Customer Reviews

My Sister Sam

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was a great series starring Pam Dawber ("Mork & Mindy") as a San Francisco photographer whose life was turned upside down when her teenage sister Patti (Rebecca Schaeffer) came to live with her. Samantha (Dawber) never really knew whether to treat Patti as a friend, sister, or child, and sometimes, she treated her as all three.

The series premiered in 1986, and after mild success on Monday nights, CBS tampered with its schedule and moved it to Saturday nights opposite NBC's successful comedy lineup. Unable to find the show, its audience dwindled to one of the lowest on network TV, and CBS canceled it in mid-1988, after only half of the second season had aired.

A little over a year later (July 1989 to be exact) Schaeffer, then a promising movie star ("Scenes from the Class Struggle In Beverly Hills") was shot and killed in her Los Angeles home by a deranged fan who had idolized her as the young, energetic character she played on "My Sister Sam." Contrary to popular belief, "My Sister Sam" left the air 15 months BEFORE Schaeffer was murdered. Not long thereafter, USA Network picked up syndication rights to the series, eventually running all 44 episodes (including those never shown on CBS).

The show's writing was crisp, sharp and witty, and the acting, especially that of the young, never-before-seen Schaeffer, was top notch. Years later, the WB sitcom "What I Like About You" (2002-2006) re-introduced the premise with some success, but did not match the promise of its earlier sitcom cousin.

It would be a joy to see this show again on DVD.

I really enjoyed My Sister Sam. I started watching it and became hooked on it. Although it was cheesy in many ways, it was entertaining and light hearted. It was good, honest comedy and I really miss seeing it. After I started watching it, Rebecca Schaeffer was killed. I was upset by this, because she was such a promising actress who had a wonderful career and life ahead of her, plus not to mention she was very young and had her wonderful life cut short by some sicko. I really think this series deserves to be put on a dvd collection. I know that I would enjoy it and I'm sure others would as well.

Then it's this one - the only one I can think of that caused the death of one of the co-stars, merely by producing a fan so whacked that he shot her to death for rejecting him.

Aside from this morbidity, this is a delightful TV series about a sister who's out on her own but through circumstances I can't now remember, has to care for her teenage sister. They have a wonderful whacky relationship as the one sister attempts not to be 'mom' to the other. David Naughton is delightful as the neighbor, former boyfriend to Sam, played by Pam Dawber. And Rebecca Schaeffer would have had a great career in front of her. The casting was number 1 in this series. It was eventually destroyed by Wonder Years, which played opposite. It moved to cable, but Schaeffer was killed soon after.

I sawl some episodes en TV and looks very funny with good performances, especially, Rebecca Schaeffer who make an excellent and memorable work as "Patti Russell." The DVD will be a great tribute for her. By the way, I am writing this episode on November 6, today's is her birthday. But, her life was cut short at 21.

Regards,

Renzo