So Long to a Good Drinking Buddy

The 200th episode of The King of Queens airs tonight at 9:30 on CBS. This is also the beginning of the end for the show, since there are only 7 episodes left. Bev and I first started watching KOQ the summer we moved to Boston. It aired on UPN38 at the perfect time -- happy hour. We'll always associate KOQ with a warm summer evening, a cold gin and tonic, and the sounds of Fenway outside our window. Personally, I've always thought KOQ was one of the more underrated shows on TV. It was a throwback to those old-school sitcoms, an innocent situational comedy (light on irony and dry humor) in which you looked forward each week to seeing what kind of mess Doug and Carrie would get themselves into. Sure, KOQ relied heavily on slapstick humor, but the writing was great, the characters were unique (Arthur Spooner -- need I say more?), and the cast had a chemistry that most shows can only hope to attain. I think the show's longetivity is a testament to that chemistry. Tune in tonight and give the King a good send-off!