TV: Ed

I got a kick out of seeing two alumni from Ed appearing on other shows this week. Josh Randall (Dr. Mike Burton on Ed) played Gina's lazy, dim-witted boyfriend on Joey last night. And Tom Cavanagh, Ed himself, reprised his role as J.D.'s brother on Tuesday's Scrubs, in an episode dealing with the death of their father (who had been played by John Ritter).

I liked Ed a lot, but strangely wasn't too sad to see it go. It appeared to have run its course, story-wise, and -- after being threatened with early cancellation once or twice -- at least it got to go out having brought the relationship between the two leads to a satisfactory conclusion (wedding in the final show). I sometimes wish it had been just that much more popular, so that a DVD set might someday be released, and I could finally see the original pilot, featuring Janeane Garofalo as Ed's cheating wife, and Donal Logue in the role of Phil, which Michael Ian Black would play in the rest of the series.

The main reason to enjoy the show, I think, was never the wacky romantic hijinks between Ed and Carol, but the excellent casting in almost every role. Tom Cavanagh was hilarious and dynamic in the lead role, but Josh Randall was equally valuable in his supporting role, with his dead-pan humor and bizarre tangents, and his relationship with his on-screen wife (Jana Marie Hupp -- lovely and funny, I'd like to see her in something again soon) was charming and believable. When Ed (the character and the show) got bogged down in the romance, Randall was often the one who kept me entertained. And of course, there was Michael Ian Black -- who it appears will be taking over for Craig Kilborn on The Late Late Show, which means I might actually watch The Late Late Show now.

It's odd that Ed doesn't appear to be in repeats anywhere, and sad that it'll probably never hit DVD, but at least most of its cast seems to be keeping busy.