Classic Television {He and She}

He and She is my new favourite sitcom. It ran for only 26 episodes in 1967-68 before it was cancelled despite critical acclaim and winning an Emmy. Why was it cancelled? Simply because it was ahead of it's time. It made the leap from Dick Van Dyke to Mad About You and people just weren't ready for that yet. However, it is still fresh, modern and very witty today and very influential to those who watched it during it's initial run and became television writers when they grew up.

Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss (who've been married for almost 50 years) played Dick and Paula Hollister, a sophisticated New York couple. They live in an apartment across from a firehouse and are friends with some of the firemen, who are always visiting by climbing through the connecting window. Also in their building is Andrew the handyman who can't fix anything, which naturally leads to hilarity, especially when doors don't open. Paula is a social worker with Tourist Aid and she tends to get very involved in her cases and sometimes brings her work home with her. She also is very mod and wears shift dresses with pockets and colourful tights however, her clothes never look "fashion-y" but like everyday outfits and she sometimes repeats a look, which is rare on shows.

Dick is a successful cartoonist and the creator of Jetman, which has been turned into a live action TV show starring Oscar North, an egocentric actor who is convinced that he is a big big star. Oscar is always bothering Dick in order to fight with him over how to portray Jetman. He also spends a lot of time with the Hollisters because they are the only ones who will put up with him.

He and She is still hip enough to be on the verge of becoming a cult, if only more episodes were available. I have only seen the five episodes that are up on YouTube at the moment, but I want to see more! It's very funny and well written and doesn't drag at all. And it has the cutest intro montage ever. I doubt if it will ever be officially released on DVD, even though it should be since it only lasted a season and will definitely win over a new generation of fans. There are a couple of home made DVD sets floating around, but I haven't bought one yet, so I don't know how good they are. Other than that, I can't find any other sources of it. So, if you get a chance, then watch the few episodes on YouTube and tell me what you think of it.

This is the pilot episode: