This is another edition for the "Under the Radar Video" series. I'm a 90's kid so I remember seeing this show when I was about nine years old in the early years of "Nick at Nite", this show was no doubt ahead of its time and even predates movies like "Pleasantville", "Last Action Hero", and "Enchanted".
It was a novel concept at the time, as it had never been done much at the time and a brilliant one for that matter on having a yesteryear sitcom family moving into the real world. That kind of concept truly is mind-blowing and full of possibilities, let along it's also kind of a wish fulfilment fantasy as some of us that are TV fans have always wanted to meet and interact with the characters we watch on the tube or be part of the action in some sense, this show shows that possibility.
I really love that theme song which is an honorable mention in my favorite theme songs of mine. It has that catchy corniness to it, and I just loved every minute of it as it really felt like a song that could be from a sitcom from yesteryear. Even like the production value from the wardrobe to the design of the Nelson's house which really looks and feels like a home from a time long gone.
Like both family whom both have ironic names from the main family the "Nelsons" and the neighbors the "Duffs". Both sort of represent two different schools of sitcom comedy from the Nelson's who are obviously on the old-fashioned clean humor. While the Duffs it's obviously the modern day dysfunctional nonrestrictive humor.
I really like how both families interact, from the neighbor's mom Alana she's funny as she has a bit of a sharp wit to her, rebellious as she's constantly fighting for good causes, and her character is a little on the slobby side as we see her house is rather unkempt. But she is grounded in reality which makes her a bit of the mentor figure for the family which but also just like how she reacts to the family which feels like how any normal person would as she's knowing their all odd in some way and possibly crazy but can't put her thumb on it. But she does respect them along with the mom Honey and bonds well with her as we see two different sets of motherhood and their values clashing and working together, but also because Honey fills in certain gaps in her life that she feels deep down.
There are also the older neighborhood son Mike looks a bit like Dana Carvey but isn't. His character is good-natured but ill-confident and probably needs a reality check. He helps the Nelsons but most of all wants to interact mainly with the daughter Babs played by actress Julie Benz who is well known for the shows "Buffy", "Angel" and "Defiance" another under the radar gem. I'll admit it's interesting seeing the actress at a young age and she plays the young 50's oh so sweet but oh so air headed teen daughter well.
The interaction between is sweet, funny though a little sad, it' s basically your will they won't they dynamic. As we see both are platonic as she doesn't quite feel as deep for him except as a friend but also unfortunately it's because of certain shallow standards she carries. But that's because she's mainly a product of her time, let alone show which makes sense characters like her back then were never fully developed in character that is and the standards for these characters always had to be a certain way. Personally, I was always either way on the matter and sadly we'll never know how it all turned out as only the realm of fanfiction can answer that question.
But of course, there are the Nielson's themselves, really love the performances from each of the family members, who all look and sound like they could've acted in the sitcoms of yesteryear. We see their all fish out of water, each are going through adjustment and adaptation blues.
It's true that part of how they all got to the real world is a little strange, though if you think about it makes a crazy kind of sense, as they were a sitcom that hasn't been replayed which has contributed to being forgotten. Which means they wouldn't be able to stay in TV land as no one is watching them and why no one in the real world recognizes and remembers. Yeah, like I said crazy but the thing is as vast as the TV world is, there are dozens of hidden and forgotten gems throughout each decade; shows like "Visionaries", "Exo Squad", etc. Don't remember them, my point exactly and have reviewed these shows for the record.
Anyway, back to the Nelson's it's just hilarious just seeing each of them despite the changes they're learning about, all stay in archetypal character. They are all so nice it's strange, but yeah looking at most sitcom families they each kind of are. But we really like them and as we see how much time they spend in the real world they take a step in becoming a little more balanced, a little more human. Well sort of anyway but hey they're taking steps all the same.
Three things that really make this show are how it plays around with the fantasy world the show is based on. Like the fact in most episodes there is a surprise guest star which consists of sitcom alumni from yesteryear TV shows. This was obviously a treat for the retro fans that are familiar with them and their shows, it's a bigger treat now as it's a small history lesson for modern-day audiences now. This contributed to the show being a love letter to yesteryear sitcoms and the fans of them.
