Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries - Chicken Soup

Chicken Soup aired from September until November 1989 on ABC.

One of the highest rated new series ever to be canceled in mid-season, Chicken Soup was dropped because it's ratings weren't high enough. Scheduled immediately after the powerhouse Rosseane, it couldn't retain enough of it's lead-in's viewers-most likely because of it's markedly East Coast urban ethnicity; and was canned after only 8 airings.

The premise was the same as Bridget Loves Bernie, seventeen years earlier; a New York Jewish man falls in love with an Irish-Catholic woman to the intense disapproval of their families. Jackie ( played by stand-up comic Jackie Mason who had starred in the one-man Broadway show The World According To Me ), was a short 52 year old former pajama salesman, who had given up his job to do volunteer work at an inner-city community center. His neighbor and Co-worker Maddie ( Lynn Redgrave), was a tall, somewhat younger widow with 3 kids Patricia, Donnie and Molly ( Kathryn Erbe, Johnny Pinto, Alison Porter). Jackie's stereotypical nagging Jewish mother Bea ( Rita Karin), disliked the relationship as did Maddie's bigotted brother Mike ( Brandon Maggart). Unfortunately wisecracking comic Jackie Mason did not seem to generate much electricity onscreen with English actress Lynn Redgrave. Probably the best part of each show was when Jackie went up to his rooftop alone to kvetch about life- essentially his stand-up comic routine.

There were predictable complaints from protest groups about the series ( The Jewish Defense League wanted an all Jewish cast, or for Maddie to convert), but they scarcely had time to get out their placards before Chicken Soup was canceled a few weeks into the season.

The Executive Producers of Chicken Soup were Tom Warner and Marcey Carsey who had earlier developed the monster hits The Cosby Show, A Different World and Roseanne.

An Article from The New York Times

TELEVISION; Jackie Mason Stirs Up a Chancy 'Chicken Soup'

By STEVE ONEY;
Published: September 10, 1989

In a mere 48 hours, Jackie Mason will stand before four cameras and a live audience to tape the fourth episode of his new ABC series ''Chicken Soup,'' but as of this late August morning, he has yet to memorize his part. Not that this concerns the comedian. Indeed, as he rehearses on CBS/MTM Studios' Stage 16, he is blithely doing what he has always done so well - working the room for laughs.

When he muffs a line, he responds to the director Alan Rafkin's firm but understanding admonitions by opining: ''You're learning your trade - you're the only director I've ever worked with who doesn't get nauseous or sick.''

When an attractive hairstylist named Sharon Levin briefly takes him aside to shape up his frizzled red mop (the comedian will be shooting a promo later in the day and needs to look sharp), he makes the sort of proposal any woman would relish: ''Don't you think you'd be better off with a short, Jewish man?''

No doubt about it, Mr. Mason is quick with the repartee. If this were a nightclub, the audience would soon be in stitches. But the self-professed king of stand-up - spurred on by the phenomenal success of his one-man Broadway show, ''The World According to Me!'' - is now trying to wow a much tougher house, the one made up by America's Nielsen families.

Yet, here, too, the comedian owns up to few worries. ''I feel like Bush does since he's become President,'' he responds when pressed on the point. ''Before he was elected, he looked so uptight and terrible, but now that he's got the weight of the world on his shoulders, he's the most relaxed man in America.''

To be sure, the fate of Western civilization doesn't quite rest on Jackie Mason's slight, bandy-legged frame, but of all the network series that will have their premieres during the fall of 1989, none is expected to attract more attention than ''Chicken Soup,'' which makes its debut Tuesday evening at 9:30. Because of its coveted spot in ABC's Tuesday-night lineup immediately following the country's top-rated program, ''Roseanne,'' and preceding the critically acclaimed ''Thirtysomething,'' the show is almost guaranteed to lure a large initial viewership.

Advantageous scheduling, however, isn't the only reason this half-hour situation comedy will undoubtedly cause a stir. Like so much of Mr. Mason's humor, ''Chicken Soup'' will focus attention on the myriad differences between Jews and gentiles, and it will do so in the most dramatic possible way by entangling the comedian (himself a rabbi's son) in an interfaith love affair with his co-star, Lynn Redgrave.

