Shout! Factory has created a cottage industry feeding the nostalgia for ‘80s situation comedies like Webster, which stars real-life married couple Susan Clark and Alex Karras as Katherine and George, late(r)-in-life newlyweds who find themselves the legal guardians of the most adorable orphan since Annie. Another in a long line of family shows about childless characters who become instant parents of cute kids who say the darnedest things, Webster ran for six seasons, largely on the “awwww” factor of title-role star Emmanuel Lewis, arguably the cutest sitcom moppet of all time. George is a former NFL football player turned sports commentator, while Katherine's an upper-class socialite and philanthropist, and their disparate worlds provide much of the predictable comedy, while the rest comes from the fumbling but sincere efforts of the unprepared couple to care for Webster, George's godson, after a car crash leaves the boy orphaned. Webster appeared after Diff'rent Strokes—in which a rich white widower adopted two black orphans (including Gary Coleman)—but avoided dealing with issues of race that were brought up in the earlier series, instead simply playing on the performers' charm. The result is cute, inoffensive, and unmemorable. Compiling all 22 episodes from the 1983–84 season, DVD extras include a trivia game. Not a necessary purchase. (S. Axmaker)
Webster: Season One
Shout! Factory, 3 discs, 540 min., not rated, DVD: $29.99 March 28, 2011
Webster: Season One
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