What are your thoughts? Did you spot Milla Jovovich? I apologize for the loud background music I was trying model how the show always had a backing track. Its been brought to our attention that its annoying.
this was the coolest show back in the day. i wish that it would have lasted longer. they should bring it back with a now adult parker and crew following the original format.if i ever meet corin nemec ata comicon i am definitely going to mention it
I saw her. Remember to that she was married with children when she was a French foreign exchange student living with the Bundy's and she failed French class
I have a memory of Parker consoling his little sister about life, or love and she said something like. " Love blows." I remember being really surprised that the censors allowed her to use the word "blows" in the early 90s on network tv. I also remember Kubiak had a private bathroom with a pizza oven. I want to watch this again now, thanks.
Here in Germany it is on DVD and BluRay. I own both. The BluRay got the whole Series on 2 Discs but the Quality is more like DVD. But hey, i love Parker Lewis and i can watch it anytime i want. :-))))
I have to say I am impressed. Usually no one ever touches on this show. Parker Lewis Can't Lose is one of the most influential shows ever on TV, believe it or not. Every element seen in this show, it is used in single camera sitcoms today. It was way ahead of it's time. Lon Diamond did amazing work on this show
Definitely agree 👍 Believe it or not his video was two years in the making i just didn't feel like I could do the show justice and shelved the project.
You nailed it. The third season, the one where they lost the 'Can't Lose' and rebranded as simply 'Parker Lewis' was a major letdown. What made the show a hit in the first place, and separated it from other teen shows like the concurrent Ferris Bueller series, were the more surreal elements and distinctive style, with a fast pace and frequently wild cinematography. All of which, the third season simply throws away. It became exactly the kind of show that it had spent the better part of two seasons lampooning. Unsurprising that it failed to last after that. It's a shame, because I loved the show back then, til they dumped most of what I loved about it. Even Frank Lemmer. 😟
Another 90s show with surreal elements was Ally McBeal, with Callista Flockheart as Ally. I can’t remember if she was exactly a lawyer or some kind of legal assistant, but she worked in a law firm. This is also one Lucy Liu’s early roles.
This explains why I always remembered PLCL as only having 2 seasons. The surreal elements were what set it apart (locker clubhouse, anyone?) I feel like this show walked so Pete & Pete could run
Seriously. The surrealism is what made the show. I also loved the repeated gags like the door window shattering at least once per episode.( in one I think the door even shattered and the window just “magically” hovered in place). That still gets me every time.
I didn't realize it aired that long either, but I must have stopped watching it long before season 3. It could be just a hazard with shows about high schoolers, or maybe it was just a network problem, but Fox had a lot of shows like this, that would start off strong or interesting, but ran out of gas somewhere in season 2.
"This explains why I always remembered PLCL as only having 2 seasons." Well, PLCL practically did only have 2 seasons because then came PL - that, if one wants to stretch it, did somewhat represent something like a spin off from the original show that turned out to be a bad copy.
I used to love this show, but nobody I talk to seem to remember it. I loved the episode where Kubiak invents the potato powered flashlight just by taking the batteries out and shoving potatoes in instead. And the episode where the friend with glasses is obsessed with Sega Genesis and has a dream where he’s in Altered Beast. The show also has one of my favorite lines ever: when it came back just titled “Parker Lewis” and he muses to himself “Whatever happened to my old show where I couldn’t lose?”
The 1st season was great. I was in my early 20s or so and FOX had some of the best shows. 'Herman's Head, 21 Jump Street, and Married W/Children. The fact that FOX didn't really cancel anything right away gave some of those shows room to breathe.
@@victorfergn i liked it at the time, but obviously I was much younger. Don’t know how well I would consider it to hold up today. But I kind of remember they retooled it a bit toward the end and I kind of lost interest
I never missed an episode. Rewatched the entire series a few years back with my best friend who passed away. She loved the show too. I'm glad i got to do that. Seeing this makes me miss her, but in a good way
This is still one of my ALL TIME favorite TV series EVER! A friend of mine was able to download all three seasons and just about a month ago, I binged the entire series for the first time in years!! Still an absolute classic! "Not a problem!"
I actually have the first and second seasons on DVD. Yes, the ones you can't find now. That third season is very rare to find. I don't think it came out here but it did in Germany
Still one of the BEST teen based sitcoms. I really wish it was more well known. Severely underrated cult classic. Even the terrible final season where they changed everything.
Parker Lewis Can't Lose and My Secret Identity were my favorite sitcoms of that era. David Faustino aka Bud in Married With Children, made a cameo on Parker Lewis : "Musso and Frank placed me in detention. And I don't even go to this high school !"
I was a student at Alexander Hamilton High when they were filming the series. The studio would paint the halls and doors bright colors and then paint them back to drab colors after filming. The actors would sometimes talk to students and seemed pretty cool. My sister worked as an extra on the series a few times and she thought it was weird since by then she was 18 and had graduated from Hamilton High the prior year.
Man…I remember Parker Lewis Can’t Lose so well. I had a major crush on Parker’s sister and remember wanting every one of Parker’s shirts. Haha The biggest thing was remembering how excited I was to go to high school cause I thought that’s what it was like. Great video, thank you!!
Loved this show. I didn’t have cable at the time it originally aired, so I’d meet my friends at a local pizza place that had a TV up on the second floor in a little corner by the video games and pinball machines. We’d always hang out eating $2 slices and catching the latest episode of Parker Lewis as well as Star Trek TNG and other shows. Good times.
