perhaps particularly in Germany.)

In any event, it's all but forgotten now--another show of yesteryear dropped down the memory hole, living on nowhere but in the memories of those of us old enough to personally recollect its first crack at the airwaves.

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Remember That Show? Episode 9: Unhappily Ever After

March 25, 2024



It’s another month, and Adam & I are back on our ********! This time, we’re tackling an early entry on The WB, from one of the creators of Married…with Children, known as Unhappily Ever After. Just as Married… put its stamp on the fledgling Fox Network, Unhappily was one of the standout comedies in the early years of The WB. Due to them sharing the same “father” in Ron Leavitt, they are often compared, with Unhappily being considered a Married… “ripoff”. I, however, never really saw that as the case. Whereas they shared the same ingredients, they do vastly different things with them. At the end of the day, the Bundys loved each other, but you can’t necessarily come to that conclusion for the Malloys.

If you’re not familiar, Unhappily Ever After centers on the Malloy family, where the adults are getting a divorce, and everyone has to adjust to the New Normal. Jack (Geoff Pierson) and Jenny (Stephanie Hodge) Malloy are not great partners or parents, so the kids have to fend for themselves. Oldest child Ryan, played by Entourage‘s Kevin Connolly, is a horny dunce. Seriously, he only gets hornier and dumber as the show goes on. Middle child Tiffany, played by Nikki Cox, is equal parts sexy and smart. Similar to Ryan’s progression, Tiffany only gets hotter and more diabolical as the show goes on. Finally, the youngest child Ross, played by Malcolm in the Middle‘s Justin Berfield, is actually a self aware example of the “Advertised Extra” trope. The most important character, however, was the puppet Mr. Floppy, voiced by Bobcat Goldthwait. You see, when Jack moves into his new apartment, Ross gives him his stuffed bunny for company. So, the stress of the divorce, combined with what the show’s marketing labels as “schizophrenia”, caused Jack to see Mr. Floppy as a living being. He talked, he drank, he riffed on pop culture. The show basically used Mr. Floppy as both a soapbox and also as a way to take the edge off of how horrible the human characters are to each other and those around them. So, this formula gave The WB 5 seasons and 100 episodes – that aren’t streaming anywhere today, for whatever reason.

So, if any of that sounds interesting to you (and I’m sure it does!), then check out the episode here, or where all fine podcasts are not sold!