From the point of view of television programmers, few relationships could be riskier. Though the popular 1940's radio program ''Abie's Irish Rose,'' based on the long-running Broadway hit, comically explored such a romance, just once before has a network television show mined this material. ''Bridget Loves Bernie,'' an early 1970's series depicting the marriage of a rich Irish girl (Meredith Baxter) and a poor Jewish boy (David Birney), was canceled by CBS after only one season amid reports that religious groups had protested the program's contents.

Hardly a promising harbinger. Yet, if anyone in Hollywood is capable of negotiating such a tricky subject, it's the production team behind ''Chicken Soup.'' Tom Werner and Marcy Carsey, who originated the idea, are responsible not only for such mega-hits as ''The Cosby Show'' and ''Roseanne'' but during the 1970's, they ran the programming and development divisions of ABC-TV. Meanwhile, Saul Turteltaub and Bernie Orenstein, the show's chief writers, have worked as partners for 23 years, shaping such television classics as ''That Girl'' and ''Sanford and Son,'' among others.

Still, the potential for controversy can't be denied. Acknowledges Mr. Turteltaub: ''I'm not afraid to admit that I'm concerned with the issue of whether Jackie's Jewishness will be accepted, whether the country in general is ready for it. He's clearly Jewish, playing an out-and-out Jewish character who likes a gentile girl.''

And it's not only Christian viewers who might take exception. Contending that he is ''sick of Jewish nebbishes being portrayed on television,'' Irv Rubin, national director of the Jewish Defense League, has already promised to monitor the program by packing its taping audiences with members of his organization.

It was in an attempt to avoid just such confrontations that the creators of ''Chicken Soup'' early on made several prudent editorial decisions. For one thing, their protagonists - as opposed to Bridget and Bernie - will not wed. Instead, Mr. Mason's character - 52-year-old pajama salesman Jackie Fisher - will remain at home with his elderly, Orthodox mother. Then there's the manner in which the show's writers have chosen to portray their star's on-screen profession. Far from fulfilling the stereotype of an aggressive, garment-district peddler, he will be seen as an earnest sort who eventually quits his job in order to involve himself in the kind of charitable causes Ms. Redgrave's character - Irish Catholic social worker Maddie Peerce - promotes.

Yet, all these moves - no matter how well advised - will in the end likely have little bearing on the program's potential volatility or on its success or failure. As Mr. Orenstein points out: ''This is not a show starring a polite, parlor-room comic. It's Jackie Mason, and the real question is, 'Will Jackie be liked by the TV public?' ''

Not surprisingly, Mr. Mason - while agreeing that any new television show is a gamble - is quite confident that he can win a vast audience out in the heartland where synagogues are uncommon and kosher delis just about nonexistent. He is not, however, so certain as to how some Jews may react.

''All my life,'' he says as he sips a cup of coffee during a break in the day's run-through, ''I've been told I was too Jewish, that the gentiles won't understand me. But the exact opposite is true. Gentiles get a tremendous kick out of me, while the only revulsion I've ever inspired is among Jews. So many Jews have a reflex reaction against anything too Jewish Because they've been persecuted, they've tried to assimilate, to leave behind anything that reminds them of their refugee status. They spend their entire lives trying to become Park Avenue WASP's, then I come along and remind them that they're really from Brooklyn.''

Alternately, however, Mr. Mason is less concerned with whether ''Chicken Soup'' will incite controversy than with mastering the skills needed to act for the small screen. While the comedian has from time to time appeared in dramatic vehicles (most recently the disastrous feature film ''Caddyshack II''), he has never before portrayed the kind of well-rounded character he's been asked to create for ''Chicken Soup.''

''I've been given a real chance to try something new,'' he says enthusiastically. ''In my one-man show, I have to be constantly hilarious, to keep up a constant flow of jokes. But now, I'm going to have the chance to express sadness and love, to teach and preach about kindness and forgiving. That's exciting.''

It is also technically demanding. ''I rather quickly had to disabuse Jackie of the idea that he wouldn't have to block out scenes, that he'd just walk around and a camera would follow him,'' says Terry Hughes, who directed the pilot episode of ''Chicken Soup.''