Corin Nemec was pretty awesome in Stargate SG-1 and it makes me sad that he was only ever a holdover while Michael Shanks was on sabbatical. I wish that he was able to appear more after Shanks had returned.
IIRC his character of Jonas Quinn was featured in only one extra episode after Daniel re-joined the SG-1 team. It was when Carter helped him complete a mission to save his homeworld by drilling down to the planet's core.
I really liked his character and wish he would have stayed. I think Michael Shanks had temporarily quit because he wasn't agreeable with producers on how his character was developing.
I saw him in person at Comic-Con. He wasn't part of any panel, he was just laying around the show floor talking to another actor I think. Nobody either recognized him or came up to him. I knew who he was but didn't approach him either. 😊
I remember an episode where someone was holding a sign that said "Thank you for not watching Eerie, Indiana." Of all the 4th wall breaking stuff, that was my favorite, so much so that I still remember it today.
Loved this indepth video on the series. I sadly missed Parker Lewis while it aired but saw episodes on reruns. Hope you cover more classic series, especially from the 90s. :)
I loved this show! Watched it religiously...def loved it more than the Ferris Buller series. The Dutch angles on this show really puts it in the 90's...in a great way. Such a nice visual style and feel!
Im 40 now. No one i grew up with remembered this show. I wore shirts like those in middle school. I was also 7 when the show came out. Parker Lewis is the coolest.
45 now, still remember watching the show religiously, at least the first season or so... But, yeah, it's faded into obscurity. Along with "Weird Science." Another brilliant little "weird" show.
That first season was DOPE… I remember as a kid hating how much they changed the show in such a short amount of time… I didn’t even bother watching the 3 seasons… hell, I didn’t even know they had one.
I used to LOVE Parker's shirts, even though I was a tad too young to watch this when it first aired. The whole aesthetic of the show's first two seasons perfectly captures how I remember early 90s pop culture.
This was one of my favorite shows as a little kid! I even downloaded the torrents as an adult to rewatch it.... It was even better . This show was straight up Great ...
I was too young for the show during it's run but for one magical summer break in either 93/94, the USA channel was blasting it in syndication on weekday mornings. Thanks for the fond memories
I think the series was also initially helped by the fact that the Ferris Bueller television show was so uninspired and boring. The writers of PL wisely had the whole cast of characters share the spotlight to the point that Parker himself was often more of the straight man and ”guide” through the universe instead of the focal point. Ferris Bueller is at heart a “teenage ego” fantasy of being the perfectly cool guy and getting away with it all. That is wonderfully entertaining for two hours but you can’t make a series out of it.
Anyone remember "Weird Science" TV show? Also from the era... ;) Another great weird little show... Also based on a moderately popular movie of similar form.
I remember enjoying the series-probably season one only, I’d drop a show as soon as it ceased to appeal-at the time, but now I only have vague recollections of the unique (at least, at the time) camera work and wild plots. And when Corin Nemec was a regular replacement for Michael Shanks on a season of _Stargate SG-1,_ I pointed to the TV and said, “Hey, I know that guy!”
Found the first two seasons on DVD in a discount bin a number of years back. Apparently they never released the third season on DVD in Region 1, which is a bit of a shame even if it wasn't great, because that sort of thing really kills my desire to purchase TV DVD's as a completionist and it's all too common. Parker Lewis Can't Lose was really a TV show of its era, the parents ran a video store, they wore the fashions of the 90s, they wore swatch watches, its truly a time capsule of the 90's, and the 90s were a great decade so it deserves to be remembered today.
I loved this show! My whole family did! In fact, we had an oversized English Bulldog named Kubiac! I recently found the complete series on an international Blu-ray that I believe is from Germany.
Parker Lewis Can't Lose was probably the first TV show that I became aware of and watched regularly as a kid. I think about what that show could have been often. I loved all the little gags, like Parker sometimes breaking the 4th wall to deliver a good natured barb at other TV shows of the time, such as Married with Children, and In Living Color. I remember one times they made a joke about how many Wayans family members are in entertainment. Season 1 and 2 were AMAZING alternatives to the more campy and family friendly Saved By The Bell. Not that PLCL isn't family friendly. But PLCL had a more surreal and sarcastic humor. At times, with the sound effects and running gags, some qualities were downright cartoon-like. For example, all the different and creative ways the writers found to break Ms. Musso's door glass. My favorite was one time she slammed the door, and the glass broke, but the lettering on her glass door stayed suspended in mid air. You can tell they didnt know what to do come season 3. Season 3 didnt even feel like the other too. It felt like a watered down version. Although the cast was still in school, it felt like the creators went through great pains to avoid the ambiance of the school. Most of the school related activity and settings were implicated. Very few episodes actually took place at school in season 3.
There’s no such thing as an underrated classic. Learn the words you use. You’re commenting on a video about what a hit show it was. Look up underrated.
@@tempsitch5632 hey guess what, knob? You don’t get to tell other people what words to use. As for me I stand by mine. You ever heard of an unsung legend? This show is a classic, one of a kind, all time underrated gem
I loved this show! Back in the days, my daughter was into “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide” and I told her how it was basically a remake of Parker Lewis. She didn’t know what I was talking about until I pulled up some episodes & she loved it! 😆 I really wish they wouldn’t try to revamp these comedies into dramas.
I really enjoyed the first two seasons as I was the exact age as the characters on the show. I loved the off beat quirkiness of it and always thought Corrin Nemec deserved a bigger career. The third season was absolutely forgettable. I’ll never understand why studios decide to change something that is obviously working.
