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Welcome to Our Generation USA!
The Best in TV Sitcoms
Within the following we feature the All-time most popular Situation Comedies on Television ("SitComs")
Television Situation Comedies ("Sitcoms") in the United States
YouTube of the Top 10 Sitcoms of All Time by WatchMojo
Pictured (L-R) "All in the Family" (CBS: 1971-1979 ); "The Big Bang Theory (CBS: 2007-Present)
A situation comedy, or sitcom, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new characters in each sketch, and stand-up comedy, where a comedian tells jokes and stories to an audience.
Sitcoms originated in radio, but today are found mostly on television as one of its dominant narrative forms. This form can also include mockumentaries.
A situation comedy television program may be recorded in front of a studio audience, depending on the program's production format. The effect of a live studio audience can be imitated or enhanced by the use of a laugh track. During filming productions, usually the laugh track is prerecorded.
Most American sitcoms generally include episodes of 20 to 30 minutes in length, where the story is written to run a total of 22 minutes in length, leaving eight minutes for commercials.
See also:
1940s–1950s
Mary Kay and Johnny, aired from 1947 to 1950, was the first sitcom broadcast on a network television in the United States and was the first program to show a couple sharing a bed, and the first series to show a woman's pregnancy on television.
I Love Lucy, which originally ran from 1951 to 1957 on CBS, was the most watched show in the United States in four of its six seasons, and was the first to end its run at the top of the Nielsen ratings (an accomplishment later matched only by The Andy Griffith Show in 1968 and Seinfeld in 1998) . The show is still syndicated in dozens of languages across the world, and remains popular, with an American audience of 40 million each year.
Colorized edits of episodes from the original series have aired semi-annually on the network since 2013, six decades after the series aired. It is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms in history. In 2012, it was voted the 'Best TV Show of All Time' in a survey conducted by ABC News and People Magazine.
The Honeymooners debuted as a half-hour series on 1955 and was originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show, which was filmed in front of a live audience.
Although initially a ratings success—becoming the #2 show in the United States during its first season—it faced stiff competition from The Perry Como Show, and eventually dropped to #19, ending its production after only 39 episodes (now referred to as the "Classic 39"). The final episode of The Honeymooners aired on September 22, 1956.
Creator/producer Jackie Gleason revived The Honeymooners sporadically until 1978. The Honeymooners was one of the first U.S. television shows to portray working-class married couples in a gritty, non-idyllic manner (the show is set mostly in the Kramdens' kitchen, in a neglected Brooklyn apartment building).
Steven Sheehan explains the popularity of The Honeymooners as the embodiment of working-class masculinity in the character of Ralph Kramden, and postwar ideals in American society regarding work, housing, consumerism, and consumer satisfaction.
The series demonstrated visually the burdens of material obligations and participation in consumer culture, as well as the common use of threats of domestic violence in working class households.
Art Carney won five Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Ed Norton — two for the original Jackie Gleason Show, one for The Honeymooners, and two for the final version of The Jackie Gleason Show. He was nominated for another two (1957, 1966) but lost.
Gleason and Audrey Meadows were both nominated in 1956 for their work on The Honeymooners. Meadows was also nominated for Emmys for her portrayal of Alice Kramden in 1954 and 1957.
In 1997, the episodes "The $99,000 Answer" and "TV or Not TV" were respectively ranked #6 and #26 on "TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time" and in 1999, TV Guide published a list titled "TV's 100 Greatest Characters Ever!" Ed Norton was #20, and Ralph Kramden was #2. In 2002, The Honeymoonerswas listed at #3 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and #13 on their list of the "60 Greatest Shows of All Time" in 2013.
1960s:
The Andy Griffith Show, first televised on CBS between 1960 and 1968, was consistently placed in the top ten during its run. The show is one of only three shows to have its final season be the number one ranked show on television, the other two being I Love Lucy and Seinfeld. In 1998, more than 5 million people a day watched the show's re-runs on 120 stations.
The Dick Van Dyke Show, initially aired on CBS from 1961 to 1966, won 15 Emmy Awards.
In 1997, the episodes "Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth" and "It May Look Like a Walnut" were ranked at 8 and 15 respectively on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. In 2002, it was ranked at 13 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and in 2013, it was ranked at 20 on their list of the 60 Best Series.
1970s:
The series M*A*S*H, aired in the U.S. from 1972 to 1983, was honored with a Peabody Award in 1976 and was ranked number 25 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time in 2002.
In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the fifth-best written TV series ever and TV Guide ranked it as the eighth-greatest show of all time. The episodes "Abyssinia, Henry" and "The Interview" were ranked number 20 and number 80, respectively, on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time in 1997.
And the finale, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", became the most-watched and highest-rated single television episode in the U.S. television history at the time, with a record-breaking of 125 million viewers (60.2 rating and 77 share), according to The New York Times.
Sanford and Son, which ran from 1972 to 1977, was included on the Time magazine's list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time" in 2007.
All in the Family, premiered on January 1971, is often regarded in the United States as one of the greatest television series of all time.
Following a lackluster first season, the show became the most watched show in the United States during summer reruns and afterwards ranked number one in the yearly Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976. It became the first television series to reach the milestone of having topped the Nielsen ratings for five consecutive years.
The episode "Sammy's Visit" was ranked number 13 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time ranked All in the Family as number four. Bravo also named the show's protagonist, Archie Bunker, TV's greatest character of all time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked All in the Family the fourth-best written TV series ever, and TV Guide ranked it as the fourth-greatest show of all time.
1980s
Cheers which ran for eleven seasons was one of the most successful sitcoms in the 80s, airing from 1982 to 1993. It was followed by a spin-off sitcom in the 90s, Frasier. During its run, Cheers became one of the most popular series of all time and has received critical acclaim. In 1997, the episodes "Thanksgiving Orphans" and "Home Is the Sailor", aired originally in 1987, were respectively ranked No. 7 and No. 45 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time.
In 2002, Cheers was ranked No. 18 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the eighth best written TV series and TV Guide ranked it #11 on their list of the 60 Greatest Shows of All Time.
The Cosby Show, airing from 1984 until 1992, spent five consecutive seasons as the number one rated show on television. The Cosby Show and All in the Family are the only sitcoms in the history of the Nielsen ratings, to be the number one show for five seasons. It spent all eight of its seasons in the Top 20.
According to TV Guide, the show "was TV's biggest hit in the 1980s, and almost single handedly revived the sitcom genre and NBC's ratings fortunes." TV Guide also ranked it 28th on their list of 50 Greatest Shows.
In addition, Cliff Huxtable was named as the "Greatest Television Dad". In May 1992, Entertainment Weekly stated that The Cosby Show helped to make possible a larger variety of shows with a predominantly African-American cast, from In Living Color to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Seinfeld, which originally ran for nine seasons on NBC from 1989 to 1998, led the Nielsen ratings in seasons six and nine, and finished among the top two (with NBC's ER) every year from 1994 to 1998.
In 2002, TV Guide named Seinfeld the greatest television program of all time. In 1997, the episodes "The Boyfriend" and "The Parking Garage" were respectively ranked numbers 4 and 33 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time, and in 2009, "The Contest" was ranked #1 on the same magazine's list of TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time.
E! named it the "number 1 reason the '90s ruled." In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named Seinfeld the No. 2 Best Written TV Series of All Time (second to The Sopranos). That same year, Entertainment Weekly named it the No. 3 best TV series of all time and TV Guide ranked it at No. 2.
1990s
The Nanny, aired on CBS from 1993 to 1999, earned a Rose d'Or and one Emmy Award, out of a total of twelve nominations. The sitcom was the first new show delivered to CBS for the 1993 season and the highest-tested pilot at the network in years. The series was also hugely successful internationally, especially in Australia.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' was a sitcom which ran from 1990 to 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his wealthy aunt and uncle in their Bel Air mansion after getting into a fight on a local basketball court. The series became one of the popular sitcoms during the 90s, despite only one Emmy nomination and moderately positive critical reception.
Friends, which originally aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004, received acclaim throughout its run, becoming one of the most popular television shows of all time. The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 for its eighth season. The show ranked no. 21 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and no. 7 on Empire magazine's The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
In 1997, the episode "The One with the Prom Video" was ranked no. 100 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time. In 2013, Friends ranked no. 24 on the Writers Guild of America's 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time and no. 28 on TV Guide's 60 Best TV Series of All Time. In 2014, the series was ranked by Mundo Estranho the Best TV Series of All Time.
Frasier, with five wins in its first five seasons, set the record for most consecutive Emmy awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, a record that has since been matched by Modern Family. The series holds the record for most total Emmy wins, 37, shattering the record of 29 which had been set by The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Frasier is considered the most successful spin-off series in television history, beginning its run one season after Cheers went off the air, where the character of Frasier Crane had been appearing for nine years. Frasier ran from 1993 to 2004.
2000s:
In the early 2000s, Curb Your Enthusiasm premiered on HBO. The series was created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself following his life after the end of his work in Seinfeld. Curb Your Enthusiasm has received high critical acclaim and has grown in popularity since its debut. It has been nominated for 38 Primetime Emmy Awards, and Robert B. Weide received an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the episode "Krazee Eyez Killa". The show won the 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
Two and a Half Men is a sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003 to February 19, 2015. The success of the series led to it being the fourth-highest revenue-generating program for 2012, earning $3.24 million an episode.
Arrested Development is a sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz, which originally aired on Fox for three seasons from November 2, 2003 to February 10, 2006. A fourth season of 15 episodes was released on Netflix on May 26, 2013. After its debut in 2003, Arrested Development gained a cult following and received widespread critical acclaim, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and one Golden Globe Award. In 2007, Time listed the show among its "All-TIME 100 TV Shows"; in 2008, it was ranked 16th on Entertainment Weekly's"New TV Classics" list. In 2011, IGN named Arrested Development the "funniest show of all time". Its humor has been cited as a key influence on later single-camera sitcoms such as 30 Rock and Community.
How I Met Your Mother was a sitcom which aired from 2005 to 2014 on CBS, lasting 9 seasons. The show won 9 Emmy awards and 18 awards in general, while being nominated for 72 awards. It became successful in many places across the world.
The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom named after the scientific theory. It began airing in 2007 on CBS and is currently on season 11. The show is set in Pasadena, California and focuses on five main characters (later on others get promoted to starring roles), Leonard Hofstadter (experimental physicist) and Sheldon Cooper (theoretical physicist) who live across the hall from aspiring actress Penny. Leonard and Sheldon are friends with Howard Wolowitz (aerospace engineer) and Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali (astrophysicist).
Later additions include Bernadette Rostenkowski (microbiologist), Amy Farrah Fowler (neurobiologist), Stuart Bloom (comic-book store owner) and Emily Sweeney (dermatologist). Season 7 had 19.96 million viewers, the highest rated and watched season to date.
30 Rock is a satirical sitcom created by Tina Fey that ran on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. 30 Rock received critical acclaim throughout its run, winning several major awards (including Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2007, 2008, and 2009 and nominations for every other year it ran), and appearing on many critics' year-end "best of" 2006-2013 lists. On July 14, 2009, the series was nominated for 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most in a single year for a comedy series.
The Office is a sitcom that aired on NBC from March 24, 2005 to May 16, 2013. It is an adaptation of the BBC series of the same name. The first season of The Office was met with mixed reviews, but the following four seasons received widespread acclaim from television critics.
These seasons were included on several critics' year-end top TV series lists, winning several awards including four Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series in 2006. While later seasons were criticized for a decline in quality, earlier writers oversaw the final season and ended the show's run with a positive reception.
2010s:
Modern Family is a mockumentary sitcom that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009. The series is presented in mockumentary style, with the fictional characters frequently talking directly into the camera. The show won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in each of its first five years and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series four times, twice for Eric Stonestreet and twice for Ty Burrell, as well as the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series twice for Julie Bowen. It has so far won a total of 22 Emmy awards from 75 nominations. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2011.
Parks and Recreation, originally running from 2009 until 2015, was part of NBC's "Comedy Night Done Right" programming during its Thursday night prime-time block.
The series received mixed reviews during its first season, but after reworking its tone and format, the second and subsequent seasons were widely acclaimed. Throughout its run, Parks and Recreation received several awards and nominations, including two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series, six Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe win for Poehler's performance, and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
In TIME's 2012 year-end lists issue, Parks and Recreation was named the number one television series of that year. In 2013, after receiving four consecutive nominations in the category, Parks and Recreation won the Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. It is widely considered one of the best sitcoms of all time.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a police sitcom set in the fictional 99th precinct in Brooklyn which premiered in 2013 on Fox. It has won two Creative Arts Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards: one for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and one for Andy Samberg for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy. Andre Braugher has also been nominated for three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for his performance.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a web sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. Since its premiere, the show has received critical acclaim, with critic Scott Meslow calling it "the first great sitcom of the streaming era". As of July 14, 2016, the series has been nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards, including two nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Definition of Sitcom in the 21st century:
Modern critics have disagreed over the utility of the term "sitcom" in classifying shows that have come into existence since the turn of the century. Many contemporary American sitcoms use the single-camera setup and do not feature a laugh track, thus often resembling the dramedy shows of the 1980s and 1990s rather than the traditional sitcom. Other topics of debate have included whether or not cartoons, such as The Simpsons or Family Guy, can be classified as sitcoms.
Sitcoms originated in radio, but today are found mostly on television as one of its dominant narrative forms. This form can also include mockumentaries.
A situation comedy television program may be recorded in front of a studio audience, depending on the program's production format. The effect of a live studio audience can be imitated or enhanced by the use of a laugh track. During filming productions, usually the laugh track is prerecorded.
Most American sitcoms generally include episodes of 20 to 30 minutes in length, where the story is written to run a total of 22 minutes in length, leaving eight minutes for commercials.
See also:
- Television in the United States,
- List of American television series,
- List of American television shows currently in production,
- and List of American television programs by date
1940s–1950s
Mary Kay and Johnny, aired from 1947 to 1950, was the first sitcom broadcast on a network television in the United States and was the first program to show a couple sharing a bed, and the first series to show a woman's pregnancy on television.
I Love Lucy, which originally ran from 1951 to 1957 on CBS, was the most watched show in the United States in four of its six seasons, and was the first to end its run at the top of the Nielsen ratings (an accomplishment later matched only by The Andy Griffith Show in 1968 and Seinfeld in 1998) . The show is still syndicated in dozens of languages across the world, and remains popular, with an American audience of 40 million each year.
Colorized edits of episodes from the original series have aired semi-annually on the network since 2013, six decades after the series aired. It is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms in history. In 2012, it was voted the 'Best TV Show of All Time' in a survey conducted by ABC News and People Magazine.
The Honeymooners debuted as a half-hour series on 1955 and was originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show, which was filmed in front of a live audience.
Although initially a ratings success—becoming the #2 show in the United States during its first season—it faced stiff competition from The Perry Como Show, and eventually dropped to #19, ending its production after only 39 episodes (now referred to as the "Classic 39"). The final episode of The Honeymooners aired on September 22, 1956.
Creator/producer Jackie Gleason revived The Honeymooners sporadically until 1978. The Honeymooners was one of the first U.S. television shows to portray working-class married couples in a gritty, non-idyllic manner (the show is set mostly in the Kramdens' kitchen, in a neglected Brooklyn apartment building).
Steven Sheehan explains the popularity of The Honeymooners as the embodiment of working-class masculinity in the character of Ralph Kramden, and postwar ideals in American society regarding work, housing, consumerism, and consumer satisfaction.
The series demonstrated visually the burdens of material obligations and participation in consumer culture, as well as the common use of threats of domestic violence in working class households.
Art Carney won five Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Ed Norton — two for the original Jackie Gleason Show, one for The Honeymooners, and two for the final version of The Jackie Gleason Show. He was nominated for another two (1957, 1966) but lost.
Gleason and Audrey Meadows were both nominated in 1956 for their work on The Honeymooners. Meadows was also nominated for Emmys for her portrayal of Alice Kramden in 1954 and 1957.
In 1997, the episodes "The $99,000 Answer" and "TV or Not TV" were respectively ranked #6 and #26 on "TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time" and in 1999, TV Guide published a list titled "TV's 100 Greatest Characters Ever!" Ed Norton was #20, and Ralph Kramden was #2. In 2002, The Honeymoonerswas listed at #3 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and #13 on their list of the "60 Greatest Shows of All Time" in 2013.
1960s:
The Andy Griffith Show, first televised on CBS between 1960 and 1968, was consistently placed in the top ten during its run. The show is one of only three shows to have its final season be the number one ranked show on television, the other two being I Love Lucy and Seinfeld. In 1998, more than 5 million people a day watched the show's re-runs on 120 stations.
The Dick Van Dyke Show, initially aired on CBS from 1961 to 1966, won 15 Emmy Awards.
In 1997, the episodes "Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth" and "It May Look Like a Walnut" were ranked at 8 and 15 respectively on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. In 2002, it was ranked at 13 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and in 2013, it was ranked at 20 on their list of the 60 Best Series.
1970s:
The series M*A*S*H, aired in the U.S. from 1972 to 1983, was honored with a Peabody Award in 1976 and was ranked number 25 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time in 2002.
In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the fifth-best written TV series ever and TV Guide ranked it as the eighth-greatest show of all time. The episodes "Abyssinia, Henry" and "The Interview" were ranked number 20 and number 80, respectively, on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time in 1997.
And the finale, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", became the most-watched and highest-rated single television episode in the U.S. television history at the time, with a record-breaking of 125 million viewers (60.2 rating and 77 share), according to The New York Times.
Sanford and Son, which ran from 1972 to 1977, was included on the Time magazine's list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time" in 2007.
All in the Family, premiered on January 1971, is often regarded in the United States as one of the greatest television series of all time.
Following a lackluster first season, the show became the most watched show in the United States during summer reruns and afterwards ranked number one in the yearly Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976. It became the first television series to reach the milestone of having topped the Nielsen ratings for five consecutive years.
The episode "Sammy's Visit" was ranked number 13 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time ranked All in the Family as number four. Bravo also named the show's protagonist, Archie Bunker, TV's greatest character of all time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked All in the Family the fourth-best written TV series ever, and TV Guide ranked it as the fourth-greatest show of all time.
1980s
Cheers which ran for eleven seasons was one of the most successful sitcoms in the 80s, airing from 1982 to 1993. It was followed by a spin-off sitcom in the 90s, Frasier. During its run, Cheers became one of the most popular series of all time and has received critical acclaim. In 1997, the episodes "Thanksgiving Orphans" and "Home Is the Sailor", aired originally in 1987, were respectively ranked No. 7 and No. 45 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time.
In 2002, Cheers was ranked No. 18 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the eighth best written TV series and TV Guide ranked it #11 on their list of the 60 Greatest Shows of All Time.
The Cosby Show, airing from 1984 until 1992, spent five consecutive seasons as the number one rated show on television. The Cosby Show and All in the Family are the only sitcoms in the history of the Nielsen ratings, to be the number one show for five seasons. It spent all eight of its seasons in the Top 20.
According to TV Guide, the show "was TV's biggest hit in the 1980s, and almost single handedly revived the sitcom genre and NBC's ratings fortunes." TV Guide also ranked it 28th on their list of 50 Greatest Shows.
In addition, Cliff Huxtable was named as the "Greatest Television Dad". In May 1992, Entertainment Weekly stated that The Cosby Show helped to make possible a larger variety of shows with a predominantly African-American cast, from In Living Color to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Seinfeld, which originally ran for nine seasons on NBC from 1989 to 1998, led the Nielsen ratings in seasons six and nine, and finished among the top two (with NBC's ER) every year from 1994 to 1998.
In 2002, TV Guide named Seinfeld the greatest television program of all time. In 1997, the episodes "The Boyfriend" and "The Parking Garage" were respectively ranked numbers 4 and 33 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time, and in 2009, "The Contest" was ranked #1 on the same magazine's list of TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time.
E! named it the "number 1 reason the '90s ruled." In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named Seinfeld the No. 2 Best Written TV Series of All Time (second to The Sopranos). That same year, Entertainment Weekly named it the No. 3 best TV series of all time and TV Guide ranked it at No. 2.
1990s
The Nanny, aired on CBS from 1993 to 1999, earned a Rose d'Or and one Emmy Award, out of a total of twelve nominations. The sitcom was the first new show delivered to CBS for the 1993 season and the highest-tested pilot at the network in years. The series was also hugely successful internationally, especially in Australia.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' was a sitcom which ran from 1990 to 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his wealthy aunt and uncle in their Bel Air mansion after getting into a fight on a local basketball court. The series became one of the popular sitcoms during the 90s, despite only one Emmy nomination and moderately positive critical reception.
Friends, which originally aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004, received acclaim throughout its run, becoming one of the most popular television shows of all time. The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 for its eighth season. The show ranked no. 21 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and no. 7 on Empire magazine's The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
In 1997, the episode "The One with the Prom Video" was ranked no. 100 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time. In 2013, Friends ranked no. 24 on the Writers Guild of America's 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time and no. 28 on TV Guide's 60 Best TV Series of All Time. In 2014, the series was ranked by Mundo Estranho the Best TV Series of All Time.
Frasier, with five wins in its first five seasons, set the record for most consecutive Emmy awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, a record that has since been matched by Modern Family. The series holds the record for most total Emmy wins, 37, shattering the record of 29 which had been set by The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Frasier is considered the most successful spin-off series in television history, beginning its run one season after Cheers went off the air, where the character of Frasier Crane had been appearing for nine years. Frasier ran from 1993 to 2004.
2000s:
In the early 2000s, Curb Your Enthusiasm premiered on HBO. The series was created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself following his life after the end of his work in Seinfeld. Curb Your Enthusiasm has received high critical acclaim and has grown in popularity since its debut. It has been nominated for 38 Primetime Emmy Awards, and Robert B. Weide received an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the episode "Krazee Eyez Killa". The show won the 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
Two and a Half Men is a sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003 to February 19, 2015. The success of the series led to it being the fourth-highest revenue-generating program for 2012, earning $3.24 million an episode.
Arrested Development is a sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz, which originally aired on Fox for three seasons from November 2, 2003 to February 10, 2006. A fourth season of 15 episodes was released on Netflix on May 26, 2013. After its debut in 2003, Arrested Development gained a cult following and received widespread critical acclaim, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and one Golden Globe Award. In 2007, Time listed the show among its "All-TIME 100 TV Shows"; in 2008, it was ranked 16th on Entertainment Weekly's"New TV Classics" list. In 2011, IGN named Arrested Development the "funniest show of all time". Its humor has been cited as a key influence on later single-camera sitcoms such as 30 Rock and Community.
How I Met Your Mother was a sitcom which aired from 2005 to 2014 on CBS, lasting 9 seasons. The show won 9 Emmy awards and 18 awards in general, while being nominated for 72 awards. It became successful in many places across the world.
The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom named after the scientific theory. It began airing in 2007 on CBS and is currently on season 11. The show is set in Pasadena, California and focuses on five main characters (later on others get promoted to starring roles), Leonard Hofstadter (experimental physicist) and Sheldon Cooper (theoretical physicist) who live across the hall from aspiring actress Penny. Leonard and Sheldon are friends with Howard Wolowitz (aerospace engineer) and Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali (astrophysicist).
Later additions include Bernadette Rostenkowski (microbiologist), Amy Farrah Fowler (neurobiologist), Stuart Bloom (comic-book store owner) and Emily Sweeney (dermatologist). Season 7 had 19.96 million viewers, the highest rated and watched season to date.
30 Rock is a satirical sitcom created by Tina Fey that ran on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. 30 Rock received critical acclaim throughout its run, winning several major awards (including Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2007, 2008, and 2009 and nominations for every other year it ran), and appearing on many critics' year-end "best of" 2006-2013 lists. On July 14, 2009, the series was nominated for 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most in a single year for a comedy series.
The Office is a sitcom that aired on NBC from March 24, 2005 to May 16, 2013. It is an adaptation of the BBC series of the same name. The first season of The Office was met with mixed reviews, but the following four seasons received widespread acclaim from television critics.
These seasons were included on several critics' year-end top TV series lists, winning several awards including four Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series in 2006. While later seasons were criticized for a decline in quality, earlier writers oversaw the final season and ended the show's run with a positive reception.
2010s:
Modern Family is a mockumentary sitcom that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009. The series is presented in mockumentary style, with the fictional characters frequently talking directly into the camera. The show won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in each of its first five years and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series four times, twice for Eric Stonestreet and twice for Ty Burrell, as well as the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series twice for Julie Bowen. It has so far won a total of 22 Emmy awards from 75 nominations. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2011.
Parks and Recreation, originally running from 2009 until 2015, was part of NBC's "Comedy Night Done Right" programming during its Thursday night prime-time block.
The series received mixed reviews during its first season, but after reworking its tone and format, the second and subsequent seasons were widely acclaimed. Throughout its run, Parks and Recreation received several awards and nominations, including two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series, six Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe win for Poehler's performance, and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
In TIME's 2012 year-end lists issue, Parks and Recreation was named the number one television series of that year. In 2013, after receiving four consecutive nominations in the category, Parks and Recreation won the Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. It is widely considered one of the best sitcoms of all time.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a police sitcom set in the fictional 99th precinct in Brooklyn which premiered in 2013 on Fox. It has won two Creative Arts Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards: one for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and one for Andy Samberg for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy. Andre Braugher has also been nominated for three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for his performance.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a web sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. Since its premiere, the show has received critical acclaim, with critic Scott Meslow calling it "the first great sitcom of the streaming era". As of July 14, 2016, the series has been nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards, including two nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Definition of Sitcom in the 21st century:
Modern critics have disagreed over the utility of the term "sitcom" in classifying shows that have come into existence since the turn of the century. Many contemporary American sitcoms use the single-camera setup and do not feature a laugh track, thus often resembling the dramedy shows of the 1980s and 1990s rather than the traditional sitcom. Other topics of debate have included whether or not cartoons, such as The Simpsons or Family Guy, can be classified as sitcoms.
Television Comedy, including a List
YouTube Video Top 15 Funniest Friends* Moments
* -- "Friends" (NBC: 1994-2004)
Pictured: L-R: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (ABC: 1952-1966); Happy Days (ABC: 1974-1984); Modern Family (ABC: 2009-Present)
Click here for a List of Television Comedy Shows.
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Many early United States television programs were variety shows including the Texaco Star Theater featuring Milton Berle; comedy acts often taken from vaudeville were staples of such shows.
The range of television comedy is extremely broad to the extent that anything under the heading comedy can be put before an audience through the medium of television. However, it is true to say that certain genres of comedy transfer to the small screen more successfully than others.
Main article: Sitcom
The situation comedy, or sitcom, has been the most common, successful and culturally significant type of television comedy. As the name suggests, these programs feature recurring characters placed in humorous situations.
Since the early 1950s with I Love Lucy in the U.S., sitcoms have always had a special place in the hearts of viewers and gathered highly devoted followers, as the familiar characters often become beloved.
Often performed before a live audience (or, in some cases, a simulated live audience in the form of a laugh track), usually filmed or taped with a multiple-camera setup, and almost always a half-hour in length, sitcoms are seldom presented as realistic depictions of life but often generate honest humor through the relationships between and ongoing development of characters.
Since the debut of I Love Lucy television has never been without sitcoms and they have often been the most popular and lucrative of all program types. Even in the early 2000s, the cast of the NBC sitcom Friends were among television's highest paid performers.
Main article: Comedy-drama
A comedy-drama, is a program that combines humor with more serious dramatic elements, aiming for a considerably more realistic tone than conventional sitcoms. These programs are shot with a single-camera setup and presented without a laugh track, and typically run an hour in length.
This can refer to a genre of television or radio drama series. There are several notable comedy-dramas, varying in different subgenres.
This includes comedy-dramas like Desperate Housewives, Parenthood and Ugly Betty, medical comedy-dramas like M*A*S*H and Grey's Anatomy, legal comedy-dramas like Ally McBeal and Boston Legal, and Glee - probably the first musical comedy-drama.
Main article: Sketch comedy
Sketch comedy programs differ from sitcoms in that they do not basically feature recurring characters (though some characters and scenarios may be repeated) and often draw upon current events and emphasize satire over character development.
Sketch comedy was pioneered by Sid Caesar, whose Your Show of Shows debuted in 1950 and established many conventions of the genre.
American sketch comedy reached a later peak in the mid-1970s with the debut of Saturday Night Live, originally a variety program but soon devoted mostly to sketches.
In the UK, two of the more successful examples are Monty Python's Flying Circus and Little Britain.
Main article: Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy has been fairly well represented on television. Stand-up comedians have long been a staple of variety and late-night talk shows; indeed, talk-variety shows such as The Tonight Show traditionally open with a comedy monologue performed by the program host.
In the US, stand-up comedy programs became popular on many cable television channels beginning in the mid-1980s, as such "brick wall" shows (nicknamed for the stereotypical use of a fake brick wall as a backdrop) were cheap to produce and air. Stand-up humour later had mixed fortunes on the small screen, often shunted away to the small hours or as part of a larger entertainment extravaganza.
Main article: Improvisational comedy
Improvisational comedy has recently been popular with television audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, most notably with both British and American versions of the program Whose Line is it Anyway?.
News Comedy:
News comedy often involving news parody and satirical editorials has been a component of programs such as Saturday Night Live (weekend update) and This hour has 22 minutes, however it became a genre in its own right with Jon Stewart and the Daily Show.
Main article: Animated cartoon
Animated cartoons have long been a source of comedy on television. Early children's programming often recycled theatrical cartoons; later, low-budget animation produced especially for television dominated Saturday-morning network programming in the US. A few prime-time animated comedies, notably The Flintstones, The Simpsons, Family Guy, successfully mixed attributes of traditional cartoons and sitcoms.
Television Comedy (In General)
In addition to broad comedy program types, comedy often appears on television in much more subtle forms. Comedy is often a necessary part of other programming, particularly drama. Attempts at mixing comedy and drama in various combinations have been attempted over time.
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Many early United States television programs were variety shows including the Texaco Star Theater featuring Milton Berle; comedy acts often taken from vaudeville were staples of such shows.
The range of television comedy is extremely broad to the extent that anything under the heading comedy can be put before an audience through the medium of television. However, it is true to say that certain genres of comedy transfer to the small screen more successfully than others.
Main article: Sitcom
The situation comedy, or sitcom, has been the most common, successful and culturally significant type of television comedy. As the name suggests, these programs feature recurring characters placed in humorous situations.
Since the early 1950s with I Love Lucy in the U.S., sitcoms have always had a special place in the hearts of viewers and gathered highly devoted followers, as the familiar characters often become beloved.
Often performed before a live audience (or, in some cases, a simulated live audience in the form of a laugh track), usually filmed or taped with a multiple-camera setup, and almost always a half-hour in length, sitcoms are seldom presented as realistic depictions of life but often generate honest humor through the relationships between and ongoing development of characters.
Since the debut of I Love Lucy television has never been without sitcoms and they have often been the most popular and lucrative of all program types. Even in the early 2000s, the cast of the NBC sitcom Friends were among television's highest paid performers.
Main article: Comedy-drama
A comedy-drama, is a program that combines humor with more serious dramatic elements, aiming for a considerably more realistic tone than conventional sitcoms. These programs are shot with a single-camera setup and presented without a laugh track, and typically run an hour in length.
This can refer to a genre of television or radio drama series. There are several notable comedy-dramas, varying in different subgenres.
This includes comedy-dramas like Desperate Housewives, Parenthood and Ugly Betty, medical comedy-dramas like M*A*S*H and Grey's Anatomy, legal comedy-dramas like Ally McBeal and Boston Legal, and Glee - probably the first musical comedy-drama.
Main article: Sketch comedy
Sketch comedy programs differ from sitcoms in that they do not basically feature recurring characters (though some characters and scenarios may be repeated) and often draw upon current events and emphasize satire over character development.
Sketch comedy was pioneered by Sid Caesar, whose Your Show of Shows debuted in 1950 and established many conventions of the genre.
American sketch comedy reached a later peak in the mid-1970s with the debut of Saturday Night Live, originally a variety program but soon devoted mostly to sketches.
In the UK, two of the more successful examples are Monty Python's Flying Circus and Little Britain.
Main article: Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy has been fairly well represented on television. Stand-up comedians have long been a staple of variety and late-night talk shows; indeed, talk-variety shows such as The Tonight Show traditionally open with a comedy monologue performed by the program host.
In the US, stand-up comedy programs became popular on many cable television channels beginning in the mid-1980s, as such "brick wall" shows (nicknamed for the stereotypical use of a fake brick wall as a backdrop) were cheap to produce and air. Stand-up humour later had mixed fortunes on the small screen, often shunted away to the small hours or as part of a larger entertainment extravaganza.
Main article: Improvisational comedy
Improvisational comedy has recently been popular with television audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, most notably with both British and American versions of the program Whose Line is it Anyway?.
News Comedy:
News comedy often involving news parody and satirical editorials has been a component of programs such as Saturday Night Live (weekend update) and This hour has 22 minutes, however it became a genre in its own right with Jon Stewart and the Daily Show.
Main article: Animated cartoon
Animated cartoons have long been a source of comedy on television. Early children's programming often recycled theatrical cartoons; later, low-budget animation produced especially for television dominated Saturday-morning network programming in the US. A few prime-time animated comedies, notably The Flintstones, The Simpsons, Family Guy, successfully mixed attributes of traditional cartoons and sitcoms.
Television Comedy (In General)
In addition to broad comedy program types, comedy often appears on television in much more subtle forms. Comedy is often a necessary part of other programming, particularly drama. Attempts at mixing comedy and drama in various combinations have been attempted over time.
Jerry Seinfeld, and his "Seinfeld" Sitcom (NBC: 1989-1998)
YouTube Video from "Seinfeld" Featuring "The Soup Nazi"
Pictured: Seinfeld Cast (L-R) Jerry Seinfeld as "Jerry"; Jason Alexander as "George; Julia Louis-Dreyfus as "Elaine", and Michael Richards as "Cosmo"
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld (born April 29, 1954) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer and director who is best known for portraying a semifictional version of himself in the sitcom Seinfeld (see below) which he created and wrote with Larry David.
Seinfeld was heavily involved in the Bee Movie, in which he voiced its protagonist.
In 2010, he premiered a reality series called The Marriage Ref. He directed Colin Quinn in the Broadway show Long Story Short at the Helen Hayes Theater, which ran until January 2011.
He is the creator and host of the web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
In his stand-up comedy career, Seinfeld is known for specializing in observational comedy, often ranting about relationships and embarrassing social situations.
In 2005, Comedy Central named Seinfeld their "12th Greatest Stand-up Comedian of All Time".
For further amplification about Jerry Seinfeld, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Seinfeld is an American sitcom that originally ran for nine seasons on NBC, from 1989 to 1998. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself.
Set predominantly in an apartment building in Manhattan's Upper West Side in New York City (although taped entirely in Los Angeles), the show features a handful of Jerry's friends and acquaintances, particularly best friend George Costanza (Jason Alexander), former girlfriend Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and neighbor across the hall Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards). It is often described as being "a show about nothing", as many of its episodes are about the minutiae of daily life.
Seinfeld was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment. In syndication the series has been distributed by Sony Pictures Television since 2002. It was largely written by David and Seinfeld with script writers who included:
A favorite among critics, the series led the Nielsen ratings in seasons six and nine, and finished among the top two (with NBC's ER) every year from 1994 to 1998.
In 2002, TV Guide named Seinfeld the greatest television program of all time. In 1997, the episodes "The Boyfriend" and "The Parking Garage" were respectively ranked numbers 4 and 33 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time, and in 2009, "The Contest" was ranked No. 1 on the same magazine's list of TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time. E! named it the "number 1 reason the '90s ruled."
In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named Seinfeld the No. 2 Best Written TV Series of All Time (second to The Sopranos). That same year, Entertainment Weekly named it the No. 3 best TV series of all time and TV Guide ranked it at No. 2.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Seinfeld was heavily involved in the Bee Movie, in which he voiced its protagonist.
In 2010, he premiered a reality series called The Marriage Ref. He directed Colin Quinn in the Broadway show Long Story Short at the Helen Hayes Theater, which ran until January 2011.
He is the creator and host of the web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
In his stand-up comedy career, Seinfeld is known for specializing in observational comedy, often ranting about relationships and embarrassing social situations.
In 2005, Comedy Central named Seinfeld their "12th Greatest Stand-up Comedian of All Time".
For further amplification about Jerry Seinfeld, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
- Early life
- Career
- Influences
- Personal life
- Filmography
- Film
- Television including Writing credits for Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American sitcom that originally ran for nine seasons on NBC, from 1989 to 1998. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself.
Set predominantly in an apartment building in Manhattan's Upper West Side in New York City (although taped entirely in Los Angeles), the show features a handful of Jerry's friends and acquaintances, particularly best friend George Costanza (Jason Alexander), former girlfriend Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and neighbor across the hall Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards). It is often described as being "a show about nothing", as many of its episodes are about the minutiae of daily life.
Seinfeld was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment. In syndication the series has been distributed by Sony Pictures Television since 2002. It was largely written by David and Seinfeld with script writers who included:
- Larry Charles,
- Peter Mehlman,
- Gregg Kavet,
- Carol Leifer,
- David Mandel,
- Jeff Schaffer,
- Steve Koren,
- Jennifer Crittenden,
- Tom Gammill,
- Max Pross,
- Dan O'Keefe,
- Charlie Rubin,
- Marjorie Gross,
- Alec Berg,
- Elaine Pope,
- and Spike Feresten.
A favorite among critics, the series led the Nielsen ratings in seasons six and nine, and finished among the top two (with NBC's ER) every year from 1994 to 1998.
In 2002, TV Guide named Seinfeld the greatest television program of all time. In 1997, the episodes "The Boyfriend" and "The Parking Garage" were respectively ranked numbers 4 and 33 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time, and in 2009, "The Contest" was ranked No. 1 on the same magazine's list of TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time. E! named it the "number 1 reason the '90s ruled."
In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named Seinfeld the No. 2 Best Written TV Series of All Time (second to The Sopranos). That same year, Entertainment Weekly named it the No. 3 best TV series of all time and TV Guide ranked it at No. 2.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Premise
- Episodes
- Production
- High-definition versions
- Reception and legacy
- Consumer products
- Home video releases
- After Seinfeld
Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy (CBS: 1951-1960*)
*- Series name changed from "I Love Lucy" in 1957 to "The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show" Through 1960
YouTube Video about Lucy's Famous Chocolate Scene
Pictured: Three different scenes featuring Lucille Ball.
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, model, film-studio executive, and producer.
She was best known as the star of the self-produced sitcoms I Love Lucy (see below), The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life with Lucy.
Ball's career began in 1929 when she landed work as a model. Shortly thereafter, she began her performing career on Broadway using the stage names Diane Belmont and Dianne Belmont.
She later appeared in several minor film roles in the 1930s and 1940s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures, being cast as a chorus girl or in similar roles. During this time, she met Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz, and the two eloped in November 1940.
In the 1950s, Ball ventured into television. In 1951, Arnaz and she created the sitcom I Love Lucy, a series that became one of the most beloved programs in television history. The same year, Ball gave birth to their first child, Lucie Arnaz, followed by Desi Arnaz, Jr. in 1953.
Ball and Arnaz divorced in May 1960, and she married comedian Gary Morton in 1961.
In 1962, Ball became the first woman to run a major television studio, Desilu Productions, which produced many popular television series, including Mission: Impossible and Star Trek.
Ball did not back away from acting completely, appearing in film and television roles for the rest of her career until her death in April 1989 from an abdominal aortic dissection at the age of 77.
Ball was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning four times. In 1977, Ball was among the first recipients of the Women in Film Crystal Award.
She was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1979, inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1984, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986, and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1989,
For more about Lucille Ball, click here.
___________________________________________________________________________
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley.
The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on CBS. After the series ended in 1957, however, a modified version continued for three more seasons with 13 one-hour specials; it ran from 1957 to 1960. It was first known as The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show and later in reruns as The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.
The show, which was the first scripted television program to be shot on 35 mm film in front of a studio audience, won five Emmy Awards and received numerous nominations.
I Love Lucy was the most watched show in the United States in four of its six seasons, and was the first to end its run at the top of the Nielsen ratings (an accomplishment later matched only by The Andy Griffith Show in 1968 and Seinfeld in 1998).
The show is still syndicated in dozens of languages across the world and remains popular with an American audience of 40 million each year.
A colorized version of its Christmas episode attracted more than 8 million viewers when CBS aired it in prime time in 2013 – 62 years after the show premiered. A second colorized special, featuring the "L.A. At Last!" and "Lucy and Superman" episodes, aired on May 17, 2015, attracting 6.4 million viewers.
I Love Lucy is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms in history. In 2012, it was voted the 'Best TV Show of All Time' in a survey conducted by ABC News and People Magazine.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
She was best known as the star of the self-produced sitcoms I Love Lucy (see below), The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life with Lucy.
Ball's career began in 1929 when she landed work as a model. Shortly thereafter, she began her performing career on Broadway using the stage names Diane Belmont and Dianne Belmont.
She later appeared in several minor film roles in the 1930s and 1940s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures, being cast as a chorus girl or in similar roles. During this time, she met Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz, and the two eloped in November 1940.
In the 1950s, Ball ventured into television. In 1951, Arnaz and she created the sitcom I Love Lucy, a series that became one of the most beloved programs in television history. The same year, Ball gave birth to their first child, Lucie Arnaz, followed by Desi Arnaz, Jr. in 1953.
Ball and Arnaz divorced in May 1960, and she married comedian Gary Morton in 1961.
In 1962, Ball became the first woman to run a major television studio, Desilu Productions, which produced many popular television series, including Mission: Impossible and Star Trek.
Ball did not back away from acting completely, appearing in film and television roles for the rest of her career until her death in April 1989 from an abdominal aortic dissection at the age of 77.
Ball was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning four times. In 1977, Ball was among the first recipients of the Women in Film Crystal Award.
She was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1979, inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1984, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986, and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1989,
For more about Lucille Ball, click here.
___________________________________________________________________________
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley.
The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on CBS. After the series ended in 1957, however, a modified version continued for three more seasons with 13 one-hour specials; it ran from 1957 to 1960. It was first known as The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show and later in reruns as The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.
The show, which was the first scripted television program to be shot on 35 mm film in front of a studio audience, won five Emmy Awards and received numerous nominations.
I Love Lucy was the most watched show in the United States in four of its six seasons, and was the first to end its run at the top of the Nielsen ratings (an accomplishment later matched only by The Andy Griffith Show in 1968 and Seinfeld in 1998).
The show is still syndicated in dozens of languages across the world and remains popular with an American audience of 40 million each year.
A colorized version of its Christmas episode attracted more than 8 million viewers when CBS aired it in prime time in 2013 – 62 years after the show premiered. A second colorized special, featuring the "L.A. At Last!" and "Lucy and Superman" episodes, aired on May 17, 2015, attracting 6.4 million viewers.
I Love Lucy is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms in history. In 2012, it was voted the 'Best TV Show of All Time' in a survey conducted by ABC News and People Magazine.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Premise
- Cast
- Primary production team
- Background and development
- Episodes
- Broadcast history
- Opening
- In other media
- After Lucy
- DVD and Blu-ray releases
The Andy Griffith Show (CBS: 1960-1968)
YouTube Video The Andy Griffith Show S4E02 - The Haunted House
Pictured: Five TV Guide issues featuring The Andy Griffith Show on its covers.
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom which aired on CBS from October 3, 1960 to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning over eight seasons, first in black-and-white, and then, in color, which partially originated from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show.
It stars Andy Griffith, who portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), a spinster aunt and housekeeper, and Opie (Ron Howard), a precocious young son.
Eccentric friends and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Regarding the tone of the show, Griffith said that despite a contemporary setting, the show evoked nostalgia, stating in a Today Show interview: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the 1960s, it had a feeling of the 1930s. It was, when we were doing it, of a time gone by."
The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. On separate occasions, it has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best and 13th-best show in American television history.
Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The series spawned its own spin-off, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964), a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D. (1968), and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry (1986).
Reruns of the show are often aired on TV Land and MeTV, while the complete series is available on DVD. The show has also been made available on streaming video services such as Netflix. An annual festival celebrating the show, Mayberry Days, is held each year in Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further information:
It stars Andy Griffith, who portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), a spinster aunt and housekeeper, and Opie (Ron Howard), a precocious young son.
Eccentric friends and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Regarding the tone of the show, Griffith said that despite a contemporary setting, the show evoked nostalgia, stating in a Today Show interview: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the 1960s, it had a feeling of the 1930s. It was, when we were doing it, of a time gone by."
The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. On separate occasions, it has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best and 13th-best show in American television history.
Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The series spawned its own spin-off, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964), a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D. (1968), and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry (1986).
Reruns of the show are often aired on TV Land and MeTV, while the complete series is available on DVD. The show has also been made available on streaming video services such as Netflix. An annual festival celebrating the show, Mayberry Days, is held each year in Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further information:
- Origin
- Production
- Plot and characters
- Episodes
- Reruns, spinoffs, and reunions
- Reception
- Merchandise and pop culture
M*A*S*H TV Series (CBS: 1972-1983)
YouTube Video: M*A*S*H Funniest Moments
M*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film MASH (which was itself based on the 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, by Richard Hooker).
The series, which was produced with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS, follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" in Uijeongbu, South Korea during the Korean War.
The show's title sequence features an instrumental-only version of "Suicide Is Painless", the theme song from the original film. The show was created after an attempt to film the original book's sequel, M*A*S*H Goes to Maine, failed.
The television series is the best-known version of the M*A*S*H works, and one of the highest-rated shows in U.S. television history.
The series premiered in the U.S. on September 17, 1972, and ended on February 28, 1983, with the finale, showcased as a television film, titled "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", becoming the most-watched and highest-rated single television episode in U.S. television history at the time, with a record-breaking 125 million viewers (60.2 rating and 77 share), according to the New York Times.
The series had struggled in its first season and was at risk of being cancelled. Season two of M*A*S*H placed it in a better time slot (airing after the popular All in the Family); the show became one of the top 10 programs of the year and stayed in the top 20 programs for the rest of its run.
It is still broadcast in syndication on various television stations. The series, which depicted events occurring during a three-year military conflict, spanned 256 episodes and lasted 11 seasons.
The Korean conflict lasted 1,128 days, meaning each episode of the series would have averaged almost four and a half days of real time. Many of the stories in the early seasons are based on tales told by real MASH surgeons who were interviewed by the production team. Like the movie, the series was as much an allegory about the Vietnam War (still in progress when the show began) as it was about the Korean War.
The episodes "Abyssinia, Henry" and "The Interview" were ranked number 20 and number 80, respectively, on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time in 1997. In 2002, M*A*S*H was ranked number 25 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the fifth-best written TV series ever and TV Guide ranked it as the eighth-greatest show of all time.
M*A*S*H aired weekly on CBS, with most episodes being a half-hour in length. The series is usually categorized as a situation comedy, though it is also described as a "dark comedy" or a "dramedy" because of the dramatic subject material often presented.
The show was an ensemble piece revolving around key personnel in a United States Army Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in the Korean War (1950–1953).
(The asterisks in the name are not part of military nomenclature and were creatively introduced in the novel and used in only the posters for the movie version, not the actual movie.) The "4077th MASH" was one of several surgical units in Korea.
As the show developed, the writing took on more of a moralistic tone. Richard Hooker, who wrote the book on which the television and film versions were based, noted that Hawkeye's character was far more liberal in the show than on the page (in one of the MASH books, Hawkeye makes reference to "kicking the bejesus out of lefties just to stay in shape").
While the show is traditionally viewed as a comedy, many episodes were of a more serious tone. Airing on network primetime while the Vietnam War was still going on, the show was forced to walk the fine line of commenting on that war while at the same time not seeming to protest against it.
For this reason, the show's discourse, under the cover of comedy, often questioned, mocked, and grappled with America's role in the Cold War. Episodes were both plot- and character-driven, with several episodes being narrated by one of the show's characters as the contents of a letter home.
The show's tone could move from silly to sobering from one episode to the next, with dramatic tension often occurring between the civilian draftees of 4077th — Hawkeye, Trapper John, and B.J. Hunnicutt, for example — who are forced to leave their homes to tend the wounded and dying of the war, and the "regular Army" characters, such as Margaret Houlihan and Colonel Potter, who tend to represent ideas of patriotism and duty (though Houlihan and Potter could represent the other perspective at times, as well).
Other characters, such as Col. Blake, Maj. Winchester, and Cpl. Klinger, help demonstrate various American civilian attitudes toward army life, while guest characters played by such actors as Eldon Quick, Herb Voland, Mary Wickes, and Tim O'Connor also help further the show's discussion of America's place as Cold War warmaker and peacemaker.
The List of Main Characters and the Actors who portrayed them follows:
The series, which was produced with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS, follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" in Uijeongbu, South Korea during the Korean War.
The show's title sequence features an instrumental-only version of "Suicide Is Painless", the theme song from the original film. The show was created after an attempt to film the original book's sequel, M*A*S*H Goes to Maine, failed.
The television series is the best-known version of the M*A*S*H works, and one of the highest-rated shows in U.S. television history.
The series premiered in the U.S. on September 17, 1972, and ended on February 28, 1983, with the finale, showcased as a television film, titled "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", becoming the most-watched and highest-rated single television episode in U.S. television history at the time, with a record-breaking 125 million viewers (60.2 rating and 77 share), according to the New York Times.
The series had struggled in its first season and was at risk of being cancelled. Season two of M*A*S*H placed it in a better time slot (airing after the popular All in the Family); the show became one of the top 10 programs of the year and stayed in the top 20 programs for the rest of its run.
It is still broadcast in syndication on various television stations. The series, which depicted events occurring during a three-year military conflict, spanned 256 episodes and lasted 11 seasons.
The Korean conflict lasted 1,128 days, meaning each episode of the series would have averaged almost four and a half days of real time. Many of the stories in the early seasons are based on tales told by real MASH surgeons who were interviewed by the production team. Like the movie, the series was as much an allegory about the Vietnam War (still in progress when the show began) as it was about the Korean War.
The episodes "Abyssinia, Henry" and "The Interview" were ranked number 20 and number 80, respectively, on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time in 1997. In 2002, M*A*S*H was ranked number 25 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the fifth-best written TV series ever and TV Guide ranked it as the eighth-greatest show of all time.
M*A*S*H aired weekly on CBS, with most episodes being a half-hour in length. The series is usually categorized as a situation comedy, though it is also described as a "dark comedy" or a "dramedy" because of the dramatic subject material often presented.
The show was an ensemble piece revolving around key personnel in a United States Army Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in the Korean War (1950–1953).
(The asterisks in the name are not part of military nomenclature and were creatively introduced in the novel and used in only the posters for the movie version, not the actual movie.) The "4077th MASH" was one of several surgical units in Korea.
As the show developed, the writing took on more of a moralistic tone. Richard Hooker, who wrote the book on which the television and film versions were based, noted that Hawkeye's character was far more liberal in the show than on the page (in one of the MASH books, Hawkeye makes reference to "kicking the bejesus out of lefties just to stay in shape").
While the show is traditionally viewed as a comedy, many episodes were of a more serious tone. Airing on network primetime while the Vietnam War was still going on, the show was forced to walk the fine line of commenting on that war while at the same time not seeming to protest against it.
For this reason, the show's discourse, under the cover of comedy, often questioned, mocked, and grappled with America's role in the Cold War. Episodes were both plot- and character-driven, with several episodes being narrated by one of the show's characters as the contents of a letter home.
The show's tone could move from silly to sobering from one episode to the next, with dramatic tension often occurring between the civilian draftees of 4077th — Hawkeye, Trapper John, and B.J. Hunnicutt, for example — who are forced to leave their homes to tend the wounded and dying of the war, and the "regular Army" characters, such as Margaret Houlihan and Colonel Potter, who tend to represent ideas of patriotism and duty (though Houlihan and Potter could represent the other perspective at times, as well).
Other characters, such as Col. Blake, Maj. Winchester, and Cpl. Klinger, help demonstrate various American civilian attitudes toward army life, while guest characters played by such actors as Eldon Quick, Herb Voland, Mary Wickes, and Tim O'Connor also help further the show's discussion of America's place as Cold War warmaker and peacemaker.
The List of Main Characters and the Actors who portrayed them follows:
- Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce portrayed by Alan Alda
- Captain "Trapper John" McIntyre portrayed by Wayne Rogers
- Captain "B.J." Hunnicutt portrayed by Mike Farrell
- Lieutenant Colonel Henry Braymore Blake portrayed by McLean Stevenson
- Colonel Sherman Tecumseh Potter portrayed by Harry Morgan
- Major Franklin Delano Marion "Frank" Burns portrayed by Larry Linville
- Major Margaret J "Hot Lips" Houlihan portrayed by Loretta Swit
- Major Charles Emerson Winchester III portrayed by David Ogden Stiers
- Corporal Walter Eugene "Radar" O’Reilly portrayed by Gary Burghoff
- Father Mulcahy Portrayed by William Christopher
- Corporal (later Sergeant) Maxwell Q. Klinger portrayed by Jamie Farr
The Simpsons (Fox: 1989-Present)
YouTube Video: Simpsons Funniest Moments
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of working-class life epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture, society, television, and the human condition.
The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name.
The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became an early hit for Fox, becoming the network's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–90).
Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 606 episodes of The Simpsons have been broadcast. Its 28th season began on September 25, 2016. It is the longest-running American sitcom and the longest-running American animated program, and, in 2009, it surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series.
The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million.
On May 4, 2015, the series was renewed for seasons 27 (2015–16) and 28 (2016–17), consisting of 22 episodes each. On November 4, 2016, the series was renewed for seasons 29 (2017–18) and 30 (2018–19), consisting of 22 episodes each.
The Simpsons received widespread critical acclaim throughout its first nine seasons, which are generally considered its "Golden Age". Time magazine named it the 20th century's best television series, and The A.V. Club named it "television's crowning achievement regardless of format". On January 14, 2000, the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 31 Primetime Emmy Awards, 30 Annie Awards, and a Peabody Award.
Homer's exclamatory catchphrase "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English language, while The Simpsons has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms. Despite this, the show has also been criticized for what many perceive as a decline in quality over the years.
For further amplification, click here.
The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name.
The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became an early hit for Fox, becoming the network's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–90).
Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 606 episodes of The Simpsons have been broadcast. Its 28th season began on September 25, 2016. It is the longest-running American sitcom and the longest-running American animated program, and, in 2009, it surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series.
The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million.
On May 4, 2015, the series was renewed for seasons 27 (2015–16) and 28 (2016–17), consisting of 22 episodes each. On November 4, 2016, the series was renewed for seasons 29 (2017–18) and 30 (2018–19), consisting of 22 episodes each.
The Simpsons received widespread critical acclaim throughout its first nine seasons, which are generally considered its "Golden Age". Time magazine named it the 20th century's best television series, and The A.V. Club named it "television's crowning achievement regardless of format". On January 14, 2000, the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 31 Primetime Emmy Awards, 30 Annie Awards, and a Peabody Award.
Homer's exclamatory catchphrase "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English language, while The Simpsons has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms. Despite this, the show has also been criticized for what many perceive as a decline in quality over the years.
For further amplification, click here.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS: 1970-1977)
YouTube Video: "Ted Baxter's greatest moment"
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, originally known simply by the name of the show's star, Mary Tyler Moore, is an American sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. The program was a television shift, with the first never-married, independent career woman as the central character.
It is one of the most acclaimed television programs in US television history. It received high praise from critics, including Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series three years in a row (1975–77), and continued to be honored long after the final episode aired. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked The Mary Tyler Moore Show No. 6 in its list of the 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time.
Mary Richards (Moore) is a single woman who, at age 30, moves to Minneapolis after being jilted by her boyfriend of two years. She applies for a secretarial job at TV station WJM, but that is already taken. She is instead offered the position of associate producer of the station's "Six O'Clock News". She befriends her tough but lovable boss Lou Grant (Ed Asner), newswriter Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), and buffoonish anchorman Ted Baxter (Ted Knight).
Mary later becomes producer of the show. Mary rents a third floor studio apartment in a Victorian house from acquaintance and downstairs landlady, Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman), and she and upstairs neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) become best friends.
Characters introduced later in the series are acerbic, man-hungry TV hostess Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White), and sweet-natured Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel), as Ted Baxter's girlfriend (and later, wife). At the beginning of season 6, after both Rhoda and Phyllis have moved away (providing a premise for two spinoffs), Mary relocates to a one bedroom high-rise apartment.
In the third season, issues such as equal pay for women, pre-marital sex, and homosexuality are woven into the show's comedic plots.
In the fourth season, such subjects as marital infidelity and divorce are explored with Phyllis and Lou, respectively.
In the fifth season, Mary refuses to reveal a news source and is jailed for contempt of court. While in jail, she befriends a prostitute who seeks Mary's help in a subsequent episode.
In the final seasons, the show explores humor in death in the episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust" and juvenile delinquency; Ted deals with intimate marital problems, infertility, and adoption, and suffers a heart attack; and Mary overcomes an addiction to sleeping pills. Mary dates several men on and off over the years, two seriously, but remains single throughout the series.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification.
It is one of the most acclaimed television programs in US television history. It received high praise from critics, including Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series three years in a row (1975–77), and continued to be honored long after the final episode aired. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked The Mary Tyler Moore Show No. 6 in its list of the 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time.
Mary Richards (Moore) is a single woman who, at age 30, moves to Minneapolis after being jilted by her boyfriend of two years. She applies for a secretarial job at TV station WJM, but that is already taken. She is instead offered the position of associate producer of the station's "Six O'Clock News". She befriends her tough but lovable boss Lou Grant (Ed Asner), newswriter Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), and buffoonish anchorman Ted Baxter (Ted Knight).
Mary later becomes producer of the show. Mary rents a third floor studio apartment in a Victorian house from acquaintance and downstairs landlady, Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman), and she and upstairs neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) become best friends.
