Episode 25 - Reverend Jim: A Space Odyssey

Weird media night. Miss you see that guy with it now he's an actor and the only camp driver in his place. Good evening and welcome to night mister Walters Taxi Podcast. I'm HP and with me as always as my co host, Father Malone. Father Malone, how are you this evening?

I'm great. I'm in the mood for some vaudeville. Vaudeville. You want vaudeville, you'll get. We have a treat for you guys tonight.

It's season two, episode three, Reverend Jim a Space Odyssey. It's written by Big Charles Boys Glenn Charles and Les Charles Pride to Henderson, Nevada. Who's better, Glenn or Jim lasts. Let's say Jim got my vote. Speaking of Jim, this episode was of course directed by James Burrows, Jim Burrows, the director in residence.

The reminder, we are doing these shows in broadcast order and not in order of filming. We start with some nighttime b roll of someone bopping their way into Mario's, and we know it's Marios because James Burrows makes damn sure we know by once again zooming all the way in on the Marios arning outside, you notice that I'm sure not only that they they stuck a checker cab in front. In the next couple of episodes, we're back to some interesting directorial choices. I'm here for it, I love it. We cut inside to Marios and the Caves are walking in and they're positively.

They're a bulliant. They're making their way into the restaurant. They're having fun, they're laughing. Alex even announces Hey, drinks for everybody, but then he qualifies it in a very poorly dubbed overdub as in our little group that was overdubb it was. I'm shocked.

Tommy the bartender confirms that Tony won his fight, which explains the enthusiasm why everybody's all happy. Apparently they went to see Tony fight somewhere. I often wonder where do you suppose he's fighting? Because he's not big enough to fight at the garden, So where do you suppose someone like Tony at his level of skill, Where do you think he boxes? VFW halls, gymnasiums of middle schools, anywhere where they can just throw up a ring, same place as you would find like backyard boxing type, you know, not backyard, but you know in the episode with Elaine's son, when Louis takes the wrestling.

That's yeah, Louis. They're often like a gymnasium, right. We learned that Tony won his fight, which is why they're all so happy. And oh, here's my favorite though this I could not believe a moment went by where they set up something so perfect for Louis and Louie isn't here where Jeff Conaway grabs a hold of Banta's face and he says, does this look like the face of a loser? Like I expected The phone to ring and they go, guys, it's for you, and he hands it and it's Louis and he's you know, and he says something snappy.

It was served right up the middle of the plate, and no one was there to hit the ball out of the park. We just got a telegram it's from Louis, which is continuing the vaudeville theme. I think it wouldn't have been out of place in this episode. It would have been funny. It would have been really funny.

You tend to notice the Lane's sartorial choices in every episode, as I do. Of course, God, yes, I don't know if you Safari and lumpa land here. I wrote down that's that's a good call. But I wrote down that she's wearing a hat that makes her look like a suffragette. It was very odd.

I went for the safari joke. Or conversely, she's part of that the a new form of gangster, the women's lib mob. It's got kind of what forties gangster for that fedoras but purple. It is a bit of a fedora. But fortunately it's quickly discarded when she sits down to eat at the table, say fortunately, no, I want to go on guessing where she was off to you later and her it was odd for suddenly fashionable Indiana Jones Chapeau.

I found it sort of off putting, so I was happy when it went away. So Tommy comes over with the beers, and the Cabby's explained that Tony won the fight because his opponent tripped while climbing over the ropes, and he won by default, which is, let's be honest, that's par for the course with Tony at this point, par for the course with the characters. How are you saying this is the most odd, stupid joke I've ever heard? Vaudeville Tommy understandably, is slightly incredulous, but Tony counters that, hey, you had to climb over those same ropes, which is, of course that's something that Tony would say. O.

Man, they really are doubling down on the Burns. The Burns sinkhole of charisma is gone, but the dumbness remains, and it's all been filtered and sucked up by It really does. And Tommy can't help but be chagrined at this because he thought they were coming in and he was a conquering hero who won this fight through pure pugilism, and it turns out the guy just tripped climbing into the ring and knocked himself out. So Tommy, understandably, I think we all agree, demands three bucks for the beer, so it's not on the house at all, because Tommy is so affronted by this notion. And just then, oh my god, who wanders into Marios.

It's a beacon of hopen the light? Who is it? Father below? Oh my god. Finally, ladies and gentlemen, we've all been watching taxi going.

Where the fuck is Reverend Jim mcgnatowski. Here he is, finally, in all his Canadian tuxedo so happy. Although I will say this as a little bit of a side note, as we'll see, I don't know if you notice he's not quite playing him the way that he would eventually start to play him. He's a little more with it and a little more kogent in this episode, I think, dare I say, a little more nuanced and a little more thoughtful of performance, a little less of a caricature, a little less of Kramer coming through the door, a little more of I'm still thinking about who this guy is and what he's been through. He's a little more ye connected that he's definitely you can see.

I wrote down about his performance here, and this is throughout this entire scene. This scene in particular, is that Christopher Lloyd has a rare ability to let him see you think. Like in particular, I only mentioned it because when Laca starts talking to him, he sort of like recognizes them because he's hearing lockas gibberish, and that triggers it. And Christopher Lloyd can not only let you see him thinking, but he lets you see him realize things. And it's really wonderful and he's doing it really well here and I think that's going to go away as Jim becomes more disaffected and more dissociated as the series goes on.

