I used to watch a lot of sitcoms when I was younger. I enjoyed all the same ones that everyone watched back in the 70s and 80s. Once I got into the 90s however I started to lose interest in them. Most were rehashes of earlier shows, and then they started progressing into clones of each other. I had a hard time finding any that I really thought were funny. 1998 saw the premiere of a new series called “The King of Queens.” It was yet another series based on the humor of a stand-up comic. It followed in the footsteps of “Seinfeld”, “Home Improvement”, “Everybody Loves Raymond”, and “The Drew Carey Show”, just to name a few. Of those, “Home Improvement” was the only one I saw with any kind of regularity, but even that was still on an occasional basis. The focus of “The King of Queens” was on comedian Kevin James, whose onstage repertoire was actually quite funny, but whether or not it would translate to the TV tube remained to be seen.

Once again, it was a series I missed, but a few months ago I had the opportunity to give it a shot, when Sony / Columbia Tristar opted to release the 1st Season on DVD.

James portrays Doug Heffernan, a ‘UPS’-like delivery driver who is a real guy’s guy. He’s a big galoot who loves his buddies and his (short-lived) rec room. He shares the house with his wife Carrie (Leah Remini), and from the first episode it is clear who wears the pants in the family. In that first episode, we are also introduced to Carrie’s father, Arthur (the great Jerry Stiller) who has just moved in. As with most sitcoms each episode features the Heffernan family facing day-to-day crises, which by the end of the episode are generally sorted out.

“The King of Queens” isn’t necessarily different or better than those other popular sitcoms, but I found it to be surprisingly funny. It was also quite obvious that the series was good enough and had enough of an appeal for it to still be going strong in its sixth season. James comes across as an average ‘Joe’ and is has a very likable quality about him. As funny (and probably identifiable) as the relationship between Doug and Carrie is, it ended up being the witty repartee between Doug and Arthur that I found to be the highlight of most of the episodes. You know I laughed pretty hard at most of the episodes, but some of it was uncomfortable to be sure. I mentioned the ‘identifiable’ relationship between Carrie and Doug, and wonder how many guys have to put up with a wife like that. Like most women (not all), she doesn’t fight fair and starts in with the tone of a mother talking to a little child. I... ahem… know women that do this and I’ve never understood why they get such a kick out of emasculating their men. What’s really sad is that when guys are in a relationship with a woman like that they’re not only wrong when they’re wrong, but wrong when they are right. It’s funny in a Sitcom, not so funny in real life.

The DVD set of the 2nd season is made up 25 episodes spread out over 3 discs. Unlike some of the other TV series that Sony/Columbia Tristar has released recently, the “The King of Queens” set has a couple of extra features that helped win me over on the show. There is a commentary on the episode “Net Prophets” by Kevin James and executive producer Michael Weithorn, which is quite entertaining and funny. Then there is a 12 minute featurette showing a ‘Day in the Life’ of Kevin James, in which James is caught on tape as he travels the talk show circuit. We get to see how dull Carson Daly is compared to Conan O’Brien, and catch James as he is hit up for pictures and autographs.

As I watched the 2nd Season, it felt like the show had hit its stride, and many of the episodes were funnier than in the 1st. And if you’re a fan of “Everybody Loves Raymond”, you’ll definitely get a kick out of who shows up in a couple of episodes. The humor of “The King of Queens” runs the gamut from light-hearted to mean-spirited (the latter often being my favorite kind), and actually at times reminds me a little of the shows I used to love.

Episodes:
Queasy Rider
Female Problems
Assaulted Nuts
Parent Trapped
Dire Strayts
Doug Out
Tube Stakes
Get Away
Roamin’ Holiday
I, Candy
Sparing Carrie
Net Prophets
Block Buster
Frozen Pop
Party Favor
Fair Game
The Shmenkmans
Meet Byproduct
Wild Cards
Surprise Artie
Big Dougie
Soft Touch
Restaurant Row
The Whine Country
Flower Power

Starring: Kevin James, Leah Remini, Jerry Stiller
Extras: Kevin James – A Day in the Life of an International Superstar, Audio Commentary with Kevin James and Michael Weithorn
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Surround
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 4/20/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give King of Queens: Season 2 a B.