Taxi (TV Series) Louie and the Nice Girl (1979) User Reviews

Danny & Rhea - It Was For Real!

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 13 January 2010]

In this season-opener, "Louie De Palma" (Danny DeVito) meets "Zena" and the latter, believe-it-or-not, is smitten with Louie. As awful as that sounds to all the "Taxi" guys and gals (well, Marilu Henner) in this show, it turns out to be a very sweet romance and certainly something Louie finds difficult to handle. You see, as he reluctantly explains to Alex (after paying him money just to listen to him!), he's never dated the same woman twice. He only dealt with hookers, so dating a nice woman who cares about him freaks him out.

How Louie and Zena handle this romance is the rest of the episode, and it is very entertaining - a very good season-opener.

DeVito and Rhea Perlman (Zena) do a really nice job in here. They will keep your attention the whole way as the show switches from comedy to drama to romance and then back to the same routine. You never know what's around the corner in the next scene.

As most people know, these two got married in real life, too, several years after this episode and have stayed married for almost 28 years - a rarity in Hollywood.

Louie doesn't know how to treat a nice girl.

[TxMike · 16 August 2008]

This is the 1st episode of the Second season of Taxi. Danny DeVito's wife in real life, Rhea Perlman, guests as Zena Sherman, the lady who comes to the garage to refill the candy machine.

Zena has been going to the garage for weeks, and really would like to meet Louie but is shy. So she tries to get Elaine to introduce them, but Elaine won't. So Alex volunteers, figuring she is a grown woman, if she wants to meet Louie who is it for him to deny her that.

Three weeks have gone by and Louie always drops comments in the garage that leads them all to believe he and Zena are having a torrid relationship. But they all made a pact, no one would ask Louie any questions, and he seemed to by dying to tell them what has been happening.

But things are clarified when Zena asks to talk to Alex. Seems that Louie will NOT touch her, not even to hold her hand, and a kiss has been out of the question. Louie has never been with a "nice girl" before and he doesn't know how to handle it.

So, he goes to Zena's place to break up with her, and almost manages to until she has one last request, give her a kiss goodbye. When he does, Zena overpowers him onto the sofa and all of Louie's willpower is gone.