Mr. T and Tina

Mr. T and Tina is probably not a show many people. It was a sitcom that ran for only five episodes on ABC from September 25, 1976 to October 30, 1976. The show was not a vehicle for actor and professional wrestler Mr. T, but instead centres on Taro Takahashi (Pat Morita), but instead a single father and inventor who moves from Tokyo to Chicago when his employer, Moyati Industries, wants him to set up a branch there. To care for his children,Sachi (June Angela) and Aki (Gene Profanato), he hires the bubbly and clumsy, but independent Tina Kelly (Susan Blanchard). Other recurring characters on the show included his landlady Mrs. Llewelyn (Miriam Byrd-Nethery), his somewhat stubborn Uncle Matsu (Jerry Fujikawa), Harvard the Handyman (Ted Lange), and his caustic sister-in-law Michi (Pat Suzuki).

The roots of Mr. T and Tina actually go back to another sitcom, Chico and the Man.  Among the concepts creator James Komack considered for Chico and the Man was a young Chicano living with an older Nisei. He also considered developing a show around popular comedy team Cheech and Chong, and Chico and the Man does resemble the Cheech and Chong sketch "Pedro and the Man" to a degree. A collaboration between James Komack and Cheech and Chong would never come to pass, although the parties involved disagree as to why. Cheech & Chong have said they wanted to concentrate on their film career. James Komack said they "couldn't get it together." Chico and the Man would ultimately centre on a young Chicano (Freddie Prinze) and an older white man (Jack Albertson), but James Komack kept the Nisei character in mind for another show, which would become Mr. T and Tina.

Although Pat Morita played the role of Taro Takahashi in the regular series, in the original, unaired pilot it was George Takei (then as now best known as Mr. Sulu on Star Trek) played the role. George Takei had worked with James Komack before, having guest-starred on Mr. Komack's show The Courtship of Eddie's Father. As to why the role was recast, George Takei explained in an interview in Starlog no. 3 (January 1977), "The show was originally intended to be on later in the evening, around 9:30 or 10:00. When ABC decided to to air the show earlier in the evening and not go for the more sophisticated humour like in Maude, they decided to go with Pat Morita as the star of the series." 

Although Mr. T and Tina is often described as a spinoff of Welcome Back, Kotter (even Wikipedia does so), strictly speaking, it was not. Instead it would be more accurate to describe it as a bit of cross promotion. Pat Morita guest starred as Mr. Takahashi in the Welcome Back, Kotter episode "Career Day," which aired on September 23, 1976, which aired only two days before the debut of Mr. T and Tina on September 25, 1976. Mr. T and Tina was conceived before the episode "Career Day" was, so that "Career Day"can't really be counted as a backdoor pilot for Mr. T and Tina. 

Regardless, Mr. T and Tina would not be well-received. When Mr. T and Tina was screened for critics in June 1976 in Los Angeles, the critics voted it "worst new of the new season." The opinions of critics hadn't really changed when the show debuted in September. n the "Tashman on TV" column in the November 3, 1976 issue of The Independent, Tashman described the show as "...a monument to bad taste. Jay Fredericks in the October 17, 1976 issue of the Sunday Gazette-Mail described fellow sitcom Holmes and Yoyo and Mr. T and Tina as "clearly disasters." Critic Lee Winfrey in the October 1, 1976 issue of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, " I feel like suing ABC for damages. If I ever watch Mr. T and Tina again it'll be when I'm bound and gagged."  

Audiences did not take to Mr. T and Tina either. Its ratings were literally at the bottom of the Nielsen survey. According to the earlier cited article by Jay Fredericks, Mr. T and Tina was among the 10 lowest rated shows according to the latest Nielsen survey. To make matters worse, the Asian-Americans for Fair Media and Japanese American Citizens League protested the show, so that the producers had to promise to avoid any Japanese stereotypes.

As hard as it is to believe given the critics' reception of the show, Mr. T and Tina did receive an Emmy nomination, although it was certainly not for its writing. Art director Roy Christopher and set director Mary Ann Biddle were nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Art Direction or Scenic Design for a Comedy Series. 

In the end, Mr. T and Tina only had a brief run. Its last episode aired on October 30, 1976. Although nine episodes were made, only five aired. The show has not been seen since. It has not been rerun in syndication, not even on cable channels, and it is unavailable on streaming. There aren't even episodes available on YouTube.

If it is remembered at all today, Mr. T and Tina is remembered as a show that was lambasted by critics and even considered racist by some.Despite this, it would have an impact on television history. It was Pat Morita's first vehicle after having left Happy Days. It was also the first live-action show since a The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong (starring Anna May Wong) and The Green Hornet (on which Bruce Lee was one of the two leads) to feature an Asian American lead. It was also one of the very first shows, if not the first, to feature a predominantly Asian American cast. Unfortunately, there would not be another show to feature Asian Americans predominantly until Gung Ho in 1986 and All-American Girl in 1994.