This show is kind of like Frankenstein's monster. It takes a bit from here, something from there, blends it together, electrocutes it, and the final result is something horrible! Why would a show with that description rank so highly on this list? Come with me on a journey back to 1979.
Let's begin with the geography. Flatbush is a pretty famous location in Brooklyn. Some would say it's the beating heart of that borough. Flatbush was the neighborhood that housed Ebbets Field, the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, until 1958, when they literally went Hollywood and left for Los Angeles.
Brooklyn and the 1950s sorta went hand in hand, as writer Stephen Verona told the tale of his teen years during that decade in a 1974 film called "The Lords of Flatbush," a kind of "where the day takes you" examination of a gang with the titular name, populated by young, unknown actors like Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler and before he got fired from the picture, Richard Gere, replaced by Perry King.
That "gang" element helped inform "Flatbush." But, within the same television moment that this program debuted, there was another group of guys in Brooklyn that had already captured the imagination of viewers: The so-called "Sweathogs," the hilariously remedial students featured on the sitcom, "Welcome Back, Kotter."
Our "Flatbush" group was already out of high school, but, like the Sweathogs, they were similarly a squad that stuck together, had fun, lamented the same things and were striving to succeed, each with their own unique personalities. And, this group of guys also had a memorable moniker: The Fungos. Let's meet them, shall we?
Joseph Cali plays Presto Prestopopolos, a neophyte cab driver. There's Adrian Zmed who plays Socks Palermo, a clothing store clerk. Vincent Bufano plays Turtle Romero, who worked in his family's Italian diner. Randy Stumpf plays Joey Dee (with no Starlighters) who makes a living as a plumber. And Sandy Helberg as Figgy Figueroa delivered items for a local supermarket.
It's just five honest guys, making an honest living and looking for some excitement and laughs wherever they could find some. Sure they were tools and goofballs, but they weren't hurting anybody.
The other element that came into play for this series related back to "Kotter," and that's John Travolta, who left that show (but didn't leave the borough), to play Tony Manero in the film "Saturday Night Fever." Silk jackets and feathered hairstyles were featured for the main cast members, as Disco was still ruling the day at this point and these guys were all about it.
New York played a part because it's Flatbush! Yes, we got a Greek guy in there, but the Italians were very well-represented. Maybe that was another part of the problem, and that's where we get to the "notable" part of the equation.
Howard Golden was a long time politician in NYC, who died in January 2024 at the age of 98. In fact he was Brooklyn Borough President for 25 years, including the year "Flatbush" hit the airwaves.
Boro President Golden actually issued an official statement saying that the stereotypes presented by the cast of this show were so offensive, he wanted the program to be pulled from the network! I can't help but think of 399's "Amos 'n' Andy" when I hear this complaint, but anyhow, the point is, a real-life politician chimed in on this sitcom and the elements presented and demanded it be removed as it reflected badly on the neighborhood and the people in it.
Shortly after that public statement, it was! The show got yanked from the CBS schedule after the third episode aired. I'm not certain if the show was canceled specifically because of that proclamation, if the questionable writing and low ratings would have doomed it anyway, of if Golden just saw a political football and ran with it, but it is an historic element. In a way, it's right up there with Vice President Dan Quayle's criticism of "Murphy Brown," which didn't work out nearly as well for Quayle as this did for Golden.
