Joe's TV List Rocks on the Front Porch

#33: Evening Shade
(CBS, 1990-1994)

I've never been a Burt Reynolds fan, per se, but I've always admired the way, especially in the second half of his career, he'll take on anything, jumping gleefully from Boogie Nights to a cameo as God (or the devil?) in a wonderfully quirky X-Files episode. He just seems to enjoy himself, and the best evidence is Evening Shade, for which he basically gathered a bunch of his close friends -- Marilu Henner, Charles Durning, Michael Jeter, Hal Holbrook, Ossie Davis, the list goes on -- and, for the most part, played it straight and let the other nuts cavort in the spotlight. The result was one of the deepest, most chemistry-laden casts in TV history, in the service of something truly rare: a comedy series of genuine warmth that was also terrifically funny. I'm still quite fond of Evening Shade even though today we can recognize the diabolical motives of its creators, Linda and Harry Thomason, who clearly were softening up America for the ascendance of their pals, Bill and Hillary. "Hell, I'll vote for him," many probably said. "Those two are from Arkansas, and by golly, if they're anything like Wood Newton and the gang, it'll be a great time for everyone!" Of course, when scandals began to emerge early in Bill's presidency, supporters just said, "aw, I still like 'em. And anyway, what's the harm? It's not like they'll ever cause trouble for us Democrats!"