Ages later I still think about this show… it was one of my favorite shows to watch. I loved Parker’s crazy shirt…. It’s a shame they messed up a good show.
I watched this show religiously when it aired. Loved it! I still remember a recurring theme where Larry Kubiac (Abraham Benrubi) would open his locker and a nerd would scurry away (complete with cartoonish running sound) before Larry could catch him. Also "Synchronize Swatches" was part of our vernacular in school, and yes, we all wore Swatch watches in the 90s! Thank you for this fantastic retrospective!!
I only discovered it when I saw reruns on cable in about 2002-2003, the first episode I caught was the one where Jerry gets addicted to video games, and I loved it! Damn shame about the retooling and downfall in season 2 and particularly 3 though as you mentioned. Nevertheless, a groundbreaking show.
Parker Lewis rules I would love to see this show come back and see how the characters grow up just hope they don’t make any changes, it’s a great show, if they made any changes it wouldn’t be cool, a lot of the actors are awesome on social media
Loved this show when I was ten. I still yell "spud light!" everytime I have to use a flashlight. I'm surprised the fall off was only in episode 19 as I recall the show being good for a long time? Also, Corin Nemic and David Faustino did a web-series together in the 2000's called Star-Ving where they each reference their respective series quite a bit and the whole vibe is pretty surreal Parker Lewis-ish. They're on youtube.
Together with the wonder years ,Parker Lewis was one first teen sitcoms that had actual teens and they where a little bit more matured than previous teen sitcoms . It's shame that last season weren't good as previous two that was probably the reason that people forgot about Parker Lewis.
@@TheReviewStudios his character @ 3:01 was the blueprint for many iconic characters we see today Gotta give that actor and writers their flowers for that also
@@TheReviewStudios They start out punk rock and roll and then mold into more of a party half way through, every time. Lots of incredible lines from the show peppered in among other great lines I've found. Like Jerry's video game addiction story, Nick's poetic goodbye from the diner, Parker confessing how much of a total dope he was to Annie
Dad had a few of these on tape, and I found a DVD one year at the library of Season 1, but yeah, otherwise, haven't seen that many of this. However, them changing what originally worked was indeed a bad idea. After all, if their viewers wanted to watch 90210, they could watch that. They were tuning in for Parker Lewis Can't Lose, which they they stopped delivering them. Anyways, sure, wouldn't mind seeing more videos like this. Thank you.
I'll tell you why. It's simple. It was on FOX. A channel that canceled it's shows left and right no matter if it was popular or not. If the show cost more than they were willing to pay it was canceled.
I loved this series. The reason why it's not well-known anymore it's because it was not in syndication. I haven't seen an episodes for decades. It's not available anywhere!
It was in syndication one time ever on television and that's about it. On USA Network but that was all the way in the 90s itself. Don't know how I remembered that but I do
I thought i was the only one that remembered this show until I saw that Family Guy episode. For the better part of the 90's i remember saying "coolness".
My younger brother and I absolutely loved this show, so much that my brother actually started dressing like Parker at school. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
there were aspects of it that were surreal and comic-booky which I think is part of the charm, with a bit of meta and 4th wall breaking thrown into the mix. It really hasn;t aged well because it is a product of it's time but it is a nostalgia rush to watch again.
Thank you for doing this video. I remember watching this on TV, but the effects of time are powerful and I completely forgot the name of the show. A few years ago I discovered that Ferris Bueller had a TV show, and I guess I just thought the TV show I liked in the early 90s was the F Bueller TV show. Some time after that I found some Ferris Bueller TV episodes, and I so I started searching for my favorite episode (the episode when the protagonist joins the football team but their entire strategy is to get behind the massive lineman who literally plows their way to the endzone), and I obviously could never find the episode. The entire series was unfamiliar and unfunny, so I just stopped searching and just tried to forget about it. Then I randomly find this video, and it all just came rushing back to me. I always wondered what happened to that show, but the fact they tried to 90210'itize it makes a lot of sense. I watched it for the antics and the goofiness; I was way too young to worry about a high school love triangle or who has a secret drug addition (I'm looking at you Jesse Spano), so I would have stopped watching as soon as they stopped the silliness.
Your channel just showed up in my feed, all hail the algorithm. I would like to see more content like this where you dive into specific shows, for what it's worth.
PLCL has a special place in my heart! In 1996, I created a customized Windows 95 theme with the show’s logo replacing the splash screen, show sound effects (Ms. Musso’s breaking windows with every fault or error message… that happened a lot) and the Clyde Phillips logo replacing the (safe to) shut down screen.
I remember this show as a Young Kid in The 90s..It always reminds me of a Live Action Cartoon..This was a Perfect fit for FOX at that time I feel..FOX in The 90s was a Dope Channel..They had The Best Cartoon Line Up and Sitcoms..Even Movies too.. Biggarton Was Here. Peace.
I loved this show as a preteen. Had a crush on Parker and I remember being excited when he was on the cover of the weekly channel guide that came with the newspaper. That promptly went up on my wall. The show was so different but in a way that didn’t disrupt the storyline or seem utterly cheesy. I also don’t remember season 3 😂 But the two good seasons we got were great and it’s nice to know that the show ended up inspiring other show creators to step a bit outside the sit com cookie cutter and give us more great shows. I’m off to see if I can find episodes of the show to rewatch. It’s been too long!
Parker Lewis was a part of my high school years. I looked forward to watching this every Sunday! It was the lead in show before In Living Color. I think Ms Musso went to school with Parker’s Dad or both of his parents.