Yeah, it's not quite. I was a little bit surprised, and this hearkens back to the paper Marriage episode where he played him essentially the same way, where he is slightly damaged as a sixties casualty. But he's not as you said. I think it's a great way to describe it. He's not Kramer bursting through the door, sliding on the floor into Jerry's apartment.

He's a little more, as you said, nuanced and kind of clear headed, I guess. So he comes in and Bobby, of all people, I'm one of the things I love about this episode, I keep interrupting myself, is that we're going to see that Bobby is one of the main members of the Caddy group that is really kind of embracing this idea that they're going to befriend Jim and they're going to help him in all this. And I had remembered that from having watched this episode, and I thought that was actually really kind of a charming thing because we haven't seen a ton from Bobby Wheeler, and I like that this is kind of his niche in this episode. I really like that. I think, like Larry David viewing his next door neighbor and filing him away.

I think Bobby Wheeler is looking at Reverend Jimmy Gletowski and thinking like, someday I'm going to get on a series, I'm going to do this guy. I want this guy around a lot because I want to say, yeah, he's the actor that's filing these things away for future reference. I think that's a great call. Bobby comes over to say hi to Jim because they recognize him from the wedding, and Jim kind of breezes past the Cabby's regardless because he doesn't remember these people. And just at that point, Loka actually enters Mario, so we haven't really dealt with Jim yet.

He kind of entered. They have a little bit of a pull over, and then he breathes past so we can get through this. Frankly, this I found was the least interesting part of the whole episode, this business with Laca. So Loaca comes in and all the Caves say to well, what happened? We thought you were going to go to the fight with us, And it turns out that he got lost on the subway.

Loca got lost on the subway. He ended up in Harlem and he this is another Vodeville bit, he wandered into a bar and he there's a little bit of a shtick about how he wandered in, asking he looking for a fight. Loka is going to be at the time, he would be speaking jive, is how it would be described for the rest of the episode. He spent so much time in Harlem hanging out with everybody there that now he's a brother, and so the hilarity will be peppered throughout the rest of the episode with him saying soul brother type stuff, which admittedly it's admittedly as funny. I want to double back though, because when Loka walks into the bar, now, first of all, when Jim comes in and Bobby Wheeler recognizes him, he's like, hey, that's Van Jim, and they're all like, hey Jim, Jim, Rivin Jim, right, and then Lotka comes in like hey, Loca, Loca Loca.

This script was written by the Charles brothers, and it starts in this bar when everyone comes in, people who know their name call their names out. Just found it interesting interesting. I wonder if we're going to see this pop up again and again, maybe in like three years. It's really scary how close it is now actually because we're in the eighties. Yeah, that hadn't occurred to me, But that's actually that again, that's a very good point.

You're on fire tonight, fall them alone. So anyway, we get through this business with Loco. Like I said, it's funny, but I didn't find it all that interesting it You could have taken that out of the episode and it wouldn't have made any difference in my opinion. But then we're rescued from this stick by the re emergence of Jim. He's coming.

It's interesting because we never ever see anybody like he does come back into Marios from effectively staged left right. He's sort of coming like whenever we comment on the buffet table all the time, he's coming in from the left of that table, which we've never seen, not only never seen. I didn't know there was one. We've never seen anyone go in that direction. I assumed like there was just more dining tables behind us, and then the kitchen and restrooms were in front of us.

After the run, I would have assumed that the kitchen was by the bar, like you did. I agree, But Jim says, he comes in and he's complaining about how dirty the bathroom is. And then Alex again, this is vaudeville. Vaudeville, are going to wear out the sounder. God man, it's a cavalcade if Charles's Brothers nineteen thirty six cavalcade, I think you did cavalcade again.

So Alex says to him, well, that's because you were in the kitchen, and Jim's says, oh, thank goodness, which I guess is yet another commentary on how crappy the food is at Marios and how dirty it is. Can I get us out of Marios, get us away from I love the Charles Brothers, you know I love the Charles Brothers, but get us out of here. Yeah, no, it's you know, it's fine, and it's not going to go away. In fact, spoiler alert, at one point Jim actually buys Marios, but we'll get to that when we get to it. Loache is still there and he recognizes Jim as the person who married him back in the paper marriage episode from season one.

And what I thought was interesting about this bit here is that Alex tries jogging Jim's memory by telling him that the paper marriage happened eight months ago. Yeah, that was interesting that like suddenly people on the show are aware of time passage, not only that they can tell us exactly when something happened, whereas before they're just like, man, I fucking hurdy, dirty nonsense. And so when it comes to it was kind of cool. But it makes you think about all because that was I can't remember. I think that was fairly early in the first season.

And here we are, I mean, all of those things that we saw happen throughout the first season, that was all within a very compressed eight month time frame. It was about it was about halfway through the season, right, say, it was about dead way half half, right, so this is eight months later. It was dead of winter then, so it's probably August. Now we're thinking, yeah, because it's always sunshiny when we see that tracks, because it's always sunshiny when we look outside for the b roll. So that's kind of that's some for similitude for you.

Okay, well wait wait, okay, yeah, And then Burns took that kid, took at Lane's kid to go see Death on the Nile, which was out in January of that year, and that was like the last That was the last episode Burns was in. So how as Burns, Well, it's probably two or three months, I would say, right at a at a maximum, yeah, it would have to be all yeah, so that's interesting. He's only been gone for a short while in Sunshine Cab, you know, timeframe. That's interesting. So it could technically be like June.