Mr. Hughes, while an admirer of Mr. Mason's comedic talents, perceives him as a ''television babe in arms,'' a performer who still needs to learn not only how to physically carry himself on a set but ''deliver lines in character as opposed to just playing Jackie Mason.''

Tom Warner and Marcy Carsey, of course, specialize in transforming comedians into television stars. First with Bill Cosby, then with Roseanne Barr, the producers have proved that funny people can make funny shows. But in different ways, each of these performers is unlike Mr. Mason. Long before his current incarnation, Mr. Cosby was an accomplished television actor, having appeared for years in the hit series ''I Spy.'' Ms. Barr, on the other hand, was a relative newcomer to show business and as a consequence was unencumbered by a persona fabricated to suit the peculiar demands of summer-resort and casino crowds.

Little wonder, then, that the producers of ''Chicken Soup'' have chosen to bookend each of their programs with one of Mr. Mason's patented monologues. In these speeches - which will be delivered from his apartment roof - the comedian will expound on the verities of life in the same manner that made ''The World According to Me!'' a smash.

But even as the series' creators congratulate themselves on this stroke, there are many in Hollywood who contend that one of the very qualities that makes Mr. Mason so distinctive on stage - his speaking style - may not travel well on television. In a medium where, as a rule, actors do their best to come across like Midwestern Jaycees, the comedian's Yiddish intonations, clipped sentences and rapid delivery are bound to confuse some viewers.

Stu Bloomberg, ABC's executive vice president of prime-time programming, admits that at pilot screenings, test audiences complained that they couldn't understand Mr. Mason. Yet, he sees no reason why such responses should spark too much concern, contending, ''You have to watch Jackie for four or five minutes before you pick up on his speech patterns, but then he's quite contagious.''

Mr. Werner agrees: ''I think after Americans are exposed to him for a few weeks, they're going to go around mimicking him. I think you won't be able to get through the day without hearing someone say, 'Dis is fantastic.' ''

If Mr. Werner's instincts are sound, an epidemic of Jackie Masonitis could be imminent. But should the producer be wrong, it's doubtful that the country will experience just a mild case of the syndrome. ''This show won't float in the middle,'' says one ABC executive. ''It'll either be a huge hit, or it will utterly sink.''

The rationale behind such thinking is based on the fact that ''Chicken Soup'' - because of the tremendous audience it will receive courtesy of ''Roseanne'' - may be judged more harshly than other new series. Whereas most fledgling programs are considered a success if they rank in the Nielsen's top 30, this one will have to achieve the same sort of numbers its highly rated Tuesday-night neighbors are attracting; otherwise it could end up siphoning viewers away from two bona-fide hits. Yes, ABC has placed an order for a healthy 13 episodes, but Mr. Bloomberg concedes that if the show falls out of the top 10, he'll be disappointed.

To Jackie Mason, however, success is relative. ''I'm philosophically ready for the show to fail,'' he says. ''In fact, I have a history of bombing. But as far as I'm concerned, it really doesn't matter. I didn't suffer when I wasn't such a big star. Life is a short piece of business, and I intend to enjoy it.''

For a second, the comedian pauses. Then in a characteristic burst of contradictory assessments, he adds, ''There's no way to tell what'll make it and what won't. Even the networks with all their polls and demographics can't tell you. And as for myself, I can only go by my own instincts, which I don't respect. So, with that, let me tell you that this show is going to be the year's greatest hit.''

A Review from The New York Times

Review/Television; The Season Begins: A Sitcom and a Heartwarmer

By JOHN J. O'CONNOR
Published: September 12, 1989

Tonight the new season gets under way in earnest, so to speak, as ABC introduces two new series. Each is already being touted as a most promising candidate for survival. On the sitcom side of the ledger, there is ''Chicken Soup,'' which can be seen this evening at 8:30 (its regular time will be Tuesdays at 9:30, immediately after the phenomenally successful ''Roseanne,'' a slot that would make anything promising). Then in the heartwarming family drama column, ''Life Goes On'' can be seen tonight at 10 (its regular time will be Sundays at 7, opposite ''60 Minutes'' on CBS and ''Magical World of Disney'' on NBC - not a very enviable slot).

