A Show That Should Be Released On DVD...The Good Guys

Well here is one of the best comedies that Bob Denver ever did. At least that is what I have heard. I never got to see it and it has never been rerun anytime. He did it fresh off his success from Gilligan’s Island. Bob was Rufus s single Cabdriver and was best friends since high school with Bert (Herb Edelman) who ran his own diner with his wife Claudia (Joyce Van Patten). Rufus was not only a cabdriver but he worked part time at the diner if Bert needed help. Rufus was always coming up with get rich quick schemes that never worked but always got them into trouble. One story that I read about was really ahead of it’s time. Claudia wanted to beautify the highways of the city by planting flowers. Bert was going to help her and they left Rufus to handle the crowd at the diner. The police stop Bert and Claudia thinking they are planting marijuana. They are arrested. At the station the police hear them talking about Rufus. They ask where he is. Bert innocently tells them he is at the diner making hash. I am sure that it got worse from there but it sounds like it was pretty funny to me.
The show aired on CBS from September 25, 1968 to January 23, 1970. It couldn’t have done too badly since it was renewed for a second season. However, it didn’t get to run the full second season. Seen on occasion were Gilligan’s …ahem! I mean Bob’s Gilligan’s Island co-horts Alan Hale Jr. and Jim Backus.
During the second season Rufus gave up the cab driving business and became a full partner in the Diner. He should have kept driving as the diner closed down at the time the series was canceled. Perhaps the show will be released on DVD someday.