a.k.a. Pablo

It is a sad fact of life that for the first several decades of American broadcast television, Chicanos were largely absent from the screen. It would not be until 1974, with the debut of Chico and the Man, that there would be a show centred on a Mexican character and set in a Mexican American neighbourhood. Following Chico and the Man, it would not be until the debut of a.k.a. Pablo on ABC that there would be another show focused on a character of Mexican American descent. Unfortunately, it would prove to be a disappointment.

The failure of a.k.a. Pablo is particularly notable given some of the creative talent involved. It was the first sitcom produced by the legendary Norman Lear since One Day at a Time (although he had served as executive producer on other shows). It was created by Norman Lear and Rick Mitz, who later created the short-lived show Hi, Honey, I'm Home. Its star was Mexican American comedian Paul Rodriguez. Norman Lear had discovered Paul Rodriguez when he was doing warm-up for television show audiences. The show would draw a bit from Mr. Rodriguez's life.

On a.k.a. Pablo Paul Rodriguez played Pablo Rivera, who performs as a stand-up comic using the name Pablo Rivera. Pablo had a large Mexican American family, some of who were played by some fairly big names. His father, Domingo, was played by Joe Santos, perhaps best known for playing Sgt. Dennis Becker on The Rockford Files. His mother was played by none other than the legendary Mexican actress Katy Jurado, who had appeared in such films as High Noon (1952) and Broken Lance (1954).  Héctor Elizondo played Pablo's fast-talking agent José.

a.k.a. Pablo got off to a strong start. It even best The A-Team (then ranked no. 6 in the ratings for the year) in Los Angeles and Chicago. Unfortunately, its ratings would ultimately prove to be abysmal. Much of the reason for the low ratings was probably the fact that the show received an overly negative reaction from Mexican Americans due to what they viewed as stereotypes. a.k.a. Pablo premiered on ABC on March 6 1984 and ended its run after only six episodes, on April 10 1984.

Today a.k.a. Pablo is largely forgotten. When the show is mentioned, it is generally in a negative light. In 2002, on the occasion of the magazine's 50th anniversary, TV Guide even ranked it at no. 45 in its list of the 50 worst shows of all time. It perhaps stands as a cautionary tale of how not to produce a sitcom centred on Chicanos. Fortunately, things would improve since a.k.a. Pablo, with the debuts of the sketch comedy show Culture Clash in 1993 (which, unlike a.k.a. Pablo was written and produced by Chicanos) and the drama American Family in 2002.  If anything else, a.k.a. Pablo remains a reminder of when Mexican American representation was nearly non-existent on television and when Mexican American characters did appear they were apt to be stereotypes.