Having gone from being plump and plain in the 1966 film ''Georgy Girl'' to being svelte and glamorous in recent Weight Watchers commercials, tall Lynn Redgrave - daughter of Michael, sister of Vanessa - can now be found in the role of sweetheart to short Jackie Mason, the comedian, who might singlehandedly revive the plump and plain fashion statement. Show business has a way of frustrating us all.

Mr. Mason plays Jackie Fisher, a very Jewish pajama salesman who is quitting his job to work with minority youngsters at a community center. Ms. Redgrave is Maddie Peerce, an Irish Catholic widow with three children. She lives next door to Jackie and, of course, also works at the center. Nestling up to Maddie, the top of his head in line with her shoulder, Jackie says, ''You're kind of cute for a basketball player.''

Coming out of the Carsey-Werner Company (the ''Cosby'' show, ''Roseanne'') is still another sitcom vehicle for a stand-up comic using material inspired in large part by his or her comedy act. With Bernie Orenstein and Saul Turtletaub as the executive producers and writers, ''Chicken Soup'' lets Mr. Mason deliver brief, meandering monologues at the beginning and the end of the show. Mr. Mason can be hilarious, as he proved in his long-running Broadway show ''The World According to Me.'' On the other hand, he can unexpectedly fizzle, as he demonstrated at the 1988 Grammy Awards with some ill-advised jokes about Jews and blacks.

''Chicken Soup'' revels in its cliches, not least the Jewish mother who is not the least bit happy about her middle-aged son's threatening to settle down with a shiksa. ''Why couldn't you be gay like everybody else?'' she asks plaintively. Ms. Redgrave has little more to do than play the part of sweetly bemused straight man. He: ''I already saw 'Madame Butterfly.' '' She: ''You did not!'' He: ''Well, I saw 'Cocoon.' Same thing.'' Much will depend, as usual, on how the series develops, but ''Jackie's Irish Tootsie'' is already stale around the edges.

''Life Goes On'' has been generating considerable comment because one of the children in this television family has Down's syndrome, a birth defect that causes mental retardation, generally in the mild to moderate range. Furthermore, the character of 18-year-old Corky Thacher is played by 23-year-old Christopher Burke, who is indeed a young man with Down's syndrome. The development is certainly unusual for weekly television, which is notoriously wary of images that viewers might find uncomfortable. And Corky proves to be enormously likable and winning.

But that's not why ''Life Goes On'' is special. The entire show happens to be sensitively written, wonderfully cast and beautifully executed. ''Life Goes On,'' created by Michael Braverman, also the executive producer and director, is in the admirable family-drama tradition of ''The Waltons'' and ''Family.'' This is a modest working-class family, struggling with everything from jobs and schools to themselves. Patti LuPone and Bill Smitrovich are tough and touching as the parents, trying to inch up a notch or two on the social scale as they juggle the needs and demands of their children. Kellie Martin is particularly impressive this evening as the younger daughter, Rebecca, who, embarrassed by Corky's being ''mainstreamed'' into her high school, turns into an obnoxious snob - temporarily, of course.

Yes, ''Life Goes On'' goes for the upbeat, encouraging ending. Yes, its solutions to problems are predictable and a touch too easy. But it is nice to have the show around on network television. Why should good family drama become the almost exclusive monopoly of the Disney Channel?

An Article from The New York Times

Mason Takes Stock After the Storm

By GLENN COLLINS
Published: October 5, 1989

''When it first started, I thought, 'Maybe I could get wiped out, here.' I thought it could definitely end my career.''

Jackie Mason was talking by phone from a stage in Studio City, Calif., after taping a scene this week in his situation comedy ''Chicken Soup'' for ABC.

''Such a week,'' the comedian said, referring to the flood of front-page articles, editorials and critical attacks that began eight days ago when racially charged remarks were attributed to Mr. Mason in The Village Voice. He was quoted as saying that Jewish support for David N. Dinkins, the Democratic mayoral nominee, was based on Jewish guilt; that Mr. Dinkins looked ''like a black model without a job,'' and that blacks had rarely supported Jewish causes.

