Many of the hit television shows Glen Larson produced found little favor with critics, including Billy Joe y su mono (1978), about a trucker and his pet monkey. And despite his success, sometimes with multiple series running simultaneously, Larson never won an EMMY. But Larson felt he knew what viewers wanted, and he was proved right in many cases. "I'm proudest of the fact that I fell in-step with an audience taste level, that I knew how to judge and maybe deliver for, and consistently", he said in a 2009 oral history interview by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. "It wasn't a one-shot. It wasn't a lucky this or a that. There's a consistent body of work here that has some symmetry to it in terms of why it worked and how it worked". Larson's formula was derived, in part, from studying both dramatic programs and comedies. He felt humor worked best when it was closely embedded in a protagonist's unexpected situation. "I call it predicament humor", Larson said. "You don't do anything that cuts the star off at the knees or worse. You make him intelligent, you give him great ideas and great things to do. But sometimes, things happen". Except for some 1990s shows that received disappointing receptions - including Waikiki (1994), which made its debut in 1994 - he felt vindicated by his career. "There's nothing that could dampen my enthusiasm", he said, "for how much fun it has been to do programs that the audience seems to have enjoyed, and enjoyed a lot".