I loved this show... Wow. Great memories. Also the dude who played Parker Lewis had one of the most amazing child roles in the movie I Know My First Name Is Steven. I'm happy to see he's back to doing movies again.
📺This has to be one of my favorite childhood shows during the early 90's 😊 I definitely looked forward to watching Parker Lewis every week. 🎬 It has truly earned a classic Hall of Fame show in my book.🏆🥇
This was shown on Sky One in the UK, a satellite only channel back then. I imported the US DVDs but they didn’t release the third season, I ended up finding the third season on DVD through a German release which had the original US audio. Shame it didn’t get a proper US release.
Lol, when I saw Corin Nemec in Stargate SG-1, I thought he looked familiar, and couldn't quite point out where I had seen him in before. But now, I came across this video. I think I did see this show, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, although the memories are vague. But I do remember seeing Corin in I Know My First Name is Steven, which is based on a true story. Anyway, thanks for sharing and bringing back some memories!😊👍
Watched it every week. Corin Nemec went on to science fiction movies that I liked on the Sci Fi channel. He suffered a serious injury I believe while filming one of those movies
I loved this show so much. It was right up my alley in humor. I was always delighted to see Abraham Benrubi after wards. Sadly, I only ever saw Corin Nemec in bad Sci-Fi Channel originals. And I don't know if I ever saw William Jayne or Troy Slaten anywhere else. "Potato light IS good!" "Eat now?"
What are your thoughts? Did you spot Milla Jovovich? I apologize for the loud background music I was trying model how the show always had a backing track. Its been brought to our attention that its annoying.
She was in the pilot! Definitely one of the reasons that 13 year old me became interested in the show to begin with! 😀
I thought that was her!
this was the coolest show back in the day. i wish that it would have lasted longer. they should bring it back with a now adult parker and crew following the original format.if i ever meet corin nemec ata comicon i am definitely going to mention it
I saw her. Remember to that she was married with children when she was a French foreign exchange student living with the Bundy's and she failed French class
@@11679MRTshe was very attractive with that brunette perm hair
Parker Lewis Can't Lose instantly became one of my favorite shows ever made when I was a kid. I'm so happy I have the complete series on Blu-ray
It is on Blu Ray??
nice.. I was lucky to find the entire series online, definitely not Blu-Ray quality
I have a memory of Parker consoling his little sister about life, or love and she said something like. " Love blows." I remember being really surprised that the censors allowed her to use the word "blows" in the early 90s on network tv. I also remember Kubiak had a private bathroom with a pizza oven. I want to watch this again now, thanks.
Wait!!! I never heard of this on Blu Ray
Here in Germany it is on DVD and BluRay. I own both. The BluRay got the whole Series on 2 Discs but the Quality is more like DVD. But hey, i love Parker Lewis and i can watch it anytime i want. :-))))
I have to say I am impressed. Usually no one ever touches on this show. Parker Lewis Can't Lose is one of the most influential shows ever on TV, believe it or not. Every element seen in this show, it is used in single camera sitcoms today. It was way ahead of it's time. Lon Diamond did amazing work on this show
Definitely agree 👍 Believe it or not his video was two years in the making i just didn't feel like I could do the show justice and shelved the project.
so true. I loved this show when I was a kid
😂😂😂 dopey
I loved Parker Lewis when I was a kid. Fox had the best Sunday night lineup with this, Get a Life, and In Loving Color.
Get A Life is genius.
Get a Life is another great one that I’ve forgotten about.
Another great show I loved was Herman’s Head
@@hatednyc I wasn't sure if anyone even remembered Get A Life. My dad and I loved it and he still references it to this very day.
I remember at the end of one episode where Parker literally says, *"I gotta hurry up, In Living Color is on in three minutes!!"*
This was a clear case of network interference killing an interesting show.
Couldn’t agree more!
You nailed it. The third season, the one where they lost the 'Can't Lose' and rebranded as simply 'Parker Lewis' was a major letdown. What made the show a hit in the first place, and separated it from other teen shows like the concurrent Ferris Bueller series, were the more surreal elements and distinctive style, with a fast pace and frequently wild cinematography. All of which, the third season simply throws away. It became exactly the kind of show that it had spent the better part of two seasons lampooning. Unsurprising that it failed to last after that. It's a shame, because I loved the show back then, til they dumped most of what I loved about it. Even Frank Lemmer. 😟
Absolutely, thanks for sharing
I also didnt care too much when they gave Parker a steady girlfriend. The actual "romance" of the show was the three buds...and Kube.😅
you nailed most of it along with what @eddierascalhaskell4954
said about it being more a bromance show than it playing on romantic interests.
Another 90s show with surreal elements was Ally McBeal, with Callista Flockheart as Ally. I can’t remember if she was exactly a lawyer or some kind of legal assistant, but she worked in a law firm. This is also one Lucy Liu’s early roles.
@@keithtorgersen9664 Peter McNicol is what made that show good, and RDJ being in it in the latter part.. JMO
For years after this show, any time I saw Abraham Benrubi in anything, I would shout “Kubiak” at the tv. No one knew what I was talking about.
I did that every time I saw him on ER. My girlfriend at the time would always say “Who?”.
I still do that to this day. Just like Rob Reiner will always be Meathead, Benrubi will always be Kubiak.
I did the same thing when i saw him in Twister (1996). This was a great show and much better than the Bueller tv series.
It was one of the first things I thought when he was first shown.
