MovieChat Forums > Taxi (1978) Discussion > Why has the sitcom Taxi never been syndi...

Why has the sitcom Taxi never been syndicated for reruns?


https://www.quora.com/Why-has-the-sitcom-Taxi-never-been-syndicated-for-reruns/answer/Jon-Mixon-1

The sitcom, Taxi, ran for many years in syndication, following its five seasons of first run airing on two separate networks. It was a frequent staple for many years and its star Judd Hirsch’s later limited success on the NBC sitcom Dear John was due in no small part to his appeal to fans of Taxi. Despite a career that stretches back until the 1960s, Taxi remains Hirsch’s best known role.

If you are asking why it doesn’t seem to air in syndication these days, then the answers are likely that:

The series aired nearly 40 years ago - That’s a long time and numerous other programs have appeared in the interim.

It barely has enough episodes for a successful syndication package - Until recently a program needed a minimum of 115 episodes to obtain a syndication package. Taxi has 114 and they are spread across two separate networks.

The show’s stars were only stars until the 1990s, with one notable exception - Of all of the performers from the series, only Danny DeVito (Louie DePalma, the dispatcher) still has a career of consequence. It’s difficult to market programs on a wide scale which have few or no current stars in them.

It’s surprisingly dated - Much of the humor is topical and that makes it difficult to translate to modern audiences. When you watch the show (NOTE: I have it on DVD) you quickly realize that if you don’t know much about New York City in the 1970s, much of it doesn’t make sense.

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I don't get that the humor is "dated". Great comedy is hardly dated. And what is dated about Christopher Lloyd's brilliant performance of burned out druggie turned cabbie, Reverend Jim. Audiences today CAN'T identify with drug use? lol

Every one of the cab drivers had dreams and aspirations beyond driving a hack with the exception of Judd Hirsch's Alex Rieger. He was a realist with his feet planted firmly on the ground. He was a cabbie and accepted it. The rest,Tony, Bobby and Elaine had dreams of making it big in their chosen fields. Hardly dated stuff.

Not enough can be said about Danny de Vito's brilliant interpretation of the human slime ball, Louie de Palma. There was no funnier, rotten yet lovable, character on any sitcom.

And Latka Gravas. Andy Kaufman was in a class by himself with that one! His portrayal of a sweet, innocent immigrant who could morph seamlessly into the slick Vic Ferrari,well, there's no talent today who could touch that.

Good comedy is timeless. So what if you don't know a lot about New York City? The show is about people.

Today, TVLand runs endless reruns of Two and a Half Men. A very funny show, to be sure. But unlike Taxi, it is filled with perversion and non-stop sex jokes. The main character is a womanizing, booze addled pig. His brother is a spineless leech. And how the hell many Americans can identify with living in MALIBU in a beach house?

Taxi is a forgotten gem, so sad.

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Wasn't it running on Nick At Nite until a few years ago?

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Like the reply states, it did. But the reply misses that it still does.

And if you look further down the Quora replies, you'll see someone who points this out.

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I'm sure it still plays somewhere. There are four or five nostalgia channels showing old programs. It's got to be on one of those.

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This is the biggest crock of crap I've ever read, and it's why I hate Quora. It's a site full of posers. Taxi has been consistently in syndication since the very beginning. It's been airing for the past couple of months on Decades, and I believe on one of the other retro TV networks not too long before that question was posted. This person apparently isn't aware that shows run regularly all the time in reruns but whether you catch them depends on what market you're in.

The comedy isn't dated; you can tell that the person who wrote that never happened saw the show and just guessed the answer. Much of the humor has nothing to do with 1970s NYC but whatever situation each character got into. What is dated about Elaine getting a bad haircut and then getting treated like crap by the hairdresser? Nothing.

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Agree 100%. Taxi (along with Cheers) is as funny today as ever and so much better than the garbage that calls itself comedy today.

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Plus one of the streaming services provides it

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