The day the story appeared, Mr. Mason was forced to withdraw from the Republican mayoral campaign of Rudolph W. Giuliani, who disavowed the comments attributed to Mr. Mason. The following day, after announcing he would sue The Voice for $25 million, Mr. Mason issued a formal apology ''for my insensitivity,'' and added: ''I've learned a lesson from the last few days. What's funny on the stage can be insensitive when it's said off the stage and in the world of politics. And for my insensitivity, I apologize.'' And Then More Bad News

But Monday brought another disastrous flurry of headlines when Newsweek magazine quoted the comedian as using a word that has racially pejorative connations, calling Mr. Dinkins a ''shvartzer.'' Once again, Mr. Mason was forced to make explanations, this time commenting that Newsweek had used an off-the-record conversation, and denying that he intended to use the Yiddish term for a black person in a racially offensive way. He said it was a word he had ''used all my life, and in my act for years, and no one thought anything of it.''

Mr. Mason said the campaign fiasco recalled other moments in his career. ''At first, it reminded me of the Ed Sullivan situation,'' he said, referring to the television show of Oct. 18, 1964, when Sullivan accused him of having made ''an obscene gesture on camera,'' thus effectively canceling Mr. Mason's budding television career along with a $45,000 performance contract.

During a subsequent libel suit filed by Mr. Mason, a New York State Supreme Court judge viewed a film of the show and declared that he saw ''nothing offensive'' in Mr. Mason's performance. However, the incident dealt the comedian a blow ''that it took me years and years to recover from,'' he said. Assessing the Damages

Can his career recover from this latest embarrassment? ''I don't know how to measure the effect of this,'' Mr. Mason said. One barometer in coming weeks could be the number of viewers who are drawn to his television series, in which Mr. Mason plays a retired Jewish garment-center salesman in love with an Irish-Catholic social worker played by Lynn Redgrave. Tuesday night's episode was the first to appear after the controversy, and in metropolitan New York, it led its time period with a 24.7 rating and a 35 share, off from the showing of ''Chicken Soup'' the previous week - a 28.9 rating and a 41 share - and the week before that, a 28.1 rating with a 39 share. Each local rating point equals 70,200 households in the three-state area; a share is the percentage of households watching a program at a given hour.

Nationally, the show was ranked No. 11 a week ago; national overnight ratings showed that this Tuesday ''Chicken Soup'' had a 19.1 rating and a 30 share (each national rating point equals 921,000 households), down slightly from the previous week's 19.6 rating and 31 share.

ABC's shows faced competition Tuesday night from a baseball playoff game on NBC, and Jyll Rosenfeld, Mr. Mason's manager, said it may take weeks for a pattern to emerge.

Throughout the controversy, ABC has stood behind its comedian. ''Jackie Mason has apologized and we feel that should put the matter to rest,'' said Patricia J. Matson, a spokeswoman for ABC. ABC and Its Image

But some of Mr. Mason's critics say that ABC should censure him. ''I think the network has to deal with the image they want to project as a corporate member of the community,'' said Laura D. Blackburne, counsel for the New York State National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, who was also initially critical of Mr. Mason last week.

Also supporting Mr. Mason are the Atlantic City casinos owned by Donald J. Trump and Merv Griffin. According to Lee Solomon, Mr. Mason's agent at William Morris, ''there hasn't been any cancellation of his bookings at all,'' he said, ''and that includes Trump Castle and Resorts International.'' Mr. Mason is to perform four shows at Trump Castle from Dec. 1 to 3.

His opening singer, in fact, will be black: Olivia Ward, the wife of the departing New York City Police Commissioner, Benjamin Ward. ''It's a big break for me,'' she said of her opening act. ''I sing jazz oldies but goodies.'' When asked if she had changed her mind about performing after Mr. Mason's reported comments, she said: ''Jackie? He is what he is. The people who liked him before will still like him, and the people who didn't like him won't like him any better after this.'' 'It's Too Soon to Tell'

Mr. Trump, who will provide the hall for Mr. Mason and Mrs. Ward, said, ''I think it's too soon to tell'' whether the Giuliani campaign flap had affected the comedian's career. ''When he appears at Trump Castle, we'll get a good indication,'' Mr. Trump said. ''I think Jackie is going to be as popular as ever.''

