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<blockquote data-quote="Daniel Avery" data-source="post: 89508" data-attributes="member: 27">Soap is one of my all-time favorite shows, and holds up even today.&nbsp; I think the show was never the same when Guillaume left, though.&nbsp; They got another butler (Saunders) but he did not have the established relationships with the Tates that made Benson&#039;s insults hit the mark so well.&nbsp; Guillaume rightly felt reluctant to take the part of a servant, but the writing of the role (as the only sane one in the house) made him a key player.&nbsp; When he entered a scene, you knew something fun was going to happen.&nbsp; I especially loved his relationship with the Tate kids, which spoke to his having been their main source of care and attention during their youth.&nbsp; We heard about it in dialogue, but occasionally got to see it in their scenes, where Guillaume and his scene partners really brought out the love, not just the laughs.&nbsp; I also loved the undisguised contempt Benson had for his boss, Chester Tate.Benson is one of those sitcoms I can watch over and over, and always enjoy.&nbsp; To give him the lead in his own show, they de-aged Benson (removed the white from his hair), gave him a last name (DuBois), and allowed him to be so much more than the Greek Chorus in his new job.&nbsp; He got the chance to be the &quot;average guy&quot; surrounded by workplace dysfunction, a voice of reason in the Governor&#039;s mansion who could solve problems for his boss (and help him deal with the insanity of governmental bureaucracy).&nbsp; They did not lose his humor, though--an insult for every occasion, especially directed at housekeeper/ball-buster Gretchen Kraus.&nbsp; The evolving relationship between those two was fun to watch, even if they never stopped popping off zingers at one another.&nbsp; Guillaume kept getting nominated for the Lead Actor Emmy every year but only won once--likely because of the tendency of Emmy voters to dismiss &quot;insult humor&quot;-type shows like Benson.So many of the stars of both shows have left us, but their performances live on.&nbsp; Good comedy never really goes out of style--it just gets re-discovered by new generations.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Daniel Avery, post: 89508, member: 27"] [I]Soap [/I]is one of my all-time favorite shows, and holds up even today. I think the show was never the same when Guillaume left, though. They got another butler (Saunders) but he did not have the established relationships with the Tates that made Benson's insults hit the mark so well. Guillaume rightly felt reluctant to take the part of a servant, but the writing of the role (as the only sane one in the house) made him a key player. When he entered a scene, you knew something fun was going to happen. I especially loved his relationship with the Tate kids, which spoke to his having been their main source of care and attention during their youth. We heard about it in dialogue, but occasionally got to see it in their scenes, where Guillaume and his scene partners really brought out the love, not just the laughs. I also loved the undisguised contempt Benson had for his boss, Chester Tate. [I]Benson[/I] is one of those sitcoms I can watch over and over, and always enjoy. To give him the lead in his own show, they de-aged Benson (removed the white from his hair), gave him a last name (DuBois), and allowed him to be so much more than the Greek Chorus in his new job. He got the chance to be the "average guy" surrounded by workplace dysfunction, a voice of reason in the Governor's mansion who could solve problems for his boss (and help him deal with the insanity of governmental bureaucracy). They did not lose his humor, though--an insult for every occasion, especially directed at housekeeper/ball-buster Gretchen Kraus. The evolving relationship between those two was fun to watch, even if they never stopped popping off zingers at one another. Guillaume kept getting nominated for the Lead Actor Emmy every year but only won once--likely because of the tendency of Emmy voters to dismiss "insult humor"-type shows like [I]Benson. [/I] So many of the stars of both shows have left us, but their performances live on. Good comedy never really goes out of style--it just gets re-discovered by new generations. [/QUOTE]

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