@@illegalaryan8400 I have the same story lol
This explains why I always remembered PLCL as only having 2 seasons. The surreal elements were what set it apart (locker clubhouse, anyone?) I feel like this show walked so Pete & Pete could run
Absolutely 💯
Seriously. The surrealism is what made the show. I also loved the repeated gags like the door window shattering at least once per episode.( in one I think the door even shattered and the window just “magically” hovered in place). That still gets me every time.
I didn't realize it aired that long either, but I must have stopped watching it long before season 3. It could be just a hazard with shows about high schoolers, or maybe it was just a network problem, but Fox had a lot of shows like this, that would start off strong or interesting, but ran out of gas somewhere in season 2.
"This explains why I always remembered PLCL as only having 2 seasons."
Well, PLCL practically did only have 2 seasons because then came PL - that, if one wants to stretch it, did somewhat represent something like a spin off from the original show that turned out to be a bad copy.
I used to love this show, but nobody I talk to seem to remember it. I loved the episode where Kubiak invents the potato powered flashlight just by taking the batteries out and shoving potatoes in instead. And the episode where the friend with glasses is obsessed with Sega Genesis and has a dream where he’s in Altered Beast. The show also has one of my favorite lines ever: when it came back just titled “Parker Lewis” and he muses to himself “Whatever happened to my old show where I couldn’t lose?”
POTATO LIGHT.
IS GOOD.
Yes!
The 1st season was great. I was in my early 20s or so and FOX had some of the best shows. 'Herman's Head, 21 Jump Street, and Married W/Children. The fact that FOX didn't really cancel anything right away gave some of those shows room to breathe.
Herman’s Head was another show that stayed out good but also got re-tooled and was cancelled not long after
Is Herman's Head good?
@@victorfergn I enjoyed it when i was in my early 20s.
@@victorfergn i liked it at the time, but obviously I was much younger. Don’t know how well I would consider it to hold up today. But I kind of remember they retooled it a bit toward the end and I kind of lost interest
That changed in the early 2000s with Firefly and continued onward from there
I never missed an episode. Rewatched the entire series a few years back with my best friend who passed away. She loved the show too. I'm glad i got to do that. Seeing this makes me miss her, but in a good way
Treasure the memory
This is still one of my ALL TIME favorite TV series EVER! A friend of mine was able to download all three seasons and just about a month ago, I binged the entire series for the first time in years!! Still an absolute classic! "Not a problem!"
Coolness
I actually have the first and second seasons on DVD. Yes, the ones you can't find now. That third season is very rare to find. I don't think it came out here but it did in Germany
Still one of the BEST teen based sitcoms. I really wish it was more well known. Severely underrated cult classic. Even the terrible final season where they changed everything.
Parker Lewis Can't Lose and My Secret Identity were my favorite sitcoms of that era. David Faustino aka Bud in Married With Children,
made a cameo on Parker Lewis :
"Musso and Frank placed me in detention.
And I don't even go to this high school !"
Loved "Parker Louis cant lose".
Thanks for watching
Just like Peter Griffin.
*Lewis
Loved this show. This contributed to the "cool teen" trend that was popular at the time and gave me another role model to try to emulate as I grew up.
I was a student at Alexander Hamilton High when they were filming the series. The studio would paint the halls and doors bright colors and then paint them back to drab colors after filming. The actors would sometimes talk to students and seemed pretty cool. My sister worked as an extra on the series a few times and she thought it was weird since by then she was 18 and had graduated from Hamilton High the prior year.
That's awesome, thank you
That was my HS as well! Class of ‘95! You?
My roommate and I used to love this show in college.
Thanks for sharing
I was not a big TV watcher in high school but I loved this show. You are right in that it was so different from other shows aimed at teenagers.
Man…I remember Parker Lewis Can’t Lose so well. I had a major crush on Parker’s sister and remember wanting every one of Parker’s shirts. Haha The biggest thing was remembering how excited I was to go to high school cause I thought that’s what it was like. Great video, thank you!!
Loved this show. I didn’t have cable at the time it originally aired, so I’d meet my friends at a local pizza place that had a TV up on the second floor in a little corner by the video games and pinball machines. We’d always hang out eating $2 slices and catching the latest episode of Parker Lewis as well as Star Trek TNG and other shows. Good times.
Ahh... the good old days.
It was on Fox, you didn't need cable.
Corin Nemec was pretty awesome in Stargate SG-1 and it makes me sad that he was only ever a holdover while Michael Shanks was on sabbatical. I wish that he was able to appear more after Shanks had returned.
IIRC his character of Jonas Quinn was featured in only one extra episode after Daniel re-joined the SG-1 team. It was when Carter helped him complete a mission to save his homeworld by drilling down to the planet's core.
@@BCBaron Yes, that's right.
I really liked his character and wish he would have stayed. I think Michael Shanks had temporarily quit because he wasn't agreeable with producers on how his character was developing.
I saw him in person at Comic-Con. He wasn't part of any panel, he was just laying around the show floor talking to another actor I think. Nobody either recognized him or came up to him. I knew who he was but didn't approach him either. 😊
@@volvoguy804 That's true, although he kept showing up now and then as figments of his fellow SG1 teammate's imaginations.
I remember an episode where someone was holding a sign that said "Thank you for not watching Eerie, Indiana." Of all the 4th wall breaking stuff, that was my favorite, so much so that I still remember it today.
Yes, I saw that so funny
Eerie Indiana predicted main character syndrome(influencers)in the epidode where everyone was an actor awaiting their cue.
The pilot episode is burned into my brain. One of my favorite shows when I was younger.
