Love Sidney Boned the Fish When...

[TMC]

http://www.bonethefish.com/viewtopics.php?3873

Love, Sidney is an American situation comedy television series about a gay man, Sidney Shorr, and his relationship with a single mother and her five year old daughter whom he invites to live with him. The NBC series stars Tony Randall as Sidney, Swoosie Kurtz as Laurie Morgan and Kaleena Kiff as her daughter Patti. Love, Sidney originated with a two hour pilot episode which aired as a television movie on October 5, 1981, followed by its regular run as a weekly series from October 28, 1981 until June 6, 1983. The series was the first on American television to feature a gay character as the central lead, although for the series Sidney's homosexuality was almost entirely downplayed from its subtle yet unmistakable presence in the pilot. With the debut of the series the character of Laurie Morgan became part of the regular cast (now played by Swoosie Kurtz). She had returned to New York when her marriage in California didn't work out. Now Sidney, Laurie and Patti were all living under the same roof again, still in Sidney's Manhattan apartment.

[Mr. Television]

One of the most underrated shows ever.

[TMC]

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

• Other Thoughts:
  
  This show was based on a TV movie in which the title character was gay. Here, they say nothing about it, for which NBC should be scorned; fearing the wrath of the far right like that.
  Okay, this was a great show. With Tony Randall, remember it? It had a superb theme song, and a very cute little girl. I think Tony might have played a gay father, but i can't really remember too much. Does anybody remember this show??
  The first show that I recall using the "Special" tag. It seemed like every third episode was billed as a "special Love,Sydney". Sydney's sexuality was never mentioned after the pilot TV-movie. Swoosie Kurtz played the single mom in the series; Lorna Patterson played the role in the TV-movie (titled "A Girl's Best Friend"). Kaleena Kiff played the tyke in both. I recall the movie being very good; a little on the dark side, with references to Sydney's sexuality, while the series eventually degenerated into a typical bland sitcom. Too bad.
  I'm embarrassed to say that I remember tearing up when little Kaleena Kiff confessed to Sidney that the other little kids were calling her a bastard (was her dad dead or did he just leave the family?) Luckily the show ended before Kaleena got uncute. (She was not so cute by the time she got on the New Leave it to Beaver ("Still the Beaver"?)).
  "Please believe me. Lately my whole world is changing. Suddenly you're here and my life's better than before.....We're friends forever, sharing our whole lives together. Always understanding just how much the other cares...We'll stick together and in the end its you who will be there for me my friend. With a theme like this how could it have jumped???
  It never jumped! I thought I was crazy when I mentioned this show to coworkers and no one had ever heard of it. I don't remember it very well, only that I loved it and wanted Tony Randall to be my housekeeper/nanny. That is what he was, right? I also remember loving Kaleena Kiff and even named one of my dolls after her (I was 8 years old when the show started- cut me some slack). The theme some was sappy but memorable, a sure sign that this was a great sitcom of the 80's. I only wish I could see some reruns to refresh my memory as to why I liked it so much 20 years ago! And whatever happened to Kaleena? I just hope she didn't end up like those kids on that other hit sitcom of the 80's that centered around a single parent and witty housekeeper.....
  It never jumped! The theme song is SUCH a hit my junior high school class sang it at graduation!!!! Every time I hear that song now I mist up!!! What a GREAT show!!
  I cant figure out how to use this website (duh) but whoever you people are-you rock. I loved Love Sydney and I was only 8 also. Also how about the Elmer episode of Little House (the fat kid). I still cant watch it without crying and I'm 28!!!!
  What a great show. Somehow, even I never saw this in reruns (I think it only ran one season?), I memorized the theme song. The theme and the show are both classics and never should have been cancelled. Does anyone remember when Kaleena Kiff sprayed Sydney in the eyes with spray paint (or something from an aerosol can) and temporarily blinded him? I think she was trying to paint her dollhouse. I don't think Sydney was a housekeeper -- I think he was some kind of babysitter or something.
  Never jumped. I loved this show; I remember there was a "very special" two -parter where this hot runaway teenage chick comes to live with Sidney and the little girl. Of course, since ol' Sid's a Feigele, there's no tension that this hottie is cozied up with 'ole Felix. However, as a 14 year old at the time, it was exciting and dangerous and all. Anyone else remember this?
  Never jumped, the show was not on long enough. It was a cute show I like Tony Randall, and the Kaleena was real cute. I don't know if they ever did mention his sexuality, I remember the theme song and the episode where she was upset because she was teased at school. It was a cute show I liked Tony Randall, and the daughter was really cute. I don't know if they ever mentioned his sexuality but I do remember the episode where she was upset because she was teased at school.
