This show was perfect for the very early 80's. If I could go back in time it would be 1980 to 83... Disco, new wave, punk, beginning wrap ..the club scene was spectacular. No internet, no cell phones or text messaging...& Everyone was in a good mood and down for partying! You had to be there!
Highlights as I recall were Michael Richards playing toy army men in the sand pile, Mark Blankfield as the stoned Pharmacist, the A list bands and of course... anything featuring the lovely Melanie Chartoff!
It was this show and SCTV that were funnier than Saturday Night Live was at that time (which was between 1980 and 1982, when SNL fell apart because Lorne Michaels and the remnants of the original cast left and the new people they got -- barring Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo -- weren't doing so well).
At the time, though, despite how crappy SNL was humor-wise at the time, season six had Funky Four + 1 (first rap group) and Prince before he was famous for 1999 and Purple Rain. Though Fridays had more punk and new wave.
Everything about Fridays was pure gold IMO!!! Great writing, great music & a great cast!! Melanie Chartoff was (is) beautiful and a great actress. Michael Richards was hilarious as Dick !!! Man how I miss those fun times.
Agreed, looking back now, with the new wave bands, the moments of absurdist humour, and truly pushing the boundaries of television, SNL was very Carol Burnette-ish in comparison.
Friday had it's moments, but was ultimately undone by lazy writing that almost always relied on drug humor for laughs. Reactions were mainly hoots, hollers and whistles from the studio audience and indifference from viewers. Production wise, it far surpassed SNL with concert-type lighting for the bands.
ABC thought that SNL was very vulnerable with all of their original cast leaving. They steered cleared, though, from taking them on head to head on the same night.
You're awesome, Melanie. I was a big Fridays fan, and indeed, a fan of all your work. Happy to subscribe here.👍😎👍 I hope you and your family have a great week. Peace and friendship😃🎸🙏💗🌏 Mac (aka RE-VO)
What a brilliant show. And a brilliant cast. There are so many memorable sketches. As I recall, the first sketch of the 3rd season was a satire that skewered U.S. foreign policy in El Salvador. I said to my friends, "This show going to be canceled for sure."
ABC didn't cancel Fridays over that zombie diner sketch (though some affiliates banned the show due to complaints about it), so Road to El Salvador was fine. ABC ended the show because they wanted more Nightline. Kind of a shame, since they wanted this as their version of "Saturday Night Live" and the show was doing well because SNL between 1980 and 1982 wasn't.