Characters introduced later in the series are acerbic, man-hungry TV hostess Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White), and sweet-natured Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel), as Ted Baxter's girlfriend (and later, wife). At the beginning of season 6, after both Rhoda and Phyllis have moved away (providing a premise for two spinoffs), Mary relocates to a one bedroom high-rise apartment.
In the third season, issues such as equal pay for women, pre-marital sex, and homosexuality are woven into the show's comedic plots.
In the fourth season, such subjects as marital infidelity and divorce are explored with Phyllis and Lou, respectively.
In the fifth season, Mary refuses to reveal a news source and is jailed for contempt of court. While in jail, she befriends a prostitute who seeks Mary's help in a subsequent episode.
In the final seasons, the show explores humor in death in the episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust" and juvenile delinquency; Ted deals with intimate marital problems, infertility, and adoption, and suffers a heart attack; and Mary overcomes an addiction to sleeping pills. Mary dates several men on and off over the years, two seriously, but remains single throughout the series.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification.
All in the Family (CBS: 1971-1979)
YouTube Video: Archie Bunker( All in the Family) classic scenes!
Pictured: Rob Reiner (as "Michael, aka "Meathead"), Jean Stapleton ("Edith"), Sally Struthers ("Gloria"), and Carroll O'Connor ("Archie")
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network for nine seasons, from January 1971 to April 1979. The following September, it was replaced by Archie Bunker's Place, which picked up where All in the Family had ended and ran for four more seasons.
Produced by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin and starring Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Sally Struthers, and Rob Reiner, All in the Family revolves around the life of a working-class bigot and his family.
The show broke ground in its depiction of issues previously considered unsuitable for U.S. network television comedy, including:
Through depicting these controversial issues, the series became arguably one of television's most influential comedic programs, as it injected the sitcom format with more dramatic moments and realistic, topical conflicts.
The show is often regarded in the United States as one of the greatest television series of all time. The show ranked number one in the yearly Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976. It became the first television series to reach the milestone of having topped the Nielsen ratings for five consecutive years.
The episode "Sammy's Visit" was ranked number 13 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time ranked All in the Family as number four.
Bravo also named the show's protagonist, Archie Bunker, TV's greatest character of all time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked All in the Family the fourth-best written TV series ever, and TV Guide ranked it as the fourth-greatest show of all time.
Premise:
All in the Family is about a typical working-class family living in Queens, New York. Its patriarch is Archie Bunker (O'Connor), an outspoken, narrow-minded white man, seemingly prejudiced against everyone who is not like him or his idea of how people should be.
Archie's wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) is sweet and understanding, though somewhat naïve and uneducated; her husband sometimes disparagingly calls her "dingbat".
Their one child, Gloria (Sally Struthers), is generally kind and good-natured like her mother, but displays traces of her father's stubbornness; unlike them, however, she is a feminist.
Gloria is married to college student Michael Stivic (Reiner) – referred to as "Meathead" by Archie – whose values are likewise influenced and shaped by the counterculture of the 1960s.
The two couples represent the real-life clash of values between the so-called Greatest Generation and Baby Boomers. For much of the series, the Stivics live in the Bunkers' home to save money, providing abundant opportunity for them to irritate each other.
The show is set in the Astoria section of Queens, with the vast majority of scenes taking place in the Bunkers' home at 704 Hauser Street. Occasional scenes take place in other locations, especially during later seasons, such as Kelsey's Bar, a neighborhood tavern where Archie spends a good deal of time and which he eventually buys, and the Stivics' home after Mike and Gloria move to the house next door.
The house seen in the opening is at 89-70 Cooper Avenue near the junction of the Glendale, Middle Village, and Rego Park sections of Queens.
Supporting characters represent the demographics of the neighborhood, especially the African American Jeffersons, who live in the house next door in the early seasons.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Produced by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin and starring Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Sally Struthers, and Rob Reiner, All in the Family revolves around the life of a working-class bigot and his family.
The show broke ground in its depiction of issues previously considered unsuitable for U.S. network television comedy, including:
- racism,
- homosexuality,
- women's liberation,
- rape,
- religion,
- miscarriage,
- abortion,
- breast cancer,
- the Vietnam War,
- menopause,
- and impotence.
Through depicting these controversial issues, the series became arguably one of television's most influential comedic programs, as it injected the sitcom format with more dramatic moments and realistic, topical conflicts.
The show is often regarded in the United States as one of the greatest television series of all time. The show ranked number one in the yearly Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976. It became the first television series to reach the milestone of having topped the Nielsen ratings for five consecutive years.
The episode "Sammy's Visit" was ranked number 13 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time ranked All in the Family as number four.
Bravo also named the show's protagonist, Archie Bunker, TV's greatest character of all time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked All in the Family the fourth-best written TV series ever, and TV Guide ranked it as the fourth-greatest show of all time.
Premise:
All in the Family is about a typical working-class family living in Queens, New York. Its patriarch is Archie Bunker (O'Connor), an outspoken, narrow-minded white man, seemingly prejudiced against everyone who is not like him or his idea of how people should be.
Archie's wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) is sweet and understanding, though somewhat naïve and uneducated; her husband sometimes disparagingly calls her "dingbat".
Their one child, Gloria (Sally Struthers), is generally kind and good-natured like her mother, but displays traces of her father's stubbornness; unlike them, however, she is a feminist.
Gloria is married to college student Michael Stivic (Reiner) – referred to as "Meathead" by Archie – whose values are likewise influenced and shaped by the counterculture of the 1960s.
The two couples represent the real-life clash of values between the so-called Greatest Generation and Baby Boomers. For much of the series, the Stivics live in the Bunkers' home to save money, providing abundant opportunity for them to irritate each other.
The show is set in the Astoria section of Queens, with the vast majority of scenes taking place in the Bunkers' home at 704 Hauser Street. Occasional scenes take place in other locations, especially during later seasons, such as Kelsey's Bar, a neighborhood tavern where Archie spends a good deal of time and which he eventually buys, and the Stivics' home after Mike and Gloria move to the house next door.
The house seen in the opening is at 89-70 Cooper Avenue near the junction of the Glendale, Middle Village, and Rego Park sections of Queens.
Supporting characters represent the demographics of the neighborhood, especially the African American Jeffersons, who live in the house next door in the early seasons.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Cast
- Main characters
Supporting characters
Recurring characters
- Main characters
- History and production
- Theme song
Setting and location
- Theme song
- Episodes
- Syndication
- Ratings
- Spin-offs
- Specials
- DVD releases
- Cultural impact
- Awards and nominations
- See also:
The Honeymooners
YouTube Video Trump meets The Honeymooners"*
* -- This is a fan made parody imagining if Mr. Trump was running for the 1952 Presidential Election. It's just a fun parody. It is not meant to be political, or taken seriously :)
Pictured: L-R "Ed Norton" (Art Carney); "Ralph Kramden" (Jackie Gleason); Thelma (Trixie) Norton" (Joyce Randolph); and "Alice Kramden" (Audrey Meadows)
The Honeymooners is an American sitcom, based on a recurring 1951–55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars, Jackie Gleason's variety show and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show, which was filmed in front of a live audience.
It debuted as a half-hour series on October 1, 1955. Although initially a ratings success—becoming the #2 show in the United States during its first season—it faced stiff competition from The Perry Como Show, and eventually dropped to #19, ending its production after only 39 episodes (now referred to as the "Classic 39").
The final episode of The Honeymooners aired on September 22, 1956. Creator/producer Jackie Gleason revived the series sporadically until 1978.The Honeymooners was one of the first U.S. television shows to portray working-class married couples in a gritty, non-idyllic manner (the show is set mostly in the Kramdens' kitchen, in a neglected Brooklyn apartment building). The program is also popular internationally, particularly in Canada, Poland and Scandinavian countries Norway and Sweden.
The Cast and Characters:
Ralph Kramden played by Jackie Gleason—a bus driver for the fictional Gotham Bus Company based out of Brooklyn, NY. He is never seen driving a bus (except in publicity photos), but is often shown at the bus depot. Ralph is frustrated by his lack of success, and often develops get-rich-quick schemes.
Ralph is very short tempered, frequently resorting to bellowing, insults and hollow threats. Well-hidden beneath the many layers of bluster, however, is a soft-hearted man who loves his wife and is devoted to his best pal, Ed Norton. Ralph Kramden is the inspiration for the animated character Fred Flintstone.
Alice Kramden was played by Audrey Meadows throughout the "Classic 39", is Ralph's patient but sharp-tongued wife of roughly 15 years.
Ed Norton was played by Art Carney; and was a New York City sewer worker and Ralph's best friend (and upstairs neighbor). He is considerably more good-natured than Ralph, but nonetheless trades insults with him on a regular basis.
Thelma "Trixie" Norton was played by Joyce Randolph; Ed's wife and Alice's best friend. She did not appear on every episode and had a less developed character, though she is shown to be bossy towards her husband.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
It debuted as a half-hour series on October 1, 1955. Although initially a ratings success—becoming the #2 show in the United States during its first season—it faced stiff competition from The Perry Como Show, and eventually dropped to #19, ending its production after only 39 episodes (now referred to as the "Classic 39").
The final episode of The Honeymooners aired on September 22, 1956. Creator/producer Jackie Gleason revived the series sporadically until 1978.The Honeymooners was one of the first U.S. television shows to portray working-class married couples in a gritty, non-idyllic manner (the show is set mostly in the Kramdens' kitchen, in a neglected Brooklyn apartment building). The program is also popular internationally, particularly in Canada, Poland and Scandinavian countries Norway and Sweden.
The Cast and Characters:
Ralph Kramden played by Jackie Gleason—a bus driver for the fictional Gotham Bus Company based out of Brooklyn, NY. He is never seen driving a bus (except in publicity photos), but is often shown at the bus depot. Ralph is frustrated by his lack of success, and often develops get-rich-quick schemes.
Ralph is very short tempered, frequently resorting to bellowing, insults and hollow threats. Well-hidden beneath the many layers of bluster, however, is a soft-hearted man who loves his wife and is devoted to his best pal, Ed Norton. Ralph Kramden is the inspiration for the animated character Fred Flintstone.
Alice Kramden was played by Audrey Meadows throughout the "Classic 39", is Ralph's patient but sharp-tongued wife of roughly 15 years.
Ed Norton was played by Art Carney; and was a New York City sewer worker and Ralph's best friend (and upstairs neighbor). He is considerably more good-natured than Ralph, but nonetheless trades insults with him on a regular basis.
Thelma "Trixie" Norton was played by Joyce Randolph; Ed's wife and Alice's best friend. She did not appear on every episode and had a less developed character, though she is shown to be bossy towards her husband.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- The apartment house
- Awards
- Plot
- Broadcast history
- Episodes
- Syndication and home video/DVD/Blu-ray Disc
- Impact
- Legacy
Cheers (NBC: 1982-1993)
YouTube Video: Cheers Thanksgiving Foodfight
Pictured: the Cast L-R: Frasier (Kelsey Grammer): Sam Malone (Ted Danson); Cliff Claven ( John Ratzenberger);
Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley); Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman); Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson); and Norm Peterson (George Wendt)
Cheers is an American sitcom that ran for eleven seasons between 1982 and 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC and created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles.
The show is set in a bar named Cheers in Boston, Massachusetts, where a group of locals meet to drink, relax, and socialize. The show's main theme song, written and performed by Gary Portnoy lent its famous refrain "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" as the show's tagline.
After premiering on September 30, 1982, it was nearly canceled during its first season when it ranked almost last in ratings for its premiere (74th out of 77 shows). Cheers, however, eventually became a highly rated television show in the United States, earning a top-ten rating during eight of its eleven seasons, including one season at number one.
The show spent most of its run on NBC's Thursday night "Must See TV" lineup. Its widely watched series finale was broadcast on May 20, 1993, and the show's 270 episodes have been successfully syndicated worldwide. Nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series for all eleven of its seasons on the air, it earned 28 Primetime Emmy Awards from a record of 117 nominations.
The character Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) was featured in his eponymous spin-off show, which aired until 2004 and included guest appearances by virtually all of the major and minor Cheers characters.
During its run, Cheers became one of the most popular series of all time and has received critical acclaim. In 1997, the episodes "Thanksgiving Orphans" and "Home Is the Sailor", aired originally in 1987, were respectively ranked No. 7 and No. 45 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time.
In 2002, Cheers was ranked No. 18 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the eighth best written TV series and TV Guide ranked it #11 on their list of the 60 Greatest Shows of All Time.
Before the Cheers pilot "Give Me a Ring Sometime" was completed and aired in 1982, the series originally consisted of four employees in the first script. Neither Norm Peterson nor Cliff Clavin, regular customers of Cheers, were featured; later revisions added them as among the regular characters of the series.
In later years, Woody Boyd replaces Coach, who dies off-screen in season four (1985–86) to account for actor Nicholas Colasanto's real life passing. Frasier Crane starts as a recurring character and becomes a permanent character. In season six (1987–88) Rebecca Howe replaces Diane Chambers, who was written out of the show after the finale of the previous season (1986–87). Lilith Sternin starts as a one-time character in an episode of season four, "Second Time Around" (1985). After she appears in two episodes in season five, she becomes a recurring character, and later featured as a permanent one for season ten (1991–92).
Original Main Characters:
Subsequent Main Characters:
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
The show is set in a bar named Cheers in Boston, Massachusetts, where a group of locals meet to drink, relax, and socialize. The show's main theme song, written and performed by Gary Portnoy lent its famous refrain "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" as the show's tagline.
After premiering on September 30, 1982, it was nearly canceled during its first season when it ranked almost last in ratings for its premiere (74th out of 77 shows). Cheers, however, eventually became a highly rated television show in the United States, earning a top-ten rating during eight of its eleven seasons, including one season at number one.
The show spent most of its run on NBC's Thursday night "Must See TV" lineup. Its widely watched series finale was broadcast on May 20, 1993, and the show's 270 episodes have been successfully syndicated worldwide. Nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series for all eleven of its seasons on the air, it earned 28 Primetime Emmy Awards from a record of 117 nominations.
The character Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) was featured in his eponymous spin-off show, which aired until 2004 and included guest appearances by virtually all of the major and minor Cheers characters.
During its run, Cheers became one of the most popular series of all time and has received critical acclaim. In 1997, the episodes "Thanksgiving Orphans" and "Home Is the Sailor", aired originally in 1987, were respectively ranked No. 7 and No. 45 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time.
In 2002, Cheers was ranked No. 18 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the eighth best written TV series and TV Guide ranked it #11 on their list of the 60 Greatest Shows of All Time.
Before the Cheers pilot "Give Me a Ring Sometime" was completed and aired in 1982, the series originally consisted of four employees in the first script. Neither Norm Peterson nor Cliff Clavin, regular customers of Cheers, were featured; later revisions added them as among the regular characters of the series.
In later years, Woody Boyd replaces Coach, who dies off-screen in season four (1985–86) to account for actor Nicholas Colasanto's real life passing. Frasier Crane starts as a recurring character and becomes a permanent character. In season six (1987–88) Rebecca Howe replaces Diane Chambers, who was written out of the show after the finale of the previous season (1986–87). Lilith Sternin starts as a one-time character in an episode of season four, "Second Time Around" (1985). After she appears in two episodes in season five, she becomes a recurring character, and later featured as a permanent one for season ten (1991–92).
Original Main Characters:
- Ted Danson portrays Sam Malone, a bartender and an owner of Cheers. Sam is also a lothario.
- Shelley Long portrays Diane Chambers, an academic, sophisticated graduate student. In the pilot Diane is abandoned by her fiancé, leaving her without a job, a man, or money. Therefore she reluctantly becomes a cocktail waitress.
- Nicholas Colasanto portrays Coach Ernie Pantusso, a "borderline senile" co-bartender, widower, and retired coach. Coach is also a friend of Sam and a close friend of Diane. He has a daughter, Lisa. Coach is often tricked into situations, especially ones that put the bar at stake. Coach listens to people's problems and solves them. In 1985, Coach is explained to have died without explicit explanation; the actor Colasanto died of a heart attack.
- Rhea Perlman portrays Carla Tortelli, a "wisecracking, cynical" cocktail waitress, who treats customers badly. She is also highly fertile and matrimonially inept. When the series premiered, she is the mother of four children by her ex-husband Nick Tortelli (Dan Hedaya). Later she bears four more, the depiction of which incorporated Perlman's real-life pregnancies.
- George Wendt portrays Norm Peterson, a bar regular and occasionally-employed accountant. A recurrent joke on the show, especially in the earlier seasons, was that the character was such a popular and constant fixture at the bar that anytime he entered through the front door everyone present would yell out his name ("NORM!") in greeting; usually this cry would be followed by one of the present bartenders asking Norm how he was, usually receiving a sardonic response and a request for a beer.
- John Ratzenberger portrays Cliff Clavin, a know-it-all bar regular and mail carrier. He lives with his mother Esther Clavin (Frances Sternhagen) in first the family house and later an apartment. In the bar, Cliff unwittingly says things that either annoy people, motivate people into mocking him, drive people away, confuse people, are inaccurate, or are unnecessary to people.
Subsequent Main Characters:
- Kelsey Grammer portrays Frasier Crane, a psychiatrist and bar regular. Frasier started out as Diane Chambers's love interest in the third season (1984–85). In the fourth season (1985–86), after Diane jilts him at the altar in Europe, Frasier ends up frequenting Cheers and becomes a regular. After the series ended, in the spin-off Frasier, he gives child custody of their son Frederick to Lilith and moves to Seattle.
- Woody Harrelson portrays Woody Boyd, a not-so-bright bartender. He arrives from his Midwest hometown of Hanover, Indiana to Boston, to see Coach, his "pen pal" (as referring to exchanging "pens", not letters). When Sam tells Woody that Coach died, Sam hires Woody in Coach's place.
- Bebe Neuwirth portrays Lilith Sternin, a psychiatrist and bar regular. She is often teased by bar patrons about her uptight personality and appearance. In "Second Time Around" (1986), her first episode, also her only one of the fourth season, her date with Frasier does not go well because they constantly argue. In the fifth season, with help from Diane, Lilith and Frasier begin a relationship. Eventually, they marry and have a son, Frederick. In the eleventh and final season, she leaves Frasier to live with another man in an experimental underground environment called the "Eco-pod." However she returns later in the season and reconciles with Frasier.
- Kirstie Alley portrays Rebecca Howe. She starts out as a strong independent woman, managing the bar for the corporation that was given the bar by Sam after Diane jilted him. Eventually, when Sam regains ownership, she begs him to let her remain as business manager. She repeatedly has romantic failures with mainly rich men and becomes more and "more neurotic, insecure, and sexually frustrated". At the start, Sam frequently attempts to seduce Rebecca without success. As her personality changes, he loses interest in her. In the eleventh and final season, Rebecca marries the plumber Don Santry (played by Tom Berenger) and quits working for the bar.
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Frasier (NBC: 1993-2004)
YouTube Video: Craziest Frasier Moments
Pictured: Frasier Cast (L-R): Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin); Martin Crane (John Mahoney); Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer); Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce); Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves)
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, premiering on September 16, 1993, and concluding on May 13, 2004.
The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub Street Productions) in association with Grammnet (2004) and Paramount Network Television.
The series was created as a spin-off of Cheers, continuing the story of psychiatrist Frasier Crane as he returned to his hometown of Seattle and started building a new life. Frasier stars Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, Jane Leeves, Peri Gilpin, and Dan Butler.
Overview:
Psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Grammer) returns to his home town of Seattle, Washington, following the end of his marriage and his life in Boston (as seen in Cheers). His plans for a new life as a bachelor are complicated when he is obliged to take in his father, Martin (Mahoney), a retired Seattle Police Department detective, who has mobility problems after being shot in the line of duty during a robbery.
Frasier hires Daphne Moon (Leeves) as Martin's live-in physical therapist and care giver, and tolerates Martin's dog Eddie. Frasier frequently spends time with his younger brother Niles (Pierce), a fellow psychiatrist. Niles becomes obsessed with, and eventually falls in love with, Daphne (notwithstanding his own marriage), but does not confess his feelings to her until the final episode of the seventh season.
Frasier hosts The Dr. Frasier Crane Show, a call-in psychiatry show on talk radio station KACL. His producer Roz Doyle (Gilpin) is very different from Frasier in many ways. She is down-to-earth, has basic tastes and, at least early in the series, has superficial relationships with many men.
However, Roz and Frasier share a professional respect and over time they become best friends. Frasier and the others often visit the local coffee shop, Café Nervosa.
The Crane sons, who possess fine tastes, intellectual interests, and high opinions of themselves, frequently clash with their blue-collar, Average Joe father. The brothers' close relationship is often tense, and their sibling rivalry intermittently results in chaos. Other recurring themes include Niles' relationship with his never-seen wife (later ex-wife) Maris, Frasier's search for love, Martin's new life after retirement, and the various attempts by the two brothers to gain acceptance into Seattle's cultural elite.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for amplification:
The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub Street Productions) in association with Grammnet (2004) and Paramount Network Television.
The series was created as a spin-off of Cheers, continuing the story of psychiatrist Frasier Crane as he returned to his hometown of Seattle and started building a new life. Frasier stars Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, Jane Leeves, Peri Gilpin, and Dan Butler.
Overview:
Psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Grammer) returns to his home town of Seattle, Washington, following the end of his marriage and his life in Boston (as seen in Cheers). His plans for a new life as a bachelor are complicated when he is obliged to take in his father, Martin (Mahoney), a retired Seattle Police Department detective, who has mobility problems after being shot in the line of duty during a robbery.
Frasier hires Daphne Moon (Leeves) as Martin's live-in physical therapist and care giver, and tolerates Martin's dog Eddie. Frasier frequently spends time with his younger brother Niles (Pierce), a fellow psychiatrist. Niles becomes obsessed with, and eventually falls in love with, Daphne (notwithstanding his own marriage), but does not confess his feelings to her until the final episode of the seventh season.
Frasier hosts The Dr. Frasier Crane Show, a call-in psychiatry show on talk radio station KACL. His producer Roz Doyle (Gilpin) is very different from Frasier in many ways. She is down-to-earth, has basic tastes and, at least early in the series, has superficial relationships with many men.
However, Roz and Frasier share a professional respect and over time they become best friends. Frasier and the others often visit the local coffee shop, Café Nervosa.
The Crane sons, who possess fine tastes, intellectual interests, and high opinions of themselves, frequently clash with their blue-collar, Average Joe father. The brothers' close relationship is often tense, and their sibling rivalry intermittently results in chaos. Other recurring themes include Niles' relationship with his never-seen wife (later ex-wife) Maris, Frasier's search for love, Martin's new life after retirement, and the various attempts by the two brothers to gain acceptance into Seattle's cultural elite.
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- Relationship to Cheers
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Friends (NBC: 1994-2004) Pictured: Friends Cast (L-R): Lisa Kudrow as "Phoebe"; David Schwimmer as "Ross"; Jennifer Aniston as "Rachel"; MatLeBlanc as "Joey", Courtene Cox as "Monica", and Matthew Perry as “Chandler”
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[Your Webhost: below this "Friends" description you will find biographies of the six main figures, who, since Friends, have pursued further TV and film work.]
Friends is an American television sitcom, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, the show revolves around six 20-30 something friends living in Manhattan.
The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The original executive producers were Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane.
Kauffman and Crane began developing Friends under the title Insomnia Cafe between November and December 1993. They presented the idea to Bright, and together they pitched a seven-page treatment of the show to NBC. After several script rewrites and changes, including a title change to Six of One and Friends Like Us, the series was finally named Friends.
Filming took place at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. All ten seasons of Friends ranked within the top ten of the final television season ratings; ultimately reaching the No. 1 spot with its eighth season. The series finale on May 6, 2004, was watched by around 52.5 million American viewers, making it the fifth most watched series finale in television history, and the most watched television episode of the 2000s decade.
Friends received acclaim throughout its run, becoming one of the most popular television shows of all time. The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 for its eighth season.
The show ranked no. 21 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and no. 7 on Empire magazine's The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
In 1997, the episode "The One with the Prom Video" was ranked no. 100 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time. In 2013, Friends ranked no. 24 on the Writers Guild of America's 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time and no. 28 on TV Guide's 60 Best TV Series of All Time.
Premise:
Rachel Green flees her wedding day and seeks out childhood friend Monica Geller, a New York City chef. They become roommates, and Rachel joins Monica's social circle of single people in their mid-20s: struggling actor Joey Tribbiani, business professional Chandler Bing, masseuse and musician Phoebe Buffay, and newly divorced paleontologist Ross Geller, Monica's older brother.
To support herself, Rachel becomes a waitress at Central Perk, a Manhattan coffeehouse where the group often hangs out; when not there, the six are usually at Monica and Rachel's nearby West Village apartment, or Joey and Chandler's across the hall.
Episodes typically depict the friends' comedic and romantic adventures and career issues, such as Joey auditioning for roles or Rachel seeking jobs in the fashion industry.
The six characters each have many dates and serious relationships, such as Monica with Richard Burke and Ross with Emily Waltham. Ross and Rachel's intermittent relationship is the most often-recurring storyline; during the ten seasons of the show they repeatedly date and break up, even while Ross briefly marries Emily, he and Rachel have a child, Chandler and Monica date and marry each other, and Phoebe marries Mike Hannigan.
Other frequently recurring characters include Ross and Monica's parents in Long Island, Ross's ex-wife and their son, Central Perk barista Gunther, Chandler's ex-girlfriend Janice, and Phoebe's twin sister Ursula.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for amplification:
Below you will find the six main "Friends" cast members, listed alphabetically based on last name.
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress, producer, and businesswoman. She is the daughter of actor John Aniston and actress Nancy Dow.
Aniston gained worldwide recognition for portraying Rachel Green on the popular television sitcom Friends (1994–2004), a role which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. The character was widely popular during the airing of the series and became recognized as one of the 100 greatest female characters in United States television. Aniston has played the female protagonist in a number of comedies and romantic comedy films.
Her box office hits include Bruce Almighty (2003), The Break-Up (2006), Marley & Me (2008), Just Go with It (2011), Horrible Bosses (2011) and We're the Millers (2013), each of which have grossed over US$200 million in worldwide receipts.
Her most critically acclaimed roles were in The Good Girl (2002), for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, and the drama Cake (2014), for which she received nominations for the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress.
Her other films include Along Came Polly (2004) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009).
She is the co-founder, in 2008, of the production company Echo Films.
In 2012, Aniston received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood and as of 2017, her net worth is estimated to be US$200 million.
She has also been included in magazines' lists of the world's most beautiful women. In 2004, Aniston was named "The Most Beautiful Woman" by People magazine, and Men's Health magazine voted her the "Sexiest Woman of All Time" in 2011.
She has also been included in magazines' lists of the world's most beautiful women. Divorced from actor Brad Pitt, to whom she was married for five years, Aniston is married to actor Justin Theroux since 2015, although they have been separated since February 2018.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Jennifer Aniston:
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox (formerly Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller in the NBC sitcom Friends (1994–2004). Cox received further recognition for starring as Gale Weathers in the horror film franchise Scream (1996–present).
Cox also starred as Lauren Miller in the NBC sitcom Family Ties (1987–1989), Lucy Spiller in the FX drama series Dirt (2007–2008), and Jules Cobb in the ABC/TBS sitcom Cougar Town (2009–2015), the lattermost of which earned her nominations at the Golden Globe Awards and the Critics' Choice Awards. Since 2022, she has starred as Patricia "Pat" Phelps in the Starz horror comedy series Shining Vale.
Cox's other film credits include:
She owns the production company Coquette Productions, which was created by Cox and her then-husband David Arquette. She also worked as a director on her sitcom Cougar Town, the television drama film TalhotBlond (2012), and the black comedy drama film Just Before I Go (2014)
Click Here for more about Courteney Cox.
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Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow; (born July 30, 1963) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. After making guest appearances in several television sitcoms, including Cheers, she came to prominence with her recurring role of Ursula Buffay in Mad About You (1993-1999).
Kudrow gained worldwide recognition for portraying Phoebe Buffay (twin sister to Ursula, whom Kudrow also portrayed) on the television sitcom Friends (1994–2004), for which she received several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series from six nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Awards from 12 nominations, and a Golden Globe Award nomination.
Kudrow starred in the cult comedy film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) and followed it with an acclaimed performance in the romantic comedy The Opposite of Sex (1998), which won her the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress and a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female.
In 2005, she went on to produce, write and star in the HBO comedy series The Comeback, which was revived nine years later for a second season. Kudrow received two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nominations for both seasons.
In 2007, Kudrow received praise for her starring role in the film Kabluey and appeared in the box office hit film P.S. I Love You. She produced and starred in the Showtime program Web Therapy (2011–2015), which was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. She is a producer on the TLC reality program Who Do You Think You Are, which garnered her four Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Kudrow has also made several notable film appearances, including roles in:
Click here for more about Lisa Kudrow.
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Matt LeBlanc
Matthew Steven LeBlanc (born July 25, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and television host. He received international recognition for his portrayal of dim-witted, yet well-intentioned womaniser Joey Tribbiani on Friends, which ran from 1994 to 2004. For his work on Friends, LeBlanc received three Emmy Award nominations.
