Working Boned the Fish When...

[TMC]

http://www.bonethefish.com/viewtopics.php?2753

Working is a sitcom which aired on NBC from 1997 to 1999 (2 seasons, 39 episodes). Starring a grown-up Fred Savage, the show took a satirical (and sometimes over-the-top) look at office life in a big company. Ratings were faltering toward the end of the first season, and remained low in spite of a guest appearance by Danica McKellar (Savage's co-star from The Wonder Years) and some cast changes between the first and second seasons. NBC cancelled the series in January 1999. Four episodes (including a second Danica McKellar guest appearance) were produced but not aired during the show's original run. However, Working was later aired in syndication on the USA Network, and that run did include the four previously unseen episodes.

https://web.archive.org/web/20070225...ptheshark.com/

• Other Thoughts:
  
  Winnie meets Kevin? Where is Paul or Wayne? Bring the whole Arnold family! Lame.
  This show was the best new comedy of last year's tv season. It is funny and quirky and not like all of the other "office" comedies. I like it and hope that it will stay for awhile.
  The original cast was great. Then they dumped the secretary, and that dumb guy, and the show was doomed. I stopped watching at that point.
  Halfway through the first season, when we were just beginning to get involved with the lives of the original cast, they introduce Chris Grant, a woman whom masquarades as a man to get the job, and then reveals her breasts to all the guys in the executive sauna! By the end of the first season, Chris (who was actually a very likeable character, despite her goofy introduction to the show) had become a good mesh with the rest of the cast. And then what happens? The second season begins, and not only is Chris gone, but so are two other regulars from before! (Hal and Jimmy) Maybe they were going for a "high turnover rate" effect that naturally occurs in office environments, I dunno.
  When I first saw Working on NBC, I thought it was hilarious. The show was very surreal, and I liked that. But after that, for some reason, I lost interest. The guy who played Bania on Seinfeld was added, and he seemed too much of a smart-ass to me. They also replaced the one employee from the pilot (the one who was wearing paper clips; he used to star on The Single Guy) with a different, dumber one. Granted, I did enjoy some episodes afterward as much as the first one, but the show wasn't as magical as I thought.
  As soon as it was apparent Winnie didn't grow up to be totally hot (but her head grew to be gargantuan). Bummer! Who woulda guessed Dee from "What's Happening" would grow up to be a looker and Winnie would wilt. Will wonders ever cease?
  Ugh! Why did they mess with Working??! It was my favorite new comedy. I always made sure I was home to watch. I waited eagerly through the summer for its return, and when I flipped it on in Sept., it was a completely different show! Original, funny, cast members were replaced with obnoxious cartoon-people. The plots, which used to be so true and therefore so funny (a la Dilbert), were replaced with nonsensical, stupid scenes. It became a farce. My dad, who is a television director, said that they didn't like the ratings so they tried to "make it better". Well, they took out all of the trials and humor that us working folks could relate to, and ruined their masterpiece. Good work, guys. Sheesh.
  One Question........WHY ?
  The changes the best characters in this show! Actor Dana Gould (The really stupid guy) was my favorite character but they took him away. This show used to be one of my favorites.
  Never a great show, the huge cast changes made it unwatchable.
  The first episode was terrible, and it got worse from there! Fred Savage will never be seen as anyone other than Kevin Arnold, and 12 years old!
  This show never did "jump". It was great! The only bad thing about this show was that it left us way too soon!
  It jumped in Season Two when the got rid of Chris, Hal and Jimmy. These characters worked... they were a funny interesting cast. So of course the network decides to change the show and destroy the chemistry. They also ended up adding wayyy too many 'dream' sequences.
  Working was a good satirical comedy in its first year but by the second season, it was clearly shark material. However, season one did have a modest shark jump when they introduced Chris Grant as a woman who pretended to be a man. Although that segment was funny, I thought it was too much of a reach. Working had a lot of potential to be a first-rate comedy but the writers and producers threw that potential in the shark tank when they got rid of a lot of the funnier characters after the first season. Like they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
  This is one of the funniest shows of all time and it never should have been cancelled, i never missed this show when it was on tv but i miss it now.
  Omg this was one of the funniest shows ever and of course like Jesse only lasted two short seasons on NBC.I like NBC cuz of Friends And Will & Grace but they have some of the worst shows.Er quit being good after the 3rd season. Suddenly Susan suddenly turned into crap. Seinfeld & Wings are the most boring and un-funny shows i have ever watched but when they get something good like working they flush it down the drain.
  When Working first came on, I didn't think it was all that successful at what it was trying to do, but I could see it getting better and better throughout the first season, until it was one of the funniest shows on t.v. The cast was terrific and had great chemistry, and I loved the surreal aspects of it. It stumbled some when it introduced Chris, who was really a useless character who didn't fill any niche needed, but otherwise, it was very good. Then NBC flushed the whole thing down the toilet by dumping half the cast and bringing in that horrid Debi Mazar. As if she isn't annoying enough just being herself, her character was a snotty bitch. Who the hell thought that was a good idea for a sitcom? Sad to see a show with so much promise jump so hard because of obvious network interference.
  this was a quirky show that had a lot of potential. nbc bails on shows like this way too soon. ( hell seinfeld was on the verge of cancellation its first 3 seasons and look what happened to that one. )
  This show was a few years ahead of its time. A lot of great ideas, but never quite had the support. The boss character was classic. I wish this show had more life in it.
  Working never jumped and it didn't even come close despite the cast changes. This show was a riot. The setting of the godless corporation in the late 90's was cool. I blame NBC which shuttled this show all around the schedule, dropped it for weeks at a time, and then failed to adequately advertise its return. This show is better than any sitcom that the big 3 networks have trotted out since its cancellation. The ensemble cast and writing could have put this up there with Seinfeld and Cheers eventually, or at least something of a Wings 2000. Anybody else notice that Scrubs is similarly patterned in terms of some of its characters and the way it does slapstick and over the top fantasy scenes. This show would be an anchor for NBC now had it been given half of what they gave/give crappy shows like Just Shoot Me, 3rd Rock, or Will and Grace.