The second thing is how it plays around with the fantasy world they're in. Like for example, the Nelsons have an old remote that changes the world from color to black and white and back again. It was trippy and cool at the same time, as we discover in each episode the physics it utilizes which makes a strange sort of sense.
Third is the humor which is hilarious because it's clever. I really like how the show parodies and even satires on all the clenches from not just yesteryear sitcoms but even the modern-day sitcoms. But also, like how it satires on modern day contemporary reality; despite how much progress and advancements you can't help but wonder if we're really happy, have we've lost more than we gain. What values have we forgotten and lost touch with, as well as our common need to make things easy but then complicate things further.
It's a real shame this show didn't go further, I honestly could have seen this have two or even three more seasons possibly. There was so much more that could have been done from not just having more guest appearances from actors and actresses from yesteryear TV like "Dick Van Dyke" and "Mary Tyler Moore" that could have been awesome. Maybe we could have explored the concept more like more characters from yesteryear or even present day moving into reality and how much crazier things will be.
There might also be some character development like the relationship between and could deepen, as she spends more time in our reality, she develops certain feelings she never knew existed which cause her to act more human. While for the Nelson's from how much time they've spent in the real world they'll have conflicting feelings about leaving. Sadly, the only way this will happen as I said before is in the realm of Fanfiction.
It would be awesome if this show was somehow revived, but this won't happen as the fan base for the show is small. But also, it won't do any good as most of the yesteryear sitcom alumni have passed away. Unless they remade the show as a family from the 80's or 90's transported to our decade and have alumni from those shows but then like most revivals it just wouldn't be the same. Personally, I'm glad they're not reviving this as I feel the revival train has run out of fuel and I just don't want a good thing ruined. Final note would love a Blu Ray set release of this show from may 'be "Mill Creek Entertainment" as this is another show, they can add on to their lost show list; well, it's a thought.
This lost classic like any other lost yesteryear classics is worth a visit.
Rating: 3 stars.
It was a novel concept at the time, as it had never been done much at the time and a brilliant one for that matter on having a yesteryear sitcom family moving into the real world. That kind of concept truly is mind-blowing and full of possibilities, let along it's also kind of a wish fulfilment fantasy as some of us that are TV fans have always wanted to meet and interact with the characters we watch on the tube or be part of the action in some sense, this show shows that possibility.
I really love that theme song which is an honorable mention in my favorite theme songs of mine. It has that catchy corniness to it, and I just loved every minute of it as it really felt like a song that could be from a sitcom from yesteryear. Even like the production value from the wardrobe to the design of the Nelson's house which really looks and feels like a home from a time long gone.
Like both family whom both have ironic names from the main family the "Nelsons" and the neighbors the "Duffs". Both sort of represent two different schools of sitcom comedy from the Nelson's who are obviously on the old-fashioned clean humor. While the Duffs it's obviously the modern day dysfunctional nonrestrictive humor.
I really like how both families interact, from the neighbor's mom Alana she's funny as she has a bit of a sharp wit to her, rebellious as she's constantly fighting for good causes, and her character is a little on the slobby side as we see her house is rather unkempt. But she is grounded in reality which makes her a bit of the mentor figure for the family which but also just like how she reacts to the family which feels like how any normal person would as she's knowing their all odd in some way and possibly crazy but can't put her thumb on it. But she does respect them along with the mom Honey and bonds well with her as we see two different sets of motherhood and their values clashing and working together, but also because Honey fills in certain gaps in her life that she feels deep down.
There are also the older neighborhood son Mike looks a bit like Dana Carvey but isn't. His character is good-natured but ill-confident and probably needs a reality check. He helps the Nelsons but most of all wants to interact mainly with the daughter Babs played by actress Julie Benz who is well known for the shows "Buffy", "Angel" and "Defiance" another under the radar gem. I'll admit it's interesting seeing the actress at a young age and she plays the young 50's oh so sweet but oh so air headed teen daughter well.
