--- title: "Taxi" year: 1978 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/taxi" fi1m_score: 86 critics_reviews: 2 published: "2026-09-20T21:10:38.481953+00:00" updated: "2026-09-20T21:10:39.239936+00:00" region: "UA" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Taxi (1978) Created by Stan Daniels, Ed. Weinberger, James L. Brooks, David Davis · 30m · Comedy, Drama **Fi1m score: 86** · Critics: 2 of 6 reviews so far *In a sentence:* Danny DeVito makes a persuasive case for hiding from the boss > A warm, sharply acted workplace comedy with room for disappointment and embarrassment. Judd Hirsch and Marilu Henner make its small troubles matter; some of the broader jokes are less rewarding. ## Synopsis In New York, Alex Reiger (Judd Hirsch), Elaine O’Connor-Nardo (Marilu Henner) and Bobby Wheeler (Jeff Conaway) earn their living driving cabs. Alongside Tony Banta (Tony Danza), they share a working day with Louie De Palma (Danny DeVito), whose mean remarks add to the daily difficulties. Alex wants to keep working with his patience intact, but his colleagues bring their troubles into their conversations. Talk turns from earning money to the disappointments waiting outside work. Personal problems become everybody’s business, and the drivers must keep dealing with people they have not necessarily chosen as friends. ## Review *Taxi* is worth watching for its actors and its patience with ordinary disappointment, despite an occasional weakness for caricature. Created by David Davis, Ed. Weinberger, Stan Daniels and James L. Brooks, it finds enough trouble in the daily business of earning a living. The New York cabbies give it a reason to bring different temperaments together without demanding that they like one another. Its scale is modest. That suits a programme whose funniest exchanges often depend on somebody being too tired, embarrassed or disappointed to answer neatly. Judd Hirsch gives Alex Reiger the sort of steadiness an ensemble needs without making steadiness look dull. He can suggest that a joke has landed badly without stopping the scene to explain the hurt. Marilu Henner’s Elaine O’Connor-Nardo is just as important: she makes irritation and vulnerability feel like parts of the same person. We were more moved than we expected by the weariness in their performances. Their comic timing leaves room for a disappointment to register before the next laugh arrives. Danny DeVito’s Louie De Palma gives that restraint something abrasive to meet. He attacks a line with such relish that even a mean little remark feels carefully prepared; the pleasure is in how seriously the character takes himself. Jeff Conaway as Bobby Wheeler and Tony Danza as Tony Banta help keep the company from settling into one comic rhythm. We especially like Tony Danza’s openness, which lets a joke be affectionate without asking us to congratulate the programme on its kindness. James Burrows is among the directors who give these performances enough room. Cinematographers Edward E. Nugent, Kenneth Peach and Kenneth Peach Jr. keep the pictures clear enough that a face need not compete for attention. That plainness is useful here: a more insistent visual style would be an interruption. The series depends on our being able to watch somebody listen, rather than merely waiting for their next line. Editors including Andrew Chulack, M. Pam Blumenthal and Roger Tweten have an equally delicate job with the pauses. At its strongest, the cutting lets an uncomfortable beat last without allowing the exchange to go slack. Bob James’s music helps the programme feel less hurried than its supply of jokes might suggest. We like that gentleness, although the comfort it offers can sometimes soften an awkward moment before we have quite finished thinking about it. The broadness is the main caveat. Andy Kaufman’s Latka Gravas can seem to belong to a different comedy, one more interested in displaying an oddity than in staying with a person. His precision is impressive, but we do not always enjoy the result as much as the programme appears to. Across five seasons, the difference between that approach and Judd Hirsch’s quieter acting sometimes makes an episode feel less of a piece than it should. The attraction of this workplace comedy is easy to explain: the people remain worth spending time with even when the jokes are only serviceable. It trusts ordinary disappointment to hold our attention, and usually earns that trust through the actors rather than a speech about decency. There is enough bite to keep the warmth from becoming cloying. Try it when the working day has already supplied all the excitement required. *Fi1m score 86, published 20 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Taxi worth watching?