Maximum Bob (1998) User Reviews

Still one of my favourite shows

[afison · 9/10 · 3 October 2006]

I saw this show on its only run on English TV a year before i moved to the swampy part of the USA and loved it. It was reminiscent of Twin Peaks in its quirkiness. Mr Bridges was excellent in the role of the southern judge and the portrayal of the "bubbas" was spot on, and yes those people do exist down here.

Its been 8 years since i saw this show and still i am looking for a DVD of the season or anything about it. I swear I thought i was the only one who liked or even saw this show. I often cite this as one of the high points in American broadcasting, but i am just met with blank stares and bemusement. I guess it was on against some other mega show when it was on ABC(?, but who knows they might show it again when they cancel a show mid-season and need six weeks of programming.

i was glad to find other bob heads out here who still remember this show and mourn its passing.

all in all one of the best shows i have ever seen despite being made by one of the major networks

maximum madness

[didi-5 · 16 May 2004]

Sadly only a six-episode series which to date has only had one run on British TV, but which gave Beau Bridges perhaps his best (and certainly the funniest) screen role ever as the southern judge who was more than a bit odd... there was a mermaid in there somewhere, and a creepy collection of people with identical glasses, and a dancing sheriff (Sam Robards, again little seen on TV and served well with his role in this).

I'm laughing while I'm typing this just thinking about this. There was just something so addictive about the series and I'd love to see it again. I was kicking myself at the time for not taping the episodes when they aired - if this series gets shown near you, give it a go. Small, mad and hugely enjoyable.

too good for abc

[susannah-5 · 10/10 · 26 April 2001]

This wonderful series veered slightly from the book, but mostly in ways necessary to make an ongoing TV show. The tone, the characterization, the feel were all right on target.

The casting was superb. Although Elmore Leonard pictured Harry Dean Stanton to play the judge, Beau Bridges brought so much verve and energy to the part it became difficult to imagine anybody else in the role. Liz Vassey was excellent, and the supporting cast and guest stars pulled the whole thing together.

Production values were very high, and writing and direction top-notch. Ordinary and eccentric people, getting on with the day to day business of living -- or not -- in some backwater of Florida isn't something we see every day on TV, and credit is due the producers for going out of their way to get this series on the air.

There was a higher ratio of comedy to drama than is usual in a one hour show, and this may have scared the network. Is ABC so crammed with exciting, original, well-written, well-produced programming that it could afford to let this one get away?

Only a few episodes were aired, and, alas, no other network picked it up; one might imagine that Showtime or HBO, with their commitment to original programming might have been interested.

It's interesting to note how well Barry Sonnenfeld captured the spirit of Elmore Leonard's book in this series, and how poorly he captured the spirit of "The Wild Wild West" TV series in his ghastly, unbelievably bad film version.

Funny, and didn't really have a chance

[roundpebble · 10/10 · 14 September 2018]

Sad that it only had 6 or so episodes. It's 2018 and I still think about that show. I would love to buy those episodes but I can't find where I can get them. I love in Florida, and even though the show took a lot of liberties with the character for the sake of humor, I felt there was a basis of truth, and this itself was so funny. I would love to see this show reprised

Started off strong....

[13Funbags · 6/10 · 22 May 2017]

I just recently discovered this show and I'm shocked that they only made seven episodes.It was quirky and funny and quite original.That may have been the reason a network like ABC didn't want it.They never had a good show, so why start here?I do think the story leveled off around episode four but it was still above average for a network show.The only thing I didn't like about the show was the twins.I'm sure they were intended to be hilarious but they almost never made me laugh.The time they dug the grave was funny but that's about it.They didn't even have anything to do with the story.They could have been cut out(along with Bob and Leanne's boring bedroom scenes) and this could have been a great thirty minute show.Maybe if they had done that this show would have gotten picked up for a full season.Who knows?Also the end was a bit lame but I won't spoil it for you.If you can find this, watch it.

Yet another depressing casualty of corporate media

[A-Ron-2 · 7 July 2000]

I loved this show. I knew with every bone in my body that it would be cancelled before the end of its first season, but I loved it. Elmore Leonard is a closet vice of mine (as a grad student, we are not encouraged to read these types of things, but hey Leonard writes about my people ;).

As white trash from both rural and urban roots I can honestly say the Leonard has a certain understanding of that element of the population and really knows how to tell an interesting story (even if he is not a particularly great writer, he grammar is really atrocious... ;).

Anyway, I saw Maximum Bob before reading the book and find that the show really filled out the much of what was interesting about the story. I thought that it was funny, intelligent, witty and charming. Though not as good as Twin Peaks, it occupies a similar place in my heart. Hopefully, someday the re-runs of this show will turn up somewhere, or I will meet someone who taped them all, but until then it will live on in my dreams...

