FeistyUpper
If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
Beystiman
It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Rio Hayward
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Tss5078
Now days, most people only recognize Mr. Belvedere as a frequent butt of Family Guy jokes. On the surface, it was just another 80s sitcom, one of the founding members of ABC's classic TGIF line-up, but for those of us who have come to love this show, we realize that it was so much more.Mr. Belvedere is an English butler, who was created in a 1947 novel, starred in a 1948 movie, and modernized for television in 1985. The show centers on Lynn Belvedere (Christopher Hewitt), a British Royal butler, who has been hired to work for a middle class family in suburban Pittsburgh. Most of the time, it's your every day run of the mill sitcom, but what made this show extremely different, was it's very special episodes, which occurred several times a season.The show ran from 1985-1990, yet it still managed to be the first television show to tackle issues such as AIDS, bullying, stranger danger, elder rights, and even homosexuality. Often times the family would come into conflict and face three choice, Mrs. Owens, who always does the right things, Mr. Owens, who never does the right thing, and Mr. Belvedere the voice of reason that lies somewhere in the middle.As for the cast, they are as unique and strange a mix as ever seen on television. The main sources of comedy come from Mr. Belvedere (played by Christopher Hewitt, between known for his performances on Broadway than anything else) and his dealings with Wesley T. Owens (Brice Beckham), who is as twisted and psychotic as any sitcom child could ever be. Mr. Belvedere has frequent run-ins' and a contentious relation with head of the household, George (played by Bob Uecker, a former baseball player), which usually lead to some quick one liners, and even more laughs.Mr. Belvedere was really ahead of it's time and extremely underrated as far as television history is concerned. It may forever be remembered as that show with the butler, that led into Full House, but for it me, it has always been an image of how the not so perfect family should function and work together. It is a mixture of laughter, tears, and life lessons that is as relevant today as it was back then.
Aaron1375
I caught this show and was a fan for a bit of time. It was one of those sitcom shows of the 80's that was not really a huge success or a big flop. It had limited success and was able to last for six seasons and it was sort of a funny show. It featured an English butler living with an American family and it most certainly had some funny moments. It also had some very disturbing moments in the form of very bad jokes or subject matter. I remember one where the daughter was just about raped or something and another where the youngest child made a completely inappropriate joke about his teacher. Mr. Belvedere for the most part did not really do any of the more off kilter jokes and was the highlight of the show. This show is also a source of the rumor that one of the two male children was Marilyn Manson, but of course those rumors are completely untrue, I am not sure if it was the older boy or younger one that supposedly grew up to be everyone's most favorite satanist. Bob Uecker played the father of he household, I find it bizarre that they got a baseball play by play man to star in their sitcom, but he does an okay job and the man playing Mr. Belvedere did good too, the mother was unmemorable and all the children were very iffy. Still, this show had some funny moments and perhaps could have thrived longer and been more successful with better writers who know what is funny and what isn't.
BlackJack_B
After a whirlwind period of two years where the American Broadcasting Company went from riding "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" in being the top network overall in the Nielsen's for 1999-2000 to having their worst season ever in 2001-02 where everything fell apart, ABC has decided that family-oriented T.V. will be their focus over the "mild raunch" (to us Canadians) of NBC and FOX and the reality-T.V. obsessed CBS. They've had a track record in the mid to late 80's and early 90's with Perfect Strangers, Head Of The Class, Full House, America's Funniest Home Videos, Growing Pains, and this cult comedy, still revered by many.Mr. Belvedere is still a big favorite of the college crowd who have set up websites for it, and many people believed that Rob Stone, who played the oldest son, was the man who'd later become the infamous Marilyn Manson.The late Christopher Hewitt is the title character, a very British butler who has served for many people over the years, including Queen Elizabeth II, who somehow finds himself lost in Pittsburgh. He gets a job with his latest bosses, the Owens family. The show worked because of its fish-out-of-water situation and the fact that the wacky Bob Uecker was in it. Although not a classic sit-com, it was decent enough, the acting was very good, and it relied on dry British comedy as well as family sit-com situations. Hey, any show where Uecker has to try to keep himself under control is enough reason to watch. I'd love to check this show out again someday, maybe when I go digital.
soda_pop41
I saw the re-runs on TV and my whole family love it. I found out how talented Brice Beckham was. He plays Wesley, who always puts his family into trouble. My little sis fancys him. I mostly liked the looks on Mr. Belvedere's face- especially when he was caught by George while dancing in the opera music. I also liked the part that Wesley broke the TV and waving "Hallelujah!" to Mr.Belvedere to hide the smoke. The casts are great and "Mr.Belvedere" is one of the funniest shows in the 80's.
