TinsHeadline Touches You

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

OllieSuave-007 Caught this show when I was a kid, always remembered the White House-looking building. Remembered it for its many laughs, wit, and deadpan delivery of its cast of characters. One of the classic an unforgettable shows of the 1980s!Grade A

videorama-759-859391 Comedies are about laughs, right, but you can enjoy comedies, without finding many laughs. Benson is a show, grew on me, now replayed on the new analogue, channel 76. I haven't seen the show for nearly thirty years, but it's the interesting and greatly written characters that complete it for me. I loved the opening music theme, and the wonderful actors. It's Benson, who's the source of a few laughs, among his and sharp witted and dead cute comebacks, where they don't have to be funny. This is kind of like Spin City, in the 80's, but I know what office, I'd rather be in. Benson, wonderfully played by Guillaume, an underrated actor, is a former butler, who's now humbly worked his way up, to role of lieutenant governor, in this executive mansion, where he's the sanest out of them all. I really love how Guilluame's character carries, himself, the cool cat among consistently worried Governor folk, or frantic maids, whatever. There's a coolness about it. If judging it solely on comedy, I'd be giving this a six, but like I said, to me, this sort of of not funny comedy, makes me push aside that factor, just for all the characters and shenanigans this goes in this house of office. And you'll just love Inga Svenson, as Gretchen, the maid/cook, my favorite, apart from Benson, who'll just grows on you, while Rene Auberjonois has the unforgettable face to fit character, as a smarmy sort, played to perfection. Forget Spin City or The Nanny, as you'll be much more at home with Benson. Gifted child star, Missy Gold, gives a very seasoned performance, as the cute Governor Gatling's (Noble's) daughter. Artificial exterior backdrops. How eighties.

rcj5365 Produced by the team that bought you "Soap",and later on "The Golden Girls", "It's A Living",and "Empty Nest"(under the supervision of executive producers Susan Harris, Paul Junger-Witt,and Tony Thomas),the sitcom "Benson" became one of the biggest hits to come out of the late-1970's and continue its streak into the mid-1980's. This series was basically a spin-off from the soap opera parody "Soap"(the title character,portrayed by Robert Guillaume,had originally first appeared on the earlier series as the wise-cracking yet level-headed African American butler for the highly dysfunctional Tate family);however,"Benson" discarded the soap opera format of its parent show in favor of a more conventional sitcom structure,which was created by Susan Harris who also served as executive producer of this series.In the show,Benson DuBois(Guillaume) had been hired to be the head of household affairs for the scatterbrained and widowed Governor Eugene Gatling(James Noble),and his daughter Katie(Missy Gold). Governor Gatling was cousin to Jessica Tate(Katherine Helmond),and Mary Campbell(Cathryn Damon),the two sisters on whose families the stories centered on "Soap". The state of which Gatling was governor remained unidentified with the series,although "Soap" had taken place in Connecticut. The series revolved around Benson's housekeeping dilemmas,his fights with the German cook Gretchen Kraus(Inga Swenson,one of Guillaume's fellow alumni from "Soap" and his interactions with John Taylor(former "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" alumnus David Hedison in the pilot episode,and during the first season Lewis J. Stadlen),who assisted Governor Gatling as the chief of staff. After the first season,Taylor's job was filled by Clayton Endicott(Rene Auberjonois for the remained of the series run)who was written out by having him run for political office and actually snub his employer's endorsement. He lost the election,but returned when Benson asked him to. But in spite of their adversarial relationship(during the early years of the series)the insults between Kraus and Benson were intense at times but still became good friends. Benson also have very good relations with the Governor's secretary,Marcy Hill(Caroline McWilliams),and her successor,Denise(Didi Conn). Marcy left after the second season after getting married. Denise and Pete Downey(Ethan Phillips),the Governor's press secretary(who were introduced in Season 2)met and later married while working in the Governor's mansion and were expectant parents for most of the third-to-the-last season.Throughout the course of the series,Benson worked his way up the ladder going from the head of household affairs to state budget director,and eventually was elevated to the position of Lieutentant Governor(by the show's final season)and almost was elected Governor in the show's final episode(which was a two-part series finale) where Benson DuBois was running against his former employer Governor Gatling. "Benson" was mostly seen on ABC's Friday night line-up of great shows,and it was a immediate hit spanning seven seasons on the air from September 13,1979 until the show's final episode on April 19,1986. A total of 158 episodes were produced. Over the course of the show's seven-year run,it was nominated for an impressive 17 Emmys. It won two including Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Guillaume(beating out Sherman Hemsley of The Jeffersons)marking the only time an African American has won the award.

bcolquho That was Miss Kraus' favorite line. I swear she had the hearing of a dog. Benson could be at his table in the kitchen and saysomething under his breath. Miss Kraus would always yell from an impossibly long distance: "I HEAR YOU!" Clayton and Taylor were jackasses. They were always the foils for Benson's subtle butascerbic wit. In one episode, Katie, Governor Gatling's daughter, (that's Gatling as in Gatling gun, folks,) had to write a report on her family. So she got the bright idea to watch The Sound of Music,(1965), and do a report on the Von Trapp family. When she told her father, he told her to write it about the staff and to consider it her family. So she did and she got a "B" on it some other kid watchedThe Sound of Music and did his on the family in the movie. He got an "A." Eugene Gatling, the governor of an unnamed Southernstate, is widowed and Benson goes to work for him. He laterbecomes the budget director and lieutenant governor. In oneepisode, Kraus writes a convict in prison and unwittingly offers him a job when he shows up unannounced on the doorstep of thegovernor's mansion, he turns out to be a great cook. Unfortunately, he's used to cooking for hundreds of convicts. So Kraus gets hima job at another state agency. When Governor Gatling asks whyhe didn't go to Washington to work for Congress, Benson replies that as a condition of his parole, he can't associate with criminals. "I HEAR YOU!"