My Sister Sam (1986–1988)
6/10
cute but not that funny
5 February 2017
Sam Russell (Pam Dawber) is a 29 year old commercial photographer working out of her spacious San Francisco studio loft. Dixie Randazzo (Jenny O'Hara) is her assistant and J.D. Lucas (Joel Brooks) is her agent. Jack Kincaid (David Naughton) is her neighbor from across the hallway and a globe-trotting news photographer. She lost her parents at 16 and her younger sister Patti Russell (Rebecca Schaeffer) lived with aunt Elsie and uncle Bob in Oregon. Then Patti moves in after Elsie took away her guitar.

Pam Dawber is cute and so is Rebecca Schaeffer. They are the sweetest sibling duo. Pam Dawber was essentially the straight man with Robin Williams. None of the actors on this show is a wacky comedian. It leaves the show cute but not that funny. Sometimes, it's left to Dawber to do the wackier antics. Jack is the obvious romantic target but he's always stuck in the friends zone for all of first season. The writing struggles to put them together and their romance has a tough time starting. Patti is in desperate need of a school best friend and romance of her own. The show needs to do more with Patti in her school. It's all too centered on Sam when it should center on both sisters. The diet episode is probably the most compelling considering the fitting combination of body imagine issue and Sam's fashion photographic job. I definitely remember the Scott Bakula episode from its initial run but I doubt I watched much more especially after it got moved around in the schedule. It's simply not that funny no matter how lovely the sisters are. Rebecca Schaeffer was murdered a year after the show's cancellation. It's sad to not know how bright her star could have shined. She has a sweet innocence which could have brought her a long way.
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