The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Phill Lewis had just appeared rather well in Brother Future (1991) so for me, there was high hopes for this show.This will forever be known as the show done in by the lead actor's manslaughter charge.Granted, other shows have endured somewhat similar cancellations or second chances.Lancer comes to mind. When one of the young actors was in a motorbike accident, losing an arm and leg, the show was cancelled.Eight Is Enough was nearing DOA, until Diana Hyland, who portrayed the mother, died after four episodes and I for one tuned in to see how the show dealt with mom's passing.Then we got Teech.All I do remember of the show, which I hardly watched, was one joke with one of the kids on the phone, a pay phone, and another kid takes the phone away from him and in a high-pitched voice to sound like a girl, says into the receiver, "your son can't talk now, Mrs. So-n-so, we're about to have sex," and hangs up the phone.The nerdy kid then says, like my mother believes I'm about to have sex.I remember it was such a strange turn from the seventies behavior toward sex.This bit, and that one of the kids, I think the one who portrayed Boyd, was supposed to be a breakout sex symbol, teen idol.Obviously didn't take place.

I am one of the few privileged who actually got to screen this show before it was launched on the air. I was intrigued with the pilot and was eager to see what this show could do. For once, this show being canceled had nothing to do with Statistics or high powered Hollwood Execs. The show which had only filmed a few episodes at most suffered most unusual setback. The main actor ended up getting thrown in jail for a number of years on a drunk driving charge combined with a vehicular manslaughter charge after he killed someone while driving. Not much point in having a show called "Teech" when he won't be in it until season 4 or 5. Also, it wasn't like they could suddenly replace the main character with a new one, since they had already aired the pilot on television. I guess we'll never know.

If this show aired today, it would have been given a chance, and would become a hit. Just funny. Smart-funny, like a sitcom should be.