Loved this indepth video on the series. I sadly missed Parker Lewis while it aired but saw episodes on reruns.
Hope you cover more classic series, especially from the 90s. :)
Thanks for the opinion I appreciate it.
in-depth
I loved this show! Watched it religiously...def loved it more than the Ferris Buller series. The Dutch angles on this show really puts it in the 90's...in a great way. Such a nice visual style and feel!
This show was ahead of it's time
We seen so many characters that are inspired by characters in this show on many movies and tv shows now
This show was amazing! I wanted Jerry's coat so bad!
Me too
Had a very "Goonies" aspect to it, IIRC... At least that's vaguely my recollection... Haven't seen it in years...
@@MGmirkin Goonies? More like a cartoonish Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Im 40 now. No one i grew up with remembered this show. I wore shirts like those in middle school. I was also 7 when the show came out. Parker Lewis is the coolest.
I’m
Same age and remember this well! My mom said it was my favorite show as a kid
I was in middle school. And had the shirts and the hair doo!😂😂
45 now, still remember watching the show religiously, at least the first season or so... But, yeah, it's faded into obscurity. Along with "Weird Science." Another brilliant little "weird" show.
That first season was DOPE… I remember as a kid hating how much they changed the show in such a short amount of time… I didn’t even bother watching the 3 seasons… hell, I didn’t even know they had one.
Love the "in-depth look" format. Excited to see which shows you'll cover next!
Awesome, thank you!
I used to LOVE Parker's shirts, even though I was a tad too young to watch this when it first aired. The whole aesthetic of the show's first two seasons perfectly captures how I remember early 90s pop culture.
This was one of my favorite shows as a little kid!
I even downloaded the torrents as an adult to rewatch it.... It was even better .
This show was straight up Great ...
I was too young for the show during it's run but for one magical summer break in either 93/94, the USA channel was blasting it in syndication on weekday mornings. Thanks for the fond memories
Thanks for sharing!
I think the series was also initially helped by the fact that the Ferris Bueller television show was so uninspired and boring. The writers of PL wisely had the whole cast of characters share the spotlight to the point that Parker himself was often more of the straight man and ”guide” through the universe instead of the focal point. Ferris Bueller is at heart a “teenage ego” fantasy of being the perfectly cool guy and getting away with it all. That is wonderfully entertaining for two hours but you can’t make a series out of it.
Definitely agree with you
Anyone remember "Weird Science" TV show? Also from the era... ;) Another great weird little show... Also based on a moderately popular movie of similar form.
I remember enjoying the series-probably season one only, I’d drop a show as soon as it ceased to appeal-at the time, but now I only have vague recollections of the unique (at least, at the time) camera work and wild plots.
And when Corin Nemec was a regular replacement for Michael Shanks on a season of _Stargate SG-1,_ I pointed to the TV and said, “Hey, I know that guy!”
Found the first two seasons on DVD in a discount bin a number of years back. Apparently they never released the third season on DVD in Region 1, which is a bit of a shame even if it wasn't great, because that sort of thing really kills my desire to purchase TV DVD's as a completionist and it's all too common. Parker Lewis Can't Lose was really a TV show of its era, the parents ran a video store, they wore the fashions of the 90s, they wore swatch watches, its truly a time capsule of the 90's, and the 90s were a great decade so it deserves to be remembered today.
I loved this show! My whole family did! In fact, we had an oversized English Bulldog named Kubiac! I recently found the complete series on an international Blu-ray that I believe is from Germany.
Parker Lewis Can't Lose was probably the first TV show that I became aware of and watched regularly as a kid.
I think about what that show could have been often. I loved all the little gags, like Parker sometimes breaking the 4th wall to deliver a good natured barb at other TV shows of the time, such as Married with Children, and In Living Color. I remember one times they made a joke about how many Wayans family members are in entertainment.
Season 1 and 2 were AMAZING alternatives to the more campy and family friendly Saved By The Bell. Not that PLCL isn't family friendly. But PLCL had a more surreal and sarcastic humor. At times, with the sound effects and running gags, some qualities were downright cartoon-like. For example, all the different and creative ways the writers found to break Ms. Musso's door glass. My favorite was one time she slammed the door, and the glass broke, but the lettering on her glass door stayed suspended in mid air.
You can tell they didnt know what to do come season 3. Season 3 didnt even feel like the other too. It felt like a watered down version. Although the cast was still in school, it felt like the creators went through great pains to avoid the ambiance of the school. Most of the school related activity and settings were implicated. Very few episodes actually took place at school in season 3.
Thanks for sharing
I loved Parker Lewis. I was an elementary school kid watching this show and all I wanted to be was as cool as Parker.
I had completely forgotten about this series and I LOVED it so much! Memory unlocked!
Awesome
I’ve always loved this under rated classic. That cast, writing and music was all spot on. I have the first 2 seasons on DVD
There’s no such thing as an underrated classic. Learn the words you use. You’re commenting on a video about what a hit show it was. Look up underrated.
@@tempsitch5632 hey guess what, knob? You don’t get to tell other people what words to use. As for me I stand by mine. You ever heard of an unsung legend? This show is a classic, one of a kind, all time underrated gem
I loved this show! Back in the days, my daughter was into “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide” and I told her how it was basically a remake of Parker Lewis. She didn’t know what I was talking about until I pulled up some episodes & she loved it! 😆
I really wish they wouldn’t try to revamp these comedies into dramas.