He has also starred as a fictionalized version of himself in Episodes (2011–2017), for which he won a Golden Globe Award and received four additional Emmy Award nominations. He co-hosted Top Gear from 2016 to 2019. As of 2016, he plays Adam Burns in Man with a Plan.
Click here for more about Matt LeBlanc.
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Matthew Perry
Matthew Langford Perry (August 19, 1969 – October 28, 2023) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian and playwright who gained worldwide recognition for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom Friends. which ran from 1994 to 2004.
By 2002, due to the vast popularity of the sitcom, the cast, including Perry, were making $1 million per episode.
Along with starring in the short-lived television series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Perry has appeared in a number of films, including Fools Rush In (1997), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), and 17 Again (2009).
In 2010, Perry expanded his resume to include both video games and voice-over work when he voiced Benny in the video game Fallout: New Vegas.
Perry was the co-creator, co-writer, executive producer, and star of the ABC sitcom Mr. Sunshine, which ran from February to April 2011. In August 2012, Perry began starring as Ryan King, a sportscaster, on the NBC sitcom Go On. The series was canceled on May 10, 2013.
Perry co-developed and starred in the 2015 CBS sitcom The Odd Couple portraying Oscar Madison. The series was renewed for a second season on May 11, 2015 and for a third season on May 16, 2016.
Click here for more about Matthew Perry.
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David Schwimmer
Schwimmer began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts in theater and speech.
After graduation, Schwimmer co-founded the Lookingglass Theatre Company. For much of the late 1980s, he lived in Los Angeles as a struggling, unemployed actor, until he starred in the television movie A Deadly Silence in 1989 and appeared in a number of television roles, including on L.A. Law, The Wonder Years, NYPD Blue, and Monty, in the early 1990s.
Schwimmer gained worldwide recognition for playing Ross Geller in the sitcom Friends, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1995.
While still acting in Friends, his first leading film role was in The Pallbearer (1996), followed by roles in Kissing a Fool, Six Days, Seven Nights, Apt Pupil (all 1998), and Picking Up the Pieces (2000). He was then cast in the miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) as Herbert Sobel.
After the series finale of Friends in 2004, Schwimmer branched out into a variety of new acting formats beyond television. He was cast as the title character in the 2005 drama film Duane Hopwood, and voiced Melman the Giraffe in the computer-animated Madagascar film franchise, acted in the dark comedy Big Nothing (2006), and the thriller Nothing But the Truth (2008).
Schwimmer made his West End stage debut in the leading role in 2005's Some Girl(s), in 2006, he made his Broadway debut in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, his feature film directorial debut followed in 2007 with the comedy Run Fatboy Run, and the following year, he made his Off-Broadway directorial debut in Fault Lines.
In 2016, he starred as lawyer Robert Kardashian in American Crime Story, for which he received his second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.
Click here for more about David Schwimmer.
Friends is an American television sitcom, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, the show revolves around six 20-30 something friends living in Manhattan.
The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The original executive producers were Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane.
Kauffman and Crane began developing Friends under the title Insomnia Cafe between November and December 1993. They presented the idea to Bright, and together they pitched a seven-page treatment of the show to NBC. After several script rewrites and changes, including a title change to Six of One and Friends Like Us, the series was finally named Friends.
Filming took place at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. All ten seasons of Friends ranked within the top ten of the final television season ratings; ultimately reaching the No. 1 spot with its eighth season. The series finale on May 6, 2004, was watched by around 52.5 million American viewers, making it the fifth most watched series finale in television history, and the most watched television episode of the 2000s decade.
Friends received acclaim throughout its run, becoming one of the most popular television shows of all time. The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 for its eighth season.
The show ranked no. 21 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and no. 7 on Empire magazine's The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
In 1997, the episode "The One with the Prom Video" was ranked no. 100 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time. In 2013, Friends ranked no. 24 on the Writers Guild of America's 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time and no. 28 on TV Guide's 60 Best TV Series of All Time.
Premise:
Rachel Green flees her wedding day and seeks out childhood friend Monica Geller, a New York City chef. They become roommates, and Rachel joins Monica's social circle of single people in their mid-20s: struggling actor Joey Tribbiani, business professional Chandler Bing, masseuse and musician Phoebe Buffay, and newly divorced paleontologist Ross Geller, Monica's older brother.
To support herself, Rachel becomes a waitress at Central Perk, a Manhattan coffeehouse where the group often hangs out; when not there, the six are usually at Monica and Rachel's nearby West Village apartment, or Joey and Chandler's across the hall.
Episodes typically depict the friends' comedic and romantic adventures and career issues, such as Joey auditioning for roles or Rachel seeking jobs in the fashion industry.
The six characters each have many dates and serious relationships, such as Monica with Richard Burke and Ross with Emily Waltham. Ross and Rachel's intermittent relationship is the most often-recurring storyline; during the ten seasons of the show they repeatedly date and break up, even while Ross briefly marries Emily, he and Rachel have a child, Chandler and Monica date and marry each other, and Phoebe marries Mike Hannigan.
Other frequently recurring characters include Ross and Monica's parents in Long Island, Ross's ex-wife and their son, Central Perk barista Gunther, Chandler's ex-girlfriend Janice, and Phoebe's twin sister Ursula.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for amplification:
- Characters
- Cast
- Episodes
- Broadcast history
- Production
- Series finale
- Reception
- Cultural impact
- Distribution
- Spin-offs
Below you will find the six main "Friends" cast members, listed alphabetically based on last name.
Jennifer Aniston
- YouTube Video of Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Kissing Ross (David Schwimmer) to the background music "With or Without You" by U2.
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress, producer, and businesswoman. She is the daughter of actor John Aniston and actress Nancy Dow.
Aniston gained worldwide recognition for portraying Rachel Green on the popular television sitcom Friends (1994–2004), a role which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. The character was widely popular during the airing of the series and became recognized as one of the 100 greatest female characters in United States television. Aniston has played the female protagonist in a number of comedies and romantic comedy films.
Her box office hits include Bruce Almighty (2003), The Break-Up (2006), Marley & Me (2008), Just Go with It (2011), Horrible Bosses (2011) and We're the Millers (2013), each of which have grossed over US$200 million in worldwide receipts.
Her most critically acclaimed roles were in The Good Girl (2002), for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, and the drama Cake (2014), for which she received nominations for the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress.
Her other films include Along Came Polly (2004) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009).
She is the co-founder, in 2008, of the production company Echo Films.
In 2012, Aniston received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood and as of 2017, her net worth is estimated to be US$200 million.
She has also been included in magazines' lists of the world's most beautiful women. In 2004, Aniston was named "The Most Beautiful Woman" by People magazine, and Men's Health magazine voted her the "Sexiest Woman of All Time" in 2011.
She has also been included in magazines' lists of the world's most beautiful women. Divorced from actor Brad Pitt, to whom she was married for five years, Aniston is married to actor Justin Theroux since 2015, although they have been separated since February 2018.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Jennifer Aniston:
- Early life
- Career
- Other work and business ventures
- Philanthropy
- Personal life
- In the media
- Accolades
- Filmography
- See also:
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox (formerly Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller in the NBC sitcom Friends (1994–2004). Cox received further recognition for starring as Gale Weathers in the horror film franchise Scream (1996–present).
Cox also starred as Lauren Miller in the NBC sitcom Family Ties (1987–1989), Lucy Spiller in the FX drama series Dirt (2007–2008), and Jules Cobb in the ABC/TBS sitcom Cougar Town (2009–2015), the lattermost of which earned her nominations at the Golden Globe Awards and the Critics' Choice Awards. Since 2022, she has starred as Patricia "Pat" Phelps in the Starz horror comedy series Shining Vale.
Cox's other film credits include:
- the action fantasy Masters of the Universe (1987),
- the comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994),
- the animated comedy Barnyard (2006),
- the fantasy comedy Bedtime Stories (2008),
- and the independent drama Mothers and Daughters (2016).
She owns the production company Coquette Productions, which was created by Cox and her then-husband David Arquette. She also worked as a director on her sitcom Cougar Town, the television drama film TalhotBlond (2012), and the black comedy drama film Just Before I Go (2014)
Click Here for more about Courteney Cox.
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Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow; (born July 30, 1963) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. After making guest appearances in several television sitcoms, including Cheers, she came to prominence with her recurring role of Ursula Buffay in Mad About You (1993-1999).
Kudrow gained worldwide recognition for portraying Phoebe Buffay (twin sister to Ursula, whom Kudrow also portrayed) on the television sitcom Friends (1994–2004), for which she received several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series from six nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Awards from 12 nominations, and a Golden Globe Award nomination.
Kudrow starred in the cult comedy film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) and followed it with an acclaimed performance in the romantic comedy The Opposite of Sex (1998), which won her the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress and a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female.
In 2005, she went on to produce, write and star in the HBO comedy series The Comeback, which was revived nine years later for a second season. Kudrow received two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nominations for both seasons.
In 2007, Kudrow received praise for her starring role in the film Kabluey and appeared in the box office hit film P.S. I Love You. She produced and starred in the Showtime program Web Therapy (2011–2015), which was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. She is a producer on the TLC reality program Who Do You Think You Are, which garnered her four Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Kudrow has also made several notable film appearances, including roles in:
- Analyze This (1999),
- Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001),
- Bandslam (2008),
- Hotel for Dogs (2009),
- Easy A (2010),
- Neighbors (2014) and its sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016),
- The Girl on the Train (2016),
- and The Boss Baby (2017).
Click here for more about Lisa Kudrow.
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Matt LeBlanc
Matthew Steven LeBlanc (born July 25, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and television host. He received international recognition for his portrayal of dim-witted, yet well-intentioned womaniser Joey Tribbiani on Friends, which ran from 1994 to 2004. For his work on Friends, LeBlanc received three Emmy Award nominations.
He has also starred as a fictionalized version of himself in Episodes (2011–2017), for which he won a Golden Globe Award and received four additional Emmy Award nominations. He co-hosted Top Gear from 2016 to 2019. As of 2016, he plays Adam Burns in Man with a Plan.
Click here for more about Matt LeBlanc.
___________________________________________________________________________
Matthew Perry
Matthew Langford Perry (August 19, 1969 – October 28, 2023) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian and playwright who gained worldwide recognition for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom Friends. which ran from 1994 to 2004.
By 2002, due to the vast popularity of the sitcom, the cast, including Perry, were making $1 million per episode.
Along with starring in the short-lived television series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Perry has appeared in a number of films, including Fools Rush In (1997), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), and 17 Again (2009).
In 2010, Perry expanded his resume to include both video games and voice-over work when he voiced Benny in the video game Fallout: New Vegas.
Perry was the co-creator, co-writer, executive producer, and star of the ABC sitcom Mr. Sunshine, which ran from February to April 2011. In August 2012, Perry began starring as Ryan King, a sportscaster, on the NBC sitcom Go On. The series was canceled on May 10, 2013.
Perry co-developed and starred in the 2015 CBS sitcom The Odd Couple portraying Oscar Madison. The series was renewed for a second season on May 11, 2015 and for a third season on May 16, 2016.
Click here for more about Matthew Perry.
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David Schwimmer
Schwimmer began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts in theater and speech.
After graduation, Schwimmer co-founded the Lookingglass Theatre Company. For much of the late 1980s, he lived in Los Angeles as a struggling, unemployed actor, until he starred in the television movie A Deadly Silence in 1989 and appeared in a number of television roles, including on L.A. Law, The Wonder Years, NYPD Blue, and Monty, in the early 1990s.
Schwimmer gained worldwide recognition for playing Ross Geller in the sitcom Friends, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1995.
While still acting in Friends, his first leading film role was in The Pallbearer (1996), followed by roles in Kissing a Fool, Six Days, Seven Nights, Apt Pupil (all 1998), and Picking Up the Pieces (2000). He was then cast in the miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) as Herbert Sobel.
After the series finale of Friends in 2004, Schwimmer branched out into a variety of new acting formats beyond television. He was cast as the title character in the 2005 drama film Duane Hopwood, and voiced Melman the Giraffe in the computer-animated Madagascar film franchise, acted in the dark comedy Big Nothing (2006), and the thriller Nothing But the Truth (2008).
Schwimmer made his West End stage debut in the leading role in 2005's Some Girl(s), in 2006, he made his Broadway debut in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, his feature film directorial debut followed in 2007 with the comedy Run Fatboy Run, and the following year, he made his Off-Broadway directorial debut in Fault Lines.
In 2016, he starred as lawyer Robert Kardashian in American Crime Story, for which he received his second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.
Click here for more about David Schwimmer.
Two and a Half Men (CBS: 2003-2015)
YouTube Video: Two and a Half Men funny scenes
Pictured: L-R: "Charlie Harper" (Charlie Sheen); "Jake Harper" (Angus T. Jones); and "Alan Harper" (Jon Cryer)
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that began broadcast on CBS on September 22, 2003, and ended on February 19, 2015 after 12 seasons. Originally starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the series was about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother Alan; and Alan's son Jake.
After Alan divorces, he moves with his son to share Charlie's beachfront Malibu house and complicates Charlie's freewheeling life.
In 2010, CBS and Warner Bros. Television reached a multiyear broadcast agreement for the series, renewing it through at least the 2011–12 season.
On February 24, 2011, though, CBS and Warner Bros. decided to end production for the rest of the eighth season after Sheen entered drug rehabilitation and made "disparaging comments" about the series' creator and executive producer Chuck Lorre. Sheen's contract was terminated on March 7. Ashton Kutcher was hired to replace him the following season.
On April 26, 2013, CBS renewed the series for an 11th season after closing one-year deals with Kutcher and Cryer. Jones, who was attending college, was relegated to recurring status for season 11, but never made a single appearance until the series finale. He was replaced by Jenny (portrayed by Amber Tamblyn), Charlie's previously unknown daughter.
Season 11 premiered on September 26, 2013. On March 13, 2014, CBS renewed the series for a 12th season, which CBS subsequently announced would be the final season. The season premiered on October 30, 2014 with the episode "The Ol' Mexican Spinach" and concluded on February 19, 2015, with the 40-minute finale "Of Course He's Dead".
The success of the series led to it being the fourth-highest revenue-generating program for 2012, earning $3.24 million an episode.
Overview:
The series revolved initially around the life of the Harper brothers Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and Alan (Jon Cryer), and Alan's son Jake (Angus T. Jones). Charlie is a bachelor who writes commercial jingles for a living while leading a hedonistic lifestyle.
When Alan's wife Judith (Marin Hinkle) decides to divorce him, he moves into Charlie's Malibu beach house, with Jake coming to stay over the weekends. Charlie's housekeeper is Berta (Conchata Ferrell), a sharp-tongued woman who initially resists the change to the household, but grudgingly accepts it.
Charlie's one-night stand Rose (Melanie Lynskey) was first introduced as his stalker in the pilot episode.
The first five seasons find Charlie in casual sexual relationships with numerous women until the sixth season, when he becomes engaged to Chelsea (Jennifer Taylor), but the relationship does not last as Chelsea breaks off their engagement.
Afterwards, Charlie flies to Paris in the eighth-season finale with his stalker Rose. In the ninth-season premiere, introducing a revamped show, it is revealed that Charlie died when he fell in front of a subway train in Paris. Suggestions are made that Rose pushed him in the train's path after learning Charlie had cheated on her.
Alan's experiences are somewhat different. Throughout the series, Alan continues to deal with his son Jake's growing up, and the aftermath of his divorce, when he has little success with women.
Alan's marriage to Kandi (April Bowlby) at the end of the third season was short-lived. In the fourth season, Alan is back at the beach house paying alimony to two women out of his meager earnings as a chiropractor. In the seventh season, he begins a relationship with Lyndsey McElroy (Courtney Thorne-Smith), the mother of one of Jake's friends. Their relationship is temporarily suspended when Alan cheats on her and accidentally burns down her house, but the relationship eventually resumes.
In the ninth-season premiere (after Charlie's death), the beach house is sold to Walden Schmidt (Ashton Kutcher), an Internet billionaire going through a divorce from Bridget (Judy Greer). Alan leaves to live with his mother Evelyn (Holland Taylor) when the house is sold, but Walden invites both Alan and Jake back to live in the beach house. He needs friends and the three form a tightknit surrogate family.
At the end of the ninth season, Jake joins the army; he appears occasionally during season 10, briefly dating Tammy (Jaime Pressly), who is 17 years his senior and has three kids, as well as Tammy's daughter Ashley (Emily Osment).
In the 10th season, Walden proposes to his English girlfriend Zoey (Sophie Winkleman), only to be turned down, and discovers she has another man. He becomes depressed.
Meanwhile, Alan gets engaged to his girlfriend Lyndsey, while Judith leaves her second husband Herb Melnick (Ryan Stiles) (to whom she had been married since the fourth season) after he cheats on her with his receptionist (they later reconcile).
Alan and Lyndsey's relationship of three years ends as she wants to move on. Rose returns and briefly dates Walden, later stalking him as she did to Charlie. Walden begins to date a poor but ambitious woman named Kate (Brooke D'Orsay) and changes his name to "Sam Wilson", pretending to be poor to find someone who wants him for him, not for his money.
They later break up when he reveals who he really is, though Kate realizes that Walden's money helped her become a successful clothing designer. Jake announces he is being shipped to Japan for a year, so Alan and he go on a father-son bonding trip. Other than a cameo in the series finale, this is the last time Jake appears on the show, though verbal references are made to him.
In the 11th season, a young woman arrives at the beach house, announcing that she is Charlie Harper's biological daughter, Jenny (Amber Tamblyn). She moves in with Walden and Alan, later revealing many of Charlie's traits, including a love of women and booze. Lyndsey begins dating Larry (D. B. Sweeney) and in an attempt to learn more about Larry, Alan takes on the pseudonym "Jeff Strongman". His double-life becomes complicated when "Jeff" begins dating Larry's sister, Gretchen (Kimberly Williams-Paisley).
In the 12th season, Walden decides to reprioritize his life after a health scare by deciding to adopt a baby. He realizes that the only way to do this is to be married, but does not know anyone who will do it, so he asks Alan to marry him and pretend that they are a gay couple, thus ensuring success at adopting.
Jenny moves out of the house and moves in with Evelyn due to Walden and Alan preparing to adopt. They adopt an African American child, Louis (Edan Alexander), and subsequently divorce to pursue relationships with women. Alan proposes to Lyndsey a second time, and she accepts, while Walden begins a relationship with Louis's social worker, Ms. McMartin (Maggie Lawson).
Charlie is eventually revealed to be alive, having been kept prisoner by Rose until escaping, but he is killed before he can confront Walden and Alan.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
After Alan divorces, he moves with his son to share Charlie's beachfront Malibu house and complicates Charlie's freewheeling life.
In 2010, CBS and Warner Bros. Television reached a multiyear broadcast agreement for the series, renewing it through at least the 2011–12 season.
On February 24, 2011, though, CBS and Warner Bros. decided to end production for the rest of the eighth season after Sheen entered drug rehabilitation and made "disparaging comments" about the series' creator and executive producer Chuck Lorre. Sheen's contract was terminated on March 7. Ashton Kutcher was hired to replace him the following season.
On April 26, 2013, CBS renewed the series for an 11th season after closing one-year deals with Kutcher and Cryer. Jones, who was attending college, was relegated to recurring status for season 11, but never made a single appearance until the series finale. He was replaced by Jenny (portrayed by Amber Tamblyn), Charlie's previously unknown daughter.
Season 11 premiered on September 26, 2013. On March 13, 2014, CBS renewed the series for a 12th season, which CBS subsequently announced would be the final season. The season premiered on October 30, 2014 with the episode "The Ol' Mexican Spinach" and concluded on February 19, 2015, with the 40-minute finale "Of Course He's Dead".
The success of the series led to it being the fourth-highest revenue-generating program for 2012, earning $3.24 million an episode.
Overview:
The series revolved initially around the life of the Harper brothers Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and Alan (Jon Cryer), and Alan's son Jake (Angus T. Jones). Charlie is a bachelor who writes commercial jingles for a living while leading a hedonistic lifestyle.
When Alan's wife Judith (Marin Hinkle) decides to divorce him, he moves into Charlie's Malibu beach house, with Jake coming to stay over the weekends. Charlie's housekeeper is Berta (Conchata Ferrell), a sharp-tongued woman who initially resists the change to the household, but grudgingly accepts it.
Charlie's one-night stand Rose (Melanie Lynskey) was first introduced as his stalker in the pilot episode.
The first five seasons find Charlie in casual sexual relationships with numerous women until the sixth season, when he becomes engaged to Chelsea (Jennifer Taylor), but the relationship does not last as Chelsea breaks off their engagement.
Afterwards, Charlie flies to Paris in the eighth-season finale with his stalker Rose. In the ninth-season premiere, introducing a revamped show, it is revealed that Charlie died when he fell in front of a subway train in Paris. Suggestions are made that Rose pushed him in the train's path after learning Charlie had cheated on her.
Alan's experiences are somewhat different. Throughout the series, Alan continues to deal with his son Jake's growing up, and the aftermath of his divorce, when he has little success with women.
Alan's marriage to Kandi (April Bowlby) at the end of the third season was short-lived. In the fourth season, Alan is back at the beach house paying alimony to two women out of his meager earnings as a chiropractor. In the seventh season, he begins a relationship with Lyndsey McElroy (Courtney Thorne-Smith), the mother of one of Jake's friends. Their relationship is temporarily suspended when Alan cheats on her and accidentally burns down her house, but the relationship eventually resumes.
In the ninth-season premiere (after Charlie's death), the beach house is sold to Walden Schmidt (Ashton Kutcher), an Internet billionaire going through a divorce from Bridget (Judy Greer). Alan leaves to live with his mother Evelyn (Holland Taylor) when the house is sold, but Walden invites both Alan and Jake back to live in the beach house. He needs friends and the three form a tightknit surrogate family.
At the end of the ninth season, Jake joins the army; he appears occasionally during season 10, briefly dating Tammy (Jaime Pressly), who is 17 years his senior and has three kids, as well as Tammy's daughter Ashley (Emily Osment).
In the 10th season, Walden proposes to his English girlfriend Zoey (Sophie Winkleman), only to be turned down, and discovers she has another man. He becomes depressed.
Meanwhile, Alan gets engaged to his girlfriend Lyndsey, while Judith leaves her second husband Herb Melnick (Ryan Stiles) (to whom she had been married since the fourth season) after he cheats on her with his receptionist (they later reconcile).
Alan and Lyndsey's relationship of three years ends as she wants to move on. Rose returns and briefly dates Walden, later stalking him as she did to Charlie. Walden begins to date a poor but ambitious woman named Kate (Brooke D'Orsay) and changes his name to "Sam Wilson", pretending to be poor to find someone who wants him for him, not for his money.
They later break up when he reveals who he really is, though Kate realizes that Walden's money helped her become a successful clothing designer. Jake announces he is being shipped to Japan for a year, so Alan and he go on a father-son bonding trip. Other than a cameo in the series finale, this is the last time Jake appears on the show, though verbal references are made to him.
In the 11th season, a young woman arrives at the beach house, announcing that she is Charlie Harper's biological daughter, Jenny (Amber Tamblyn). She moves in with Walden and Alan, later revealing many of Charlie's traits, including a love of women and booze. Lyndsey begins dating Larry (D. B. Sweeney) and in an attempt to learn more about Larry, Alan takes on the pseudonym "Jeff Strongman". His double-life becomes complicated when "Jeff" begins dating Larry's sister, Gretchen (Kimberly Williams-Paisley).
In the 12th season, Walden decides to reprioritize his life after a health scare by deciding to adopt a baby. He realizes that the only way to do this is to be married, but does not know anyone who will do it, so he asks Alan to marry him and pretend that they are a gay couple, thus ensuring success at adopting.
Jenny moves out of the house and moves in with Evelyn due to Walden and Alan preparing to adopt. They adopt an African American child, Louis (Edan Alexander), and subsequently divorce to pursue relationships with women. Alan proposes to Lyndsey a second time, and she accepts, while Walden begins a relationship with Louis's social worker, Ms. McMartin (Maggie Lawson).
Charlie is eventually revealed to be alive, having been kept prisoner by Rose until escaping, but he is killed before he can confront Walden and Alan.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
The Big Bang Theory (CBS: 2007-2019)
- YouTube Video from The Big Bang Theory - Wolowitz Funniest Scenes
- YouTube Video: Sheldon Teaches Penny About Physics
- YouTube Video: Penny's Big Bang Moments
The Big Bang Theory is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro. All three also served as head writers.
The show premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007 and concluded on May 16, 2019, having broadcast a total of 279 episodes over 12 seasons.
The show originally centered on five characters living in Pasadena, California: Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, both physicists at Caltech, who share an apartment; Penny, a waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon's similarly geeky and socially awkward friends and co-workers, aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali.
Over time, supporting characters were promoted to starring roles, including neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler, microbiologist Bernadette Rostenkowski, physicist Leslie Winkle and comic book store owner Stuart Bloom.
The show was filmed in front of a live audience and was produced by Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre Productions. The Big Bang Theory received mixed reviews from critics throughout its first season, but reception was more favorable in the second and third seasons.
Later seasons saw a return to a lukewarm reception, with the show being criticized for a decline in comedic quality. Despite the mixed reviews, seven seasons of the show have ranked within the top ten of the final television season ratings, ultimately reaching the no. 1 spot in its eleventh season.
The show was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series from 2011 to 2014 and won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series four times for Jim Parsons.
It has so far won seven Emmy Awards from 46 nominations. Parsons also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series in 2011. The series has so far won 56 awards from 216 nominations. It has also spawned a prequel series in 2017 based on Parsons' character, Sheldon Cooper, named Young Sheldon, which also airs on CBS.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
The show premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007 and concluded on May 16, 2019, having broadcast a total of 279 episodes over 12 seasons.
The show originally centered on five characters living in Pasadena, California: Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, both physicists at Caltech, who share an apartment; Penny, a waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon's similarly geeky and socially awkward friends and co-workers, aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali.
Over time, supporting characters were promoted to starring roles, including neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler, microbiologist Bernadette Rostenkowski, physicist Leslie Winkle and comic book store owner Stuart Bloom.
The show was filmed in front of a live audience and was produced by Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre Productions. The Big Bang Theory received mixed reviews from critics throughout its first season, but reception was more favorable in the second and third seasons.
Later seasons saw a return to a lukewarm reception, with the show being criticized for a decline in comedic quality. Despite the mixed reviews, seven seasons of the show have ranked within the top ten of the final television season ratings, ultimately reaching the no. 1 spot in its eleventh season.
The show was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series from 2011 to 2014 and won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series four times for Jim Parsons.
It has so far won seven Emmy Awards from 46 nominations. Parsons also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series in 2011. The series has so far won 56 awards from 216 nominations. It has also spawned a prequel series in 2017 based on Parsons' character, Sheldon Cooper, named Young Sheldon, which also airs on CBS.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Production
- Cast and characters
- Episodes
- Recurring themes and elements
- Reception
- Broadcast
- Home media
- Awards and nominations
- Merchandise
Modern Family (ABC: 2009-Present)
YouTube Video: Phil Dunphy's Funniest Moments
Pictured: L-R: “Luke Dunphy” (Nolan Gould); “Claire Dunphy” (Julie Bowen); “Alex Dunphy” (Ariel Winter); “Phil Dunphy” (Ty Burrell); “Haley Dunphy” (Sara Hyland); “Gloria Pritchett” (Sofia Vergara); “Joe Pritchett” (Jeremy Maguire); “Jay Pritchett” (Ed O’Neill); “Manny Delgado” (Rico Rodriguez); “Mitchell Pritchett” (Jesse Tyler Ferguson); “Lily Tucker-Pritchett” (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons); and “Cameron Tucker” (Eric Stonestreet)
Modern Family (stylized as modern family) is an American television mockumentary that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009, which follows the lives of Jay Pritchett and his family, all of whom live in suburban Los Angeles.
Pritchett's family includes his second wife, his stepson, as well as his two adult children and their spouses and children. Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan conceived the series while sharing stories of their own "modern families". Modern Family employs an ensemble cast.
The series is presented in mockumentary style, with the fictional characters frequently talking directly into the camera. The series premiered on September 23, 2009, and the eighth season premiered on September 21, 2016.
Modern Family was acclaimed by critics throughout its first season, although reception has become more mixed as the series has progressed. The show won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in each of its first five years and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series four times, twice for Eric Stonestreet and twice for Ty Burrell, as well as the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series twice for Julie Bowen. It has so far won a total of 22 Emmy awards from 75 nominations. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2011.
The syndication rights to the series were sold to USA Network and 10 Fox affiliates and CW affiliate WLVI for a fall 2013 premiere. The success of the series led to it being the tenth-highest revenue-generating show for 2012, earning $2.13 million an episode
Premise:
Modern Family revolves around three different types of families (nuclear, step- and same-sex) living in the Los Angeles area who are interrelated through Jay Pritchett and his children, Claire Dunphy (née Pritchett) and Mitchell Pritchett.