The interaction between is sweet, funny though a little sad, it' s basically your will they won't they dynamic. As we see both are platonic as she doesn't quite feel as deep for him except as a friend but also unfortunately it's because of certain shallow standards she carries. But that's because she's mainly a product of her time, let alone show which makes sense characters like her back then were never fully developed in character that is and the standards for these characters always had to be a certain way. Personally, I was always either way on the matter and sadly we'll never know how it all turned out as only the realm of fanfiction can answer that question.
But of course, there are the Nielson's themselves, really love the performances from each of the family members, who all look and sound like they could've acted in the sitcoms of yesteryear. We see their all fish out of water, each are going through adjustment and adaptation blues.
It's true that part of how they all got to the real world is a little strange, though if you think about it makes a crazy kind of sense, as they were a sitcom that hasn't been replayed which has contributed to being forgotten. Which means they wouldn't be able to stay in TV land as no one is watching them and why no one in the real world recognizes and remembers. Yeah, like I said crazy but the thing is as vast as the TV world is, there are dozens of hidden and forgotten gems throughout each decade; shows like "Visionaries", "Exo Squad", etc. Don't remember them, my point exactly and have reviewed these shows for the record.
Anyway, back to the Nelson's it's just hilarious just seeing each of them despite the changes they're learning about, all stay in archetypal character. They are all so nice it's strange, but yeah looking at most sitcom families they each kind of are. But we really like them and as we see how much time they spend in the real world they take a step in becoming a little more balanced, a little more human. Well sort of anyway but hey they're taking steps all the same.
Three things that really make this show are how it plays around with the fantasy world the show is based on. Like the fact in most episodes there is a surprise guest star which consists of sitcom alumni from yesteryear TV shows. This was obviously a treat for the retro fans that are familiar with them and their shows, it's a bigger treat now as it's a small history lesson for modern-day audiences now. This contributed to the show being a love letter to yesteryear sitcoms and the fans of them.
The second thing is how it plays around with the fantasy world they're in. Like for example, the Nelsons have an old remote that changes the world from color to black and white and back again. It was trippy and cool at the same time, as we discover in each episode the physics it utilizes which makes a strange sort of sense.
Third is the humor which is hilarious because it's clever. I really like how the show parodies and even satires on all the clenches from not just yesteryear sitcoms but even the modern-day sitcoms. But also, like how it satires on modern day contemporary reality; despite how much progress and advancements you can't help but wonder if we're really happy, have we've lost more than we gain. What values have we forgotten and lost touch with, as well as our common need to make things easy but then complicate things further.
It's a real shame this show didn't go further, I honestly could have seen this have two or even three more seasons possibly. There was so much more that could have been done from not just having more guest appearances from actors and actresses from yesteryear TV like "Dick Van Dyke" and "Mary Tyler Moore" that could have been awesome. Maybe we could have explored the concept more like more characters from yesteryear or even present day moving into reality and how much crazier things will be.
There might also be some character development like the relationship between and could deepen, as she spends more time in our reality, she develops certain feelings she never knew existed which cause her to act more human. While for the Nelson's from how much time they've spent in the real world they'll have conflicting feelings about leaving. Sadly, the only way this will happen as I said before is in the realm of Fanfiction.
It would be awesome if this show was somehow revived, but this won't happen as the fan base for the show is small. But also, it won't do any good as most of the yesteryear sitcom alumni have passed away. Unless they remade the show as a family from the 80's or 90's transported to our decade and have alumni from those shows but then like most revivals it just wouldn't be the same. Personally, I'm glad they're not reviving this as I feel the revival train has run out of fuel and I just don't want a good thing ruined. Final note would love a Blu Ray set release of this show from may 'be "Mill Creek Entertainment" as this is another show, they can add on to their lost show list; well, it's a thought.
This lost classic like any other lost yesteryear classics is worth a visit.
Rating: 3 stars.