I really enjoyed the first two seasons as I was the exact age as the characters on the show. I loved the off beat quirkiness of it and always thought Corrin Nemec deserved a bigger career. The third season was absolutely forgettable. I’ll never understand why studios decide to change something that is obviously working.
Ages later I still think about this show… it was one of my favorite shows to watch.
I loved Parker’s crazy shirt…. It’s a shame they messed up a good show.
I watched this show religiously when it aired. Loved it! I still remember a recurring theme where Larry Kubiac (Abraham Benrubi) would open his locker and a nerd would scurry away (complete with cartoonish running sound) before Larry could catch him. Also "Synchronize Swatches" was part of our vernacular in school, and yes, we all wore Swatch watches in the 90s! Thank you for this fantastic retrospective!!
I was 12 when this show came out and I loved it
I saw a few episodes of this show when I was a kid and I thought Corin Nemec was cool AF! I really expected his career to go places.
Me too
I only discovered it when I saw reruns on cable in about 2002-2003, the first episode I caught was the one where Jerry gets addicted to video games, and I loved it! Damn shame about the retooling and downfall in season 2 and particularly 3 though as you mentioned. Nevertheless, a groundbreaking show.
Shout Factory needs to release season 3 on dvd!
Parker Lewis rules I would love to see this show come back and see how the characters grow up just hope they don’t make any changes, it’s a great show, if they made any changes it wouldn’t be cool, a lot of the actors are awesome on social media
Parker Lewis Can't Lose is my favorite TV of all-time. I was so INCREDIBLY happy to see this video released!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks
Loved this show when I was ten. I still yell "spud light!" everytime I have to use a flashlight. I'm surprised the fall off was only in episode 19 as I recall the show being good for a long time? Also, Corin Nemic and David Faustino did a web-series together in the 2000's called Star-Ving where they each reference their respective series quite a bit and the whole vibe is pretty surreal Parker Lewis-ish. They're on youtube.
This UA-cam channel is very well done. Way to follow, factual and condensed. Well done!
Thank you, we appreciate it
They started changing it and they ruined it
Hey no spoilers... Just Kidding yeah that's the summary Thanks
Together with the wonder years ,Parker Lewis was one first teen sitcoms that had actual teens and they where a little bit more matured than previous teen sitcoms . It's shame that last season weren't good as previous two that was probably the reason that people forgot about Parker Lewis.
Beautiful moment in time when this show existed
Definitely
@@TheReviewStudios his character @ 3:01 was the blueprint for many iconic characters we see today
Gotta give that actor and writers their flowers for that also
I still watch this and cut samples from it for my mixes. Feels like it was a show made for me, nice to see all the fans around here!
Glad you enjoyed it! What kind of mixes?
@@TheReviewStudios They start out punk rock and roll and then mold into more of a party half way through, every time. Lots of incredible lines from the show peppered in among other great lines I've found. Like Jerry's video game addiction story, Nick's poetic goodbye from the diner, Parker confessing how much of a total dope he was to Annie
Dad had a few of these on tape, and I found a DVD one year at the library of Season 1, but yeah, otherwise, haven't seen that many of this. However, them changing what originally worked was indeed a bad idea. After all, if their viewers wanted to watch 90210, they could watch that. They were tuning in for Parker Lewis Can't Lose, which they they stopped delivering them. Anyways, sure, wouldn't mind seeing more videos like this. Thank you.
Thanks or taking the time to leave feedback. Those are all great points
There's a German (region free) blu-ray set, if you want to check it out.
I'll tell you why. It's simple. It was on FOX. A channel that canceled it's shows left and right no matter if it was popular or not. If the show cost more than they were willing to pay it was canceled.
I loved this series. The reason why it's not well-known anymore it's because it was not in syndication. I haven't seen an episodes for decades. It's not available anywhere!
There's a German blu-ray set, which is region free, if you're interested.
It was in syndication one time ever on television and that's about it. On USA Network but that was all the way in the 90s itself. Don't know how I remembered that but I do
Being "Early Fox" also means that not everybody had access to an Affiliate during the early seasons if not the duration of the show's run...
@@TheDumontShowI was very very young when this aired. I wouldn't be able to have access to that rerun either way.
I thought i was the only one that remembered this show until I saw that Family Guy episode. For the better part of the 90's i remember saying "coolness".
yeah I had to slip a clip in from that episode.
I loved that show! 😊 Melanie Chartoff should have won a Best Supporting Comedy Actress Emmy for her performance. 😊
Loved the show and loved Timothy Stack. Watched Night Stand, when too young but thought he was so underrated.
I was like- Parker's sister in the show. Was she familiar to me???🤔 Then I looked her up in the cast. A-hh. 😄 Adventures In Babysitting! Thor girl!😁
Yes, good catch on that one
I loved "Adventures in Babysitting" as a kid... ;)
Remember the show fondly and was sad to see it go.
Jerry from er is in this show
wow I completely forgot about that thanks
My younger brother and I absolutely loved this show, so much that my brother actually started dressing like Parker at school. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
A lot of guys started to dress like him.You're welcome thanks for watching.
Another minor character was John Pinette. Rest his soul. Funny on the show and even better once he went into stand up.
Was most famous for being the fat guy who got carjacked in the Seinfeld finale
😆
John started in stand-up in the late 80s. He was best known for his Chinese Buffet bit. YOU GO NOW!
That bit still comes up all the time, recently I saw a reaction video to it.
Those early FOX shows had a charm that is unmatched. The sets were often cheap looking, the lighting somewhat dingy. I miss that.
