The BEST episodes of Taxi
Every episode of Taxi ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Taxi!
Taxi's success was due to its excellent writing, Burrows's award-winning directing using his innovative four-camera technique, and its largely unknown but talented cast. Danny DeVito's Louie DePalma soon became one of the most despised men on television--possibly the most unredeemable and worthless louse of a character ever to reside on the small screen. Andy Kaufman's foreign mechanic Latka Gravas provided over-the-top comedy within an ensemble emphasizing subtle character humor.
#1 - Elegant Iggy
Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 3/11/1982
Jim invites Elaine to a concert, and while there, they run into an important patron at Elaine's art gallery. The woman invites them both to a party, although Elaine is very worried that Jim will embarrass her in an event that's important to her career. Still, she doesn't quite have it in her to ask Jim not to go. At the party, Elaine's worst fears are realized with Jim's behavior, until he surprisingly wows the crowd on the piano and turns things around.
#2 - Simka Returns
Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/4/1982
Latka is eagerly anticipating a reunion with his ex-girlfriend from the old country, Simka. She arrives at the garage and while Latka is in the bathroom, Alex warns her of Latka's multiple personalities. Sure enough, at Latka's apartment later, Vic Ferrarri makes his appearance and seduces Simka. Much to Latka's dismay, soon his alter-ego, Vic, and Simka seem to be an item. Alex encourages Latka to fight Vic for Simka, which he does in hilarious fashion and Vic never returns.
#3 - Tony's Lady
Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/28/1982
Tony takes a second job working as a chauffer for a wealthy but friendly woman named Christina. The two of them hit it off while he's driving her around, and Tony develops a crush on her. By the time Tony finally gets up the nerve to ask her out, it's too late-- she has just become engaged.
#4 - Alex Goes off the Wagon
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/14/1982
In this episode, we learn that Alex can be a compulsive gambler. Alex even scares Louie off with his compulsion, but Jim talks some sense into Alex at the end (after having bankrolled him initially).
#5 - Of Mice and Tony
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/10/1981
Tony becomes the manager of a promising young heavyweight boxer at his gym, but after the boxer wins a major fight, the "syndicate" (which turns out to be some doctors looking for an investment, rather than the mob) makes Tony an offer he can't refuse and takes over the boxer's management.
#6 - Tony's Comeback
Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/4/1982
Tony begins working out with a new cabbie, Lucius, who is a former football player. Tony is in great shape all of a sudden and Lucius inspires Tony to try to get his boxing license reinstated. Tony is not hopeful that the boxing commission will reinstate him, so he is surprised when he gets his license back. In addition, he getes a major fight scheduled with a promising young fighter. Meanwhile, Lucius goes away to Miami to try out for the Dolphins. Without Lucius around, Tony loses his motivation and his training suffers. At the fight, he is getting pummelled until Lucius, who has learned that he has made the Dolphins, arrives to inspire him. With Lucius' support, Tony turns the fight around and knocks out his opponent.
#7 - I Wanna Be Around
Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/7/1982
Louie becomes scared of nuclear war after hearing someone talk on Donahue, and he sets up a bomb shelter in the garage. He schedules a weekend drill with Jeff and Tony in tow, but finds he's too "soft" to survive if war really broke out, since he is unwilling to throw Jim (who has stowed away in a radiation suit) out of the shelter.
#8 - The Unkindest Cut
Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/25/1982
Elaine spends over $200 to go to a trendy hairstylist before a special date, but the result is outrageously bad. When she expresses some disappointment, the hairstylist insults her and she leaves, crying, but still pays. Alex talks her into going back and standing up for herself, so she can get her hair fixed and her money back. That doesn't go too well, but in the end, Louie, who has followed Alex and Elaine to the hairstylist, exacts revenge on the guy by pouring a bucket of red hair dye on him.
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#9 - The Road Not Taken (2)
Season 4 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/6/1982
(Part two) In a continuation of the previous episode, the cabbies share past experiences with Elaine. Latka discusses his decision to leave his mother and move to America. Alex talks about an opportunity for a major promotion at a desk job he had, but would not compromise his principles to take it. Meanwhile, the man who offered Elaine a job comes to the garage to get a decision from her, but he withdraws his offer when he sees how wishy washy Elaine is being about it.
#10 - The Road Not Taken (1)
Season 4 - Episode 23 - Aired 4/29/1982
When Elaine is offered a job as an art gallery manager in Seattle, she asks the gang for help in making a decision. The cabbies share with Elaine some stories about life changing decisions they once had to make. Tony talks about how he refused to take a dive in a major fight, even though he will likely be in trouble with the mob. In the fight, Tony learns that the other fighter has also been paid to take a dive, and the fighter does so in comic fashion. Next, Louie talks about how he became a taxi dispatcher after mercifully taking over for the kindly old dispatcher who had to take his wife to the doctor. Louie finds he likes the job and forces the old man out of the dispatcher's job into retirement. Finally, Jim tells of how he was very studious at Harvard, until his free-spirit girlfriend turned him on to hash brownies. (Part one of two)
#11 - Substitute Father
Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/15/1979
With Elaine going out of town to visit her sick aunt, the guys at the garage takes turns watching over her son so that he can compete in a spelling bee.
