Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

The greatest movie ever!

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who remembers this show. I enjoyed it a lot, not to mention I'm the same age as Shawnee Smith and had a thing for her. Two lines in the show that stick out for me are when Carol Kane's character said, "You've caught me between social engagements; my debutant party and my funeral." There's also the exchange between Bess Armstrong and her husband, when Bess has booked a vacation to Mexico, but he says he has some news for her. Enthused for her planned trip, she insists he sings the news to her, so to the tune of "Aye Yai Yai Yai," they sing:Matt: You know my daughter. Paula: Her name is Sonia Russell. Matt: Well she got kicked out of school again and she's come to live with us forever.

I think of this show often and I too wish I could see it again. I thought it was very funny and had some very memorable characters. I think it was a victim of not being in a good time slot. As I recall it was on Saturday nights. It was in reruns of cable for a while after it left NBC but had some obvious cuts so the channel could add more commercial time. Cant believe it was back in 1986. So many shows are out on DVD now but I guess there is no market for a short-lived TV series of so long ago. THere are always good shows that get canned because of bad ratings or bad time slots or being bounced around to different days. IF a show doesn't grab an audience right away the axe falls and there is no hope for it.

In one scene, Paula and another character are dealing with some problem when a third person interrupts them (I told you that my memories were vague). Paula protests that they can't deal with the interloper's problem because they are too busy dealing with their own. "We have whales to fry!" I love that expression and occasionally use it myself. In another episode, Oliver has been a writer on the show for some time but has been very frugal with his increased salary. His co-workers encourage to splurge with some of his money and treat himself to a new car. He goes out and buys a high-end sports car that is way outside his price range. Now his friends advise him to return the car and get out of the financial obligation. "You can't just return a car like this; they won't take it back!", he protests. Nicolette Bingham, Carol Kane's character, replies in her honeyed southern accent, "Why, Oliver, if you simply inform them that you won't be making the payments, I'm sure that they will be happy to take it back."

All Is Forgiven was one of the funniest sitcoms of the 80's and almost no one saw it. Yanked by NBC after only a few episodes to make room for the insipid (and thankfully short lived) 'The Tortellis', it had a brief rerun on cable (A&E?) and now, alas, is gone. I'm happy to say that I have most of the episodes on tape. This had the potential to be another "Cheers" or "Murphy Brown" with an outstanding cast including Bess Armstrong, Terence Knox, Shawnee Smith, David Alan Grier and the WONDERFUL Carol Kane. In the unlikely even it pops up again on cable, watch it, TAPE IT! and LAUGH!