Like Father, Like Daughter 

Alex and the guys drive a Taxi from New York City to Miami so that Alex can see his daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 15 years, before she leaves for school in Portugal.

Director:

James Burrows

Writers:

James L. Brooks (created by), Stan Daniels (created by)

Stars:

Judd Hirsch, Jeff Conaway, Danny DeVito

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Judd Hirsch	...	Alex Reiger
Jeff Conaway	...	Bobby Wheeler
Danny DeVito	...	Louie De Palma
Marilu Henner	...	Elaine Nardo
Tony Danza	...	Tony Banta
Randall Carver	...	John Burns
Andy Kaufman	...	Latka Gravas
Talia Balsam	...	Cathy Consuelos
Jill Jaress	...	Airline Attendant
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rhea Perlman	...	John's Girlfriend (voice) (scenes deleted)

Storyline

In this very first episode we get to know Alex, Bobby, Tony, Latka, Elaine and Louie. While Bobby and Tony make calls for free to places all around the world, Alex tells everyone that he has a daughter he once abandoned and hasn't seen for 15 years. The guys convince him to call his daughter and he finally does. Elaine starts her part-time job as a cab driver and gets to know the boys. Latka tries to improve his English, with the help of Alex. John, initially being a costumer of Alex, becomes part of the cab company as a driver.

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Plot Keywords:

miami florida | father daughter relationship | tv series pilot | hugging | episode title spoken by character | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 1978 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

John-Charles-Walters Productions, Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

After the telephone fault allowing free calls is discovered, John Burns asks Alex if he wants to make a call and Alex says he doesn't have anyone to call. When John sits down next to Alex, the next two lines of dialogue are very obviously post-dubbed while the actors' faces are turned away from the camera, so much so that John briefly sounds as if his voice was provided by a different actor.

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Quotes

Bobby Wheeler: [Discussing his audition for a role in "Equus"] I'm up for the part of the horse.
Tony Banta: Oh, yeah? Which end?

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Connections

Referenced in The 7D: Surprise/Welcome to the Neighborhood (2014)

User Reviews

Touching Start To A Great TV Series

It's pretty neat to go back and see the first episode ever of "Taxi," one of the most entertaining TV shows of its era.

Most of the cast is already employed at the Taxi company with Louie as the dispatcher, along with "Alex," "Bobby," "Tony" and "Latka." Soon, "Elaine Nardo" comes down to the garage and joins the fellas. Boy, Marilu Henner really looked good, but you know that. Her episode here she looked the best I've ever seen her, with just a touch of makeup.

In addition to Elaine - who stayed on the show for all 114 episodes, there was another new "recruit," a guy named "John Burns," played by Randall Carver. Apparently he was another actor-wannabe like Bobby "John" lasted about 20 episodes and his role on this show was ended.

The focus of this first story centers around the last five minutes or so, after "Alex Reiger," the unofficial leader of this small group of featured cabbies, drives to Miami with a couple of the guys to meet the daughter he left at the age of two. She is now 17. Their reunion is very touching......really good stuff.

It's this kind of melodrama mixed in with the great comedy that helped make "Taxi" such a successful show.

Talia Balsam is a beautiful 17-year-old actress who plays "Cathy," the daughter Alex hasn't seen in 15 years. Talia is still acting, most recently on a TV show called "Mad Men." She has some claims-to-fame in her personal life: 1 - she is the daughter of famous actor Martin Balsam; 2 - Her mom was actress Joyce Van Patten; 3 - she was married to George Clooney.