And it totally, like I said, it totally makes sense because of the b roll I'll call it. I'll call it summer there because all the b roll is shot in golden Yeah. I think I did notice that every time they showed that the cab company, it looks like that, you know, like gold fingers. It's beautiful. Yeah, cabs have never been shot in such beautifully textured you're lighting.

It's great. Jim's memory is finally jogged and he remembers having married Laka to the prostitute and that you know, eight months ago. And Wheeler then has Tommy bring over another chair and a glass so Jim can join them for beers, and they start to talk a little bit and lay in his ass him how you're doing and whatever, and apparently the church of the Peaceful, which is the I believe that was the organization that he was representing. He was officiating via that church. That's where he was on Dan.

Thank you, That's what I meant to say. So the church isn't doing so great. Jim is not doing so great. By extension, he hasn't performed too many marriages or weddings in the interim, and there's not much going on for Jim. So the conversation kind of runs its course, and he thanks him for the beer, and he splits, and after he leaves, the cabbys are all talking about Jim and they all really feel bad for him.

Bobby, like I said, in particular, he admits to having a soft spot for Jim. He likes Jim, and he decides to go check on Jim, who now is sitting at the bar, and he asks Jim to come back over to the table, and after some more of audeville interactions, he agrees. Then Elaine asks Jim if he ever thought of doing something with his life. Jim says he always wanted to be a pharmacist, and Elaine says, well, you need a lot of schooling, a lot of chemistry. Jim says, oh, I've taken a lot of chemistry vaudeville.

So at this point, though, there's I have another side note here. This is full of side notes. The camera at this point cuts over to this two shot of Tony and Laka, and I swear you can see Tony doing everything he can not to laugh. Either he's really acting the part of somebody who's supremely amused by Reverend Jim, or he's genuinely enjoying his performance, And I like to think it's the latter, because he's just he's chuckling up a storm over there. Well, we all know Banta, I mean, Dan's hated Andy Kaufman.

Yeah, but this is but he's responding to Reverend Jim's Oh right, I'm sorry, I'm just trying to stir some shit. Well, I'm like, I'm here for that too, because we all know how I feel about Tony, so let's do it. I don't know that that's true. I know that they had a contentious relationship, but I would never presume to say something like well, but I think if you watch enough interviews modern day interviews with Tony Danzel, you can see he's being charitable now by saying things like, well, Andy was a very unique performer, and yeah we had our differences, but come on, he didn't like the guy. Probably not.

I don't presume to speak for mister Tony Danza, although he does seem to have not really liked him at all. And I agree with you he's being diplomatic. Yeah, exactly. At that point, Tommy announced his last call and Alex asks for another round. You think at the time Tony Danzer was like, what's you wrestling women for?

What kind of a man is he? Do you think he had those thoughts? You think at that time and that level Tony dance, I had no idea what performance are it was the form of Andy Kop. I think that's probably a fair assessment of him. I mean, look, I have fun saying what a lunkhead the guy was.

He can't have been that stupid. He's a good actor. He fit in on the show and everybody got along with him. So I'm not gonna you know, I in truth, I can't really bag on the guy. But at the same time, my guess is he was just interested in having fun doing this thing.

You know, U scamming on Mary Louhenner, who we know he had a relationship with around this time. So I think I just think he was probably didn't get it. He didn't get Andy Kaufman and his humor, and he probably just thought he was just some weirdo that was taking the spotlight off of him. You hear that, Danza, we think you weren't hit. I gotta say to that.

You know what, you can get a hold of us. You can put a note on the uh, you leave a review for us, leaves you know, Hey, I'm here, Come at me, Tony, there you go. Call us. You know we're easy to reach. We don't have agents.

Just reach us. You know how to get a hold of us. Right here, Baby, we ain't going anywhere. I'll get in that ring with you, Banta. I'll even get over the ropes.

So Tommy announced his last call Alex motions for another round, and Jim asks them if he'll if they'll let him buy the final round, and they're like, yeah, sure. And then there's actually a funny bit. I mean, this thing, it's a Vneville bit, but it's fucking physical and it's fucking christ It's a great bit of I mean it dates back to the Little Rascals. I mean let's be honest, it's not nothing newer or shattering. But anyway, Jim starts rummaging through his pockets looking to see how much money he has on him, and all he keeps pulling out of his pockets is loose thread like bundles and thread.

No, it's a ring. It's like it's like he's basically got the rigging of a ship in his pocket. It's all if you know, sometimes with this kind of joke, like in the Little Rascals, they'll pull out like a rubber ball, some a set of jacks, baseball cards, a frog, you know whatever. But in this case, the greatness of the bit in this case is it's like you said, it's nothing but thread and bundled up. You know, it's like thread that's been balled up and sitting in his pocket for days and days and days.

That's all he has in his pockets. So instead of just like a little handful of junk, you have what looks like that like the inside of a shipwreck, hanging off of his hands. And my favorite line is this currency is any of this currency? It's great? You know.

Hell, we'll see throughout this episode, and I've made notes about this but but just for the sake of not repeating myself a million times, it's not an exaggeration to say that every pretty much everything that Christopher Lloyd does is getting such a pop from the crowd. They are eating it up. He is so funny and the laughter is so infectious, and they are just I mean, it's he really is the anti Burns. It's amazing. Yeah, here's the thing.