A distinctive vibe
there were aspects of it that were surreal and comic-booky which I think is part of the charm, with a bit of meta and 4th wall breaking thrown into the mix. It really hasn;t aged well because it is a product of it's time but it is a nostalgia rush to watch again.
Thank you for doing this video. I remember watching this on TV, but the effects of time are powerful and I completely forgot the name of the show. A few years ago I discovered that Ferris Bueller had a TV show, and I guess I just thought the TV show I liked in the early 90s was the F Bueller TV show. Some time after that I found some Ferris Bueller TV episodes, and I so I started searching for my favorite episode (the episode when the protagonist joins the football team but their entire strategy is to get behind the massive lineman who literally plows their way to the endzone), and I obviously could never find the episode.
The entire series was unfamiliar and unfunny, so I just stopped searching and just tried to forget about it. Then I randomly find this video, and it all just came rushing back to me. I always wondered what happened to that show, but the fact they tried to 90210'itize it makes a lot of sense. I watched it for the antics and the goofiness; I was way too young to worry about a high school love triangle or who has a secret drug addition (I'm looking at you Jesse Spano), so I would have stopped watching as soon as they stopped the silliness.
You're welcome thanks for sharing your thoughts
He lost lol
pretty accurate, thanks for watching
I still say "not a problem" regularly, which i got from Parker Lewis.
Your channel just showed up in my feed, all hail the algorithm. I would like to see more content like this where you dive into specific shows, for what it's worth.
Thanks for the feedback, more to come
Saved by the Bell was the only one that worked with Zack Morris basically being Ferris Bueller.
I forgot about that show until now...have vague memories about it and I would have never recalled it unless it was for you...thank you.
PLCL has a special place in my heart! In 1996, I created a customized Windows 95 theme with the show’s logo replacing the splash screen, show sound effects (Ms. Musso’s breaking windows with every fault or error message… that happened a lot) and the Clyde Phillips logo replacing the (safe to) shut down screen.
I was 11 when this show came out I thought it was a fever dream until now 😂That first season is right up there with eerie Indiana for young me
Definitely thanks
I remember this show as a Young Kid in The 90s..It always reminds me of a Live Action Cartoon..This was a Perfect fit for FOX at that time I feel..FOX in The 90s was a Dope Channel..They had The Best Cartoon Line Up and Sitcoms..Even Movies too..
Biggarton Was Here. Peace.
WHERE.CAN.I.STREAM.THIS?!?! I was OBSESSED with this show!!!!
It's on Crackle.
I loved this show as a preteen. Had a crush on Parker and I remember being excited when he was on the cover of the weekly channel guide that came with the newspaper. That promptly went up on my wall. The show was so different but in a way that didn’t disrupt the storyline or seem utterly cheesy.
I also don’t remember season 3 😂 But the two good seasons we got were great and it’s nice to know that the show ended up inspiring other show creators to step a bit outside the sit com cookie cutter and give us more great shows.
I’m off to see if I can find episodes of the show to rewatch. It’s been too long!
archive.org/details/parker-lewis-cant-lose_202204 Thanks for sharing
Parker Lewis was a part of my high school years. I looked forward to watching this every Sunday! It was the lead in show before In Living Color.
I think Ms Musso went to school with Parker’s Dad or both of his parents.
I kind of remember the show can you please do more of a cast update.
I remember this show. I was hoping high school would be like it.
First season was so good and fresh that they exported it to Latin America and dubbed it in spanish. I remember I had a crush on the principal
It was a great show, and I’ll never forget “coolness” I still say that word to this day
The “whoah” sound effect I STILL copy
I just know Parker Lewis had the coolest shirts
As a massive FOB fan, I was wondering if you'd mention the song name. Nice!
Yes, great theme song!
Used to watch the reruns on the USA Network during the summer.
I loved this show... Wow. Great memories. Also the dude who played Parker Lewis had one of the most amazing child roles in the movie I Know My First Name Is Steven. I'm happy to see he's back to doing movies again.
Corin Nemec received
an EMMY nomination for
I Know My First Name Is Steven.
📺This has to be one of my favorite childhood shows during the early 90's 😊 I definitely looked forward to watching Parker Lewis every week. 🎬 It has truly earned a classic Hall of Fame show in my book.🏆🥇
Same here!
This was shown on Sky One in the UK, a satellite only channel back then.
I imported the US DVDs but they didn’t release the third season, I ended up finding the third season on DVD through a German release which had the original US audio.
Shame it didn’t get a proper US release.
Lol, when I saw Corin Nemec in Stargate SG-1, I thought he looked familiar, and couldn't quite point out where I had seen him in before. But now, I came across this video. I think I did see this show, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, although the memories are vague. But I do remember seeing Corin in I Know My First Name is Steven, which is based on a true story. Anyway, thanks for sharing and bringing back some memories!😊👍
Watched it every week. Corin Nemec went on to science fiction movies that I liked on the Sci Fi channel. He suffered a serious injury I believe while filming one of those movies
I loved this show so much. It was right up my alley in humor. I was always delighted to see Abraham Benrubi after wards. Sadly, I only ever saw Corin Nemec in bad Sci-Fi Channel originals. And I don't know if I ever saw
William Jayne or Troy Slaten anywhere else.
"Potato light IS good!"
"Eat now?"
Thanks for sharing
One of my all time favorite shows!!!
Parker Lewis can’t loose, followed up by Herman’s Head
I like the in-depth approach. Keep it up
Thanks, will do!
Thanks for the memories!!
I loved Parker Lewis Can't Lose...synchronize Swatches!!