Patriarch Jay is remarried to a much younger woman, Gloria Delgado Pritchett (née Ramirez), a passionate Colombian with whom he has a baby son, Fulgencio (Joe) Pritchett; and a son from Gloria's previous marriage, Manny Delgado.
Jay's daughter Claire was a homemaker, but has returned to the business world; she is married to Phil Dunphy, a real-estate agent and self-professed "cool Dad".
They have three children- Haley Dunphy, a stereotypical ditzy teenage girl; Alex Dunphy, a nerdy, smart middle child; and Luke Dunphy, the off-beat only son.
Jay's lawyer son Mitchell and his husband Cameron Tucker have an adopted Vietnamese daughter, Lily Tucker-Pritchett.
As the name suggests, this family represents a modern-day family and episodes are comically based on situations which many families encounter in real life.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for additional information:
Pritchett's family includes his second wife, his stepson, as well as his two adult children and their spouses and children. Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan conceived the series while sharing stories of their own "modern families". Modern Family employs an ensemble cast.
The series is presented in mockumentary style, with the fictional characters frequently talking directly into the camera. The series premiered on September 23, 2009, and the eighth season premiered on September 21, 2016.
Modern Family was acclaimed by critics throughout its first season, although reception has become more mixed as the series has progressed. The show won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in each of its first five years and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series four times, twice for Eric Stonestreet and twice for Ty Burrell, as well as the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series twice for Julie Bowen. It has so far won a total of 22 Emmy awards from 75 nominations. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2011.
The syndication rights to the series were sold to USA Network and 10 Fox affiliates and CW affiliate WLVI for a fall 2013 premiere. The success of the series led to it being the tenth-highest revenue-generating show for 2012, earning $2.13 million an episode
Premise:
Modern Family revolves around three different types of families (nuclear, step- and same-sex) living in the Los Angeles area who are interrelated through Jay Pritchett and his children, Claire Dunphy (née Pritchett) and Mitchell Pritchett.
Patriarch Jay is remarried to a much younger woman, Gloria Delgado Pritchett (née Ramirez), a passionate Colombian with whom he has a baby son, Fulgencio (Joe) Pritchett; and a son from Gloria's previous marriage, Manny Delgado.
Jay's daughter Claire was a homemaker, but has returned to the business world; she is married to Phil Dunphy, a real-estate agent and self-professed "cool Dad".
They have three children- Haley Dunphy, a stereotypical ditzy teenage girl; Alex Dunphy, a nerdy, smart middle child; and Luke Dunphy, the off-beat only son.
Jay's lawyer son Mitchell and his husband Cameron Tucker have an adopted Vietnamese daughter, Lily Tucker-Pritchett.
As the name suggests, this family represents a modern-day family and episodes are comically based on situations which many families encounter in real life.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for additional information:
- Cast and characters
- Development and production
- Episodes
- Themes
- Ratings
- Reception
- Critical reception (2009-Present)
- Accolades
- Syndication
- Adaptations
The Beverly Hillbillies (CBS: 1962-1971)
YouTube Video of the funniest scenes of Granny from The Beverly Hillbilies
Pictured: The Beverly Hillbillies Cast on Two TV Guide covers.
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American sitcom originally broadcast on CBS for nine seasons, from September 26, 1962, to March 23, 1971.
The show had an ensemble cast which features Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as a poor backwoods family who move to Beverly Hills, California, after striking oil on their land.
The show was produced by Filmways and was created by writer Paul Henning. It was followed by two other Henning-inspired country-cousin series on CBS: Petticoat Junction, and its spin-off Green Acres, which reversed the rags-to-riches model of The Beverly Hillbillies.
The Beverly Hillbillies ranked among the top 20 most-watched programs on television for eight of its nine seasons, twice ranking as the number one series of the year, with a number of episodes that remain among the most-watched television episodes of all time.
It accumulated seven Emmy nominations during its run. The series remains in syndication on MeTV, and its ongoing popularity spawned a 1993 film remake by 20th Century Fox.
In 1997, the season 3 episode "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" was ranked number 62 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.
Premise:
The Beverly Hillbillies is the first in the "fish out of water" genre of television shows. The series starts as Jed Clampett, an impoverished mountaineer, is living alongside an oil-rich swamp with his daughter and mother-in-law.
A surveyor for the OK Oil Company realizes the size of the oil field, and the company pays him a fortune for the right to drill on his land. Patriarch Jed's cousin Pearl prods him to move to California after being told his modest property could yield $25 million.
His family moves into a mansion in wealthy Beverly Hills, California, next door to his banker Milburn Drysdale. They bring a moral, unsophisticated, and minimalistic lifestyle to the swanky, sometimes self-obsessed and superficial community.
Double entendres and cultural misconceptions are the core of the sitcom's humor. Plots often involve the outlandish efforts Drysdale makes to keep the Clampetts in Beverly Hills and their money in his bank.
The family's periodic attempts to return to the mountains are often prompted by Granny's perceiving a slight from one of the "city folk".
Granny frequently mentions that she was born and raised around Limestone, Tennessee, near Greeneville, but the state from which the Clampetts move to California is never revealed. Although it is mentioned in several episodes they are from the Ozarks, there are various, sometimes conflicting, clues found in certain episodes, but most lean towards southern Missouri or northern Arkansas.
The Cast and the Characters they play:
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
The show had an ensemble cast which features Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as a poor backwoods family who move to Beverly Hills, California, after striking oil on their land.
The show was produced by Filmways and was created by writer Paul Henning. It was followed by two other Henning-inspired country-cousin series on CBS: Petticoat Junction, and its spin-off Green Acres, which reversed the rags-to-riches model of The Beverly Hillbillies.
The Beverly Hillbillies ranked among the top 20 most-watched programs on television for eight of its nine seasons, twice ranking as the number one series of the year, with a number of episodes that remain among the most-watched television episodes of all time.
It accumulated seven Emmy nominations during its run. The series remains in syndication on MeTV, and its ongoing popularity spawned a 1993 film remake by 20th Century Fox.
In 1997, the season 3 episode "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" was ranked number 62 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.
Premise:
The Beverly Hillbillies is the first in the "fish out of water" genre of television shows. The series starts as Jed Clampett, an impoverished mountaineer, is living alongside an oil-rich swamp with his daughter and mother-in-law.
A surveyor for the OK Oil Company realizes the size of the oil field, and the company pays him a fortune for the right to drill on his land. Patriarch Jed's cousin Pearl prods him to move to California after being told his modest property could yield $25 million.
His family moves into a mansion in wealthy Beverly Hills, California, next door to his banker Milburn Drysdale. They bring a moral, unsophisticated, and minimalistic lifestyle to the swanky, sometimes self-obsessed and superficial community.
Double entendres and cultural misconceptions are the core of the sitcom's humor. Plots often involve the outlandish efforts Drysdale makes to keep the Clampetts in Beverly Hills and their money in his bank.
The family's periodic attempts to return to the mountains are often prompted by Granny's perceiving a slight from one of the "city folk".
Granny frequently mentions that she was born and raised around Limestone, Tennessee, near Greeneville, but the state from which the Clampetts move to California is never revealed. Although it is mentioned in several episodes they are from the Ozarks, there are various, sometimes conflicting, clues found in certain episodes, but most lean towards southern Missouri or northern Arkansas.
- In season one, episode 8 "Jethro Goes to School", Jethro is said to have graduated from Oxford, and shown driving by a sign that says "Leaving Oxford, Arkansas", which is in northern Arkansas.
- In season five, episode 17, it is claimed that they come from the town of "Bug Tussle" in an unspecified state.
- In season eight, episode 3, the Clampetts visit Silver Dollar City, which is said to be near their home. The real Silver Dollar City is an amusement park city located in Taney County, Missouri, and was open at the time of the shows airing (and parts of the episode were filmed there).
- In season eight, episode 8 "Manhattan Hillbillies", Granny states they are from Taney County.
The Cast and the Characters they play:
- Buddy Ebsen as J. D. "Jed" Clampett, the widowed patriarch
- Irene Ryan as Daisy May ("Granny") Moses, Jed's mother-in-law
- Donna Douglas as Elly May Clampett, Jed's tomboy daughter
- Max Baer Jr. as Jethro Bodine, the brawny, half-witted son of Jed's cousin Pearl
- Raymond Bailey as Milburn Drysdale, Jed's greedy, unscrupulous banker
- Nancy Kulp as "Miss" Jane Hathaway, Drysdale's scholarly, "plain Jane" secretary
- Harriet E. MacGibbon as Margaret Drysdale, Mr. Drysdale's ostentatious wife
- Bea Benaderet as Jed's cousin Pearl (season 1)
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- Theme music
- Crossovers
- Reception
- Cancellation
- Reunions
- Syndication
- Legal status
- Spin-offs and associated merchandise
The Jeffersons (CBS: 1975-1985)
YouTube Video: Classic George Jefferson and Archie Bunker* - RIP Sherman Hemsley
* -- Archie and Edith Bunker from "All in the Family" TV Sitcom
Pictured: The Cast (from Left to Right): Marla Gibbs as the Jefferson's housekeeper "Florence Johnston"; Franklin Cover as neighbor Thomas "Tom" Willis; Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson; Roxie Roker as Mrs Helen Willis; Isabel Sanford as Louise Jefferson; and Ned Wertimer as Ralph Hart
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–82 and by Embassy Television from 1982-85. The Jeffersons is one of the longest-running sitcoms in the history of American television.
The show focuses on George and Louise Jefferson, a successful African-American couple who have moved from Queens to Manhattan following the success of George's dry-cleaning business chain.
The show was launched as the second spin-off of All in the Family, on which the Jeffersons had been the neighbors of Archie and Edith Bunker. The show was the creation of Norman Lear.
The Jeffersons eventually evolved into more of a traditional sitcom but did reference such issues as alcoholism, racism, suicide, gun control and adult illiteracy. The epithets "nigger" and "honky" were used occasionally, especially during the earlier seasons.
The Jeffersons had one spin-off, titled Checking In. The series was centered on the Jeffersons' housekeeper, Florence. Checking In only lasted four episodes, after which Florence returned to The Jeffersons.
The Jeffersons also shared continuity with the show E/R, which featured Lynne Moody, who made a guest appearance in one episode of The Jeffersons as George's niece.
Sherman Hemsley guest-starred as George in two episodes of the series, which lasted for one season. The Jeffersons ended in controversy after CBS abruptly canceled the series without allowing for a proper series finale. The cast was not informed until after the July 2, 1985, episode "Red Robins", and actor Sherman Hemsley said he found out that the show was canceled by reading it in the newspaper.
Sanford, who heard about the cancellation through her cousin who read about it in the tabloids, has publicly stated that she found the cancellation with no proper finale to be disrespectful on the network's part.
The cast reunited in a stage play based on the sitcom. In the 1996 series finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the Jeffersons made a guest appearance and bought the house from the Banks family.
In an episode of Tyler Perry's House of Payne in 2011, Sherman Hemsley and Marla Gibbs reprised their roles of George Jefferson and Florence Johnston.
In 1985, Hemsley and Sanford made a special joint guest appearance in the Canale 5 comedy show Grand Hotel, starring Italian actors Paolo Villaggio, Franco & Ciccio comic duo and Carmen Russo. They were guests in the fictional hotel, and appeared just twice during the show, for a total of five minutes. Their voices were dubbed by Italian actors Enzo Garinei (George) and Isa di Marzio (Louise), who also dubbed their characters for the full series.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for amplification:
The show focuses on George and Louise Jefferson, a successful African-American couple who have moved from Queens to Manhattan following the success of George's dry-cleaning business chain.
The show was launched as the second spin-off of All in the Family, on which the Jeffersons had been the neighbors of Archie and Edith Bunker. The show was the creation of Norman Lear.
The Jeffersons eventually evolved into more of a traditional sitcom but did reference such issues as alcoholism, racism, suicide, gun control and adult illiteracy. The epithets "nigger" and "honky" were used occasionally, especially during the earlier seasons.
The Jeffersons had one spin-off, titled Checking In. The series was centered on the Jeffersons' housekeeper, Florence. Checking In only lasted four episodes, after which Florence returned to The Jeffersons.
The Jeffersons also shared continuity with the show E/R, which featured Lynne Moody, who made a guest appearance in one episode of The Jeffersons as George's niece.
Sherman Hemsley guest-starred as George in two episodes of the series, which lasted for one season. The Jeffersons ended in controversy after CBS abruptly canceled the series without allowing for a proper series finale. The cast was not informed until after the July 2, 1985, episode "Red Robins", and actor Sherman Hemsley said he found out that the show was canceled by reading it in the newspaper.
Sanford, who heard about the cancellation through her cousin who read about it in the tabloids, has publicly stated that she found the cancellation with no proper finale to be disrespectful on the network's part.
The cast reunited in a stage play based on the sitcom. In the 1996 series finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the Jeffersons made a guest appearance and bought the house from the Banks family.
In an episode of Tyler Perry's House of Payne in 2011, Sherman Hemsley and Marla Gibbs reprised their roles of George Jefferson and Florence Johnston.
In 1985, Hemsley and Sanford made a special joint guest appearance in the Canale 5 comedy show Grand Hotel, starring Italian actors Paolo Villaggio, Franco & Ciccio comic duo and Carmen Russo. They were guests in the fictional hotel, and appeared just twice during the show, for a total of five minutes. Their voices were dubbed by Italian actors Enzo Garinei (George) and Isa di Marzio (Louise), who also dubbed their characters for the full series.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for amplification:
- Series development
- Synopsis and Cast changes
- Main cast and Notable guest appearances
- Episodes
- Broadcast history and Nielsen ratings
- Theme song
- Popularity
- Awards and nominations
- DVD releases
Good Times (CBS: 1972-1979)
YouTube Video Good Times J.J Evans on TV
Pictured: Seated: "James Evans" (John Amos); Standing (L-R): "Michael Evans" (Ralph Carter); "Thelma Evans Anderson" (Bern Nadette Stanis); "Willona Woods" (Ja'net Dubois); "Florida Evans" (Esther Rolle); and "James "J.J." Evans, Jr." (Jimmie Walker)
Good Times is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from February 8, 1974 to August 1, 1979. It was created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer. Good Times is a spin-off of Maude, which is itself a spin-off of All in the Family.
Premise:
Florida and James Evans and their three children live at 963 N. Gilbert Ave., apartment 17C, in a housing project in a poor, black neighborhood in inner-city Chicago. The project is unnamed on the show, but is implicitly the infamous Cabrini–Green projects, shown in the opening and closing credits.
Florida and James have three children: James Jr., also known as "J.J."; Thelma; and Michael, called "the militant midget" by his father due to his passionate activism.
When the series begins, J.J. is seventeen years old, Thelma is sixteen, and Michael is eleven. Their exuberant neighbor, and Florida's best friend, is Willona Woods, a recent divorcée who works at a boutique. Their building superintendent is Nathan Bookman (seasons 2–6), who James, Willona and later J.J. refer to as "Buffalo Butt", or, even more derisively, "Booger".
Florida and son J.J., 1974: The characters originated on the sitcom Maude as Florida and Henry Evans, with Florida employed as Maude Findlay's housekeeper in Tuckahoe, New York, and Henry employed as a firefighter.
When producers decided to feature the Florida character in her own show, they changed the characters' history: Henry's name became James, there was no mention of Maude, and the couple lived in Chicago.
Episodes of Good Times deal with the characters' attempts to overcome poverty living in a high rise project building in Chicago. James Evans often works at least two jobs, mostly manual labor such as dishwasher, construction laborer, etc. Often he is unemployed, but he is a proud man who will not accept charity. When he has to, he hustles money playing pool, although Florida disapproves of this.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Premise:
Florida and James Evans and their three children live at 963 N. Gilbert Ave., apartment 17C, in a housing project in a poor, black neighborhood in inner-city Chicago. The project is unnamed on the show, but is implicitly the infamous Cabrini–Green projects, shown in the opening and closing credits.
Florida and James have three children: James Jr., also known as "J.J."; Thelma; and Michael, called "the militant midget" by his father due to his passionate activism.
When the series begins, J.J. is seventeen years old, Thelma is sixteen, and Michael is eleven. Their exuberant neighbor, and Florida's best friend, is Willona Woods, a recent divorcée who works at a boutique. Their building superintendent is Nathan Bookman (seasons 2–6), who James, Willona and later J.J. refer to as "Buffalo Butt", or, even more derisively, "Booger".
Florida and son J.J., 1974: The characters originated on the sitcom Maude as Florida and Henry Evans, with Florida employed as Maude Findlay's housekeeper in Tuckahoe, New York, and Henry employed as a firefighter.
When producers decided to feature the Florida character in her own show, they changed the characters' history: Henry's name became James, there was no mention of Maude, and the couple lived in Chicago.
Episodes of Good Times deal with the characters' attempts to overcome poverty living in a high rise project building in Chicago. James Evans often works at least two jobs, mostly manual labor such as dishwasher, construction laborer, etc. Often he is unemployed, but he is a proud man who will not accept charity. When he has to, he hustles money playing pool, although Florida disapproves of this.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Cast and characters
- Main
Minor characters
Notable guest stars
- Main
- Production notes: Theme song and opening sequence
- Episodes
- Reception including Ratings
- Awards and nominations
- Syndication
- DVD releases
Sanford and Son (NBC: 1972-1977)
YouTube Video of hysterical insult by Fred Sanford to Esther Anderson as to why Esther's family was "stained"
Pictured L-R: Redd Foxx as "Fred Sanford", and Desmond Wilson as the son "Lamont Sanford"
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972 to March 25, 1977. It was based on the BBC Television program Steptoe and Son.
Known for its edgy racial humor, running gags and catchphrases, the series was adapted by Norman Lear and considered NBC's answer to CBS's All in the Family.
Sanford and Son has been hailed as the precursor to many other African American sitcoms. It was a ratings hit throughout its six-season run.
While the role of Fred G. Sanford was known for his bigotry and cantankerousness, the role of Lamont Sanford was that of a conscientious peacemaker. At times, both characters would involve themselves in schemes, usually as a means of earning cash quickly in order to pay off their various debts.
Other colorful and unconventional characters on the show included Aunt Esther, Grady Wilson, Bubba Bexley, and Rollo Larson.
In 2007, Time magazine included the show on their list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time".
Summary:
Sanford and Son stars Redd Foxx as Fred G. Sanford, a widower and junk dealer living at 9114 South Central Avenue in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, and Demond Wilson as his son Lamont Sanford. In his youth, Fred moved to South Central Los Angeles from his hometown of St. Louis.
After the show's premiere in 1972, newspaper ads touted Foxx as NBC's answer to Archie Bunker, the bigoted white protagonist of All in the Family.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for additional background:
Known for its edgy racial humor, running gags and catchphrases, the series was adapted by Norman Lear and considered NBC's answer to CBS's All in the Family.
Sanford and Son has been hailed as the precursor to many other African American sitcoms. It was a ratings hit throughout its six-season run.
While the role of Fred G. Sanford was known for his bigotry and cantankerousness, the role of Lamont Sanford was that of a conscientious peacemaker. At times, both characters would involve themselves in schemes, usually as a means of earning cash quickly in order to pay off their various debts.
Other colorful and unconventional characters on the show included Aunt Esther, Grady Wilson, Bubba Bexley, and Rollo Larson.
In 2007, Time magazine included the show on their list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time".
Summary:
Sanford and Son stars Redd Foxx as Fred G. Sanford, a widower and junk dealer living at 9114 South Central Avenue in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, and Demond Wilson as his son Lamont Sanford. In his youth, Fred moved to South Central Los Angeles from his hometown of St. Louis.
After the show's premiere in 1972, newspaper ads touted Foxx as NBC's answer to Archie Bunker, the bigoted white protagonist of All in the Family.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for additional background:
- Fred Sanford
- Lamont Sanford
- Series progression
- Other characters
- Episodes
- Reception and cancellation, including Ratings
- Production notes
- Spin-offs and 1980–81 revival
- DVD releases
Family Ties (NBC: 1982-1989)
YouTube Video: Funny Scene featuring Alex Keaton
Pictured (L-R): Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton; Michael Gross as Steven Keaton; Meredith Baxter-Birney as Elyse Keaton; Tina Yothers as Jennifer Keaton; and Justine Bateman as Mallory Keaton.
Family Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989.
The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s.
This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young Republican Alex P. Keaton (portrayed by Michael J. Fox) and his ex-hippie parents, Steven and Elyse Keaton (portrayed by Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter).
The show won multiple awards, including three consecutive Emmy Awards for Michael J. Fox as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Overview:
Set in suburban Columbus, Ohio, during the Reagan administration, Steven and Elyse Keaton (Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter-Birney) are baby boomers, liberals and former hippies, raising their three children:
Married in 1964, Elyse is an independent architect and Steven, a native of Buffalo, New York, is the station manager of WKS, a local public television station.
Much of the humor of the series focuses on the cultural divide during the 1980s when younger generations rejected the counterculture of the 1960s and embraced the materialism and conservative politics which came to define the 1980s.
Both Alex and Mallory embrace Reaganomics and exhibit conservative attitudes: Alex is a Young Republican and Mallory is a more materialistic young woman in contrast to her feminist mother.
Mallory was also presented as a vacuous airhead, who was fodder for jokes and teasing from her brother. Jennifer, an athletic tomboy and the youngest child, shares more the values of her parents and just wants to be a normal kid. Steven and Elyse had a fourth child, Andrew (or "Andy", for short), who was born in early 1985. Andy is the youngest on whom Alex doted and quickly moulded in his conservative image.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s.
This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young Republican Alex P. Keaton (portrayed by Michael J. Fox) and his ex-hippie parents, Steven and Elyse Keaton (portrayed by Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter).
The show won multiple awards, including three consecutive Emmy Awards for Michael J. Fox as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Overview:
Set in suburban Columbus, Ohio, during the Reagan administration, Steven and Elyse Keaton (Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter-Birney) are baby boomers, liberals and former hippies, raising their three children:
- ambitious, would-be millionaire entrepreneur Alex (Michael J. Fox);
- fashion-conscious, gossipy Mallory (Justine Bateman);
- and tomboy Jennifer (Tina Yothers).
Married in 1964, Elyse is an independent architect and Steven, a native of Buffalo, New York, is the station manager of WKS, a local public television station.
Much of the humor of the series focuses on the cultural divide during the 1980s when younger generations rejected the counterculture of the 1960s and embraced the materialism and conservative politics which came to define the 1980s.
Both Alex and Mallory embrace Reaganomics and exhibit conservative attitudes: Alex is a Young Republican and Mallory is a more materialistic young woman in contrast to her feminist mother.
Mallory was also presented as a vacuous airhead, who was fodder for jokes and teasing from her brother. Jennifer, an athletic tomboy and the youngest child, shares more the values of her parents and just wants to be a normal kid. Steven and Elyse had a fourth child, Andrew (or "Andy", for short), who was born in early 1985. Andy is the youngest on whom Alex doted and quickly moulded in his conservative image.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Cast
- Theme song
- US broadcast history and Nielsen ratings
- Episodes
- Connection to Day by Day
- Awards
- Syndication
- Home media
Growing Pains (ABC: 1985-1992)
YouTube Video from Growing Pains: from season 6 episode "Midnight cowboy"
Pictured (L-R): Kirk Cameron as Michael "Mike" Aaron Seaver; Joanna Kerns as Margaret "Maggie" Katherine Malone Seaver; Tracey Gold as Carol Anne Seaver; Alan Thicke as Dr. Jason Roland Seaver; and Jeremy Miller as Benjamin "Ben" Hubert Horatio Humphrey Seaver
Growing Pains is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The show ran for seven seasons, consisting of 166 episodes.
Premise:
The Seaver family resides at 15 Robin Hood lane in Massapequa, Long Island, New York. (However, other sources claim Huntington, Long Island, New York.)
Dr. Jason Seaver (portrayed by Alan Thicke), a psychiatrist, works from home because his wife, Maggie (Joanna Kerns), has gone back to work as a reporter.
Jason has to take care of the kids: ladies man Mike (Kirk Cameron), bookish honors student Carol (Tracey Gold), and rambunctious Ben (Jeremy Miller).
A fourth child, Chrissy Seaver (twins Kelsey and Kirsten Dohring; Ashley Johnson), is born in October 1988. In the middle of season four (1988-89), she was first played in her infant stage by an uncredited set of twin sisters. Then, by season five (1989-90), she was played in her toddler stage by alternating twins Kristen and Kelsey Dohering. In seasons six and seven (1990-92), Chrissy's age was advanced to six years old.
By the seventh and final season, homeless teen Luke Brower (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brought into the Seaver family to live with them nearly until the end of season seven.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for additional information:
Premise:
The Seaver family resides at 15 Robin Hood lane in Massapequa, Long Island, New York. (However, other sources claim Huntington, Long Island, New York.)
Dr. Jason Seaver (portrayed by Alan Thicke), a psychiatrist, works from home because his wife, Maggie (Joanna Kerns), has gone back to work as a reporter.
Jason has to take care of the kids: ladies man Mike (Kirk Cameron), bookish honors student Carol (Tracey Gold), and rambunctious Ben (Jeremy Miller).
A fourth child, Chrissy Seaver (twins Kelsey and Kirsten Dohring; Ashley Johnson), is born in October 1988. In the middle of season four (1988-89), she was first played in her infant stage by an uncredited set of twin sisters. Then, by season five (1989-90), she was played in her toddler stage by alternating twins Kristen and Kelsey Dohering. In seasons six and seven (1990-92), Chrissy's age was advanced to six years old.
By the seventh and final season, homeless teen Luke Brower (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brought into the Seaver family to live with them nearly until the end of season seven.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for additional information:
- Cast and characters
- Main
Recurring
- Main
- Opening sequences and Theme song
- Production
- Episodes
- Reception
- Spin-off
- Reunion movies
- DVD Releases
- Syndication
Hogan's Heroes (CBS: 1965-1971)
YouTube Video Hogan's Heroes featuring Sergeant Schultz "I See Nothing"
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom set in a German prisoner of war (POW) camp during World War II.
It ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1971 on the CBS network. Bob Crane starred as Colonel Robert E. Hogan, coordinating an international crew of Allied prisoners running a Special Operations group from the camp.
Werner Klemperer played Colonel Wilhelm Klink, the incompetent commandant of the camp, and John Banner played the bungling sergeant-of-the-guard, Sergeant Schultz.
Story Line:
Setting: a fictional version of Luft Stalag 13 (Camp 13 in early episodes), a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Allied airmen located north of the town of Hammelburg in the Bad Kissingen woods.
It was on the Hammelburg Road (now known as E45), on the way to Hofburgstraße and eventually Düsseldorf. The episode "Anchors Aweigh, Men of Stalag 13" (S1E16) reveals the camp is 60 miles from the North Sea. Another episode places the camp 106 kilometres (66 mi) from Heidelberg in flying miles; it is 199 km (124 mi) by car.
The camp has 103 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) during the first season, but becomes larger by the end of the series.Though the series spans several seasons, it always appears to be winter at Stalag 13; there are ever-present patches of snow on the ground and on buildings, and prisoners regularly gather around a barrel fire or shiver through roll call.
However, some episodes do in fact take place in spring or summer (such as the episode dealing with the D-Day invasions).
Premise/Plot: The premise of the show is that the prisoners of war (POWs) are actually using the camp as a base of operations for Allied espionage and sabotage against Nazi Germany as well as to help Allied POWs from other camps and defectors to escape Germany (including supplying them with civilian clothes and false identification).
The prisoners work in cooperation with an assortment of resistance groups (collectively called "the Underground"), defectors, spies, counterspies, disloyal officers, and others.
The mastermind behind the whole operation is the senior ranking prisoner US Army Air Forces Colonel Robert Hogan. His staff of experts in covert operations comprises two Americans, one British serviceman, and one Frenchman.
They are able to accomplish schemes such as having a prisoner visit the camp as a phony Adolf Hitler or rescuing a French Underground agent from Gestapo headquarters in Paris.
The show is thus a combination of several writing styles that were popular in the 60s: the "wartime" show, the "spy" show, and "camp comedy".
Colonel Hogan and his band are aided by the ineptitude of the camp commandant Colonel Klink and Sergeant of the Guard Schultz, both of whom are easily duped and wish to avoid trouble at any cost: the latter declaring "I know nothing" under even the slightest provocation.
Hogan routinely manipulates Klink and gets Schultz to look the other way while his men conduct these covert operations. Klink and Schultz are constantly at risk of being transferred to the cold and bloody Russian Front, and Hogan helps to keep the duo in place if for no other reason than for fear of their being replaced by more competent soldiers.
In general, Germans in uniform and authority are depicted as inept, dimwitted, and/or easily manipulated. Many of the German civilians are portrayed as at least indifferent towards the German war effort or even willing to help the Allies.
Klink has a perfect operational record as camp commandant in that no prisoners have escaped during his time in the job (two guards may have deserted). Hogan actually assists in maintaining this record and ensures any prisoners who need to be spirited away are transferred to another authority before their escape takes place, or replacements are provided to maintain the illusion that no one has ever escaped from Stalag 13.
Because of this record, and the fact that the Allies would never bomb a prison camp, the Germans use the Stalag for high level secret meetings or to hide important persons or projects the Germans want to protect from bombing raids.
