According to the original publicity packets, the avowed purpose of the NBC sitcom The Michaels Richards Show was to persuade viewers that there was more to star Richards than his familiar
Seinfeld characterization of nutty next-door neighbor Kramer. The first pilot, however -- filmed on location with Richards as the sole star -- was scrapped as insubstantial and unfunny. The second pilot, filmed before a live audience with a strong ensemble cast, fared somewhat better, though the spectators (and the subsequent test audiences) complained that Richards wasn't "being Kramer enough." Accordingly, a third pilot was shot, with all the standard Kramerisms intact. The final product stars Richards as Vic Nardozza, a bumbling ex-security patrolman who launches his own L.A. private-detective agency -- after a six-week crash-course in the P.I. game. Specializing in undercover work, Nardozza adopts a number of baffling disguises -- baffling to him, if not necessarily to those whom he hopes to fool. Most of the episodes focus on the goings-on in Nardozza's seedy offices, populated by such fellow misfits as Brady McKay (
William Devane), Stacey Devers (Amy Farrington), Kevin (former
Saturday Night Live regular
Tim Meadows), and Jack (Bill Cobb.
The Michael Richards Show debuted October 24, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide