I'm not sure it actually went away, but, I just discovered that one of my favorite TV shows is available for free on Tubi, and that means it's back to me!
"The PJs" is a brilliantly funny stop motion-animated sitcom created by Eddie Murphy, Larry Wilmore and Steve Tompkins. It aired for three brief seasons, first on Fox and then on the WB, and it remains one of the funniest things that Eddie Murphy has ever been a part of.
The show was produced by Imagine Television (Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's company) and animated by the legendary Will Vinton Studios (Vinton was an Oscar-winning clay animation innovator, who created The California Raisins among other things), and it was Disney's first foray into adult animated series.
The title of the show is an abbreviation for "the projects," referring to its setting in a high rise public housing project overseen by a superintendent named Thurgood Stubbs, voiced by Murphy.
Each week Thurgood would get roped into some crazy antics with the denizens of the PJs (cleverly named the Hilton-Jacobs Building...IYKYK) while he tried to maintain order, deal with his family, and mostly unclog the toilets which were always jammed with paper towels.
The plots were simple and identifiable and the characters were rich, funny, and hilariously voiced by a great cast that included Phil Morris, Loretta Devine (uproarious as Thurgood's wife), Ja'net Dubois (from "Good Times," another comedy set in the projects), Pepe Serna, Michele Morgan and Jennifer Lewis.
The theme music was composed by the great George Clinton and the program was produced by Quincy Jones. So, yeah...this show had some talent behind it.
"The PJs" was one of the most consistently hilarious shows on TV, featuring brilliant, edgy writing, and some of the funniest situations to be found anywhere on television. Some of my favorite episodes include:
"The Postman's Always Shot Twice:" one of the old folks in the PJs shoots the building's postman and is sent to a nursing home (I said it was edgy).
"Smoke Gets in Your High-Rise:" Thurgood makes a deal to place a cigarette ad on the side of the building.
"He's Gotta Have It:" a riotous episode about a huge increase in Thurgood's libido after he begins taking blood pressure meds.
and perhaps my favorite, "A Race to His Credit:" a brilliant satire about credit card debt and learning about finances very late in life.
There are also episodes about saving the neighborhood movie theater, dealing with squatters, going camping, marital power struggles, and reopening a radio station with a new comedy team. There is also an outstanding Christmas episode.
I remember laughing out loud during virtually every episode while admiring the beautiful animation and sheer audacity of the content and style. This was cutting edge comedy at its finest, and it flew under the radar for most of its existence.
The show never really took off, nor did it receive the critical acclaim it should have received for being so creative, groundbreaking, and smart.
At the time that the show aired, Murphy was on a huge roll, coming off strong work in "Life," "Bowfinger," "Nutty Professor II," and his triumph, the donkey in "Shrek." "The PJs" not only continued that roll, but, in my opinion, was the best thing he did during that particular stretch.
What followed after the cancellation of "The PJs" was "Dr. Doolittle 2," "Showtime," "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," "I Spy," "Daddy Day Care," and "The Haunted Mansion." So, you can draw your own conclusions on that coincidence.
I wanted to write this post to give attention to a show I love very much that's available on Tubi. I really encourage you to watch. It's Eddie Murphy at his funniest, animation at its most lovely, and television at its most clever.
"The PJs" rules, and I'm glad it's back....even if it never really went away.
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