  I'm a big Tony Randall fan, and really wanted to like this show. But the only way you could possibly have determined that his character (Sidney) was gay was by reading the NBC press releases. He basically came across as Swoozie Kurtz's asexual roommate.
  I remember the episode of Love, Sydney when she burned the apartment...Too bad no one I talked to had ever heard of the show....Glad someone else remembers....By the way, I believe Sarah Michelle Gellar may have guest starred on Love, Sydney, but I can't find anything....
  Right after the pilot. I don't remember all of the details but I seem to remember that the pilot was shot on film and the series was videotaped. Somehow, the difference came across on the screen. The pilot was warm and touching and was an excellent portrayal by Tony Randall. The series felt more like Three's Company. It was a sitcom with a laugh track, etc.
  I loved this show!!! I was only six when it was cancelled and I cried and cried! I wrote a letter to the tv station in town begging them to not cancel my favorite show. I made my dad take me to the post office right then so that I could mail it! I would like to see some reruns so that I could remember why I was so upset.
  I'm probably the only person out there who actually has the theme song (2 versions- one with Tony Randall, Kaleena & Swoosie singing, the other with a gospel group singing) on audio tape!!!
  It never jumped. It was always a warm, wry and wonderful show.NBC being putzes wouldn't allow Randall's character to identify his own sexual orientation. Two items: I have the sheet music of Billy Goldenberg's moving and lovely theme song-"Please believe me..." and the reason the show was cancelled was that by 1983 a male gay character on television in the US was just assumed to be carrying AIDS. Remember by this time, gay men and AIDS went in the same sentence. Sad on so many counts not the least of which is that this lovely little gem of a show was cancelled.
  Holy crap! I can't believe I finally came across this show. I was very young when it aired, and it's one of the first shows I remember watching.. For years, the theme has popped into my head, and I remembered little pieces from the show, but even my Mom wasn't real clear with what I was talking about, and she was the one I watched it with.. As a kid, I was under the impression that the character Swoozie played, and Sidney were married, I guess that was probably more detail than a Mother wanted to go into with a 3-5 year old.. Anyway, even though I don't really remember very much about it, I would say, since it only lasted for two seasons; no jump.. Actually, someone above pointed out the episode where Sidney was sprayed in the eye, that's really about the extent of what I remember, other than the theme song.
  This is one of the very first shows I remember being disappointed about being taken off the air and my parents having to explain the concept of "cancellation"... The one episode that really sticks in my mind is when Swoosie Kurtz has a part on a soap opera and her character has a sex change operation and they try to make her into a man! Even though this show didn't last long, we sang the theme song at our 6th grade graduation and they gave me a solo! Incidentally, I ended up going to college with Kaleena Kiff's cousin - Kaleena is now working behind the scenes here in L.A. P.S. I know this sounds mean, but i just have to say it... Tony Randall, regardless of whether he's playing gay Sidney or not, seems VERY, VERY gay!!!
  Love Sidney was just too damn cute to be on television. I must comment on the previous comment. I know what you mean when you say that Tony Randall is gay, but in reality he has sired two children with a chick fifty some years younger than he is. NOW THAT IS ACTING!!!
  Too bad "Love, Sidney" isn't on today. With the likes of "Will & Grace"; "The Ellen Show"; and countless other sitcoms dealing with homosexuality, "Love, Sidney" could have been true to its roots. Unfortunately, in 1981; NBC didn't want to discuss Sidney's Gay life style. And I really think that hurt the show. Thank heaven we have all grown up because in addition to being able to talk about same sex relationships on television, we can actually see that there are toilets in the bathrooms. And married people can sleep in the same bed. And unlike Lucy, a woman can be pregnant. I'm so glad we've matured.
  My wife an I loved Sidney right from the movie pilot. While it is true that his homosexuality was only mentioned in the pilot, during the series I seem to recall constant references to "Martin", and lingering gazes at that picture on the mantel. Additionally, whenever there was a reference to fixing up Sidney with a female, Tony Randall would reply with an exaggerated "meeeeeee?!" The implication was quite obvious. I heard an interview where Tony Randall said "Love Sidney" was the thing he was most proud of.