Mr. Trump said he was initially concerned about the reports of Mr. Mason's remarks, ''and had he not told me of his respect for David Dinkins, it would have affected my attitude.''

''He's a good guy who has great respect for David Dinkins,'' Mr. Trump said. ''I know that for a fact.''

As for the campaign incident, Mr. Trump said, ''I hope it doesn't negatively affect Jackie at all.''

Mr. Trump's rival in Atlantic City has not snubbed the comedian either. Mr. Mason's first 1990 Atlantic City booking is at the Resorts International Hotel and Casino on March 23, 24 and 25, and Mr. Mason ''is still on Merv's team,'' said Nancy Engler, the director of entertainment at Resorts, which is owned by Mr. Griffin. It Depends on the Audience

''I can't see his remarks having any long-term effects,'' Miss Engler said of Mr. Mason, adding that the comedian's audience ''is largely Jewish and Italian. I don't think they'll be offended.''

But last week, Mr. Mason's comments provoked criticism in the Jewish community, prompting Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler, the president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, to say that ''Jackie Mason's ugly racism has done the city and all its citizens a grave disservice.''

A week later, Rabbi Schindler said in an interview: ''I don't know whether it will affect his career -who knows, the future will take care of that. But any person should be forgiven for a transgression. I'm not sure that it need ruin the guy's career - after all, he just stepped out of his metier.''

This is not the first time the comedian has been accused of racism. Performing at the Grammy Awards in March 1988, he began teasing an anonymous ''mister'' in the first row of the audience, as is his custom in his stage act. ''I'm picking on this guy in the front row, and I can't see who it is because the lights are so bright,'' Mr. Mason said. Then He Learned Who It Was

''I find out later that it's Quincy Jones,'' Mr. Mason said of the composer, who is black. ''I'm telling a joke about the hypocrisy of whites who discriminate aganst black people, but people in the audience think I'm telling a joke about Quincy Jones. The Grammys? Face it, I was just an old Jew making a fool out of himself.''

''My career has had so many ups and downs,'' Mr. Mason said. ''So many times I thought I was through, but I wasn't.'' Mr. Mason won a 1987 Tony Award for his one-man Broadway show, but only four years earlier had declared bankruptcy after investing all his money in plays and movies that failed.

Mr. Mason left no doubt that he would continue to speak his mind in a manner likely to provoke further controversy. Though he has been stunned by the reaction during the last week, he said he intended to keep commenting on the mayoral campaign in New York when he returns to the city after the current two-week taping of ''Chicken Soup.''

''They say my jokes aren't funny offstage, but why doesn't a comedian have freedom of speech?'' he asked. ''Anyway, Jews should never stay silent - look what happened to them when they were.''

An Article From The New York Times

Review/Television; 'Roseanne' and 'Chicken Soup'

By JOHN J. O'CONNOR
Published: October 10, 1989

If Rudolph W. Giuliani fails to become the Mayor of New York City, he might be able to scold Jackie Mason. But if Mr. Mason's ABC series ''Chicken Soup'' goes down the drain, as seems increasingly likely, the comic can hardly point an accusing finger at the politician. Poorly conceived and charmlessly executed, ''Chicken Soup'' is getting cold very much on its own.

Like ''Roseanne,'' which it follows at 9:30 on Tuesday nights, ''Chicken Soup'' is basically constructed on the familiar material of a stand-up comic. Both shows list as executive producers Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, the team credited with transforming another comedian, Bill Cosby, into one of television's most successful sitcom stars. Like ''The Cosby Show'' on NBC, ''Roseanne'' climbed rapidly to the top of the ratings charts.

But keep your eye on the shows that are on immediately after these megahits. Mr. Cosby's success was translated into nearly equal success for ''Family Ties'' and now for ''A Different World.'' ''Chicken Soup,'' however, seems to be on a generally downward curve, slipping well below ''Roseanne'' and, not so incidentally, whittling away at a sturdy lead-in for ABC's prestigious series ''Thirtysomething.'' The portents, while still short of being disastrous, are not good.

