King of Queens is one of those sitcoms that seems to fly just below most people's TV radars. It remains popular enough that it is now into it's seventh season on CBS and yet has never been a major enough hit that it becomes the topic of water cooler discussions the morning after a new episode. At it's core this is a working man's, middle-class comedy. Doug Heffernan (Kevin James) delivers parcels for IPS, and his wife Carrie (Leah Rhemini) is a legal secretary. They are joined in their suburban Queens colonial by Carries father Arthur (Jerry Stiller) who rooms in the basement.
The show typically centers on the mundane problems that all middle-classers face on a daily basis such as not having enough money, squabbles with neighbors, problems at work, etc. We all admire Doug for being a rather typical fat slob but somehow being able to land a gorgeous wife like Carrie. The show is always consistently funny and has a wonderful cast of supporting nut co-stars including Doug's best friend and co-worker Deacon andnebbish mama's boy friend Spencer. King of Queen's never aims too high and never ventures into dramatic plots as some comedies tend to do. CArrie always wants to aim for a higher place in society, much to Doug's aggravation, while he is perfectly content to sit on the couch, watch the football game, and eat Doritos. This tends to set up some of the more hilarious plots.
Notable season Three episodes include:
"Fatty McButterpants" - Doug finds out that Carrie has been buying his clothes at the "Big and Tall Shop" and admits that he may have a weight problem. Carrie tells him that he could stand to lose about 40 pounds. Doug's feelings are upset and he takes it out by nit-picking on Carrie.
"Strike One" - Doug Goes out and Buys a new SUV despite the fact that a strike is looming at work. Sure enough a strike happens and an incensed Carrie has to work overtime to pick up the slack. Spence buys their old car and it promptly drops dead.
"Strike Two" Doug's sister gets him a job as a substitute teacher at her school which Doug thinks will be a breeze...until he meets his students.
"Strike Out" Doug and Deacon are down and out due to the strike and turn to Arthur for companionship. Soon the trio pass the day by pulling pranks on neighbors and yelling lewd comments from the porch to passers-by.
"Work Related" - Arthur comes to work with CArrie and Carrie is horrified when Arthur is offered a job in her office.
"Wedding Presence" Doug and Carrie don't want to attend and out-of-state wedding and hatch a plot to faker their attendance, which goes badly wrong!
"Inner Tube" Doug lies to Carrie to get out of attending a seminar. His guilt causes him to have some bizarre nightmares where he find himself on old TV shows such as "The Honeymooners" and "Wheel of Fortune"
"Swim Neighbors" AFter their fence is destroyed in a storm, The heffernan's new, annoying neighbors want to leave the fence down so they can have one hugh combined backyard. But Doug and Carrie don't like them so they promptly have a new fence built..but they still want to use the neighbors fancy pool.
In addition to the regular Stars, Lou Ferrigno is back playing himself in a recurring role as the Heffernan's next door neighbor. This really is a fun show. Always consistently well-written and well-performed by all.