James Burroughs

It was an episode written to showcase Christopher Lloyd, who had guest starred in a previous episode as Reverend Jim, a hippie preacher from the 60s who was laid back, confused, and dealing with a long history of recreational drug use.

At the time, Reverend Jim was an outrageous character to introduce to a primetime TV show.

But Taxi already had triumphed by mixing types of comic styles that shouldn't have worked.

Judd Hirsch, Tony Danza, Mary Lou Henner, Andy Kaufman, Jeff Conaway, Danny DeVito, all were part of the Brooklyn cab outfit that was eager for Reverend Jim to join its ranks.

But to do that, he'd have to go to the DMV and pass a driver's exam.

Not just behind the wheel, but on paper.

It's in that DMV office where Burroughs helped shape what I consider the funniest scene in TV history.

He allows the comedy to build at its own pace and encourages the young Christopher Lloyd to steal the show as Reverend Jim.

And most important of all, James Burroughs places his cameras and frames the action to catch it all.

Not only intense close-ups of an increasingly frustrated Reverend Jim, but group shots capturing the reactions of Jeff Conaway's Bobby, Mary Lou Henner's Elaine, and everyone else trying to help him take the test.

Bobby tries to speed things up by reading the application to Reverend Jim as Elaine stands nearby.

Eventually, Reverend Jim gets a copy of the test, slumps in his classroom-style desk, and gets stuck on the first question.

His cabbie friends are standing on the other side of the room, but he asks for help anyway, louder and more angrily every time.

Christopher Lloyd is brilliant, and Burroughs lets the scene build and flow.

And listen to the studio audience.

They're not just laughing.

They're howling.

I'm guessing you had your own favorite memories and favorite laughs from a sitcom directed by James Burroughs.

From Friends, from Cheers, from Frasier, from Big Bang Theory, or from so many others.

And that's the point, really.