Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Tuesday's Overlooked TV: Down Home

This sitcom from the early 90s (nineteen episodes spread out over two seasons) seems to be almost totally forgotten. There are no clips from it on YouTube and only a few pictures of the cast to be found on-line. But I remember enjoying it quite a bit.

The premise of DOWN HOME finds Judith Ivey playing a big city businesswoman who returns to her home, a small fishing town on the Texas gulf coast, to take over her father's diner/bait shop. Naturally the town is full of colorful characters. Aren't all small towns, as I mentioned in my post about HART OF DIXIE last week? But having spent some time on the coast myself, I can say that DOWN HOME was at least somewhat realistic.

This series' biggest asset was its cast, which included some fine character actors such as Dakin Matthews and Eric Allen Kramer. The late, great Tim Scott, probably best known for playing Pea Eye in LONESOME DOVE, was top-notch as a fisherman/homespun philosopher, and Gedde Watanabe as a Vietnamese immigrant shared the series' funniest moment with him, a scene involving a fork for the very few of you who might recall it.

DOWN HOME wasn't a great series, just a pleasant, enjoyable one that never quite caught on. But I enjoyed it for what it was and remember it fondly.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I remember this one. I watched it because of the setting, but it was an entertaining show.

Neil A. Waring said...

Must have been too busy doing something - never heard of this one.
Sounds like one I would have liked, that might be the problem, as I am sure that the demographic shows are looking for is not retired people in Wyoming.

Unknown said...

I do remember that show, but just a little bit about it. Remember Judith Ivey. It was exciting to think that a show about small town Texas was going to be on the TV, but then, poof! it was gone.

Most of my life I haven't had TV, so I guess I've missed a lot.

Cap'n Bob said...

I missed the '90s completely, what with two toddlers and working night shifts. Never heard of this show.