#12 - Elaine's Strange Triangle
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/10/1980
At Mario's, while Elaine is complaining about problems with her love life, a handsome man named Kirk approaches. Tony then plays matchmaker for Elaine and soon she and Kirk are dating happily. Kirk later tells Tony in private that he has a problem: he is interested romantically in someone else-- Tony! Tony, who is not gay but does not want to see Elaine hurt over this, tells Alex and although he doesn't really want to get involved, Alex agrees to meet Tony and Kirk at a gay bar to help smooth over the situation. Alex arrives at the bar before Tony and is nervous, but relaxes after Kirk tells him he knows Tony isn't interested and he's already gently broken things off with Elaine. Alex begins to feel more at ease, but soon he is asked to dance by a large man. Alex is then pulled on to the dance floor and is eventually chased on to the bar itself by a chorus of gay dancers and unable to escape, begins dancing on the bar, when Tony arrives..
#13 - Alex's Romance
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/20/1979
Alex falls for Joyce, an actress friend of Bobby's, in part because (seemingly) he marvels in being a stabilizing factor in her life. When she gets an acting job in Los Angeles, he prepares to propose to her, in the hopes of keeping her in New York. When she learns of his plans, though, she discourages this, and they part on sad but positive note. Later, Jim hilariously and unwittingly makes Alex feel better, involving a case of mistaken identity.
#14 - Elaine's Secret Admirer
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/4/1979
Elaine is upset after having just ended a relationship, but soon begins receiving love poems from a secret admirer. She is eventually convinced that the poems are coming from a new handsome cab driver named Don, and they begin dating. However, Jim has confessed to Alex that he has been the one writing the letters, in an effort to make Elaine feel better. Alex reveals this to Elaine, so she won't continue dating Don under false pretenses. This upsets Elaine greatly, but she is later comforted when she gets home by the gift of a metal sculpture that Jim has made for her out of the roof of his van.
#15 - Reverend Jim: A Space Odyssey
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/25/1979
At Mario's, the cabbies run into the spaced-out derelict minister, Reverend Jim, who officiated at Latka's wedding. Charmed by him, yet taking pity on him, they make it their mission to get him a job as a cabbie. Louie is adverse to this at first, but Jim seems to slip a sedative into Louie's coffee and he then changes his tune. The next hurdle is getting Jim a driver's license, which is a challenge as he not only has trouble with his written exam, but his application, as well. Nonetheless, he gets the license and begins work at the garage.
#16 - Mr. Personalities
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/22/1981
Latka begins exhibiting multiple personalities again: not only Vic Ferrari, but also a cowboy, and best of all, he becomes Alex! Elaine refers Latka to her psychiatrist, but meanwhile Latka is becoming even more "Alex"-like than Alex himself: he is a better cab driver and gives better advice to the gang. Alex decides he'd better sit in on a psychiatric session with Latka and Latka/Alex is about to reveal the answer to all of Alex's problems (somehow he has figured out the secret to Alex in the midst of subconsciously becoming him), when he becomes Latka again. This leaves Alex extremely frustrated and after Latka leaves, Alex sticks around to talk to the psychiatrist further.
#17 - Latka's Cookies
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/5/1981
When Latka's grandmother dies, he is pleased that she has left him her famous cookie recipe, complete with a supply of the secret ingredients. He bakes up some for the cabbies to enjoy, but the cabbies don't enjoy them. Nonetheless, Latka begins his own cookie business. In the days to come, the cabbies find that they are indeed starting to inexplicably like the cookies, and are also unusually happy and energetic. When Jim samples one, he determines that the secret ingredient is cocaine—which accounts for why everyone's behavior. Upon learning this, Alex visits Latka (busy baking cookies to fill supermarket orders) to tell him the bad news. Latka is noticeably high from the cookies, and hallucinates that Famous Amos tells him to do whatever it takes to be successful. Although Latka can no longer sell the drugged cookies, he is excited at the taste of capitalism because it means he's now a true American.
#18 - Latka the Playboy
Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/21/1981
After Latka is rejected by a snobbish, but beautiful woman at Mario's, he decides to change his image by taking some time off and studying Playboy magazines and English language tapes. When Latka reemerges from his sabbatical, he has lost his accent and now is a lounge lizard who goes by the name, Vic Ferrarri. He soon easily picks up on the woman who had rebuffed him earlier. Although amused, the cabbies become concerned about the changes Latka has gone through, since he has now lost all of his nice qualities and is constantly hitting on Elaine. Alex tells Latka/Vic off, and later Latka appears at Alex's apartment, saying that he's sorry and doesn't want to be Vic anymore. Alex works with Latka and manages to get the old Latka back, although there is a twinge in Latka's eye that suggests Vic isn't gone forever..