That first season I felt his absence very early in the rewatch of that, But then I just sort of gave myself over to a Reverend Jim less taxi and this new guy Burns. So I don't think his presence was or lack thereof was felt. But my god, it's so welcome now that he's here. It's great. I mean to mix the metaphor a little bit.

It's a little like Nigel Toughnel playing with the settings on his amp. When you have Reverend Jim, you're turning the volume up to eleven. Basically, it was already a good show. It was already a great show. The cast already had chemistry for days.

There were laughs, there were great episodes that mixed a lot of different you know, emotional beats. But now that you have Reverend Jim, or the beginnings of really having him on the show. It's like they kicked it up a notch that you didn't know that it was missing at all. Look what that von Ville. It's great and he but it's so effortless the way that Christopher Lloyd does this, and you can there's something so humble about the way he just schleps himself around and gives himself over to this character, this schlub.

But you see the good person, the good hearted person within every beat of what Jim Ignatowski does. It's really marvelous and it's so welcome to see this here. It's like a breath of fresh air. Like you said, it's we had gotten used to the idea that he wasn't on the show, despite knowing that he was going to make an appearance, and now there he is, and it's amazing. Elaine is really pressing the notion that they want to help Jim, but Alex, ever the pregnant, is pushing back on that idea.

No, not really, he's just setting up an eye he well. I what is kind of refreshing is that he says at one point that it's not like their lives are in such great shape. And you know what, He's right. It's not often that the cabbies admit to themselves that they're kind of in a shit job, right, but they can put food on their table. And Reverend Jim, and you know what, he's just as weird and just as fucked up as the rest of them, and this job might actually be a step up for him, So why not give it to him?

I was watching the episode the first time, and I wondered, like, why, what is the interest here? Why are they doing it and talking to you? And knows just now, that's what I came up with, So Alex needs to shut up. So it may be the bottom of the barrel for all of them, But to your point, this would be like a huge step up for Jim because he's got nothing. He's not doing weddings.

He's you know, he's got no money. He's got piles of thread in his pocket that passes for currency. He's ordained. But what catch you? I'm ordained, you're ordained to perform weddings.

Really, I've preferred for what agency? Not through any agency I got. Oh, it was an online thing. It's a it's a funny church, But yeah, what do you think? But Father Malone is not an honorary title, So yeah, do you have like a certificate that Yeah, I got somewhere.

It's fine somewhere, but yeah, but I'd love to see that. Sometimes I did not. We've known each other ladies and gentlemen for the better part of thirty five years, and I don't think I ever knew that about you. It's amazing you learn something new every day. And my point being doesn't pay it doesn't.

But but Elaine is pushing this and asks Jim straight out does he feel like he's does he ever think he's wasting his life? And Jim's assertion is that he stands for something, that he's really the living embodiment of the sixties is what he says. Everything that came along he did. He says he drugs, He did drugs. He spent a year making a Macro make couch.

He says, Oh, I don't want to I don't want to touch it or get on it. I just want to admire it from a safe distance glass. And he says he went to all the big shows, he went to Woodstock. He also, uh well, he says he meditated. He wore flowers in his hair, and he looked for God, who he claims keeps ditching him.

And at one point he says, and this is where it gets really, this kind of gets real a little bit. Wait, wait, are we gonna talking about Tony right now? I'm getting to that. Okay, before you talk talk about Sony, can I just say something because this is the whole problem with that entire hippie movement, right, They dont did this. They did all of the mind expanding, reloving things that Reverend Jim did, right.

The problem is that they all thought it was affecting the world when it was really just them freaking out. And I respect a freak out, go for it. But they thought they were actually doing something and they weren't. They all ended up at Sunshine Cap. Anyway, Let's get a revelation about Tony speaking up speaking of them, damn.

So this is this is leading up to my second favorite moment in the whole episode. He Jim goes on to say that he marched in protests to the Vietnam War, and this of course sets off keep on trucking guy Vietnam Vet Tony, who's proud of his service understandably, so he should be He he points his finger at Jim, and he says, he points his finger, he jabs it over at Jim, and he says, you know what, the only reason guys like you could get loaded is because guys like me we're doing all your fighting for you. What do you say to that? And what's Jim's response to that? Thank you?

Which is not only the actual appropriate response, but Jim means it. Yeah, it's such a perfectly brilliant and a totally appropriate response, and it immediately disarms Tony. This look of shock washes over his face and the only thing he can say at that point is say you're welcome. Yeah, Bant is reasonable at the end. We've seen him be reasonable before, like you know, in his dealings with Wheeler, like he understands their relationship in ways Wheeler cannot.

So when you come at somebody and they're open and honest right back to you, like, what are you gonna do? You're gonna stay mad? You're gonna accept that? Yeah? I mean he The thing of it is, you know that Tony was prepared for there to be an argument, like he's probably had this argument with other so called hippies in the past, Yes, and it probably it's I did this so you could do that.

And they said you were in an illegal war and bob blah blah spitting at me, call me baby killing all kinds of vinyl crab. Who are they to protest me HP unless they've been there? That is a first blood reference right there. That's oh my god, from a well known draft dodger. Right, did he dodge the draft or he taught school?

He did? Listen, Yes, going to Switzerland to teach soccer to girls at a private academy. If that's draft dodging, then yes, he is a draft. I don't mean to cast dispersions, but I know that he didn't. I'm yeah.