Good television is soooo hard to find.

I have very much enjoyed this well written, well acted, TV series.

[RL-3 · 6 November 1998]

It appears this TV series has been taken off the air as I have seen neither an episode nor a promotional spot for the series in the past several weeks. Hopefully it is because they are busy filming several more episodes and intend to bring it back in a big way.

It's one of the first series since Northern Exposure that has some intellectual qualities to it and is not just a bunch of buffoons reading dog tired lines that should have been put out to pasture long ago along with their writers. It seems all and any of the television being offered to us is exactly the same and only the faces and the locations have been changed to protect the writers and the producers and maybe even the Networks.

People say that education is lagging in this country. Well I agree; and if we are now clearly the Television Generation then the programs we offer should have some content that at least makes a person think a little bit and/or generates some sort of mental stimulation.

Maximum Bob definitely does that; let's get it back on the air.

Lots of fun

[Gerbil-8 · 9 August 1999]

This show was great, it was beautifully witty and it had a lot of heart. It's a comedy that treads the edge of convention. Each character had an individual and unique impact on the individual stories as well as on each other's way of seeing and doing things. There was a common progression of character development from episode to episode and I was looking forward to seeing how each character would change and adapt, which is why I was so very sad when it was canceled. It didn't run long enough to make it to syndication but hopefully ABC will run the episodes again one summer or something. It was truly an excellent show and one that's worth seeing if you ever get the chance.

Northern Exposure meets Twin Peaks

[MG-8 · 9 September 1998]

Call it a high-budget cult-classic. One viewing will get you hooked. To me - - the most original and creative show on TV.

Funny and offbeat

[SherBa · 7 August 1998]

I thought it was funny and different and it's something new to watch. I laughed and laughed. Beau Bridges is right on the money as "Maximum Bob"; Liz Vassey is spunky; and Sam Robards is a dream. Hope we continue to see more of this show.

Let ABC know we want more!

[doczol · 18 September 1998]

The critics loved Maximum Bob. (See the article by Matt Roush in this week's TV Guide) The public loved Maximum Bob. (See the comments in various newsgroups and here) Let's let ABC know we want more. Call them at 212-456-7777 and express yourself!

unique, and better than the book

[sailorsam · 10 July 2001]

MaxBob was a six-episode series, apparently never intended to be a 'regular' series, based on an Elmore Leonard novel set in FLorida. I saw the episodes before reading the book, and I have to say the show was better, though both were mean-spirited and vulgar (what novels or tv are not any more?) In the book, MaxBob was a dried up little codger wanting to off his wife, a former beauty who was gaining weight and dabbling in mystical bogusness. Kiersten Warren in the show was a delight, and I enjoyed the family with the glasses (the large twins were not in the book). My favorite episode dealt with MaxBob's ex wife, involved with Cuban freedom fighters, none of which was in the book. Atmosphere and 2dry characters were terrifically done, and Mr Bridges portrayal of a larger-than-life-political-southern-judge was terrific, better than the book's character. Not as good was a subplot involving a young man impersonating a (female) mermaid in an aquatic show; typical liberal attitude; The People are Negative and Ignorant, but we will overwhelm them with our Artistic Presentation and make them think the way We want them to think, with all the subtlety of a 10 pound splitting maul. Eventually this will probably surface on Bravo or at least VHS; try it.

Wonderful but worrying

[Mashu-3 · 2 November 1998]

One of the funniest TV series I have seen for a long time. A great cast led by a superb performance by Beau Bridges. I enjoyed the show from start to finish and have absolutely no intention of visiting Florida if I can possibly help it.

Quirky

[Dave-194 · 5 August 1998]

Imagine "Twin Peaks" meets "Key West" meets "Soap" and you're close.

Better than most of what's on TV

[doczol · 6 August 1998]

The pilot was off-the-wall and bizarre. I'm looking forward to more shows. ABC only shot 7 episodes. Let's let them know we want more!

Hysterical.

[La · 4 August 1998]

This show is everything you feared was true about Florida. After having lived there I'd say the writers hit the nail on the head. I laughed loud and often. This was only the pilot but I hope to see more.

Best yet adaptation of Elmore Leonard to Film

[bob-mason1 · 11 May 2000]

This series captures the quirky logical jumpcuts and surprises Elmore Leonard readers have loved for years. Too bad it wasn't picked up as a continuing series, but if it had some of Leonard might have been diluted as happens in so many long running shows.

unfunny

[Munkeluv · 6 August 1998]

I did not like this show at all. I could barely stay awake, the plot line is un-funny. I really don't know how they are going to continue. If the pilot was this bad, and they told everyting. I just don't know what is going to happen in the next episodes. 2 words......NOT FUNNY!