Remember when Fox started up? Remember the classy stuff in the early days - Tracy Ullman, Duet? Keen Eddie is a throw back to that time, and so begs the question "What was Fox thinking?".
It is not that Fox has not produced some good stuff since its early days. Married with Children and The Family Guy are examples of what we now think of as typical good Fox product - they are smart, well produced but are harsh and crass in their humor, constantly moving the bar that separates good and bad taste. So, why did Fox put Keen Eddie on TV in 2003 when its mission statement and the tastes of the American viewer were already acutely defined?
Keen Eddie had more in common with British series such as Class Act - it was slick, smart, witty, open and breezy - than with anything that has ever come out of Hollywood. Fox must have been trying something new, but then lost its nerve, and was not willing to stand by the series while a fan base developed. Too bad.
I am convinced that, if Keen Eddie had been given the treatment given most television projects years earlier(remember the initial low rating for Cheers?) it would have become iconic, and may very well have drastically changed American television. It would also have put Fox on the map for something other than gross-out gags and nut-ball right-wing news personalities.
It is not that Fox has not produced some good stuff since its early days. Married with Children and The Family Guy are examples of what we now think of as typical good Fox product - they are smart, well produced but are harsh and crass in their humor, constantly moving the bar that separates good and bad taste. So, why did Fox put Keen Eddie on TV in 2003 when its mission statement and the tastes of the American viewer were already acutely defined?
Keen Eddie had more in common with British series such as Class Act - it was slick, smart, witty, open and breezy - than with anything that has ever come out of Hollywood. Fox must have been trying something new, but then lost its nerve, and was not willing to stand by the series while a fan base developed. Too bad.
I am convinced that, if Keen Eddie had been given the treatment given most television projects years earlier(remember the initial low rating for Cheers?) it would have become iconic, and may very well have drastically changed American television. It would also have put Fox on the map for something other than gross-out gags and nut-ball right-wing news personalities.