Allegedly he avoided fighting in the war by teaching at a girls school, and then whatever, and then he became the symbol of the new Vietnam, the one that we won. At this point, though, Jim is really freaking everybody out at the table, and they all at once decided they've had a enough of talking with Jim, and they all make excuses and rush out of Marios all of a sudden. But before leaving, Elaine says to them again that they should get Jim a job, and Alex again is incredulous. He points out that and this is another Vaudeville joke. This brings us to what about five or six?

Oh my god, where could we get him? A kind of a loser? Blah blah blah. Basically, yeah, he says, he's got no what can he do because he's got no training, no skills, So what kind of job could he possibly do? And at all at once, all four of them say cab driver vaudeville and we fade out and go to commercial.

What a nice tidy bow. Charles brothers got us to the break. We've grown about all these Vaudevillian jokes and these sort of hoary old chestnuts that they keep hammering us with. But I gotta say, in this episode, it works. It's it just feels like there's a rhythm to comedy and these are all that they work so well together.

And I didn't mind it. I'll give you that. You know what, You're right. I think the direction in this episode, in the sort of revivification of the show with Christopher Lloyd's injection, it does paper over those Vaudeville sort of bulky moment. Yes, it otherwise would be kind of lumpy with all this bad, bog dated humor, but it works here because they're committed to it and it's just funny.

I don't know, it's all the way to say it. It's just funny. So we cut to the garage and Bobby is walking in with Jim. Bobby evidently is taking Jim out for driving lessons, and by the sounds of it, Jim is got that part licked. He's driving well, and that part of it is already covered.

Hey man, even acid heads can drive it. There you go, and Bobby then decides that he has to introduce Jim to Louis because if Jim's going to get a job there, he has to pass muster with Louie. And Bobby knows that Louie will probably not really it won't be love at first sight with Reverend Jim, so he's got to finesse the situation. Elaine starts to introduce them, but then Louie just flatly says get him out, just not even having talked to him. He just sees him coming, you know, twigs on what the situation involves.

He says, get him out, and then he goes back. This whole time he's been giving out cab assignments, and he's insulting everybody that he's giving cabs out to in various ways. We really need to start recording them as they're in this shot, it was all about Louie that basically we would only see the tops of the heads of the cabbies as they came. But I've noticed another episode he's calling out names, and we really need to start writing we do. I mean, not every name is as memorable as Ben Geretzky.

I'm sure there's Yeah, I'm pretty sure that leggy blonde in pantsuit was one of those people today, but I can't confirm it because he's just at the top of Yeah, they're they're very transparent these extras. They do a good job with that. Alex Elaine and Bobby are are trying to kind of game plan how to get Louis to agree to accept Jim, and while they're tossing ideas around and this I found this, this is hugely disturbing in retrospect. While they're tossing these ideas around in retrospect, inspect you were watching it happen, no no what in in of the time it wasn't a big deal because this was considered a funny thing to do. But now in retrospect, it's like it's almost it's really a violation.

So Elaine, while they're discussing what they're going to do about Louis and Jim, Elaine spies Jim slipping something into Louie's very conspicuous. Now I noticed this before he did this. I'm like, wow, Loui's mug is front and center in the cage. I wonder, yeah, big l In fairness, we've seen that mug quite we have, but it was so inspicuous. We're now onto Chekhov's coffee mug because it's so prominent.

It's it's instantaneous, though there's no Chekhov involved. It's like, here's the right. If you see a cup in the first thirty seconds, it'll pay off in those last So Elaine sees Jim slipping something into this coffee mug and Alex gets understandably gets really upset, Jim, what are you doing? But before and Bobby sidles up to the cage to try and surreptitiously grab the mug, but Louis catches him and has none of it. He waves him away and he drinks the coffee down and he continues berating the rest of the cabbes.

But right in the middle of the tirade, he falls asleep right on the microphone. He kind of rests his nose and is face down on top of the microphone, goose neck sort of thing. But then he pops awake immediately and starts acting nice to the cabbys into Laka. At one time this was considered just a funny, haha thing that he slipped some something into Louis's mug. But as you said, this is a felony.

I mean, this is awful. I just can't I couldn't believe it was being played for laughs. Oh come on, you know what, there are tales of the grateful Dead showing up and dosing an entire way I'm sure, and tripping everyone of the sound crew, and you know there's precedent for this sort of thing. It's horrible behavior. And if you're not telling somebody, you're gonna like Louis de Palma coming down must be a fucking it.

Just it was shocking, not only because of the reality of the situation, but the fact that it was Reverend Jim doing it because I'm so used to thinking of him as this benign, compassionate, friendly, affable presence floating through every episode, and to see him actually do this wilfully was surprising, but perhaps not shocking, because if he truly was a hippie, this was probably nothing, no big deal to him. Yeah, to Jim, He's helping Louis expand consciousness and appreciate what Reverend Jim has to offer as a cabby. Right now, he's a little it's a little too caught up in his own Yeah, So he thought he was doing something good. And eventually Louis sort of devolves into singing a spirited rendition of the song Moonlight Bay, which Jim then joins in with perfect timing, and he harmonizes with Louis and it's funny and all, and at the end of the whole sequence, the rest of the caves even sing the chorus to Louie as a lullaby.

