Taxi: The Complete 3rd Season (DVD)

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First telecast on Sept 12, 1978, "Taxi" was an unusual sitcom because creators Les and Ed Charles and James Burrows seemed to go for poignancy almost as much as laughs. At the Sunshine Cab Company in New York City, Alex Rieger (Judd Hirsch) was the only actual cab driver. The rest of them were something else. Bobby was an actor who had to drive a cab because his talents weren't exactly landing him in the driver's seat on Broadway. Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner) was an art gallery curator who hadn't quite found her dream paying job yet. Tony Banta (Tony Danza) was a boxer who got knocked out as fast as he could climb into the ring. And Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd) was a reverend . . . and a veteran of the Sixties with the drug-scrambled brains to prove it.

Ordering this crew around was the diminutive but nasty Louie De Palma (Danny DeVito), while culturally ignorant immigrant Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman) kept the cabs in working order. The viewing public quickly warmed to this group and "Taxi" finished #9 its first year, tied with "All in the Family." But for whatever reason, by season three the show had fallen off the Nielsen radar.

The show fared much better at the Emmys, winning Outstanding Comedy Series its first three years. Judd Hirsch won best actor and Danny DeVito won best supporting actor for the third season, while James Burrows picked up a directing Emmy for "Elaine's Strange Triangle" and Christopher Lloyd picked up a statue for Outstanding Writing for "Tony's Sister and Jim."

It's a strong ensemble cast that stands up under individual character scrutiny. Pick a character, any character, and watch only that character throughout the episode. Watch the body language, the facial expressions, the nuances of character and the interaction with others, and you'll appreciate how wonderful each of these actors is in their respective roles. Lloyd and DeVito are particularly fun to watch, with the former totally believable as a burnout times ten, and DeVito positively troll-like and nearly subhuman as the lecherous and ruthless little tyrant who's the poster child for the small-dog complex.

Here's the rundown on the 20 episodes:

1) "Louie's Rival"—Louie comes unglued when Zena (real-life wife Rhea Perlman) dumps him for a bartender who isn't as course and unrefined as the abrasive and unintentionally abusive Louie.

2) "Tony's Sister and Jim"—One of the season's best episodes finds Tony trying to set up his sister (Julie Kavner, the voice of Marge on "The Simpsons") with Alex, then reacting with full ring rage when she falls for the flaky Jim instead.

3) "Fathers of the Bride"—When his daughter gets married and Alex is forbidden by his ex-wife to attend, he and Elaine crash the wedding . . . and go from nearly ruining the evening to making it memorable.

4) "Elaine's Strange Triangle"—A very funny "Saturday Night Fever" dance climax highlights this love triangle between Elaine, Kirk (John David Carson) . . . and Tony.

5) "Going Home"—One of the series' most poignant episodes finds Alex accompanying Jim to the home of his rich parents, to see how it is that this fruit could fall so psychedelically far from the tree.

6) "The Ten-Percent Solution"—Bobby gets a crushing blow from his boxer pal when Tony is told he's got the right "look" for a part, not the wannabe actor.

7) "The Call of the Mild"—The cabbies try to bond for a week together roughing it in the wilderness after Bobby gets a taste of the outdoors via a beer commercial . . . but it's no picnic when this crew tries it alone.

8) "Latka's Cookies"—Latka ties to become the next Famous Amos using a recipe that's a hit with Reverend Jim, because it has a touch of illegal substance in it as the secret ingredient.