The weaknesses of ''Chicken Soup'' can best be grasped by looking at the strengths of ''Roseanne.'' Roseanne Barr, the cheerfully tough and rotund star, is not everyone's bowl of stew. Some viewers wish she and her family weren't such slobs. Others find her outrageous sarcasm less than ingratiating. And even her professional peers denied this comedian an Emmy nomination this year, a bit of nonsense that only leaves the awards looking foolish. But the main character of ''Roseanne'' and the show surrounding her are all of a piece.

Unusual for television, this is a working-class family, coping with the problems of keeping up, staying employed and battling the system. There are no pretensions. The humor can get almost ribald (the first episode of the new season revolved around the older daughter having an embarrassing flatulence incident in public).

There is one strong unifying thread: Roseanne and family are utterly believable, from the wisecracks down to those suddenly affecting moments when matters turn serious. Recently, for instance, desperately in need of work, an embittered Roseanne lost out on a promising job because she did not know how to use a computer. The show is reinforced enormously by the cast, especially John Goodman as Roseanne's equally cheerful and rotund husband.

Now consider ''Chicken Soup.'' Believability is at a premium. Mr. Mason, playing a 52-year-old New Yorker named Jackie, gets to do mini-monologues at the beginning and end of each show. Using the type of ethnic Jewish humor that worked so well in his successful Broadway show, ''The World According to Me,'' the comedian scores best on these rooftop respites. It's when he has to go downstairs and become an actor instead of a comic personality that trouble sets in.

For one thing, this television Jackie still lives with his outspoken mama, who as played by Rita Karin is the stereotypical smothering Jewish mother. For another, Jackie is supposed to be romantically involved with an Irish widow named Maddie, portrayed by Lynn Redgrave, who towers nearly a head above the diminutive comic. Surely one of the odder sights of the current season is Mr. Mason and Ms. Redgrave occasionally and awkwardly touching each other's arms in what is supposed to be a simulation of passionate ardor.

With all these cardboard characters in place, ''Chicken Soup'' heads straight for the obvious, which can sometimes verge on the objectionable. Mom, of course, does not want her son courting a gentile, at one point crying, ''Why can't you be gay like other normal men?'' Then Maddie's brother, Mike (Brandon Maggart), the owner of a saloon, does not cotton to the idea of Roman Catholics dating Jews. Meanwhile, Jackie has quit being a pajama salesman to work with Maddie in a community center, where, so far, his only advice to inner-city youths has been to tell them to get haircuts There is, in short, a little something here to make just about everyone uneasy. The prevailing attitudes are relics out of a fairly distant past. We get Jackie, who disapproves of drinking, temporarily taking over Mike's bar and refusing to serve too many drinks. Or we get Jackie, offended by having to wait for a restaurant table, deducting $25 from the bill and having an argument with the staff. We get Jackie, in short, as a kvetching lecturer. On his own, the act works. In the context of ''Chicken Soup,'' it sinks beneath the leaden noodles of a misguided concept.

An Article from Time Magazine

Canned Soup
Monday, Nov. 20, 1989 Article

With such a proposition, who could lose? Take Jackie Mason, the veteran Borscht Belt comic. Put him in a sitcom produced by the same people who created hits for Bill Cosby and Roseanne Barr. Give it the surefire time period following No. 1-rated Roseanne. Almost every TV prognosticator in the business picked Chicken Soup as the season's big hit. But Mason had a troubled autumn. He got bad reviews, both for his acting and for making racially inflammatory remarks during the New York City mayoral race. More dismaying to ABC, Chicken Soup -- though the highest-rated of any new show this fall -- regularly lost nearly one-third of the huge Roseanne audience. Last week the network abruptly canceled its can't-miss hit. Moral: when it comes to TV programming, nobody knows borscht.

For more on Chicken Soup go to www.oldtvtickets.com/archives1/2005/12/chicken_soup.html

To go to The Jackie Mason Official website go to www.jackiemason.com/

To go to Lynn Redgrave's Official Home Page go to http://www.redgrave.com/