This is a Dark Ride: Remembering ‘The John Laroquette Show’ (video)

There’s something in the air, because I’ve been missing this show lately and now SplitSider has visited the Paley Center and emerged with this recollection:

The first thing that strikes you about the first episode of this show is how dark it is. This is a prime-time sitcom in 1993. This is the era of Seinfeld, Home Improvement, Cheers, and on the darker side, maybe Rosanne.

This show opens with a grizzled looking Larroquette standing at the podium at an AA meeting, admitting that he’s only been sober for 36 hours and that he really needs this new job to work this time.

And this is just one of the many heavy topics discussed in this episode.