Some questions about the show

[Brian Damage]

I hope some of you fellow Taxi fans can help me out with a couple of Q's about the show?!? Thank you in advance for any answers...

1. Why did John disappear after a season?

2. Did they ever have a send off show for him or Bobby?

3. Was Reverend Jim originally written to be a one time appearance, a test run to see if viewers would cling to him or was he meant to be a star all along?

4. The same question for Simka(Carol Kane) as above?

5. I don't recall, but was there ever an episode with Tony Clifton?

6. Were the writers ever leading to an Alex/Elaine romance?

[Chocoholic]

1. Why did John disappear after a season?

Supposedly, the writers thought he was way too much like Tony, so they dumped him. Personally, I thought he was a boring, useless character.

2. Did they ever have a send off show for him or Bobby?

John's departure was never explained, but Bobby had a send-off episode. He got an acting job out in California.

3. Was Reverend Jim originally written to be a one time appearance, a test run to see if viewers would cling to him or was he meant to be a star all along?

4. The same question for Simka(Carol Kane) as above?

I don't know.

5. I don't recall, but was there ever an episode with Tony Clifton?

I think he was supposed to be in an episode, but he never appeared.

6. Were the writers ever leading to an Alex/Elaine romance?

It seemed that way a few times.

I hope that helps a bit.

[TJL]

I believe Reverend Jim was only supposed to be a one shot character, but his appearance got such a great response, they had no choice but to put him in additional episodes, then make him a regular.
It was a very good decision on thier part...

[Brian Damage]

Thanks guys I appreciate the info!

[Cab 804]

Originally posted by briandamage
I hope some of you fellow Taxi fans can help me out with a couple of Q's about the show?!? Thank you in advance for any answers...

>1. Why did John disappear after a season?

I think the writers ran out of ideas for him. The powers that be thought that he was not an interesting enough character to keep in the show, and so he was written out after the first season.

>2. Did they ever have a send off show for him or Bobby?

No, John just never showed up after the first season. It's kinda like how Richie had an older brother (Chuck) in the first season of Happy Days, then Chuck just dissapears from the show and is never discussed again. Weird, huh?

BTW, there is supposedly a scene that was cut from episode 1 in which Alex drives John to John's girlfriend's apartment; anybody heard about this or know if a copy of this exists anywhere?

Jeff Conaway (Bobby) decided to leave the show in 1981 to pursue other acting roles. He returned for a "goodbye Bobby" episode (#79, "Bobby Doesn't Live Here Anymore") in 1982.

>3. Was Reverend Jim originally written to be a one time appearance, a test run to see if viewers would cling to him or was he meant to be a star all along?

I believe his was a one shot deal (as the minister in episode #8, "Paper Marriage"), but he was invited back in season 2 to become a regular.

>4. The same question for Simka(Carol Kane) as above?

I believe this was the same thing. Her appearance was so well received (by audiences, producers or TV execs? who knows...) that she was invited to join the cast.

>5. I don't recall, but was there ever an episode with Tony Clifton?

Nope. Andy Kaufman's contract reportedly stated that Tony Clifton was to be in x number of episodes of TAXI, and that both Andy and Tony were to have their own trailers. Tony was to have been Louie's brother in #10 ("A Full House for Christmas"), but the cast found him so obnoxious that they demanded he be fired.

>6. Were the writers ever leading to an Alex/Elaine romance?

There were a couple episodes concerning the relationship between Alex and Nardo (#28 and #69 are the ones that immediately come to mind), but after five seasons, there was no long-term romantic relationship between them. The best way I can think of to describe their relationship is to say that they were very good friends who slept together once. I doubt that a long-term romantic relationship between the two would have occured had the show continued. After all, the writers had five years to set up an ongoing storyline concerning the romantic involvement of Alex and Elaine, and the most they did was write a couple of episodes about it. Compare this to the weekly romantic tug-of-war Maddie and David engaged in on Moonlighting, and you can see that Alex and Elaine's was a (mostly) plutonic relationship.


--Cab 804

[Brian Damage]

Originally posted by Cab 804
BTW, there is supposedly a scene that was cut from episode 1 in which Alex drives John to John's girlfriend's apartment; anybody heard about this or know if a copy of this exists anywhere?
--Cab 804

I vaguely remember that myself. I do believe it exists.