Here's another here. Well, here's what I found odd about this whole sequence is isn't it a little weird that these these people who are all in the thirties and forties during this episode, how is it that they are so familiar with this vaudeville pop song that dates back to nineteen twelve that I didn't get listen. The average viewer probably will never think this way. But now, whenever I hear people break out into song and it's clearly a public domain song, I just assume they're singing a song of the time that everyone knows. So Moonlight Bay is what they're singing, But it's what nineteen eighty will they be singing something from a chorus line maybe, or some other contemporary music.

Could be a Beatles song, We don't know. They all know that it would have all been on the radio at the time, So that's I'm just gonna go with that. It's fine, but it oddly it fits in with this whole vaudevillian atmosphere that the Charles Brothers have been catering to. Here to the detriment of the episode, it reinforces how vod villa sure, sure, Sure, But then, while under the suggestion of this drug Bobby, before Louise slips off into sleep, Bobby asks Louie if Jim can work there, which he happily agrees to not before falling asleep on the hood of a cab, and we cut the commercial. Now we cut to a we cut to a b roll of a large, imposing government type building.

It just looks like it just looks flat and squat and no nonsense. And we cut inside to what I understand is the license registry. It's Jim going to get to take the test for his hack license. And I'm sure you agree because we've talked about this many times, but this is another tour de force for the art department. It is.

There's walk up cues for the various license types. There's a full size machine for doing eye exams. I think, so what must be happening here at taxis they have two sound stages that are permanent, right, Marios and the cab company the garage, right, and a third one that they magically transform week to week. It's a fucking amazing sense. Keep going, man.

Yeah, the DMV set is beyond the pale, just like that gymnasium set. We may just like everyone's apartments that we've ever seen. Good God, there's signs everywhere, there's directions. There's even a table that's just kind of strewn about with pamphlets that everyone is seeing at these places, like the different license types. I thought it was great.

It looked and felt just like every registry that I've ever been to. So bravo once again. You know how they have those They have those overnight things for adults at museums. You get to like sleep over at the museum. They should do that.

They should do that at prop houses like the Warner Brothers prop house. That would be the greatest thing on earth. It would. But wouldn't people make off with all the props? Though, no, we would, it would know, I'm saying, in a perfect world, HP, Oh come on, man, don't immediately with the worst of us.

Some of us just want to take a look at the take a look at the props. Yeah, I'm going to run away with a lot of them, but so what it would be? But unfortunately, you know, one bad apple spoils bunch. But what are you going to do? So the Cavies are there with Jim as he's preparing for his license examine.

This is really the centerpiece of the whole episode for me. This is really the peak of the whole episode. We learned for the first time in the whole series that Jim's last name is Ignatowski. Because he's filling out the little form and they ask what his last name is, and there's a funny bit where he gets nervous because he didn't think the questions were going to be this hard, But we find out that he's Jim Ignatowski, which is cool. Jim is struggling, as I said, comically with all these questions because like, for example, one of the questions is eyes and Elaine premptively insists that he'd not write two as his answer.

And then another great question during the portion is and the health portion of the exam, it says it asks mental illness or a narcotic addiction, which Jim admits is a tough choice. Vaudeville Yeah, man, No, see when they're writing either dumb or burned out Vaudville jokes are just jokes. They just work. But like when we have our rational, normal people in the characters spouting some of these lines, it just feels so set up punchline, which is how no one talks. I can imagine Reverend Jim actually being this funny.

And I think part of what makes this scene and really almost every interaction with Jim work is the cabbys are collectively the straight man to Jim's comic replies right, it all, all of them is amazing. It wouldn't work nearly as well, but that is the format of this scene. He you know, they're the straight man, and he gets to have all the funny punchlines to every joke. It totally works. So Bobby helps him finish up the bile portion of the exam and he says, all finished.

Now you're ready for the test, and Jim is immediately crestfallen because he thought that was the test and now he's all freaked out. He thinks he's gonna I'm right there with him, he's going to fail. But again, it cannot be overstated how much the studio audience there is responding to each and every one of Jim's antics, every line, every exasperated look on his face. They're laughing up a storm. It's a it's a monumental upgrade from Burns.

Oh my god. Yes, Burns didn't get one of these laughs ever in the entire first season. Honestly, like if he got laughs, and all it was because of a line. Christopher Lloyd is getting laughs on looks just like a look he's giving. It's just tremendous.

And it I've said this in the past, but it feels like the chemistry is there, and it really feels like he belongs in the cast. I was saying this back in the paper marriage episode because it was so clear even and C and one that he was what the show never knew it needed. So anyway, they finally convinced Jim to go ahead and take the exam, and you can see that none of the cabbes think they're gonna He's actually gonna make it. So Lane walks him over to one of those tiny little school desks that we've all sat in it one time or another. It's a one piece desk with with the flat portion connected to it, and within seconds, Jim is hissing to get Bobby's attention.

And here's where he asks the immortal question, which is given night Mister walters its signature grading system and what is it you need the yellow light? What do the yellow lights? And Bobby whispers back, slow down and imperfect sitcom fashion, Jim repeat. He eats the same question, but much slower. What does uh?

And Bobby and the rest of the caves are getting here. They're getting agitated. You can see they're so frustrated with because Jim doesn't get it right. So then Bobby responds even more frustratedly, slow down and Jim again on a loop. He responds even slower this time.

What He's responding so slowly that in the middle of saying it he has to look back at his paper because he forgets what the rest of the question is. Oh, yeah, yeah, it's great. You don't think it can be funny, repeated as many times as it does. But I gotta say, by the fourth time and as slow as he was going with, my girlfriend had not seen the episode started giggling like crazy about Christopher Lloyd's performance. It's a marvel.