  This show was simply awful and I saw most of them that first season. What's really cracking me up about some of the posts here is that you all seemed to be anywhere from 3-6 years old when this "little gem" was on the air. Well, I was Junior High School age, and was always hoping it would get better because I was an Odd Couple fan. I never did. The kid was annoying and so was her name. If her middle name was Katherine, her initials would be KKK. Nice. In fact, this show seemed to have a thing for putting weird names in the cast. What the hell were "Swoosie's" parents thinking. I heard her father was "Colonel Kurtz" from Apocalypse Now. He probably named her. Tony Randall was the best thing in it, but he wasn't allowed to be his character. What I don't understand is why NBC was so uptight about an openly gay character, when Jodie Dallas (Billy Crystal) from Soap was an openly gay character on a sitcom since years earlier.
  To the person above who commented on the "hot teenage runaway chick," that was the small-screen debut of Jenny Wright, a young actress who would go on to roles in B-films and a few TV series over the next ten years or so. She had a sort of quirky but memorable presence, vulnerable and seductive all at once. And yes, this show was definitely a casualty of the AIDS epidemic. Shouldn't have happened, but it did.
  I was a great big Love Sydney fan. Just like other comments, I also had trouble finding any references to this show or anyone who remembered it. Today Tony Randall passed away and in honor of him, I decided to try to find it once more. And here it is! I mostly loved reading the comments that other people had to say about the show. I was pleased that the things I loved about the show had also touched others-the song, the premise, the TV movie, the longing looks at Martin's picture. I laughed at the thought that schools played the wonderful theme song for the students. Surely, they wouldn't have permitted it if they had known the truth about Sydney wrong as that would be! Rest in peace-Tony! See you in reruns!
  I really liked this show for what it was—the first try at establishing a homosexual character as acceptable. It was only hinted that he was gay. There was a picture of his ex-lover, a great looking guy, who left him on the table that he would look at all the time. There was an episode when he was surprised when he had feelings for a woman he met. But then he looked at the picture of his ex-lover and realized he is completely GAY and could never really change and romantically love a woman. Also there was a great line he would say, “THAT EVIL WOMAN!” Of course he was talking about his mother. He blamed her for everything that went wrong in his life. Only Mr. Randall could pull this off convincingly. Mr. Tony Randall, you will be missed.
  I was 11 when I remember this show and I only saw 3-4 shows. But the song won me over. I never could remember the show and many people I asked had no clue what I was talking about. Now I know it and it has been fun reading everyone's comments about the show. I also hope one day there will be reruns so I can remember why I liked it.
  The crazy episode where Sydney has a toothache and gargles whiskey to numb it. Unfortunately, something keeps interrupting him during the gargle-phone rings, knock at the door, etc-and he swallows it before he can spit it out. Needless to say, he becomes wicked drunk.
  No, not all posters were children when "Love, Sidney" was being broadcast. Some were middle-aged, college educated, and recognized the value of this adult series, that was before its time. Yes, the topic was sensitive, and not particularly welcome at the time, however, Swoozie Kurtz was a wonderful "strong" single mother who was doing the best she could to raise her daughter. She welcomed the help of her friend "Sidney" because she knew him to be an intellegent and sensitive person who would be a positive influence on her daughter, and welcomed him into her home and into their lives. Sidney was lonely but able to realize that the friendship of Swoozie and her small daughter furnished him with an [albeit] temporary family, and he was willing to settle for a tenuous relationship because it filled many of his needs for the moment. Simply put, they needed each other. Each was alone but by accepting and welcoming each other, the quality of their lives were enhanced. It was a deeply moving, loving, and sophisticated series.
  There were simply too many "A Very Special Love Sidneys" for this show to not jump. The one I remember most had a commercial promo that ran all week. It showed Patti lying in a hospital bed with her head covered in bandages, and Sidney crying and hand wringing by her bedside. When I watched the episode, it was nothing more than Patti bumping her head after swinging from a rope that Sidney rigged in a doorway. But, the show had its moments. In the episode where Patti burned the apartment, everyone had to borrow clothes from a hippie family whose daughter went to school with Patti. The family arrived home, and Sidney was wearing overalls with political slogan patches sewn all over, and Laurie had on a fringed mini dress. They also commented that the hippie family's daughter was named "Starburst No-Nukes Goodwin." That's pretty damn funny.

[80s Dude]

Wasn't on the air long enough to bone the fish.