Not Watchable
I saw some episodes of the show in the 1980s and I have to say they look extremely dated. Maybe it was comedy of the time, but when you compare it against the Homeymooners or Lucy, it does not hold up. It was depressing actually.
shareThis series is broadcast in Oregon on a regular basis and I have to say that it is hard to watch it and be interested!
It is sooooo poorly produced & it is simply NOT funny! It makes you (me anyway) uncomfortable because I can clearly see that the actor's are doing there best to make it work - maybe that's part of the problem - you realize as your watching it that the actor's are struggling to make it funny, but it/they fail(s) big time! However, Joan & Jim do deserve to be recognized as early television pioneer's!
I don't entirely agree. This show was not that bad. It was unfortunate that it was constantly under the shadow of the megahit "I Love Lucy." The main problem with the show was the writing was not consistently strong as in the other series. Sometimes the show was funny, though not sidesplitting like "I Love Lucy" frequently was, and sometimes the comedy was flat. Davis also didn't have a strong supporting cast to interact with. Jim Backus was rather dull in the role of the husband, and there was nothing in the way of consistency when it came to casting friends and neighbors, unlike Fred and Ethel Mertz.
"I Married Joan" does bear more than a passing resemblance to "I Love Lucy," but Davis' style of comedy was much different than Lucille Ball's.
I like Joan Davis and realize that, in fairness, she was VERY "Lucy Like" in 1940s movies. This was before anyone (including 'herself') realized what a gifted comedienne Lucille Ball would prove to be. "I Married Joan" episodes CAN drag, but I just LOVE at least one of them... Joan has to perform the role of a Southern belle with her ladies' club. None of the rest of the cast show up, so Joan must play ALL the roles at breakneck speed. It is all silly and inane, but for me proves EXTREMELY FUNNY. I'll honor her memory for this one.
sharei watched reruns because of ''gilligan's island'' actor jim backus and it was/is the MOST painful thing i've ever watched ... i've always believed the viewer is'nt suppose to witness the actor's working so hard to make a sitcom work/click & these people were frantic to make it funny ... i'm grateful to them both but it was so embarrassing and painful to watch THEM ... the actors, work sooooo hard & fail so badly!
shareI love vintage television but I have to admit I have never seen a good I MARRIED JOAN episode yet.
sharenot watchable? not true.
the show with the house switch/push button beds, and where she was suspended in a carpet store behind a hanging carpet they were beating was side-splitting hilarious! i haven't laughed that hard since seeing Lucy falling down the staircase with the huge headdress.
the jungle movie with the monkey was great, as well. took a 2nd viewing to realize that a small human monkey double was brought in for the jitterbug segment. i was so busy watching her i didn't notice 1st go round.
the honeymoon flashback with Jim Backus being locked in a closet and drinking through a straw, eating carrots and a string of hot dogs, olives and spitting the pits, and smoking a cigar all through a hole - is priceless.
also luved the home movies: "I went to see Hawaii but it looks like Hawaii saw me." and the two couples sharing the same new house, and her in the doghouse with the two collies. all good stuff.
with the show being in direct competition w/I Love Lucy and her dying young - doesn't any writer see a great backstage bio. story in the making here? i'm glad to have read that she was well-off and lived well, at least.
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I agree, there were some very funny episodes. I used to watch it late at night during the summer on cable in the early '80s, and immediately became a fan. She was a brilliant performer. It is beyond tragic so few people know who she was.