Klink also has many other important visitors and is temporarily put in charge of special prisoners. This brings the prisoners in contact with many important VIPs, scientists, high-ranking officers, spies, and some of Germany's most sophisticated and secret weapons projects (Wunderwaffe), which the prisoners take advantage of in their efforts to hinder the German war effort.
The main five Allied prisoners (Hogan and his staff) bunk in "Barracke 2". The prisoners are able to leave and return almost at will via a secret network of tunnels and have tunnels to nearly every barracks and building in the camp, so much so that Hogan, in a third-season episode ("Everybody Loves a Snowman"), has difficulty finding a spot in the camp without a tunnel under it.
The stove in Klink's private quarters, a tree stump right outside the camp (known as the emergency tunnel), and a doghouse in the guard dog compound serve as trapdoors. A bunk in their barracks serves as an elaborate trapdoor and the main entrance to the tunnels. The tunnels include access to the camp's Cooler, a name used by Allied prisoners for solitary confinement, where prisoners are routinely sent for punishment and to hold special prisoners temporarily entrusted to Klink.
Just inside the "emergency tunnel" is a submarine-style periscope, which the prisoners use to check conditions outside the tree stump trapdoor. There is also a periscope in their barracks with one end hidden in a water barrel outside the barracks and the other disguised as a sink faucet inside the barracks that allows them to see events in the compound.
The prisoners' infiltration of the camp is so extensive it includes control of the camp telephone switchboard, allowing them to listen in on all conversations and to make phony phone calls. They have radio contact with Allied command. Their radio antenna is hidden in the camp flagpole on top of Klink's headquarters, and the prisoners are able to make phony radio broadcasts including some by a prisoner impersonating Adolf Hitler.
A microphone hidden in Klink's office allows the prisoners to hear what is being said in the office. The guard dogs are friendly to the prisoners, thanks to the town veterinarian Oscar Schnitzer (played by Walter Janowitz), who supports the prisoners. He routinely replaces the dogs on the premise that they could become too friendly with the prisoners, but he also uses his truck to smuggle people and items in and out of the camp, where the German guards are too afraid of the dogs to open the truck.
Prisoners work in the camp's motor pool and "borrow" vehicles, including Klink's staff car, as needed to carry out their schemes.
Sections of the barbed wire fence are in a frame which the prisoners can easily lift when they need to get out of the camp. When required, Allied airplanes land near the camp, or make airdrops. Allied submarines pick up escapees and defectors Hogan and his men are helping flee Germany.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
It ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1971 on the CBS network. Bob Crane starred as Colonel Robert E. Hogan, coordinating an international crew of Allied prisoners running a Special Operations group from the camp.
Werner Klemperer played Colonel Wilhelm Klink, the incompetent commandant of the camp, and John Banner played the bungling sergeant-of-the-guard, Sergeant Schultz.
Story Line:
Setting: a fictional version of Luft Stalag 13 (Camp 13 in early episodes), a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Allied airmen located north of the town of Hammelburg in the Bad Kissingen woods.
It was on the Hammelburg Road (now known as E45), on the way to Hofburgstraße and eventually Düsseldorf. The episode "Anchors Aweigh, Men of Stalag 13" (S1E16) reveals the camp is 60 miles from the North Sea. Another episode places the camp 106 kilometres (66 mi) from Heidelberg in flying miles; it is 199 km (124 mi) by car.
The camp has 103 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) during the first season, but becomes larger by the end of the series.Though the series spans several seasons, it always appears to be winter at Stalag 13; there are ever-present patches of snow on the ground and on buildings, and prisoners regularly gather around a barrel fire or shiver through roll call.
However, some episodes do in fact take place in spring or summer (such as the episode dealing with the D-Day invasions).
Premise/Plot: The premise of the show is that the prisoners of war (POWs) are actually using the camp as a base of operations for Allied espionage and sabotage against Nazi Germany as well as to help Allied POWs from other camps and defectors to escape Germany (including supplying them with civilian clothes and false identification).
The prisoners work in cooperation with an assortment of resistance groups (collectively called "the Underground"), defectors, spies, counterspies, disloyal officers, and others.
The mastermind behind the whole operation is the senior ranking prisoner US Army Air Forces Colonel Robert Hogan. His staff of experts in covert operations comprises two Americans, one British serviceman, and one Frenchman.
They are able to accomplish schemes such as having a prisoner visit the camp as a phony Adolf Hitler or rescuing a French Underground agent from Gestapo headquarters in Paris.
The show is thus a combination of several writing styles that were popular in the 60s: the "wartime" show, the "spy" show, and "camp comedy".
Colonel Hogan and his band are aided by the ineptitude of the camp commandant Colonel Klink and Sergeant of the Guard Schultz, both of whom are easily duped and wish to avoid trouble at any cost: the latter declaring "I know nothing" under even the slightest provocation.
Hogan routinely manipulates Klink and gets Schultz to look the other way while his men conduct these covert operations. Klink and Schultz are constantly at risk of being transferred to the cold and bloody Russian Front, and Hogan helps to keep the duo in place if for no other reason than for fear of their being replaced by more competent soldiers.
In general, Germans in uniform and authority are depicted as inept, dimwitted, and/or easily manipulated. Many of the German civilians are portrayed as at least indifferent towards the German war effort or even willing to help the Allies.
Klink has a perfect operational record as camp commandant in that no prisoners have escaped during his time in the job (two guards may have deserted). Hogan actually assists in maintaining this record and ensures any prisoners who need to be spirited away are transferred to another authority before their escape takes place, or replacements are provided to maintain the illusion that no one has ever escaped from Stalag 13.
Because of this record, and the fact that the Allies would never bomb a prison camp, the Germans use the Stalag for high level secret meetings or to hide important persons or projects the Germans want to protect from bombing raids.
Klink also has many other important visitors and is temporarily put in charge of special prisoners. This brings the prisoners in contact with many important VIPs, scientists, high-ranking officers, spies, and some of Germany's most sophisticated and secret weapons projects (Wunderwaffe), which the prisoners take advantage of in their efforts to hinder the German war effort.
The main five Allied prisoners (Hogan and his staff) bunk in "Barracke 2". The prisoners are able to leave and return almost at will via a secret network of tunnels and have tunnels to nearly every barracks and building in the camp, so much so that Hogan, in a third-season episode ("Everybody Loves a Snowman"), has difficulty finding a spot in the camp without a tunnel under it.
The stove in Klink's private quarters, a tree stump right outside the camp (known as the emergency tunnel), and a doghouse in the guard dog compound serve as trapdoors. A bunk in their barracks serves as an elaborate trapdoor and the main entrance to the tunnels. The tunnels include access to the camp's Cooler, a name used by Allied prisoners for solitary confinement, where prisoners are routinely sent for punishment and to hold special prisoners temporarily entrusted to Klink.
Just inside the "emergency tunnel" is a submarine-style periscope, which the prisoners use to check conditions outside the tree stump trapdoor. There is also a periscope in their barracks with one end hidden in a water barrel outside the barracks and the other disguised as a sink faucet inside the barracks that allows them to see events in the compound.
The prisoners' infiltration of the camp is so extensive it includes control of the camp telephone switchboard, allowing them to listen in on all conversations and to make phony phone calls. They have radio contact with Allied command. Their radio antenna is hidden in the camp flagpole on top of Klink's headquarters, and the prisoners are able to make phony radio broadcasts including some by a prisoner impersonating Adolf Hitler.
A microphone hidden in Klink's office allows the prisoners to hear what is being said in the office. The guard dogs are friendly to the prisoners, thanks to the town veterinarian Oscar Schnitzer (played by Walter Janowitz), who supports the prisoners. He routinely replaces the dogs on the premise that they could become too friendly with the prisoners, but he also uses his truck to smuggle people and items in and out of the camp, where the German guards are too afraid of the dogs to open the truck.
Prisoners work in the camp's motor pool and "borrow" vehicles, including Klink's staff car, as needed to carry out their schemes.
Sections of the barbed wire fence are in a frame which the prisoners can easily lift when they need to get out of the camp. When required, Allied airplanes land near the camp, or make airdrops. Allied submarines pick up escapees and defectors Hogan and his men are helping flee Germany.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Cast
- Broadcast history
- Episodes including Pilot episode
- Filming
- Theme music
- Jewish actors
- Reception
- German-language version
- Infringement lawsuit
- Rights dispute
- DVD releases
- In popular culture
- See also:
- 'Allo 'Allo!
- Auto Focus
- Colditz Castle
- The Colditz Story
- The Great Escape
- OFLAG XIII-B – officers camp located outside Hammelburg
- Stalag 17
- Stalag XIII-C
Married…With Children (Fox: 1987-1997)
YouTube Video Al Bundy/Married With Children - Best funny moments
Pictured L-R: David Faustino as Bud Bundy; Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy; Katey Sagal as Margaret "Peggy" Bundy; and Christina Applegate as Kelly Bundy
Married... with Children is an American television live-action sitcom that aired on Fox, created by Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt. Originally broadcast from April 5, 1987 to June 9, 1997, it is the longest-lasting live-action sitcom on Fox, and the first to be broadcast in the network's primetime programming slot.
The show follows the lives of Al Bundy, a once glorious high school football player turned hard-luck women's shoe salesman; his obnoxious wife, Peggy; their attractive, promiscuous, and clueless daughter, Kelly; and their girl-crazy, wisecracking son, Bud. Their neighbors are the upwardly mobile Steve Rhoades and his feminist wife Marcy, who later gets remarried to Jefferson D'Arcy, a white-collar criminal who becomes her "trophy husband" and Al's sidekick. Most storylines involve Al's schemes being foiled by his own cartoonish dim wit and bad luck.
Overall, the series comprises of 262 episode and 11 seasons. Its theme song is "Love and Marriage" by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, performed by Frank Sinatra from the 1955 television production Our Town.
The first season of the series was videotaped at ABC Television Center in Hollywood. From season two to season eight, the show was taped at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood, and the remaining three seasons were taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City.
The series was produced by Embassy Communications during its first season and the remaining seasons by ELP Communications under the studio Columbia Pictures Television.
In 2008, the show placed number 94 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list.
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The show follows the lives of Al Bundy, a once glorious high school football player turned hard-luck women's shoe salesman; his obnoxious wife, Peggy; their attractive, promiscuous, and clueless daughter, Kelly; and their girl-crazy, wisecracking son, Bud. Their neighbors are the upwardly mobile Steve Rhoades and his feminist wife Marcy, who later gets remarried to Jefferson D'Arcy, a white-collar criminal who becomes her "trophy husband" and Al's sidekick. Most storylines involve Al's schemes being foiled by his own cartoonish dim wit and bad luck.
Overall, the series comprises of 262 episode and 11 seasons. Its theme song is "Love and Marriage" by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, performed by Frank Sinatra from the 1955 television production Our Town.
The first season of the series was videotaped at ABC Television Center in Hollywood. From season two to season eight, the show was taped at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood, and the remaining three seasons were taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City.
The series was produced by Embassy Communications during its first season and the remaining seasons by ELP Communications under the studio Columbia Pictures Television.
In 2008, the show placed number 94 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Cast and characters including Recurring characters
- Fox broadcast history
- Episodes
- Nielsen ratings
- Controversy
- Home releases
- Merchandise
- International remakes
- Spin-offs
- Mentions in other media
- U.S. syndication and international airings
- Locations
- See also:
- Modern Family, a show where Ed O'Neill also plays a family man.
- Star-ving, a web series created by David Faustino, where the original cast was reunited.
- Unhappily Ever After, another show created by Ron Leavitt, treating similar themes.
Maude (CBS: 1972-1978)
YouTube Video: Maude - And Then There Were None
Pictured: L-R: FRONT ROW: Brian Morrison as Phillip Findlay; Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay; Adrienne Barbeau as Maude’s daughter Carol Traynor; and BACK ROW: Hermione Baddeley as housekeeper Nell Naugatuck; Rue McClanahan as Vivian Harmon; Conrad Bain as Dr. Arthur Harmon; and Bill Macy as Walter Findlay (Maude's third husband)
Maude is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972, until April 23, 1978.
Maude stars Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York, with her fourth husband, household appliance store owner Walter Findlay (Bill Macy). Maude embraces the tenets of women's liberation, always votes for Democratic Party candidates, strongly supports legal abortion, and advocates for civil rights and racial and gender equality.
However, her overbearing and sometimes domineering personality often gets her into trouble when speaking about these issues.
The show was the first spin-off of All in the Family, on which Beatrice Arthur had made two appearances as the character of Maude, Edith Bunker's cousin; like All in the Family, Maude was a sitcom with topical storylines created by producer Norman Lear.
Unusual for a U.S. sitcom, several episodes (such as "Maude's Night Out" and "The Convention") featured only the characters of Maude and Walter, in what amounted to half-hour "two-hander" teleplays. Season 4's "The Analyst" was a solo episode for Beatrice Arthur, who delivered a soul-searching, episode-length monologue to a silent psychiatrist.
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Maude stars Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York, with her fourth husband, household appliance store owner Walter Findlay (Bill Macy). Maude embraces the tenets of women's liberation, always votes for Democratic Party candidates, strongly supports legal abortion, and advocates for civil rights and racial and gender equality.
However, her overbearing and sometimes domineering personality often gets her into trouble when speaking about these issues.
The show was the first spin-off of All in the Family, on which Beatrice Arthur had made two appearances as the character of Maude, Edith Bunker's cousin; like All in the Family, Maude was a sitcom with topical storylines created by producer Norman Lear.
Unusual for a U.S. sitcom, several episodes (such as "Maude's Night Out" and "The Convention") featured only the characters of Maude and Walter, in what amounted to half-hour "two-hander" teleplays. Season 4's "The Analyst" was a solo episode for Beatrice Arthur, who delivered a soul-searching, episode-length monologue to a silent psychiatrist.
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- Characters
- Title sequence
- Series history and topicality
- Cancellation
- Broadcast history and Nielsen ratings
- DVD releases
- Awards and nominations
- Syndication
- Adaptations
Diff'rent Strokes (NBC: 1978-1985 and ABC: 1985-1986)
YouTube Video: Muhammad Ali meets Arnold (Diff'rent Strokes 1979)
Pictured L-R: Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson; Dana Plato as Kimberly Drummond, Conrad Bain as Phillip Drummond, and Todd Bridges as Willis Jackson
Diff'rent Strokes is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, two black boys from Harlem who are taken in by a rich white Park Avenue businessman and widower named Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain) and his daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato), for whom their deceased mother previously worked.
During the first season and first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred as the Drummonds' housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett (who ultimately spun off into her own successful show, The Facts of Life).
The series made stars out of child actors Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, and Dana Plato and became known for the "very special episodes" in which serious issues such as racism, illegal drug use, hitchhiking, kidnapping and child sexual abuse were dramatically explored. The lives of these stars were later plagued by legal troubles and drug addiction.
In pre-production, the original proposed title was 45 Minutes From Harlem. The series was originally devised as a joint vehicle for Maude co-star Conrad Bain (after Maude had abruptly finished production in 1978), and child actor Gary Coleman, who had caught producers' attentions after appearing in a number of commercials.
The sitcom starred Coleman as Arnold Jackson and Todd Bridges as his older brother, Willis. They played two children from a poor section of Harlem whose deceased mother previously worked for rich widower Philip Drummond (Conrad Bain), who eventually adopted them.
They lived in a penthouse with Drummond, his daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato), and their maid.
There were three maids during the show's run: Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae), Adelaide Brubaker (Nedra Volz), and Pearl Gallagher (Mary Jo Catlett).
As Arnold, Coleman popularized the catchphrase "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" The ending often varied, depending on whom he was addressing. Early episodes addressed typical issues in a family. Later episodes at times though focused on drug abuse, alcoholism, hitchhiking, crime, among other issues.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
During the first season and first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred as the Drummonds' housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett (who ultimately spun off into her own successful show, The Facts of Life).
The series made stars out of child actors Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, and Dana Plato and became known for the "very special episodes" in which serious issues such as racism, illegal drug use, hitchhiking, kidnapping and child sexual abuse were dramatically explored. The lives of these stars were later plagued by legal troubles and drug addiction.
In pre-production, the original proposed title was 45 Minutes From Harlem. The series was originally devised as a joint vehicle for Maude co-star Conrad Bain (after Maude had abruptly finished production in 1978), and child actor Gary Coleman, who had caught producers' attentions after appearing in a number of commercials.
The sitcom starred Coleman as Arnold Jackson and Todd Bridges as his older brother, Willis. They played two children from a poor section of Harlem whose deceased mother previously worked for rich widower Philip Drummond (Conrad Bain), who eventually adopted them.
They lived in a penthouse with Drummond, his daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato), and their maid.
There were three maids during the show's run: Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae), Adelaide Brubaker (Nedra Volz), and Pearl Gallagher (Mary Jo Catlett).
As Arnold, Coleman popularized the catchphrase "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" The ending often varied, depending on whom he was addressing. Early episodes addressed typical issues in a family. Later episodes at times though focused on drug abuse, alcoholism, hitchhiking, crime, among other issues.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Seasons 1–4 (1978-1982)
- Seasons 5–6 (1982-1984)
- Season 7 (1984-1985)
- Season 8 (1985-1986)
- Cast and Supporting characters
- Broadcast history and Nielsen ratings
- Episodes
- After Diff'rent Strokes ended
- Docudramas
- DVD releases
The Facts of Life (NBC: 1979-1988)
YouTube Video with "George Clooney is our Neighbor!"
Pictured: L-R: Kim Fields as Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey; Lisa Diane Whelchel as Blair Warner; Charlotte Rae as Edna Garrett; Nancy McKeon as Jo Polniaczek; and Mindy Cohn as Natalie Green
The Facts of Life is an American sitcom and a spin-off of Diff'rent Strokes that originally aired on NBC from August 24, 1979, to May 7, 1988, making it one of the longest-running sitcoms of the 1980s. The series focuses on Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) as she becomes a housemother (and after the second season, a dietitian as well) at the fictional Eastland School, an all-female boarding school in Peekskill, New York.
Season One:
The series featured the Drummonds' housekeeper, Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) as the housemother of a dormitory at Eastland School, a private all-girls school. The girls in her care included spoiled rich girl Blair Warner (Lisa Whelchel); the youngest, gossipy Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey (Kim Fields); and impressionable Natalie Green (Mindy Cohn).
The pilot for the show originally aired as the last episode of Diff'rent Strokes' first season and was called "The Girls' School (aka Garrett's Girls)." The plotline for the pilot had Kimberly Drummond (Dana Plato) requesting that Mrs. Garrett help her sew costumes for a student play at East Lake School for Girls, the school Kimberly attended in upstate New York, as her dorm's housemother had recently quit.
Mrs. Garrett agrees to help, puts on a successful play, and also solves a problem for Nancy. Mrs. Garrett is asked to stay on as the new housemother but states she would rather remain working for the Drummonds at the end of the pilot.
Following the pilot, the name of the school was changed to Eastland and characters were replaced, with Natalie, Cindy (Julie Anne Haddock), and Mr. Bradley becoming part of the main group featured. Although Kimberly Drummond is featured as a student at East Lake, her character did not cross over to the spinoff series with Mrs. Garrett.
In the show's first season, episodes focus on the troubles of seven girls, with the action usually set in a large, wood-paneled common room of a girls' dormitory.
Also appearing was the school's headmaster, Mr. Steven Bradley (John Lawlor), and Ms. Emily Mahoney (Jenny O'Hara), an Eastland teacher who was dropped after the first four episodes.
Early episodes of the show typically revolve around a central morality-based or "lesson teaching" theme. The show's pilot episode plot included a story line in which Blair Warner insinuates that her schoolmate Cindy Webster is a lesbian because she is a tomboy and frequently shows affection for other girls. Other season-one episodes deal with issues including drug use, sex, eating disorders, parental relationships, and peer pressure.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Season One:
The series featured the Drummonds' housekeeper, Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) as the housemother of a dormitory at Eastland School, a private all-girls school. The girls in her care included spoiled rich girl Blair Warner (Lisa Whelchel); the youngest, gossipy Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey (Kim Fields); and impressionable Natalie Green (Mindy Cohn).
The pilot for the show originally aired as the last episode of Diff'rent Strokes' first season and was called "The Girls' School (aka Garrett's Girls)." The plotline for the pilot had Kimberly Drummond (Dana Plato) requesting that Mrs. Garrett help her sew costumes for a student play at East Lake School for Girls, the school Kimberly attended in upstate New York, as her dorm's housemother had recently quit.
Mrs. Garrett agrees to help, puts on a successful play, and also solves a problem for Nancy. Mrs. Garrett is asked to stay on as the new housemother but states she would rather remain working for the Drummonds at the end of the pilot.
Following the pilot, the name of the school was changed to Eastland and characters were replaced, with Natalie, Cindy (Julie Anne Haddock), and Mr. Bradley becoming part of the main group featured. Although Kimberly Drummond is featured as a student at East Lake, her character did not cross over to the spinoff series with Mrs. Garrett.
In the show's first season, episodes focus on the troubles of seven girls, with the action usually set in a large, wood-paneled common room of a girls' dormitory.
Also appearing was the school's headmaster, Mr. Steven Bradley (John Lawlor), and Ms. Emily Mahoney (Jenny O'Hara), an Eastland teacher who was dropped after the first four episodes.
Early episodes of the show typically revolve around a central morality-based or "lesson teaching" theme. The show's pilot episode plot included a story line in which Blair Warner insinuates that her schoolmate Cindy Webster is a lesbian because she is a tomboy and frequently shows affection for other girls. Other season-one episodes deal with issues including drug use, sex, eating disorders, parental relationships, and peer pressure.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Seasons 2–8
- Final season
- Cast
- Controversy
- Broadcast history and Nielsen ratings
- Attempted spin-offs
- Production notes including Theme music
- Television films
- Syndication
- International airings
- DVD and VHS releases
- Awards and nominations
That '70s Show (Fox: 1998-2006)
YouTube Video That 70's show "Best Moments"
Pictured: L-R: Standing: Topher Grace as Eric Forman; Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso; and Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde; Seated: Laura Prepon as Donna Pinciotti ; Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart; and Wilmer Valderrama as "Fez"
That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that originally aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focused on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979.
The main teenage cast members were Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Danny Masterson, Laura Prepon and Wilmer Valderrama. The main adult cast members were Debra Jo Rupp, Kurtwood Smith, Don Stark, Tommy Chong and Tanya Roberts.
The show addressed social issues of the 1970s such as sexism, sexual attitudes, generational conflict, the economic hardships of the 1970s recession, mistrust of the American government by blue-collar workers and teenage drug use, including underage drinking.
The series also highlighted developments in the entertainment industry, including the television remote ("the clicker"), the video game Pong, MAD magazine, and Eric's obsession with Star Wars. The show has been compared to Happy Days, which was similarly set 20 years before the time in which it aired.
Beginning with the second season, the show focused less on the sociopolitical aspects of the story. For example, the dynamic of the relationship between Eric and Donna was altered in later seasons to more closely resemble the relationships of other "power couples" on teen dramas.
Likewise, the first season of the show featured a recurring, more dramatic storyline in which the Formans were in danger of losing their home due to Red's hours being cut back at the auto parts plant where he worked. Storylines in later seasons were generally presented more comically and less dramatically.
The show also featured guest-starring actors from 1970s TV shows, such as:
Beginning with season 5, each episode in the season is named after a song by a rock band that was famous in the 1970s: Led Zeppelin (season 5), The Who (Season 6), The Rolling Stones (season 7), and Queen (season 8).
Split screens: One device in the show is to present a split screen in which two pairs of characters speak. One character is usually seeking advice on a problem with a character in the second pairing and the other character advises them.
Although the conversations appear to mirror each other, notable differences often occur. It is most often used by the couples of the show, with each member of the couple being advised on the relationship.
For example, in the episode "Who Wants It More?", Donna and Eric tell Jackie and Hyde that they have been holding out on each other sexually for three days and that maybe they should cave. Both Jackie and Hyde tell Donna and Eric not to cave or the "caver" will be owned by the other.
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The main teenage cast members were Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Danny Masterson, Laura Prepon and Wilmer Valderrama. The main adult cast members were Debra Jo Rupp, Kurtwood Smith, Don Stark, Tommy Chong and Tanya Roberts.
The show addressed social issues of the 1970s such as sexism, sexual attitudes, generational conflict, the economic hardships of the 1970s recession, mistrust of the American government by blue-collar workers and teenage drug use, including underage drinking.
The series also highlighted developments in the entertainment industry, including the television remote ("the clicker"), the video game Pong, MAD magazine, and Eric's obsession with Star Wars. The show has been compared to Happy Days, which was similarly set 20 years before the time in which it aired.
Beginning with the second season, the show focused less on the sociopolitical aspects of the story. For example, the dynamic of the relationship between Eric and Donna was altered in later seasons to more closely resemble the relationships of other "power couples" on teen dramas.
Likewise, the first season of the show featured a recurring, more dramatic storyline in which the Formans were in danger of losing their home due to Red's hours being cut back at the auto parts plant where he worked. Storylines in later seasons were generally presented more comically and less dramatically.
The show also featured guest-starring actors from 1970s TV shows, such as:
- Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper and Betty White (The Mary Tyler Moore Show),
- Tom Poston and Jack Riley (The Bob Newhart Show),
- Pamela Sue Martin (The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries),
- Tim Reid and Howard Hesseman (WKRP in Cincinnati),
- Eve Plumb, Barry Williams and Christopher Knight (The Brady Bunch),
- Tom Bosley and Marion Ross (Happy Days),
- Monty Hall (Let's Make A Deal),
- Gavin MacLeod (The Love Boat and The Mary Tyler Moore Show),
- Don Knotts, Richard Kline and Jenilee Harrison (Three's Company),
- and Danny Bonaduce and Shirley Jones (The Partridge Family).
- Series cast member Tanya Roberts also starred in a popular show in the 1970s (Charlie's Angels).
Beginning with season 5, each episode in the season is named after a song by a rock band that was famous in the 1970s: Led Zeppelin (season 5), The Who (Season 6), The Rolling Stones (season 7), and Queen (season 8).
Split screens: One device in the show is to present a split screen in which two pairs of characters speak. One character is usually seeking advice on a problem with a character in the second pairing and the other character advises them.
Although the conversations appear to mirror each other, notable differences often occur. It is most often used by the couples of the show, with each member of the couple being advised on the relationship.
For example, in the episode "Who Wants It More?", Donna and Eric tell Jackie and Hyde that they have been holding out on each other sexually for three days and that maybe they should cave. Both Jackie and Hyde tell Donna and Eric not to cave or the "caver" will be owned by the other.
Happy Days (ABC: 1974-1984)
YouTube Video from Happy Days - Fonzie's kick ass dance
Pictured: (L-R) Bottom Row: Don Most as Ralph Malph; Erin Moran as Joanie Cunningham; and Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham; Top Row: Henry Winkler as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli; Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham; Anson Williams as Potsie Weber; and Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that aired first-run from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning over eleven seasons.
The show was originally based on a segment from ABC's Love, American Style titled Love and the Television Set, later retitled Love and the Happy Days for syndication, featuring future cast members Ron Howard, Marion Ross and Anson Williams.
Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in the mid-1950s to mid-1960s United States.
The series was produced by Miller-Milkis Productions (Miller-Milkis-Boyett Productions in later years) and Henderson Productions in association with Paramount Television. Happy Days was one of the highest-rated shows of the 1970s.
Premise:
Set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the series revolves around teenager Richie Cunningham and his family: his father, Howard, who owns a hardware store; traditional homemaker and mother, Marion; younger sister Joanie; Richie's older brother Chuck (seasons 1 and 2 only), and high school dropout, biker and suave ladies' man Arthur "Fonzie"/"The Fonz" Fonzarelli, who would eventually become Richie's best friend and the Cunninghams' upstairs tenant.
The earlier episodes revolve around Richie and his friends, Potsie Weber and Ralph Malph, with Fonzie as a secondary character. However, as the series progressed, Fonzie proved to be a favorite with viewers and soon more story lines were written to reflect his growing popularity, and Winkler was eventually credited with top billing in the opening credits alongside Howard as a result.
Fonzie befriended Richie and the Cunningham family, and when Richie left the series for military service, Fonzie became the central figure of the show, with Winkler receiving sole top billing in the opening credits.
In later seasons, other characters were introduced including Fonzie's young cousin, Charles "Chachi" Arcola, who became a love interest for Joanie Cunningham. Each of the eleven seasons of the series roughly tracks the eleven years from 1955 to 1965, inclusive, in which the show was set.
The series' pilot was originally shown as Love and the Television Set, later retitled Love and the Happy Days for syndication, a one-episode teleplay on the anthology series Love, American Style, aired on February 25, 1972.
Happy Days spawned the hit television shows Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy as well as three failures, Joanie Loves Chachi, Blansky's Beauties featuring Nancy Walker as Howard's cousin, and Out of the Blue.
