Taxi
Zen and the Art of Cab Driving
TV Flash files “Zen and the Art of Cab Driving” as hour 59 of 114 in the TV Flash guide — Taxi (1978–1983) on ABC/NBC, season 3, episode 13, aired 1981-03-19, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E13: listed hour 59 of 114 in the Taxi guide, hour 13 of 20 in season 3. It aired 1981-03-19 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Out of Commission” (S03E12). Next is “Louie's Mother” (S03E14).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
After Jim picks up a couple of businessmen at the airport, he realizes that his life is missing something. Focusing on being the best cab driver he can be, Jim breaks company trip sheet records in an effort to amass enough wealth to achieve a special goal which he reveals to his fellow drivers.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Zen and the Art of Cab Driving sit in the Taxi guide?
S03E13 is listed hour 59 of 114 — hour 13 of 20 in season 3, season 3 episode 13.
When did Taxi S03E13 air?
Zen and the Art of Cab Driving aired 1981-03-19 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Does the ABC-to-NBC hop ruin the binge?
No. The garage, the writing, and the ensemble remain the show. The network move is production weather, not a reboot.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Judd Hirsch's weary Alex holds a garage of beautiful losers while Danny DeVito's Louie tyrannizes the dispatcher booth. James L. Brooks character comedy at Emmy altitude: Christopher Lloyd, Andy Kaufman, Tony Danza, Marilu Henner. Bittersweet workplace sitcom after ABC, then NBC, without sugar.
Picture a New York garage after midnight, fluorescent light the color of unpaid ambition, and a dispatcher booth small enough to be a weapon. Taxi (1978–1983) began on ABC, hopped to NBC, and still mixed blue-collar fatalism with character comedy so precise it became the thinking fan's late-1970s half-hour. James L. Brooks, Stan Daniels, David Davis, and Ed. Weinberger built it in the MTM tradition of workplace family without sugar. Judd Hirsch's Alex holds the bench of beautiful losers; Danny DeVito's Louie…
Filed against
- Judd Hirsch as Alex Reiger
Judd Hirsch’s Alex Reiger held Taxi’s garage of beautiful losers — Danny DeVito’s Louie tyrannizing the dispatcher booth, James L. Brooks character comedy at Emmy altitude, Christopher Lloyd, Andy Kaufman, Tony Danza, Marilu Henner.…
- Danny DeVito as Louie De Palma
Danny DeVito’s Louie De Palma tyrannized Taxi’s dispatcher booth like a gargoyle with a time card — 1970s catalog James L. Brooks character comedy, then It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia recasting the growl as Frank Reynolds’s trash-human…
- Marilu Henner as Elaine Nardo
Marilu Henner drove the night shift as Elaine Nardo on Taxi — Judd Hirsch’s weary Alex, a garage of beautiful losers, Danny DeVito’s Louie in the dispatcher booth. James L. Brooks character comedy at Emmy altitude, bittersweet workplace…
- Tony Danza as Tony Banta
Tony Danza’s Tony Banta boxed a garage of beautiful losers on Taxi — Judd Hirsch’s weary Alex, DeVito’s Louie, Kaufman, Lloyd, Henner, Emmy-altitude character comedy — then flipped gender roles as the ex-jock housekeeper on Who’s the…
- Christopher Lloyd as Reverend Jim Ignatowski
Christopher Lloyd played Reverend Jim Ignatowski on Taxi — Judd Hirsch's weary Alex holding a garage of beautiful losers, Danny DeVito's Louie tyrannizing the dispatcher booth. James L. Brooks character comedy at Emmy altitude: Kaufman,…
- Andy Kaufman as Latka Gravas
Andy Kaufman’s Latka Gravas made Taxi a garage of beautiful losers with an extra planet in it — Judd Hirsch’s weary Alex, DeVito’s Louie, James L. Brooks character comedy after ABC then NBC. Bittersweet workplace sitcom at altitude. TV…