#19 - Love Un-American Style
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/30/1982
Newlyweds Latka & Samka throw a Shloogel, one of their religion's traditions. The shloogel is, in effect, a party at Mario's where they set all the gang up on blind dates. Tony is set up with Vicki, an abrasive brunette and immediately starts arguing with her. Elaine is set up with mousy Arnie, who has low self esteem. Jim is set up with actress, Marcia Wallace, who played Carol on his favorite show, Bob Newhart. Louie is set up with Judy, a pretty blind woman. Alex is set up with Susan, who seems to be his dream woman and he seems to be falling for her immediately. Despite the fact that none of the other matches seem perfect, all of them show promise by the end of the evening.
#20 - Going Home
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/17/1980
Jim is sought out by a detective, hired by his wealthy father to locate him and give him plane tickets to come visit him in Boston. Jim explains to the gang that he has been estranged from his family after dropping out of Harvard in the 1960's and changed his name from Caldwell to Ignatowski. Jim agrees to go to visit his father and brings Alex with him, who is curious about what Jim's family must be like. At his father's mansion, Jim's oddness upsets his father and they get into an argument during dinner. Jim is asked to leave, but Alex speaks to Jim's father privately to try to smooth things over. It turns out Jim's father still thinks of Jim as his favorite child, but it hurts him to see him wasting his life when he had so much potential. Jim comes in and convinces his father that he's got a happy life and doesn't need his father's money and they share a moment before Jim leaves.
#21 - Art Work
Season 2 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/4/1980
The cabbies are faring poorly at various gambling schemes, but Elaine alerts the gang about a moneymaking tip for an art auction. It seems a terminally ill artist's painting is up for auction, and when an artist dies, the value of his paintings goes up considerably. She estimates that they need to pool $2,000 to win the auction and the gang, including Louie, barely scrapes up enough. At the auction, Louie attempts various dirty tricks to ensure a successful bid, but the bidding quickly goes above $2,000 and another bidder snares the painting. It is then announced that the artist has passed away, which rubs salt in the wounds of the already dejected cabbies.
#22 - Cooking for Two
Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 4/8/1982
After Jim's home is destroyed by a wrecking ball, he stays with Louie, much to Louie's dismay after Jim declares him his "best buddy." Jim soon burns Louie's apartment after a cooking accident, though. Initially, Louie is angry, but sees an opportunity to make some money, when he learns that Jim gets a blank check from his wealthy father to reimburse Louie for his losses. Louie is not sure how much to ask for, though, since Jim says he has to call his father to okay the amount. After much lamenting over the amount, Louie settles on about $30,000 and Jim's dad okays it. Louie is overjoyed until he learns that Jim's dad was expecting the amount to be more like $200,000.
#23 - Shut It Down (1)
Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 1/29/1980
After Tony's cab's brakes fail, the cabbies are all furious at the company's frugality when it comes to fixing/replacing cabs. Elaine is elected shop steward, and after an unsuccessful meeting with Mr. Mackenzie, the big boss, the cabbies go on strike. Louie is initially not conerned about the actions of the union, because he's altered the bookkeeping to show that the company spends adequate money on the upkeep of the taxis, but after Alex scares him with talk of God's vengeance, Louie softens. Louie calls in Elaine and agrees to her demands with the caveat that she go on a date with him (continued in the next episode).
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#24 - Fledgling
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/26/1981
Elaine makes it her mission to try to cure a talented and friendly but troubled artist of his severe agoraphobia (fear of public places). Alex (possibly jealous of Elaine spending time with another man) advises Elaine to leave the treatment to a professional, but she ignores his advice and eventually brings the artist to the garage. Predictably, the artist is scared to leave the cab but while Alex and Elaine bicker about her methods, the artist walks out of the cab and appears to be making progress.
#25 - Louie's Revenge
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/18/1982
Louie gets a call from Emily, who jilted him in an earlier episode, who is drunk and drugged and wants to meet him at a nearby bar. Louie decides to go over there to throw a drink in her face and reject her, therefore getting the last laugh. However, when he gets to the bar, Emily serenades him and has Louie eating out of her hands. The next morning, she is shocked to see him wake up next to her, but Louie somehow convinces her that they are meant for each other. They begin a relationship but it becomes evident that Louie has become Emily's slave and he's starting to hate himself for it. Eventually she comes to a realization of what she's doing to him and breaks it off with Louie, who is relieved, but he finally exacts revenge by throwing orange juice in her face.