The studio audience is right there with it. Every reaction is getting a big and bigger laugh. For me, this and I've made mention of this in the past. For me, this is an absolutely classic sitcom sequence. This is up there with the Chuckles funeral from Mary Tyler Moore or Vitamede Veggamin from I Love Lucy.

This should be in the Smithsonian if it isn't. This sequence is such a masterclass in comedic timing and reactions and all the rest. It's so simple in concept the sequence, yet so hilarious in execution and I have to say that so much of the credit has to go to Jeff Conaway. I've already made mention of the fact that he's been put into this role of being the one who's who really took it upon themselves to try to help Jim, but I'm not sure they make mention of this in the Lovies book. I'm not going to take total credit for this notion, but I'm not sure any other one of those Caves would have been as appropriate to be the straight man during that sequence.

It couldn't be Elaid because she couldn't pull off that frustrated gritting her teeth, kissing back slow down. Vigor could have, but it still wouldn't have been It wouldn't been as good. It couldn't be Dan because first of all, it's like you said earlier, the fact that Wheeler is so invested in River and Jim and Ignatowski is endearing in some way, like he tolerates Bansa, he likes Reverend Jim, So there's that. And then yes, the frustration is tempered in a way like you can see he really wants to freak out on him but also doesn't want to get caught. And also doesn't want to hurt Jim's feelings.

I mean he is. He is rocking his head back and forth, incredulous about the whole sequence. He's just getting more and more just incensed by the whole the ridiculousness of it. It's it really is wonderful. I also want to throw in I just mentioned the Frank Love's book Taxi the Official Fans Guide, which is an essential resource.

I brought it up in the past, but I want to give credit here. Jim Brooks in the book is quoted as saying, Chris with his driver's test got one of the biggest laughs I ever heard. We just had to bring him back on the show. So really, this is he came back as a guest star, and if you look at the credits, that's what he is. This was going to be a second guest stars.

Are they out of their fucking minds this? I mean, if we're taking this quote as I thought, they saw him in the first episode and said are you available, and he said nope, not till then, and they said, okay, well as soon as you're available. But you're right. It only makes sense now because had they cast him for the whole season and that he would have been in those first two episodes. I was wondering what the deal was, and again my mind was, well, he must have been doing something on Broadway or not only that, but he we're going to see he's not in the next episode or two after this, So this was kind of his little spot in early in season two.

But we'll see he comes back as a recurring guest star, but then eventually becomes another full fledged cast member. So I thought that was incredible to read that that this essentially this sequence really put him on the map as far as being someone that said, yes, this is what we need, let's bring him back. Thank God for the child's brothers. We fade out at this point, back into the garage, and now we see the cabbes are all congratulating Jim. He's passed his exam fortunately and he's a driver now.

For one of the rare occasions in the series. As they're congratulating him, he's not wearing his customary Canadian tuxedo. Did you notice that? Did very unusual. I would venture to say that his outfit is actually kind of a reager outfit, aside from the page boy hat that he has, which is really just a right.

Well, he it's his first day on the job. You know, you want to dress like a Cabby, and boy, ain't he dressed like a Cabby from the nightties. He's got the page boy hat. He seems like he's a Harvard boy at heart this year. Yeah, well he will.

We'll see. He has a very interesting backstory that we'll explore. Alex makes a big show of presenting Jim with his first key and his first booking envold. I mean, they're loving the fact that he because I don't think any of them thought he would pass. I got a good feeling.

Remember the last time they did this with that kid Burns. Yeah, but I always got the sense with Burns like they just did it more out of obligation. I don't think they felt like he was going to be the sort of compatriot. Wait a minute, this can't be a guest star episode. He became a Cabby at the end of it, joined the cast.

Basically the whole episode is predicated on him joining the But then, how do you explain that he still listed as a special guest star at the end because he's especially well. I won't argue with that, but because I looked I was during the credits at the beginning those zooming the sol kind zoom credits into the You know, yeah, he did not say Christopher Lloyd. He's at the end only special guest star Christopher Lloyd. So anyway, Jim thanks everybody for the help, and Alex insists, I mean, Alex is really playing this up. Alex insists that he have the honor of being his first fair And of course it has to end with Jim violently throwing the cab in reverse and smashing through the garage wall near the coffee machine.

I think he might have even hit the coffee machine. No, he did not. Coffee machine. Thank god. Coffee machine back in its rightful place now that Zena is around, Now that the candy machine have oporated somehow, I don't even see that around anymore, the particular candy machine that she was loading that time.

Anyway, Also this wall. Have we ever seen this wall before? Because it looks like there's a door there. It is very weird and we should have known something was up because rarely do you have a cab parked in that in that orientation. Again, it's it's just Chekhov's cab.

Now, you don't put a cab there in that setup and not expect some high jinks to ensue. I love it that the people have accelerated. I guess formula. It's like show the audience then used that I can't stop seeing it now. I see it in every episode because it's so apparent.

So anyway, that's the end of the episode. And like I said, we see Christopher Lloyd credited as special guest Star at the end credits, and and then and there we go. Now is the point in the episode, and the now is the point in the podcast where we discussed. Now is the time on Sprocket we're going to talk about the aforementioned yellow lights. What doesn't yell light mean?