The show is the basis for the Happy Days musical touring the United States since 2008. The leather jacket worn by Winkler during the series was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution for the permanent collection at the National Museum of American History.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
The show was originally based on a segment from ABC's Love, American Style titled Love and the Television Set, later retitled Love and the Happy Days for syndication, featuring future cast members Ron Howard, Marion Ross and Anson Williams.
Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in the mid-1950s to mid-1960s United States.
The series was produced by Miller-Milkis Productions (Miller-Milkis-Boyett Productions in later years) and Henderson Productions in association with Paramount Television. Happy Days was one of the highest-rated shows of the 1970s.
Premise:
Set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the series revolves around teenager Richie Cunningham and his family: his father, Howard, who owns a hardware store; traditional homemaker and mother, Marion; younger sister Joanie; Richie's older brother Chuck (seasons 1 and 2 only), and high school dropout, biker and suave ladies' man Arthur "Fonzie"/"The Fonz" Fonzarelli, who would eventually become Richie's best friend and the Cunninghams' upstairs tenant.
The earlier episodes revolve around Richie and his friends, Potsie Weber and Ralph Malph, with Fonzie as a secondary character. However, as the series progressed, Fonzie proved to be a favorite with viewers and soon more story lines were written to reflect his growing popularity, and Winkler was eventually credited with top billing in the opening credits alongside Howard as a result.
Fonzie befriended Richie and the Cunningham family, and when Richie left the series for military service, Fonzie became the central figure of the show, with Winkler receiving sole top billing in the opening credits.
In later seasons, other characters were introduced including Fonzie's young cousin, Charles "Chachi" Arcola, who became a love interest for Joanie Cunningham. Each of the eleven seasons of the series roughly tracks the eleven years from 1955 to 1965, inclusive, in which the show was set.
The series' pilot was originally shown as Love and the Television Set, later retitled Love and the Happy Days for syndication, a one-episode teleplay on the anthology series Love, American Style, aired on February 25, 1972.
Happy Days spawned the hit television shows Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy as well as three failures, Joanie Loves Chachi, Blansky's Beauties featuring Nancy Walker as Howard's cousin, and Out of the Blue.
The show is the basis for the Happy Days musical touring the United States since 2008. The leather jacket worn by Winkler during the series was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution for the permanent collection at the National Museum of American History.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Episodes
- Cast including Cast changes
- Characters
- Notable guest stars
- History
- Ratings
- "Jumping the shark"
- Syndication
- Merchandising revenue lawsuit
- DVD releases
- Spin-offs
Laverne & Shirley (ABC: 1976-1983)
YouTube Video: The Laverne & Shirley "Power Hour"
Pictured: Penny Marshall as Laverne DeFazio and and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney
Laverne & Shirley is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. It starred Penny Marshall as Laverne DeFazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney, single roommates who work as bottlecappers in a fictitious Milwaukee brewery called Shotz Brewery.
The show was a spin-off from Happy Days, as the two lead characters were originally introduced on that series as acquaintances of Fonzie (Henry Winkler). Set in roughly the same time period, the timeline started in approximately 1958, when the series began, through 1967, when the series ended. As with Happy Days, it was made by Paramount Television, created by Garry Marshall, and executive produced by Garry Marshall, Edward K. Milkis, and Thomas L. Miller.
Premise:
At the start of each episode, Laverne and Shirley are skipping down a Milwaukee street, arm in arm, reciting a Yiddish-American hopscotch chant: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Schlemiel! Schlimazel!Hasenpfeffer Incorporated," which then leads into the series' theme song titled "Making Our Dreams Come True," performed by Cyndi Grecco. The hopscotch chant is from Penny Marshall's childhood.
In seasons six and seven (set in 1960s Southern California), the intro features Laverne and Shirley exiting their apartment building, but still reciting their original chant, and then a re-recorded version of the theme song is played. During the final season (after Cindy Williams left the show), it opens with a group of schoolchildren performing the chant and marching toward an amused Laverne before the theme song begins.
For the first five seasons, from 1976 to 1980, the show was set in Milwaukee (executive producer Thomas L. Miller's home town), taking place from roughly 1958–59 through the early 1960s. Shotz Brewery bottle cappers and best friends, Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney, live in a basement apartment, where they communicate with upstairs neighbors Lenny and Squiggy by screaming up the dumbwaiter shaft connecting their apartments.
Also included in the show are Laverne's father, Frank DeFazio, proprietor of the Pizza Bowl, and Edna Babish, the apartment building's landlady, who would later marry Frank. Shirley maintained an off-again on-again romance with dancer/singer/boxer Carmine Ragusa.
During this period, characters from Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley would make occasional guest appearances on each other's shows. During the fifth season, the girls went into the Army, and they contended with a tough-as-nails drill sergeant named Alvinia T. Plout (Vicki Lawrence).
Michael McKean and David Lander created the characters of Lenny and Squiggy while both were theater students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lander told an interviewer in 2006 that they created the characters while high on marijuana. After graduating, they continued to perform the characters in live comedy routines before joining the show's cast.
For the fifth season in 1980, Laverne and Shirley and their friends all moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, California. The girls took jobs at a department store, Frank and Edna managed a Texas BBQ restaurant, and Carmine delivered singing telegrams and sought work as an actor.
From this point until the end of the series' run, Laverne & Shirley was set in the mid-1960s.
In one of the shots in the show's new opening sequence, the girls are seen kissing a 1964 poster of The Beatles. With each season, a new year passed in the timeline of the show, starting with 1965 in the 1980–81 season, and ending in 1967 with Carmine heading off for Broadway, to star in the musical Hair.
When the show moved to California, two new characters are added: Sonny St. Jacques, a stunt man, landlord of the Burbank apartment building and love interest for Laverne; as well as Rhonda Lee, the girls' neighbor and an aspiring actress.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
The show was a spin-off from Happy Days, as the two lead characters were originally introduced on that series as acquaintances of Fonzie (Henry Winkler). Set in roughly the same time period, the timeline started in approximately 1958, when the series began, through 1967, when the series ended. As with Happy Days, it was made by Paramount Television, created by Garry Marshall, and executive produced by Garry Marshall, Edward K. Milkis, and Thomas L. Miller.
Premise:
At the start of each episode, Laverne and Shirley are skipping down a Milwaukee street, arm in arm, reciting a Yiddish-American hopscotch chant: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Schlemiel! Schlimazel!Hasenpfeffer Incorporated," which then leads into the series' theme song titled "Making Our Dreams Come True," performed by Cyndi Grecco. The hopscotch chant is from Penny Marshall's childhood.
In seasons six and seven (set in 1960s Southern California), the intro features Laverne and Shirley exiting their apartment building, but still reciting their original chant, and then a re-recorded version of the theme song is played. During the final season (after Cindy Williams left the show), it opens with a group of schoolchildren performing the chant and marching toward an amused Laverne before the theme song begins.
For the first five seasons, from 1976 to 1980, the show was set in Milwaukee (executive producer Thomas L. Miller's home town), taking place from roughly 1958–59 through the early 1960s. Shotz Brewery bottle cappers and best friends, Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney, live in a basement apartment, where they communicate with upstairs neighbors Lenny and Squiggy by screaming up the dumbwaiter shaft connecting their apartments.
Also included in the show are Laverne's father, Frank DeFazio, proprietor of the Pizza Bowl, and Edna Babish, the apartment building's landlady, who would later marry Frank. Shirley maintained an off-again on-again romance with dancer/singer/boxer Carmine Ragusa.
During this period, characters from Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley would make occasional guest appearances on each other's shows. During the fifth season, the girls went into the Army, and they contended with a tough-as-nails drill sergeant named Alvinia T. Plout (Vicki Lawrence).
Michael McKean and David Lander created the characters of Lenny and Squiggy while both were theater students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lander told an interviewer in 2006 that they created the characters while high on marijuana. After graduating, they continued to perform the characters in live comedy routines before joining the show's cast.
For the fifth season in 1980, Laverne and Shirley and their friends all moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, California. The girls took jobs at a department store, Frank and Edna managed a Texas BBQ restaurant, and Carmine delivered singing telegrams and sought work as an actor.
From this point until the end of the series' run, Laverne & Shirley was set in the mid-1960s.
In one of the shots in the show's new opening sequence, the girls are seen kissing a 1964 poster of The Beatles. With each season, a new year passed in the timeline of the show, starting with 1965 in the 1980–81 season, and ending in 1967 with Carmine heading off for Broadway, to star in the musical Hair.
When the show moved to California, two new characters are added: Sonny St. Jacques, a stunt man, landlord of the Burbank apartment building and love interest for Laverne; as well as Rhonda Lee, the girls' neighbor and an aspiring actress.
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- Laverne without Shirley
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- Animated spin-off
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- In popular culture
Taxi (ABC: 1978-1982 and NBC: 1982-1983)
YouTube Video: TV's Funniest Moments - Taxi's Christopher Lloyd
Pictured L-R: SITTING: Judd Hirsch as Alex Reiger; Marilu Henner as Elaine O'Connor Nardo; Danny DeVito as Louie De Palma; Tony Danza as Anthony Mark "Tony" Banta; STANDING: Andy Kauffman as Latka Gravas; and Christopher Lloyd as Reverend Jim Ignatowski.
Taxi is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 12, 1978 to May 6, 1982 and on NBC from September 30, 1982 to June 15, 1983.
The series—which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for Outstanding Comedy Series—focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher.
Taxi was produced by the John Charles Walters Company, in association with Paramount Network Television, and was created by James L. Brooks, Stan Daniels, David Davis, and Ed Weinberger.
Premise and Themes:
The show focuses on the employees of the fictional Sunshine Cab Company, and its principal setting is the company's fleet garage in Manhattan. Among the drivers, only Alex Reiger, who is disillusioned with life, considers cab driving his profession.
The others view it as a temporary job. Elaine Nardo is a single mother working as a receptionist at an art gallery. Tony Banta is a boxer with a losing record. Bobby Wheeler is a struggling actor.
All take pity on "Reverend Jim" Ignatowski, an aging hippie minister, who is burnt out from drugs, so they help him become a cabbie. The characters also included Latka Gravas, their innocent, wide-eyed mechanic from an unnamed foreign country, and Louie De Palma, the despotic dispatcher.
A number of episodes involve a character having an opportunity to realize his or her dream to move up in the world, only to see it yanked away. Otherwise, the cabbies deal on a daily basis with their unsatisfying lives and with Louie DePalma's abusive behavior and contempt (despite being a former cab driver himself).
Louie's assistant, Jeff Bennett, is rarely heard from at first, but his role increases in later seasons.
Despite the zany humor of the show, Taxi often tackled such dramatic issues as:
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The series—which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for Outstanding Comedy Series—focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher.
Taxi was produced by the John Charles Walters Company, in association with Paramount Network Television, and was created by James L. Brooks, Stan Daniels, David Davis, and Ed Weinberger.
Premise and Themes:
The show focuses on the employees of the fictional Sunshine Cab Company, and its principal setting is the company's fleet garage in Manhattan. Among the drivers, only Alex Reiger, who is disillusioned with life, considers cab driving his profession.
The others view it as a temporary job. Elaine Nardo is a single mother working as a receptionist at an art gallery. Tony Banta is a boxer with a losing record. Bobby Wheeler is a struggling actor.
All take pity on "Reverend Jim" Ignatowski, an aging hippie minister, who is burnt out from drugs, so they help him become a cabbie. The characters also included Latka Gravas, their innocent, wide-eyed mechanic from an unnamed foreign country, and Louie De Palma, the despotic dispatcher.
A number of episodes involve a character having an opportunity to realize his or her dream to move up in the world, only to see it yanked away. Otherwise, the cabbies deal on a daily basis with their unsatisfying lives and with Louie DePalma's abusive behavior and contempt (despite being a former cab driver himself).
Louie's assistant, Jeff Bennett, is rarely heard from at first, but his role increases in later seasons.
Despite the zany humor of the show, Taxi often tackled such dramatic issues as:
- racism,
- drug addiction,
- single parenthood,
- blindness,
- obesity,
- animal abuse,
- bisexuality,
- teenage runaways,
- divorce,
- nuclear war,
- sexual harassment,
- premenstrual mood disorders,
- gambling addiction,
- and the loss of a loved one.
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- Cast
- Episodes
- Ratings and timeslots
- Awards and nominations
- Production
- Opening sequence
- Cast reunions
- DVD releases
Three's Company (ABC: 1977-1984)
YouTube Video: Ralph Furley Tries To Give Jack Advice
Pictured: L-R: Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt), Jack Tripper (John Ritter) and Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers)
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977 to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom Man About the House.
The story revolves around three single roommates: Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt), Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers), and Jack Tripper (John Ritter), who all platonically live together in a Santa Monica, California apartment building owned by Stanley Roper (Norman Fell) and Helen Roper (Audra Lindley).
Following Somers' departure in late 1981, Jenilee Harrison joined the cast as Cindy Snow, who was soon replaced by Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden.
After Norman Fell and Audra Lindley left the series for their own sitcom, Don Knotts joined the cast as the roommates' new landlord Ralph Furley.
The show, a comedy of errors, chronicles the escapades and hijinks of the trio's constant misunderstandings, social lives, and financial struggles, such as keeping the rent current, living arrangements and breakout characters. A top ten hit from 1977 to 1983, the series has remained popular in syndication and through DVD releases.
Premise:
After crashing a party and finding himself passed out in the bathtub, cooking school student Jack Tripper meets Janet Wood, a florist, and Chrissy Snow, a secretary, in need of a new roommate to replace their departing roommate Eleanor. Having only been able to afford to live at the YMCA, Jack quickly accepts the offer to move in with the duo.
However, due to overbearing landlord Stanley Roper's intolerance for co-ed living situations, even in a multi-bedroom apartment, Jack is allowed to move in only after Janet tells Mr. Roper that Jack is gay.
Although Mrs. Roper figures out Jack's true sexuality in the second episode, she does not tell her husband, who tolerates but mocks him. Frequently siding with the three roommates instead of her husband, Mrs. Roper's bond with the roommates grows until the eventual spinoff The Ropers.
Jack continues the charade when new landlord Ralph Furley takes over the apartment complex because Mr. Furley insists that his hard-nosed brother Bart (the building's new owner) would also never tolerate such living situations.
The story revolves around three single roommates: Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt), Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers), and Jack Tripper (John Ritter), who all platonically live together in a Santa Monica, California apartment building owned by Stanley Roper (Norman Fell) and Helen Roper (Audra Lindley).
Following Somers' departure in late 1981, Jenilee Harrison joined the cast as Cindy Snow, who was soon replaced by Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden.
After Norman Fell and Audra Lindley left the series for their own sitcom, Don Knotts joined the cast as the roommates' new landlord Ralph Furley.
The show, a comedy of errors, chronicles the escapades and hijinks of the trio's constant misunderstandings, social lives, and financial struggles, such as keeping the rent current, living arrangements and breakout characters. A top ten hit from 1977 to 1983, the series has remained popular in syndication and through DVD releases.
Premise:
After crashing a party and finding himself passed out in the bathtub, cooking school student Jack Tripper meets Janet Wood, a florist, and Chrissy Snow, a secretary, in need of a new roommate to replace their departing roommate Eleanor. Having only been able to afford to live at the YMCA, Jack quickly accepts the offer to move in with the duo.
However, due to overbearing landlord Stanley Roper's intolerance for co-ed living situations, even in a multi-bedroom apartment, Jack is allowed to move in only after Janet tells Mr. Roper that Jack is gay.
Although Mrs. Roper figures out Jack's true sexuality in the second episode, she does not tell her husband, who tolerates but mocks him. Frequently siding with the three roommates instead of her husband, Mrs. Roper's bond with the roommates grows until the eventual spinoff The Ropers.
Jack continues the charade when new landlord Ralph Furley takes over the apartment complex because Mr. Furley insists that his hard-nosed brother Bart (the building's new owner) would also never tolerate such living situations.
The Brady Bunch (ABC: 1969-1974)
YouTube Video: The Brady Bunch - Marcia, Marcia, Marcia
Pictured (L-R):
Top Row: Maureen McCormick as Marcia Brady; Florence Henderson as Carol Brady and Barry Williams as Greg Brady
Center Row: Eve Plumb as Jan Brady; Ann B. Davis as Alice Nelson; Christopher Knight as Peter Brady
Bottom Row: Susan Olsen as Cindy Brady; Robert Reed as Mike Brady; and Mike Lookinland as Bobby Brady
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children.
Considered one of the last of the old-style family sitcoms, the series aired for five seasons and, after its cancellation in 1974, went into syndication in September 1975.
While the series was never a critical or ratings success during its original run, it has since become a popular staple in syndication, especially among children and teenaged viewers.
The Brady Bunch's success in syndication led to several television reunion films and spin-off series: The Brady Bunch Hour (1976–77), The Brady Girls Get Married (1981), The Brady Brides (1981), A Very Brady Christmas (1988), and The Bradys (1990).
In 1995, the series was adapted into a satirical comedy theatrical film titled The Brady Bunch Movie, followed by A Very Brady Sequel in 1996. A second sequel, The Brady Bunch in the White House, aired on Fox in November 2002 as a made-for-television film.
In 1997, "Getting Davy Jones" (season three, episode 12) was ranked number 37 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time.
Premise:
Mike Brady (Robert Reed), a widowed architect with three sons, Greg (Barry Williams), Peter (Christopher Knight), and Bobby (Mike Lookinland), marries Carol Martin (Florence Henderson), who herself has three daughters: Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Jan (Eve Plumb), and Cindy (Susan Olsen).
The wife and daughters take the Brady surname. Included in the blended family are Mike's live-in housekeeper, Alice Nelson (Ann B. Davis), and the boys' dog, Tiger. The setting is a large, suburban, two-story house designed by Mike, in a Los Angeles suburb.
In the first season, awkward adjustments, accommodations, gender rivalries, and resentments inherent in blended families dominate the stories.
In an early episode, Carol tells Bobby that the only "steps" in their household lead to the second floor (in other words, that the family contains no "stepchildren", only "children").
Thereafter, the episodes focus on typical preteen and teenaged adjustments such as sibling rivalry, puppy love, self image, character building, and responsibility.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Considered one of the last of the old-style family sitcoms, the series aired for five seasons and, after its cancellation in 1974, went into syndication in September 1975.
While the series was never a critical or ratings success during its original run, it has since become a popular staple in syndication, especially among children and teenaged viewers.
The Brady Bunch's success in syndication led to several television reunion films and spin-off series: The Brady Bunch Hour (1976–77), The Brady Girls Get Married (1981), The Brady Brides (1981), A Very Brady Christmas (1988), and The Bradys (1990).
In 1995, the series was adapted into a satirical comedy theatrical film titled The Brady Bunch Movie, followed by A Very Brady Sequel in 1996. A second sequel, The Brady Bunch in the White House, aired on Fox in November 2002 as a made-for-television film.
In 1997, "Getting Davy Jones" (season three, episode 12) was ranked number 37 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time.
Premise:
Mike Brady (Robert Reed), a widowed architect with three sons, Greg (Barry Williams), Peter (Christopher Knight), and Bobby (Mike Lookinland), marries Carol Martin (Florence Henderson), who herself has three daughters: Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Jan (Eve Plumb), and Cindy (Susan Olsen).
The wife and daughters take the Brady surname. Included in the blended family are Mike's live-in housekeeper, Alice Nelson (Ann B. Davis), and the boys' dog, Tiger. The setting is a large, suburban, two-story house designed by Mike, in a Los Angeles suburb.
In the first season, awkward adjustments, accommodations, gender rivalries, and resentments inherent in blended families dominate the stories.
In an early episode, Carol tells Bobby that the only "steps" in their household lead to the second floor (in other words, that the family contains no "stepchildren", only "children").
Thereafter, the episodes focus on typical preteen and teenaged adjustments such as sibling rivalry, puppy love, self image, character building, and responsibility.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Cast and characters
- Production notes
- Episodes
- Reception
- Syndication and distribution including Current airings
- Discography
- Spin-offs, sequels, and reunions
- Film adaptations
- DVD releases
- See also:
- It's a Sunshine Day: The Best of The Brady Bunch
- Tam Spiva, a Brady Bunch script writer
- Christmas with The Brady Bunch, an album released by Paramount Records in 1970
Gilligan's Island (CBS: 1964-1967)
YouTube Video: The 7 Deadly Sins of Gilligan's Island
Pictured: Russell Johnson as "the Professor"; Dawn Wells as "Mary Ann Summers"; Bob Denver as "Gilligan"; Tina Louise as "Ginger Grant"; Jim Backus as "Thurston Howell III", the millionaire; Natalie Schafer as "Eunice Lovelle Wentworth Howell" (Thurston's wife); and Alan Hale, Jr. as "The Skipper/Captain Jonas Grumby"
Gilligan's Island is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz via United Artists Television. The show had an ensemble cast that featured Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Russell Johnson, Tina Louise, and Dawn Wells.
The series aired for three seasons on the CBS network from September 26, 1964, to April 17, 1967. Originally sponsored by Philip Morris & Co and Procter & Gamble, the show followed the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempted to survive the island on which they had been shipwrecked. Most episodes revolve around the dissimilar castaways' conflicts and their unsuccessful attempts, for whose failure Gilligan was frequently responsible, to escape their plight.
Gilligan's Island ran for a total of 98 episodes. The first season, consisting of 36 episodes, was filmed in black and white. These episodes were later colorized for syndication. The show's second and third seasons (62 episodes) and the three television movie sequels were filmed in color.
The show received solid ratings during its original run, then grew in popularity during decades of syndication, especially in the 1970s and 1980s when many markets ran the show in the late afternoon after school. Today, the title character of Gilligan is widely recognized as an American cultural icon.
Premise:
The two-man crew of the charter boat SS Minnow and five passengers on a "three-hour tour" from Honolulu run into a tropical storm and are shipwrecked on an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
The island was close enough to Hawaii to clearly pick up Hawaiian AM radio transmissions on a portable receiver. The location given in the series varies.
In the first season episode "'X' Marks the Spot", the radio warns that the Air Force will test launch an armed missile to strike a location near 140° latitude, 10° longitude (note: this is an impossible location -- latitude goes only up to 90°, which is at the poles) The Skipper calculates this as their island's location, based on their starting point when the storm hit before they "... drifted for that three days ... with the prevailing western current ...", meaning the deadly missile will hit the island.
Later in the first season, the episode "Big Man on Little Stick" has the Professor giving the position as "approximately 110° longitude and 10° latitude". In the third season episode "The Pigeon", the island is placed about 300 miles (480 km) southeast of Honolulu.
Click here for further amplification.
The series aired for three seasons on the CBS network from September 26, 1964, to April 17, 1967. Originally sponsored by Philip Morris & Co and Procter & Gamble, the show followed the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempted to survive the island on which they had been shipwrecked. Most episodes revolve around the dissimilar castaways' conflicts and their unsuccessful attempts, for whose failure Gilligan was frequently responsible, to escape their plight.
Gilligan's Island ran for a total of 98 episodes. The first season, consisting of 36 episodes, was filmed in black and white. These episodes were later colorized for syndication. The show's second and third seasons (62 episodes) and the three television movie sequels were filmed in color.
The show received solid ratings during its original run, then grew in popularity during decades of syndication, especially in the 1970s and 1980s when many markets ran the show in the late afternoon after school. Today, the title character of Gilligan is widely recognized as an American cultural icon.
Premise:
The two-man crew of the charter boat SS Minnow and five passengers on a "three-hour tour" from Honolulu run into a tropical storm and are shipwrecked on an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
The island was close enough to Hawaii to clearly pick up Hawaiian AM radio transmissions on a portable receiver. The location given in the series varies.
In the first season episode "'X' Marks the Spot", the radio warns that the Air Force will test launch an armed missile to strike a location near 140° latitude, 10° longitude (note: this is an impossible location -- latitude goes only up to 90°, which is at the poles) The Skipper calculates this as their island's location, based on their starting point when the storm hit before they "... drifted for that three days ... with the prevailing western current ...", meaning the deadly missile will hit the island.
Later in the first season, the episode "Big Man on Little Stick" has the Professor giving the position as "approximately 110° longitude and 10° latitude". In the third season episode "The Pigeon", the island is placed about 300 miles (480 km) southeast of Honolulu.
Click here for further amplification.
Leave it to Beaver (CBS: 1957; ABC: 1958-1963)
YouTube Video Leave it to Beaver
Pictured (L-R) Sitting: Barbara Billingsley as June Cleaver (the mother) and Hugh Beaumont as Ward Cleaver (the father); Standing: Jerry Mathers as Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (the younger son); and Tony Dow as Wally Cleaver (the older son)
Leave It to Beaver is an American television sitcom about an inquisitive and often naïve boy, Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver (portrayed by Jerry Mathers), and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood.
The show also starred Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont as Beaver's parents, June and Ward Cleaver, and Tony Dow as Beaver's brother Wally. The show has attained an iconic status in the United States, with the Cleavers exemplifying the idealized suburban family of the mid-20th century.
The show was created by the writers Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher. These veterans of radio and early television found inspiration for the show's characters, plots and dialogue in the lives, experiences and conversations of their own children.
Leave It to Beaver is one of the first primetime sitcom series written from a child's point of view. Like several television dramas and sitcoms of the late 1950s and early 1960s (Lassie and My Three Sons), Leave It to Beaver is a glimpse of middle-class American boyhood.
In a typical episode, Beaver gets into some sort of boyish scrape, then faces his parents for reprimand and correction. Neither parent was omniscient; the series often showed the parents debating their approach to child rearing, and some episodes were built around parental gaffes.
Leave It to Beaver ran for six full 39-week seasons (234 episodes). The series had its debut on CBS on October 4, 1957. The following season, it moved to ABC, where it stayed until completing its run on June 20, 1963. Throughout the show's run, it was shot with a single camera on black-and-white 35mm film. The show's production companies included the comedian George Gobel's Gomalco Productions (1957–61) and Kayro Productions (1961–63) with filming at Revue Studios/Republic Studios and Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The show was distributed by MCA TV.
The still-popular show ended its run in 1963 primarily because it had reached its natural conclusion: In the show, Wally was about to enter college and the brotherly dynamic at the heart of the show's premise would be broken with their separation.
Contemporary commentators praised Leave It to Beaver, with Variety comparing Beaver to Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer.
Much juvenile merchandise was released during the show's first run, including board games, novels, and comic books. The show has enjoyed a renaissance in popularity since the 1970s through off-network syndication, a reunion telemovie (Still the Beaver, 1983) and a sequel series,
The New Leave It to Beaver (1985–89): In 1997, a movie version based on the original series was released to moderate acclaim. In October 2007, TV Land celebrated the show's 50th anniversary with a marathon. Although the show never broke into the Nielsen ratings top 30 or won any awards, it placed on Time magazine's unranked 2007 list of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time".
According to Tony Dow, "If any line got too much of a laugh, they'd take it out. They didn't want a big laugh; they wanted chuckles."
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
The show also starred Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont as Beaver's parents, June and Ward Cleaver, and Tony Dow as Beaver's brother Wally. The show has attained an iconic status in the United States, with the Cleavers exemplifying the idealized suburban family of the mid-20th century.
The show was created by the writers Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher. These veterans of radio and early television found inspiration for the show's characters, plots and dialogue in the lives, experiences and conversations of their own children.
Leave It to Beaver is one of the first primetime sitcom series written from a child's point of view. Like several television dramas and sitcoms of the late 1950s and early 1960s (Lassie and My Three Sons), Leave It to Beaver is a glimpse of middle-class American boyhood.
In a typical episode, Beaver gets into some sort of boyish scrape, then faces his parents for reprimand and correction. Neither parent was omniscient; the series often showed the parents debating their approach to child rearing, and some episodes were built around parental gaffes.
Leave It to Beaver ran for six full 39-week seasons (234 episodes). The series had its debut on CBS on October 4, 1957. The following season, it moved to ABC, where it stayed until completing its run on June 20, 1963. Throughout the show's run, it was shot with a single camera on black-and-white 35mm film. The show's production companies included the comedian George Gobel's Gomalco Productions (1957–61) and Kayro Productions (1961–63) with filming at Revue Studios/Republic Studios and Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The show was distributed by MCA TV.
The still-popular show ended its run in 1963 primarily because it had reached its natural conclusion: In the show, Wally was about to enter college and the brotherly dynamic at the heart of the show's premise would be broken with their separation.
Contemporary commentators praised Leave It to Beaver, with Variety comparing Beaver to Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer.
Much juvenile merchandise was released during the show's first run, including board games, novels, and comic books. The show has enjoyed a renaissance in popularity since the 1970s through off-network syndication, a reunion telemovie (Still the Beaver, 1983) and a sequel series,
The New Leave It to Beaver (1985–89): In 1997, a movie version based on the original series was released to moderate acclaim. In October 2007, TV Land celebrated the show's 50th anniversary with a marathon. Although the show never broke into the Nielsen ratings top 30 or won any awards, it placed on Time magazine's unranked 2007 list of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time".
According to Tony Dow, "If any line got too much of a laugh, they'd take it out. They didn't want a big laugh; they wanted chuckles."
