The Subtle Genius of Ted Danson

Monday is Movies. Or TV - as is the case today.

Flying home over the weekend, I settled in with my headphones and watched an entire season of a sitcom in one gulp. I hadn’t upgraded for the movies and meal - but in the end I didn’t feel like sleeping or reading, so I scrolled the TED Talks and docos and other free options. I needed something light, but engaging.

I found Mr. Mayor – I hadn’t heard of it previously. But it was co-created by Tina Fey, so there was a sign of quality. And the seal of approval I needed was the presence of Ted Danson.

Look, it’s not the greatest TV show ever. It doesn’t quite know whether it wasn’t to be a sitcom with a heart, or a wisecracking office-based banter-fest. It straddles that line, never too uncomfortably, just a bit lost here and there. When it’s at its best it joins the ranks of Parks & Rec., The Office, and of course, Fey’s masterpiece, 30Rock.

Afterwards, I read that it was conceived as a 30Rock spinoff – was meant to feature Alec Baldwin’s character. That made sense. There’s a second season of it – and maybe I’ll hunt that out one day. I enjoyed the supporting turn by Bobby Moynihan, whose work on SNL for a half-decade or so, I always felt was criminally underrated. Holly Hunter is good here too. No surprise there.

But it gave me pause to reflect on the subtle reinventions of Ted Danson – a comedic actor who has never quite been typecast, but has also played variations on the same bumbling, handsome schmuck for over 40 years now. Amazing.

I genuinely think Danson is a gifted comic actor – appearing in some of my favourite shows, anchoring many of them.

He started off as a bit-part player – he was in Benson and Magnum P.I. There were others too. A bunch of TV shows. And then paydirt as Sam Malone, an ex-baseball player and local hero who opens the bar where everyone knows your name.

Cheers is one my all-time favourite TV shows. I watched it with my folks – probably didn’t get every joke, but still felt connected to the show and its characters. Alongside Taxi, it reminds me of the warmth and camaraderie of the cast and my own family. We were never closer than when we sat engaged in comedy TV across the 1980s.

Cheers of course was filled with stunning character-work, including the break-out genius of many stars – Woody Harrelson gets discovered here, midway through the show’s run. Kelsey Grammer plays Dr. Frasier Craine – who goes on to become TV’s most successful star-character with one of the best-ever spinoff sitcoms, giving Grammer close to two full decades in that character.

There was Rhea Perlman (Carla), Kirstie Alley (Rebecca) and Shelley Long (Diane) – all brilliant performances and strong, female characters too, never token afterthoughts; these were characters that were complex and carried several storylines. And the show also featured a great range of cameos, one-off guest appearances and the solid work of its classic regulars Norm (played by George Wendt) and Cliff (the now Pixar-legend, John Ratzenberger).

But there, for every episode, and powering so many of the storylines, was Sam Malone. Ted Danson. Bickering love interest for the amazing dynamic that was Sam and Diane; unseated by Rebecca and desperate to work his bumbling charm.

Ted Danson was nominated for an Emmy pretty much every single season of Cheers. And he won a few of TVs big awards too.

That’s typecasting hell!

But, after a slightly shaky attempt at some movies – my childhood remembers him best in the Three Men and a Baby film (and its sequel) – he found his feet again, several times, on the small screen.

Look, there are nice surprises all through his career – you go back and find him bit-parting in Body Heat and Creepshow and I always remember thinking it was odd – but cool – that he was part of the lineup for Saving Private Ryan. But it’s the TV where Danson shines.

I have never seen an episode of Becker nor any of the CSI series’ – but that’s where he first escaped what could have been the curse of being Sam Malone for 11 years.

But I have loved him as a gently exaggerated version of himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm, and then the TV show Bored To Death is buried in there – just three short seasons, but if you knew at the time, or if you find it now, you won’t be disappointed.

And I guess the most fanfare he’s had in recent years, is The Good Place. Look, it jumped the shark big time – and I guess this was an inevitability, given the premise – but Danson was a key part of the success of this show. And it joins that list of comedies that Mr. Mayor is tagging along behind.

So, there’s Ted Danson. Star of several successful TV comedy shows. Capable also of being in dramas, and playing against type – as well as bringing all of the attributes that made him a breakout star after a first-decade toiling away in bit-part character work.

Mr. Mayor is so watchable because of the sharp writing, sure. And it’s nearly an ensemble piece. But some of the supporting players aren’t quite there in making you love them or root for them. So it’s Danson in the lead. Big time.

I’ll possibly forget I watched the show before I ever get around to nailing its second season. And I can’t imagine it having legs for much more than a third season, it’ll probably be cancelled.

But I have that plane ride and the chance to binge the show to thank for giving me the space and time to let me mind wander back across the career of Ted Danson.

A while back I even wrote a poem about him. Saying many of the same things I’ve said here I guess.

Now I want to rewatch Cheers from the very beginning. A decade or so ago I watched the first two seasons. And it was brilliant. So warm. So funny. Just classic joke-writing. And wonderful delivery.