Saturday, August 20, 2016

A Classic Reborn (?): Mister Ed (2004)

More than 40 years after his debut, Mister Ed was poised for a return. Fox had asked for a pilot to be made for an updated version of the 1961-6 Filmways series that had aired originally in syndication, then moved to CBS for its remaining seasons.

This time around, Ed is voiced by Sherman Hemsley (ex-The Jeffersons, Amen), giving Ed more of a urban, street smart attitude. Kind of like the other characters Hemsley had played. Instead of being childless, Wilbur Pope (the original name for the character in an unaired pilot prior to the original series) and his wife have two kids, typical children of the period. David Basche and Sherilyn Fenn (ex-Twin Peaks) co-star.



To paraphrase an old cliche, too many characters spoil the story. No wonder Fox didn't go all in.

Rating: D.

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