And there's Reverend Jim again. So just to refresh everybody's memory, we grade on a scale of five yellow lights. One yellow light is the worst taxi episode. Five yellow lights is the perfect taxi episode. Father Belone, I'm going to start with you, as is customary, what do you give the Reverend Jim a space odyssey?

As a fellow phony baloney man of the cloth, I'm going to give Reverend Jim a space odyssey? Three yellow lights? Are you serious? Yeah? Why would you think I was kidna give it four or five?

Yeah, I thought you were. That three is just above average. Listen, listen, pal, Just because Christopher Lloyd is elevating a vaudeville episode does not mean that the vaudeville ain't there. Look, I can respect your position on this, and I'm not going to argue with you. I will say, for my part, I gave it five yellow lights.

What do you think about that? Are you out of your mind? You gave it at I didn't. They do not get more rewatchable. Perfect, Listen to me, they do not get more rewatchable than this episode.

Tell me if this comes on, you're not glued to the television for twenty eight minutes. Sure, there are other episodes that I'm also there are other episodes that I would be more apt to watch than this. From the first thing, I disagree and book. Not only is this episode Angela, that's a good one. I love that one.

Let's watch that one. Listen. Not only does this episode introduce an iconic character it is sure, No, it doesn't introduce it. Sorry that was first season. Okay, we'll go ahead continue.

Let me rephrase that, not only does this episode reintroduce an iconic character, but it's filled with wall to wall jokes and humor. And oh they are wall to wall those jokes, aren't there there it's so funny. There's jokes right from the stage of nineteen twenty six Zigfield Follies Herbert and Schlomo. Everybody, No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, look at at us? What can somebody do?

We're can do nothing. Cab driver, get the hook. Listen. Not only here's the thing as a sign of positives to come. All the Cabby's are present and participating in the events of this episode.

We're always complaining that, oh, you know, this episode was okay, but I didn't have enough Cabby interaction, or I was missing Bobby, or I was missing this we have all it's a full house. Everybody's featured. HP. We have a saying in my country a dB dab dab dab dab daba that means poor guy one less yellow light. Based on that joke.

Anyway, you cannot have recycled Latka material and give it a perfect score. But see, I'm grading this not just on the humor and all that, but this is a you're basing it on its place in the history yes, this is such a this episode has such a hallowed place in taxi history that I guess I just want to be a little honest with our listeners as all. But finally, my final point, if I may, is that this contains a signature laugh out loud classic line or a bit in what does a yellow light mean? It's of course it's going to be a five yellow light episode? What are you nuts?

This is the quintessential funny taxi episode. Five yellow lights done? There you go? So to recap, I give it five. Follow Belone chooses to give it three for reasons not only to himself.

But no, it's not on myself. I think I've explained myself. I think that the tidal wave of Vonville that they that the cast had to strive mightily against, and they managed to do so. That's Admira. Well, nevertheless, shouldn't have been there.

That's fair. It's you know what, it's a it's fine. You say tomato, I say tomato. You know what? Okay, you know what.

The episode hasn't ended. I will increase it to four yellow les, but not for the reasons why pray tell? Because the opening ended up being an inadvertent prototype for cheers. That is also a good point. It didn't factor into migrating, but that's fair.

Yeah, but your grading is based on false But ultimately we're not worlds apart. You're basing it based on the on that you like that line of the show that you remember like giggling about that when you were a kid. Sure, okay, great, and then you you obviously are seeing that this is a monumental episode and that it is finally when Reverend Jim joins the cast. I respect both of those things. Nevertheless, there's flaws in this screen.

People always say one of the hallmarks of a highly regarded episode is it's rewatchability. To me that they don't get any more rewatchable than this. I'm watching this thing if it comes on, I'm glued to the TV for the ensuing half hour. So you know, yeah, but you know what if an episode of night Rider came on, that too doesn't make it a perfect episode. No, you're probably right, but I'm sticking to it.

I'm sticking to my grade. My five yellow light said, Look, we're not world's away. One yellow light between us. That's that's not bad. I think it's I think there's a gulf between us now.

But all right, well that'll do it for this episode of night mister Walters father alone. Where can the fine folks find you when you're not clocked into the garage? Go over to weirding Way Media. It's where you're preparing this show. It's a yeah, that's where I am.

You can hear my show, Dark Destinations. It's a radio drama then I write and produce, or you can hear Midnight Viewing the Horror Anthology podcast I co host with the Projection Booths Mike White and the Culture Cast Christa. Should we look at horror Anthology television series with some bonus episodes where we talk to creators and writers and other podcasters. Uh, check that show out. I'm real proud as you should be, and I once I always say this, but I mean it.

Please check out Dark Destinations. It's something that I have been tangentially involved in. But despite that, and gently he writes all the music he performs in it. So I'm not extra plugging my show right now. I'm just saying, like, don't discount your own.

Sure, but even if I wasn't involved, it's such a well written and well produced show. If you like audio, drama, good storytelling. Check it out you won't be disappointed. For myself, you can also find me on the Weirding Waight Network. I also have done a podcast with fottom Alone and Mondo Heather's Heather Drain called Noise Junkies.

If you are music nerd like we are, I encourage you to check that out. Also, I have a band campsite called Hpmusicplace dot bandcamp dot com. Look for some new material coming there in the not too distant future. So that'll do it. Thank you so much for listening.

Please feel free to subscribe to this podcast, write a review, or rate us. We'd love to hear from you in any manner that you choose, so for myself and fallow Alone, thank you again for listening and we'll see you all next time. Ni