Season 5, Episode 14 · 1983-01-29
Alexs Old Buddy
Ranked #79 out of 114 episodes in Taxi
Alex takes ownership of his old dog, Buddy, who has been living at his sister's place in the country. Buddy is now 19 and Alex wants to spend as much time with him as possible. The dog is lovable but at his advanced age, requires constant care, and Alex soon is taking Buddy with him everywhere including the cab. The gang soon sees that Buddy is not doing very well and gently suggest that Alex consider putting him to sleep, but Alex refuses. Jim suggests that Alex get Buddy to do his old trick (playing dead) to determine his wellness. Buddy does the trick successfully, although gives the gang a scare when he doesn't get up right away and they really think he may be dead (thankfully, he turns out to be okay). However, the next time the gang sees Alex, he doesn't have Buddy with him, and Alex says that he had to take Buddy to the vet where he died. Louie ushers everyone out of the garage so Alex can grieve alone. With everyone gone, the stoic Alex cries as the episode ends.
Escalation and character comedy drive a solid but uneven episode at 2.38 jokes per minute.
Directed by Richard Sakai · Written by Sam Simon, Ken Estin
Humor Index
42.6
2.4
7.1
6.6
7.7
“Alexs Old Buddy” ranks #79 of 114 Taxi episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 75.1 — Great. The episode packs 51 scored jokes at 2.4 per minute, averaging 7.1 on craft and 6.6 on impact, with Alex landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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