** *Taxi* is worth watching for its actors and its patience with ordinary disappointment, and we scored it 86. Judd Hirsch and Marilu Henner make small workplace troubles matter, while Danny DeVito's Louie De Palma gives the warmth something abrasive to meet. The broader jokes, Andy Kaufman's Latka Gravas in particular, are the caveat: they can make an episode feel less of a piece than it should. **How long is Taxi, and what is it rated?** *Taxi* has episodes of about 30m. It is a comedy and drama series. **Where can I watch Taxi in Ukraine?** *Taxi* is not on any streaming or rental service in Ukraine at the moment. It is available in 2 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How does Taxi compare to Cheers?** *Taxi* is the quieter and more consistent of the two, and *Cheers* the more combative. Both are workplace ensembles whose disappointments become more bearable once everybody starts talking, but *Taxi* trusts weariness and pauses where *Cheers* thrives on quarrels and bruised egos. Choose *Taxi* for steadiness and understated acting; choose *Cheers* if a good insult is what you are after. ### Reviews we read (2) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, THR Staff (90/100, inferred): The critic praises the ensemble comedy performances and controlled magic of the new ABC sitcom about New York cabbies. James Burrows' direction supports the repertory acting, with the pilot mixing poignancy and laughs thanks to sharp writing. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/taxi-first-episode-thrs-1978-818191/) - **The AV Club**, Noel Murray (85/100, inferred): The critic praises Taxi as one of the most honest and humorous American sitcoms of its era, highlighting its low-key stories about working-class life and service-industry indignities. He singles out the fully realized central characters, particularly Judd Hirsch's wry Alex Rieger and Marilu Henner's Elaine Nardo, for anchoring the show. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/taxi-the-complete-first-season-1798200073) ## Details - **Created by:** Stan Daniels, Ed. Weinberger, James L. Brooks, David Davis - **Creator:** Stan Daniels, Ed. Weinberger, James L. Brooks, David Davis - **Director:** James Burrows, Noam Pitlik, Michael Zinberg, Richard Sakai, Danny DeVito, Michael Lessac, Harvey Miller, Stan Daniels, Howard Storm, Ed. Weinberger, Will Mackenzie, Jeff Chambers, Joan Darling - **Writer:** Ken Estin, Les Charles, Glen Charles, Barry Kemp, David Lloyd, Sam Simon, Howard Gewirtz, Ian Praiser, Earl Pomerantz, Katherine Green, Michael J. Leeson, Ed. Weinberger, Stan Daniels, Barton Dean, Ellen Sandler, Danny Kallis, Dennis Danzinger, Holly Holmberg Brooks, Nancy Lane, David Davis, John Markus, Ruth Bennett, James L. Brooks, Barry Rubinowitz, Susan Jane Linder, Dari Daniels, Pat Allee, Glenn Gordon Caron - **Story:** Holly Holmberg Brooks, Barton Dean, Larry Scott Anderson, Mark Jacobson, Michael Tolkin, Barbara Duncan - **Teleplay:** Sam Simon, Ken Estin, Les Charles, Glen Charles, Barry Kemp, Howard Gewirtz, Ian Praiser, Al Aidekman - **Cinematography:** Kenneth Peach, Kenneth Peach Jr., Edward E. Nugent - **Editor:** M. Pam Blumenthal, Andrew Chulack, Roger Tweten, Bernard Balmuth, Douglas Hines, Steve Shultz, Jack Michon - **Music:** Bob James - **Producer:** Richard Sakai, Glen Charles, Les Charles - **Cast:** Judd Hirsch as Alex Reiger; Jeff Conaway as Bobby Wheeler; Danny DeVito as Louie De Palma; Marilu Henner as Elaine O'Connor-Nardo; Tony Danza as Tony Banta; Andy Kaufman as Latka Gravas; Randall Carver as John Burns; Christopher Lloyd as Reverend Jim Ignatowski - **Runtime:** 30m - **Release (Ukraine):** 12 September 1978 - **Genres:** Comedy, Drama ## Where to watch in Ukraine Not streaming, renting or buying in Ukraine at the last check. Also available in: SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Cheers* (1982), Fi1m 88: Another ensemble whose disappointments become more bearable once everybody starts talking. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/cheers.md) - *The Apartment* (1960), Fi1m 91: Office indignities and compromised kindness, with sharper consequences beneath the comedy. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-apartment.md) - *The Royle Family* (1998), Fi1m 85: Patient ensemble comedy that finds affection without making anybody behave better. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/the-royle-family.md) - *The Lunchbox* (2013): Working lives and private loneliness observed with comparable patience and warmth. - *Fallen Leaves* (2023), Fi1m 83: Dry humour and precarious work, with tenderness that never requires a speech. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/fallen-leaves.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. 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