Parker vs. Ferris? - Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1990) Discussion

Yeah! Jennifer Aniston played Jeannie.

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Yes, and it was totally lame. Although I believe that during one Parker Lewis episode, he makes a mental note that sometimes being saccharine sweet like Ferris can get you places...

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[–] hcrapwhitman 17 years ago

'Ferris Bueller' - har! He wouldn't stand a chance in a stoush with 'Parker Lewis' . 'Parker' would crack his back, wreck his neck, erase his face, smear his ear, fry his eye, twist his wrist, disarm his arm, quiver his liver, whallop his polyp, and grind his mind. They didn't call him 'Parker the Farker' for nothing.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] enojones 17 years ago

Maybe.

Both seemed to have opened during same season, although Ferris has a release date prior to Parker. If PL is a rip, it patched up the flaws of FB and made a slam-dunk hit which was not cancelled w/in one season.

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[–] cubdukat 17 years ago

Technically, "Ferris" did, if you count "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

I think both shows started about the same time in 1990, or maybe "Ferris" debuted during "Parker Lewis'" second season.

But it was ironic how the ripoff of the original managed to outlast the real thing when it finally showed up.

"I've been kidnapped by K-Mart!"
--Barbara Stone (Bette Midler), "Ruthless People"

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[–] vex86bird 17 years ago

If you look at the initial run dates on both it breaks down like this... Ferris Bueller started August 23, 1990 and Parker Lewis began damn near a week later on September 2, 1990 . It's been mentioned elsewhere that;

A) Ferris Bueller (the T.V. series) was god aweful (they changed a lot of the
premises around from the movie as well as the show was just lame)... 5
episodes total. LOL
B) Since Fox was still a somewhat 'weak' network they didn't have the means to
be able to 'test' shows and cancel them after just a couple of episodes.
So while PLCL wasn't an instant success Fox had no choice BUT to stick it
out :) Damn lucky Fox WAS like that back when otherwise PLCL probably
wouldn't have made it!
C) PLCL was a unique (while LOOSELY BASED on Ferris Bueller's Day Off) idea and
developed a fan-base. As with a lot of shows based on a movie, people always
compare the two... So when Ferris Bueller didn't 'meet the expectations' of
fans when compared to the movie people didn't accept it and didn't watch the
show...

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] RobBase086-1 17 years ago

I have to admit I loved Ferris Buellers Day Off movie but I never really got into the show though when it came out. As well around that time CBS I believed tried to make a go of Uncle Buck which bombed as well and did not stay on TV very long.

I felt that in ways Parker Lewis was similar to Ferris Bueller the movie. It has the same concept but differently done though. In the movie Ferris Bueller has his girlfriend and the guy who later went on to be in Spin City as a friend.

The contrast of characters is that there was Parker, Jerry, Mikey, Kubiak, and the little sister of Parker as well as a character in the show.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] RobBase086-1 16 years ago

For the TV show version I would go with Parker Lewis but if it was against the actual movie of Ferris Buehlers Day Off I would go with Ferris on that fight. The TV show hands down it is Parker Lewis!

Dedicated to USA UP ALL NIGHT and the fans of the show! http://deefilmroll.com/usa-uan/

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[–] kodak007 16 years ago

i have to say i am the right age to have modeled my life after Ferris, and when i was a kid, or younger, whatever, i remember being a HUGE tv addict that i was, that the Ferris show was going to be the epic life changing event that the movie was for me, sadly, it sucked, it lost the whole flair of the movie, and turned ferris in to someone who was more of a anarchist than anything else. he lived to screw with the school and get over, while the real ferris in the movie might have been deceptful, dishonet, but he was a good dude, the show lost that vibe completely, so when i was forced to realize that it sucked, i noticed that one channel over on fox there was a show PLCL that was amazing and everything i was wanting from the ferris show.

i would flip back and forth from show to show as they were head to head, and i never looked back once i realized how great PLCL was.

definitly ahead of its time, and way better than most anything being made at that time of US TV. at least for me. sad it lost the charm as it got more popular, but it had the moment, and def won over ferris IMO.

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[–] RobBase086-1 16 years ago

I think as the people who write the shows come and go or get replaced some of the ideas of the show some what gets changed. I have noticed as shows last for so many years that is what happens to them toward the end of the show.

It is really sad that it happens that way but it was the truth though. I was not too happy with Ferris show when they experimented with that because the actor that they had playing Ferris was just not like the original actor who went on to play Inspector Gadget.

I loved watching Parker Lewis Can't Lose! I thought it was a great show and when I found out that USA Network had it in syndication I tuned in to watch it when it was on. I think that was the days when USA Network was a lot more cooler than what it is now.

I mean they show the same things over and over again. They do not try to get family involved but only adults into watching their network.

Dedicated to USA UP ALL NIGHT and the fans of the show! http://deefilmroll.com/usa-uan/

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[–] TMC-4 8 years ago

http://www.avclub.com/article/why-has-time-forsaken-home-improvement-242973#comment-2913088603

Parker Lewis Can't Lose - that's something you don't hear mentioned very often! It came out during that weird 89-92 period when people were trying to figure out the 90s by extending the 80s. Lots of garish clothing and weird, comic-sans like faux-urban fonts. The hey day of Color Me Badd & NKOTB. That era was obliterated by grunge/ alternative in 1993 / 1994.

Anyway, I think of Parker Lewis more of a Gen X / last gasp of the 80s thing- it was a riff on Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I am definitely a 90s kid (graduated HS in June 2000), but I was only in elementary school when Parker Lewis ended. But I remember Kubiak and "synchronize watches"

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 2 years ago

No. It was “Synchronize SWATCHES.” How can you so badly fuck up one of the most charming cultural artifacts of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose?! Shame on you.

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