I was curious to see if anyone remembered this flop and surprised to find five reviews on file. The only reason the show is fresh in my mind is that I happened to attend the pilot taping in Los Angeles in 1973. I was no Dom Deluise fan, but like almost any other TV viewer of that time, I was an admirer of Carl Reiner and his creative team from the "Dick Van Dyke" show.
So it came as a considerable shock and disappointment to see how bad "Lotsa Luck" turned out to be. I was not alone in my opinion, and I don't think the taping audience and I managed more than two unforced laughs during the entire ordeal. Believe me, the common conception that laugh tracks are frequently used to cover bad writing was entirely accurate in that case. The pilot, as reviewer "Aldanoli" mentions, turned entirely on the purchase of a new toilet. There was exactly none of the warmth that had underlain even the most caustic "Van Dyke" humor. It was just a bunch of unpleasant people screaming at each other.
I can well remember Persky and Denoff pleading with the audience prior to the taping to give the characters a chance to win us over. It didn't happen, and obviously didn't happen when the thing went on the air either. One curious point was that Carl Reiner was nowhere to be seen that night. Perhaps he had an inkling of how hopeless it was.
So it came as a considerable shock and disappointment to see how bad "Lotsa Luck" turned out to be. I was not alone in my opinion, and I don't think the taping audience and I managed more than two unforced laughs during the entire ordeal. Believe me, the common conception that laugh tracks are frequently used to cover bad writing was entirely accurate in that case. The pilot, as reviewer "Aldanoli" mentions, turned entirely on the purchase of a new toilet. There was exactly none of the warmth that had underlain even the most caustic "Van Dyke" humor. It was just a bunch of unpleasant people screaming at each other.
I can well remember Persky and Denoff pleading with the audience prior to the taping to give the characters a chance to win us over. It didn't happen, and obviously didn't happen when the thing went on the air either. One curious point was that Carl Reiner was nowhere to be seen that night. Perhaps he had an inkling of how hopeless it was.