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Production
- Themes and recurring elements
- Cancellation and subsequent developments
- Media information
- Reception
My Three Sons (ABC: 1960-1965; CBS: 1965-1972)
YouTube Video Jimmy Stewart on My Three Sons (1963)
Pictured: TV Guide Covers featuring My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American sitcom. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on April 13, 1972.
My Three Sons chronicles the life of widower and aeronautical engineer Steven Douglas (Fred MacMurray) as he raises his three sons.
The series originally featured William Frawley as the boys' live-in maternal grandfather, Bub O'Casey. William Demarest, playing Bub's brother, replaced Frawley in 1965 due to Frawley's health issues.
In September 1965, eldest son Mike married and his character was written out of the show. To keep the emphasis on "three sons", a new son named Ernie was adopted. In the program's final years, Steven Douglas remarried and adopted his new wife's young daughter Dorothy (AKA "Dodie").
The series was a cornerstone of the ABC and CBS lineups in the 1960s. With 380 episodes produced, it is second only to The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as television's longest running live-action sitcom. Disney producer Bill Walsh often mused on whether the concept of the show was inspired by the movie The Shaggy Dog, as in his view they shared "the same dog, the same kids, and Fred MacMurray."
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My Three Sons chronicles the life of widower and aeronautical engineer Steven Douglas (Fred MacMurray) as he raises his three sons.
The series originally featured William Frawley as the boys' live-in maternal grandfather, Bub O'Casey. William Demarest, playing Bub's brother, replaced Frawley in 1965 due to Frawley's health issues.
In September 1965, eldest son Mike married and his character was written out of the show. To keep the emphasis on "three sons", a new son named Ernie was adopted. In the program's final years, Steven Douglas remarried and adopted his new wife's young daughter Dorothy (AKA "Dodie").
The series was a cornerstone of the ABC and CBS lineups in the 1960s. With 380 episodes produced, it is second only to The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as television's longest running live-action sitcom. Disney producer Bill Walsh often mused on whether the concept of the show was inspired by the movie The Shaggy Dog, as in his view they shared "the same dog, the same kids, and Fred MacMurray."
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
- History
- Cast
- Episodes
- Broadcast history
- Ratings
- Production schedule
- Distribution
- Reunion special
- DVD releases
The Middle (ABC: 2009-Present)
YouTube Video: The Middle Best Moments
Pictured (L-R): Patricia Heaton as "Frances (Frankie) Heck; Eden Sher as "Sue Heck"; Neil Flynn as "Michael (Mike) Heck Jr."; Atticus Shaffer as "Brick Heck"; and Charlie McDermott as "Axl Heck"
The Middle is an American sitcom about a middle-class family living in Indiana facing the day-to-day struggles of home life, work and raising children.
The show premiered September 30, 2009, on the ABC network and features Everybody Loves Raymond actress Patricia Heaton and Scrubs actor Neil Flynn. The Middle was created by former Roseanne and Murphy Brown writers Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline of Blackie and Blondie Productions. The show is distributed by Warner Bros. Television Distribution and Blackie and Blondie Productions. The Middle has been praised by television critics and earned numerous award nominations.
On March 3, 2016, the series was renewed for an eighth season which premiered on October 11, 2016.
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The show premiered September 30, 2009, on the ABC network and features Everybody Loves Raymond actress Patricia Heaton and Scrubs actor Neil Flynn. The Middle was created by former Roseanne and Murphy Brown writers Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline of Blackie and Blondie Productions. The show is distributed by Warner Bros. Television Distribution and Blackie and Blondie Productions. The Middle has been praised by television critics and earned numerous award nominations.
On March 3, 2016, the series was renewed for an eighth season which premiered on October 11, 2016.
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Roseanne Barr including her Hit Sitcom Roseanne (ABC: 1988-1997)
YouTube Video: Roseanne Barr Makes Her 1st TV Appearance Ever on "The Tonight Show" -- 1985
YouTube Video from "Roseanne"
Pictured (L-R): Laurie Metcalf as "Jackie Harris"; Michael Fishman as "D.J. Conner"; Roseanne Barr as "Roseanne Conner"; John Goodman as "Dan Conner"; and Sara Gilbert as "Darlene Conner-Healy"
Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and television producer. She was also the 2012 presidential nominee of the California-based Peace and Freedom Party.
Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the television sitcom Roseanne. The show ran for nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997. She won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work on the show. Barr had crafted a "fierce working-class domestic goddess" persona in the eight years preceding her sitcom and wanted to do a realistic show about a strong mother who was not a victim of patriarchal consumerism.
The granddaughter of immigrants from Europe and Russia, Barr was the oldest of four children in a working-class Jewish Salt Lake City family; she was also active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
In 1974, she married Bill Pentland, with whom she had three children, before divorcing in 1990 and marrying comedian Tom Arnold for four years. Controversy arose when she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" off-key at a 1990 nationally aired baseball game, followed by grabbing her crotch and spitting.
After her sitcom ended, she launched her own talk show, The Roseanne Show, which aired from 1998 to 2000. In 2005, she returned to stand-up comedy with a world tour. In 2011, she starred in an unscripted TV show, Roseanne's Nuts, that lasted from July to September of that year, about her life on a Hawaiian farm.
In early 2012, Barr announced her candidacy for the presidential nomination of the Green Party. Barr lost the nomination to Jill Stein. She then sought the presidential nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party, which she won on August 4, 2012. Barr received 61,971 votes in the general election, placing sixth overall.
For more about Roseanne Barr, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks: ________________________________________________________
Roseanne is an American sitcom that was broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997.
Lauded for its realistic portrayal of the average American family, the series stars Roseanne Barr, and revolves around the Conners, an Illinois working-class family. The series reached #1 in the Nielsen ratings, becoming the most watched television show in the United States from 1989 to 1990.
The show remained in the top four for six of its nine seasons, and in the top twenty for eight seasons.
In 1993, the episode "A Stash from the Past" was ranked #21 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time. In 2002, Roseanne was ranked #35 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, it was ranked #32 on TV Guide's 60 Best Series of All Time.
In coming up with ideas for new shows, Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner of Carsey-Werner Productions decided to look into the concept of the working mother as a central voice. Up until that point, there had been shows with working mothers, but only as an adjunct to the father in the family.
Werner had suggested that they take a chance on Barr whom they had seen on The Tonight Show. This was because he saw the unique "in your face" voice that they were looking for, and he contacted her agent and offered her the role. Barr's act at the time was the persona of the "domestic goddess", but as Carsey and Werner explains, she had the distinctive voice and attitude for the character and she was able to transform her into the working class heroine they envisioned.
Premise:
The show is centered on the Conners, an American working-class family struggling to get by on a limited household income in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois. Lanford was nominally located in Fulton County, but other on-air references over the years suggest the town is in the vicinity of Aurora, Elgin, and DeKalb, which are much closer to Chicago.
The family consisted of outspoken Roseanne, married to husband Dan, and their 3 children, Becky, Darlene, and DJ. Later in the series, Roseanne becomes pregnant again and gives birth to a boy named Jerry Garcia Conner.
Many critics considered the show notable as one of the first sitcoms to realistically portray a blue-collar American family with two parents working outside the home, as well as lead characters who were noticeably overweight without their weight being the target of jokes.
Roseanne was successful from its beginning, ranking #1 in the Nielsen ratings its second season, becoming the most watched television program in the United States from 1989 to 1990, and spending its first six seasons among the Nielsen ratings' top five highest-rated shows; the finale attracted 16 million viewers.
Establishing shots were photographed in Evansville, Indiana, the hometown of first-season producer Matt Williams. Exterior shots of the Conner household were based on a real home located in Evansville, located at 619 Runnymede Ave, a few blocks from William's alma mater, University of Evansville.
Barr's real-life brother and sister are gay, which inspired her to push for introducing gay characters and issues into the show and was part of the reason for her fallout with former executive producer Matt Williams, who protested making the character Nancy a lesbian. "My show seeks to portray various slices of real life, and homosexuals are a reality," said Barr.
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Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the television sitcom Roseanne. The show ran for nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997. She won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work on the show. Barr had crafted a "fierce working-class domestic goddess" persona in the eight years preceding her sitcom and wanted to do a realistic show about a strong mother who was not a victim of patriarchal consumerism.
The granddaughter of immigrants from Europe and Russia, Barr was the oldest of four children in a working-class Jewish Salt Lake City family; she was also active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
In 1974, she married Bill Pentland, with whom she had three children, before divorcing in 1990 and marrying comedian Tom Arnold for four years. Controversy arose when she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" off-key at a 1990 nationally aired baseball game, followed by grabbing her crotch and spitting.
After her sitcom ended, she launched her own talk show, The Roseanne Show, which aired from 1998 to 2000. In 2005, she returned to stand-up comedy with a world tour. In 2011, she starred in an unscripted TV show, Roseanne's Nuts, that lasted from July to September of that year, about her life on a Hawaiian farm.
In early 2012, Barr announced her candidacy for the presidential nomination of the Green Party. Barr lost the nomination to Jill Stein. She then sought the presidential nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party, which she won on August 4, 2012. Barr received 61,971 votes in the general election, placing sixth overall.
For more about Roseanne Barr, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks: ________________________________________________________
Roseanne is an American sitcom that was broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997.
Lauded for its realistic portrayal of the average American family, the series stars Roseanne Barr, and revolves around the Conners, an Illinois working-class family. The series reached #1 in the Nielsen ratings, becoming the most watched television show in the United States from 1989 to 1990.
The show remained in the top four for six of its nine seasons, and in the top twenty for eight seasons.
In 1993, the episode "A Stash from the Past" was ranked #21 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time. In 2002, Roseanne was ranked #35 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, it was ranked #32 on TV Guide's 60 Best Series of All Time.
In coming up with ideas for new shows, Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner of Carsey-Werner Productions decided to look into the concept of the working mother as a central voice. Up until that point, there had been shows with working mothers, but only as an adjunct to the father in the family.
Werner had suggested that they take a chance on Barr whom they had seen on The Tonight Show. This was because he saw the unique "in your face" voice that they were looking for, and he contacted her agent and offered her the role. Barr's act at the time was the persona of the "domestic goddess", but as Carsey and Werner explains, she had the distinctive voice and attitude for the character and she was able to transform her into the working class heroine they envisioned.
Premise:
The show is centered on the Conners, an American working-class family struggling to get by on a limited household income in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois. Lanford was nominally located in Fulton County, but other on-air references over the years suggest the town is in the vicinity of Aurora, Elgin, and DeKalb, which are much closer to Chicago.
The family consisted of outspoken Roseanne, married to husband Dan, and their 3 children, Becky, Darlene, and DJ. Later in the series, Roseanne becomes pregnant again and gives birth to a boy named Jerry Garcia Conner.
Many critics considered the show notable as one of the first sitcoms to realistically portray a blue-collar American family with two parents working outside the home, as well as lead characters who were noticeably overweight without their weight being the target of jokes.
Roseanne was successful from its beginning, ranking #1 in the Nielsen ratings its second season, becoming the most watched television program in the United States from 1989 to 1990, and spending its first six seasons among the Nielsen ratings' top five highest-rated shows; the finale attracted 16 million viewers.
Establishing shots were photographed in Evansville, Indiana, the hometown of first-season producer Matt Williams. Exterior shots of the Conner household were based on a real home located in Evansville, located at 619 Runnymede Ave, a few blocks from William's alma mater, University of Evansville.
Barr's real-life brother and sister are gay, which inspired her to push for introducing gay characters and issues into the show and was part of the reason for her fallout with former executive producer Matt Williams, who protested making the character Nancy a lesbian. "My show seeks to portray various slices of real life, and homosexuals are a reality," said Barr.
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
- Characters
- Season synopses: Seasons 1 through 9
- Spinoff
- Broadcast history and Ratings
- Syndication
- Awards and nominations
- Home releases
Murphy Brown (CBS: 1988-1998)
YouTube Video Murphy Brown Comic Scene
Pictured (L-R): Charles Kimbrough as TV anchorman Jim Dial; Candice Bergen as Murphy Brown; Joe Regalbuto as investigative reporter Frank Fontana; Faith Ford as Corky Sherwood and Grant Shaud as Miles Silverberg
Murphy Brown is an American sitcom which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television newsmagazine.
The first two seasons of the show received favorable reviews from critics. The second season received universal acclaim with a Metacritic rating of 100 out of 100 based on 5 reviews. It is the only series to receive a score of 100 on the website.
The program was well known for stories inspired by current events and its political satire. It achieved a high level of cultural notoriety in the 1992 presidential campaign when Dan Quayle mentioned the show in a campaign speech, afterwards known as the "Murphy Brown speech".
The show began in the Monday 9/8 p.m. timeslot and remained there until its final season when it was moved to Wednesday at 8:30/7:30 p.m. The series finale aired in its original Monday timeslot.
The show did not have a regular opening theme song, but would instead play a different classic Motown song over the opening credits each week.
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The first two seasons of the show received favorable reviews from critics. The second season received universal acclaim with a Metacritic rating of 100 out of 100 based on 5 reviews. It is the only series to receive a score of 100 on the website.
The program was well known for stories inspired by current events and its political satire. It achieved a high level of cultural notoriety in the 1992 presidential campaign when Dan Quayle mentioned the show in a campaign speech, afterwards known as the "Murphy Brown speech".
The show began in the Monday 9/8 p.m. timeslot and remained there until its final season when it was moved to Wednesday at 8:30/7:30 p.m. The series finale aired in its original Monday timeslot.
The show did not have a regular opening theme song, but would instead play a different classic Motown song over the opening credits each week.
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
- Cast and characters
- Overview
- Episodes
- Fictional personnel
- Nielsen ratings
- DVD releases
- Awards and nominations
One Day at a Time (CBS: 1975:1984)
YouTube from One Day at a Time: "Julie throws a hilarious fit!!"
Pictured: L-R Mackenzie Phillips as Julie Mora Cooper Horvath; Bonnie Franklin as Ann Romano, a divorced mother; and Valerie Bertinelli as Barbara Cooper Royer.
One Day at a Time is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from December 16, 1975, until May 28, 1984. It starred Bonnie Franklin as a divorced mother raising two teenage daughters, played by Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli, in Indianapolis.
The series was created by Whitney Blake and Allan Manings, a husband-and-wife writing duo who were both actors in the 1950s and 1960s. The series was based on Whitney Blake's own life as a single mother, raising her three children (Including future actress Meredith Baxter) after her divorce from her first husband.
Premise:
Ann Romano, a divorced mother, moves from their home in Logansport, Indiana to Indianapolis with her daughters, the rebellious Julie and the wisecracking Barbara.
Ann frequently struggles with maintaining her role as mother while affording her daughters the freedom she never had as a young woman. David Kane, Ann's divorce lawyer and neighbor, takes a romantic interest in her, but she isn't ready to remarry. Dwayne Schneider, the building's quirky superintendent (most often referred to only by his last name), provides usually-unwanted advice to the tenants.
After David takes a job in Los Angeles, the focus squarely rests on Ann's dilemmas as a single mother and career woman as well as the girls' growing pains, with Schneider becoming a more welcomed part of the family.
Ann's strained relationship with her ex-husband Ed slowly mends, as does the girls' relationship with his new wife, Vickie. Julie and Barbara advance through high school and into the working world, and Julie eventually marries flight attendant Max Horvath. Alex, the orphaned son of Ann's deceased boyfriend, moves in, changing the dynamics in the female-dominated apartment.
Later in the series run, Julie gives birth to a daughter, "Little Annie" Horvath, Barbara marries dental student Mark Royer, and Ann's mother Katherine moves nearby.
In the penultimate episode, Ann decides to take a job in London, leaving her daughters in Indianapolis to raise families of their own. In the series finale, Schneider also leaves town, moving to Florida to take care of his niece and nephew.
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The series was created by Whitney Blake and Allan Manings, a husband-and-wife writing duo who were both actors in the 1950s and 1960s. The series was based on Whitney Blake's own life as a single mother, raising her three children (Including future actress Meredith Baxter) after her divorce from her first husband.
Premise:
Ann Romano, a divorced mother, moves from their home in Logansport, Indiana to Indianapolis with her daughters, the rebellious Julie and the wisecracking Barbara.
Ann frequently struggles with maintaining her role as mother while affording her daughters the freedom she never had as a young woman. David Kane, Ann's divorce lawyer and neighbor, takes a romantic interest in her, but she isn't ready to remarry. Dwayne Schneider, the building's quirky superintendent (most often referred to only by his last name), provides usually-unwanted advice to the tenants.
After David takes a job in Los Angeles, the focus squarely rests on Ann's dilemmas as a single mother and career woman as well as the girls' growing pains, with Schneider becoming a more welcomed part of the family.
Ann's strained relationship with her ex-husband Ed slowly mends, as does the girls' relationship with his new wife, Vickie. Julie and Barbara advance through high school and into the working world, and Julie eventually marries flight attendant Max Horvath. Alex, the orphaned son of Ann's deceased boyfriend, moves in, changing the dynamics in the female-dominated apartment.
Later in the series run, Julie gives birth to a daughter, "Little Annie" Horvath, Barbara marries dental student Mark Royer, and Ann's mother Katherine moves nearby.
In the penultimate episode, Ann decides to take a job in London, leaving her daughters in Indianapolis to raise families of their own. In the series finale, Schneider also leaves town, moving to Florida to take care of his niece and nephew.
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Scrubs: NBC (2001–08) and ABC (2009–10)
YouTube Video of Scrubs funniest moments
Pictured Below (L-R):
Front Row: Judy Reyes as Head Nurse Carla Espinosa; Sarah Chalke as intern Elliot Reid; Zach Braff as Dr. John "J.D." Dorian;
Back Row: Donald Faison as Dr. Christopher Turk; John C. McGinley as Dr. Perry Cox; and Ken Jenkins as Dr. Bob Kelso.
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created by Bill Lawrence that aired from October 2, 2001, to March 17, 2010, on NBC and later ABC.
The series follows the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart teaching hospital. The title is a play on surgical scrubs and a term for a low-ranking person because at the beginning of the series, most of the main characters were medical interns.
The series is fast-paced, with slapstick and surreal vignettes presented mostly as the daydreams of the central character, Dr. John "J.D." Dorian, who is played by Zach Braff.
Actors starring alongside Braff in all but its last season included Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, Neil Flynn, Ken Jenkins, John C. McGinley, and Judy Reyes. The series featured multiple guest appearances by film actors, such as Brendan Fraser, Heather Graham, and Colin Farrell.
In its ninth and final season, the show's setting moved to a medical school, and new cast members were introduced. Of the original cast, only Braff, Faison, and McGinley remained regular cast members, while the others, with the exception of Reyes, made guest appearances.
Braff appeared in six episodes of the ninth season before departing. Kerry Bishé, Eliza Coupe, Dave Franco, and Michael Mosley became series regulars, with Bishé becoming the show's new narrator.
Scrubs, produced by the television production division of Disney–ABC Television Group, premiered on October 2, 2001, on NBC. The series received a Peabody Award in 2006.
During the seventh season, NBC announced that it would not renew the show. ABC announced it had picked up the eighth season of the series, which began January 6, 2009. The ninth season premiered on December 1, 2009. On May 14, 2010, ABC cancelled the series.
Overview:
Scrubs focuses on the unique point of view of its main character and narrator, Dr. John Michael "J.D." Dorian (Zach Braff) for the first eight seasons, with season nine being narrated by the new main character Lucy Bennett (Kerry Bishé).
Most episodes feature multiple story lines thematically linked by voice-overs done by Braff, as well as the comical daydreams of J.D. According to Bill Lawrence, "What we decided was, rather than have it be a monotone narration, if it's going to be Zach's voice, we're going to do everything through J.D.'s eyes. It opened up a visual medium that those of us as comedy writers were not used to."
Actors were given the chance to improvise their lines on set with encouragement by series creator Bill Lawrence, with Neil Flynn and Zach Braff being the main improvisors.
Almost every episode title for the first eight seasons begins with the word "My". Bill Lawrence says this is because each episode is Dr. John Dorian writing in his diary (revealed in the commentary on the DVD of the first-season episode "My Hero").
A few episodes are told from another character's perspective and have episode titles like "His Story" or "Her Story". Apart from a brief period of narration from J.D. at the beginning and the end, these episodes primarily contain internal narration from other characters besides J.D.
The transfer of the narration duties usually occurs at a moment of physical contact between two characters. Starting with season nine, the episode titles start with "Our..." as the focus has shifted from the perspective of J.D. to a new group of medical students. The webisodes that accompanied season eight, Scrubs: Interns, also were named "Our...".
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
The series follows the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart teaching hospital. The title is a play on surgical scrubs and a term for a low-ranking person because at the beginning of the series, most of the main characters were medical interns.
The series is fast-paced, with slapstick and surreal vignettes presented mostly as the daydreams of the central character, Dr. John "J.D." Dorian, who is played by Zach Braff.
Actors starring alongside Braff in all but its last season included Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, Neil Flynn, Ken Jenkins, John C. McGinley, and Judy Reyes. The series featured multiple guest appearances by film actors, such as Brendan Fraser, Heather Graham, and Colin Farrell.
In its ninth and final season, the show's setting moved to a medical school, and new cast members were introduced. Of the original cast, only Braff, Faison, and McGinley remained regular cast members, while the others, with the exception of Reyes, made guest appearances.
Braff appeared in six episodes of the ninth season before departing. Kerry Bishé, Eliza Coupe, Dave Franco, and Michael Mosley became series regulars, with Bishé becoming the show's new narrator.
Scrubs, produced by the television production division of Disney–ABC Television Group, premiered on October 2, 2001, on NBC. The series received a Peabody Award in 2006.
During the seventh season, NBC announced that it would not renew the show. ABC announced it had picked up the eighth season of the series, which began January 6, 2009. The ninth season premiered on December 1, 2009. On May 14, 2010, ABC cancelled the series.
Overview:
Scrubs focuses on the unique point of view of its main character and narrator, Dr. John Michael "J.D." Dorian (Zach Braff) for the first eight seasons, with season nine being narrated by the new main character Lucy Bennett (Kerry Bishé).
Most episodes feature multiple story lines thematically linked by voice-overs done by Braff, as well as the comical daydreams of J.D. According to Bill Lawrence, "What we decided was, rather than have it be a monotone narration, if it's going to be Zach's voice, we're going to do everything through J.D.'s eyes. It opened up a visual medium that those of us as comedy writers were not used to."
Actors were given the chance to improvise their lines on set with encouragement by series creator Bill Lawrence, with Neil Flynn and Zach Braff being the main improvisors.
Almost every episode title for the first eight seasons begins with the word "My". Bill Lawrence says this is because each episode is Dr. John Dorian writing in his diary (revealed in the commentary on the DVD of the first-season episode "My Hero").
A few episodes are told from another character's perspective and have episode titles like "His Story" or "Her Story". Apart from a brief period of narration from J.D. at the beginning and the end, these episodes primarily contain internal narration from other characters besides J.D.
The transfer of the narration duties usually occurs at a moment of physical contact between two characters. Starting with season nine, the episode titles start with "Our..." as the focus has shifted from the perspective of J.D. to a new group of medical students. The webisodes that accompanied season eight, Scrubs: Interns, also were named "Our...".
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Welcome Back, Kotter (ABC: 1975-1979)
YouTube Video from Welcome Back Kotter: Funny scenes featuring Barbarino and Horsack
Pictured from Left to Right: Ron Palillo as Arnold Horshack; John Travolta as Vincent "Vinnie" Barbarino; Gabe Kaplan as (the teacher) Gabe Kotter; Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as Freddie Percy "Boom Boom" Washington; and Robert Hegyes as Juan Epstein
Welcome Back, Kotter is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a wisecracking high school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial class called the "Sweathogs." It marked John Travolta's television debut role. Recorded in front of a live studio audience, it originally aired on ABC from September 9, 1975, to May 17, 1979.
Premise:
The show stars stand-up comedian and actor Gabriel 'Gabe' Kaplan as the title character, Gabe Kotter, a wisecracking teacher who returns to his alma mater, James Buchanan High School in Brooklyn, New York, to teach a remedial class of loafers, called "Sweathogs."
Befitting its low ranking, Kotter's class is held in Room 11. The school's principal is referred to, but rarely seen on-screen. The rigid vice principal, Michael Woodman (John Sylvester White), dismisses the Sweathogs as witless hoodlums, and only expects Kotter to contain them until they drop out or are otherwise banished.
As a former remedial student, and a founding member of the original class of Sweathogs, Kotter befriends the current Sweathogs and stimulates their potential. A pupil-teacher rapport is formed, and the students often visit Kotter's Bensonhurst apartment, sometimes via the fire-escape window, much to the chagrin of his wife, Julie (Marcia Strassman).
The Sweathogs celebrate a winning lottery ticket as Mr. Kotter looks on.The fictional James Buchanan High is based on the Brooklyn high school that Kaplan attended in real life, New Utrecht High School, which is also shown in the opening credits.
Many of the show's characters were also based on people Kaplan knew during his teen years as a remedial student, several of whom were described in one of Kaplan's stand-up comic routines entitled "Holes and Mellow Rolls." "Vinnie Barbarino" was inspired by Eddie Lecarri and Ray Barbarino; "Freddie 'Boom Boom' Washington" was inspired by Freddie "Furdy" Peyton; "Juan Epstein" was partially inspired by Epstein "The Animal"; however, "Arnold Horshack" was unchanged.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Premise:
The show stars stand-up comedian and actor Gabriel 'Gabe' Kaplan as the title character, Gabe Kotter, a wisecracking teacher who returns to his alma mater, James Buchanan High School in Brooklyn, New York, to teach a remedial class of loafers, called "Sweathogs."
Befitting its low ranking, Kotter's class is held in Room 11. The school's principal is referred to, but rarely seen on-screen. The rigid vice principal, Michael Woodman (John Sylvester White), dismisses the Sweathogs as witless hoodlums, and only expects Kotter to contain them until they drop out or are otherwise banished.
As a former remedial student, and a founding member of the original class of Sweathogs, Kotter befriends the current Sweathogs and stimulates their potential. A pupil-teacher rapport is formed, and the students often visit Kotter's Bensonhurst apartment, sometimes via the fire-escape window, much to the chagrin of his wife, Julie (Marcia Strassman).
The Sweathogs celebrate a winning lottery ticket as Mr. Kotter looks on.The fictional James Buchanan High is based on the Brooklyn high school that Kaplan attended in real life, New Utrecht High School, which is also shown in the opening credits.
Many of the show's characters were also based on people Kaplan knew during his teen years as a remedial student, several of whom were described in one of Kaplan's stand-up comic routines entitled "Holes and Mellow Rolls." "Vinnie Barbarino" was inspired by Eddie Lecarri and Ray Barbarino; "Freddie 'Boom Boom' Washington" was inspired by Freddie "Furdy" Peyton; "Juan Epstein" was partially inspired by Epstein "The Animal"; however, "Arnold Horshack" was unchanged.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Characters
- Other recurring characters
- Show history
- Popularity
- Theme song
- Comic books
- Novels
- Action figures
- Episodes
- DVD releases
- Nominations
- Guest stars
- Spin-offs
- ABC broadcast history
- Nielsen ratings
- International airing
- After the show
The Odd Couple TV Series (ABC: 1970-1975)
YouTube Video - There`s Some Nut Trying To Read Your Lips
Pictured: (L-R) Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison and Tony Randall as Felix Unger
The Odd Couple, formally titled onscreen Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, is an American television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970, to March 7, 1975, on ABC.
It stars Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison, and was the first of several developed by Garry Marshall for Paramount Television. The show is based on the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon. Felix and Oscar are both divorced. They share a Manhattan apartment, and their different lifestyles inevitably lead to conflicts and laughs.
In 1997, the episodes "Password" and "The Fat Farm" were ranked #5 and #58, respectively, on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. The show received three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Its fourth season, from 1973–74, remains the most recent nominee for a show that aired during a Friday time slot.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for additional information:
It stars Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison, and was the first of several developed by Garry Marshall for Paramount Television. The show is based on the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon. Felix and Oscar are both divorced. They share a Manhattan apartment, and their different lifestyles inevitably lead to conflicts and laughs.
In 1997, the episodes "Password" and "The Fat Farm" were ranked #5 and #58, respectively, on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. The show received three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Its fourth season, from 1973–74, remains the most recent nominee for a show that aired during a Friday time slot.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for additional information:
- History
- Supporting characters
- Celebrity guest stars
- Awards and nominations
- Opening narration and credit sequence
- Other versions
- Episodes
- Home releases
Will & Grace (NBC: 1998-2006)
YouTube Video: Jack Knows How To Make An Entrance
Pictured L-R: Megan Mullally as Karen Walker; Eric McCormack as Will Truman; Debra Messing as Grace Adler; and Sean Hayes as Jack McFarland
Will & Grace is an American sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan about the relationship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), a straight interior designer. It was broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006, for a total of eight seasons.
During its original run, Will & Grace was one of the most successful television series with gay principal characters.
Despite initial criticism for its particular portrayal of homosexual characters, it went on to become a staple of NBC's Must See TV Thursday night lineup and was met with continued critical acclaim.
It was ensconced in the Nielsen top 20 for half of its network run. The show was the highest-rated sitcom among adults 18–49, from 2001 and 2005. Throughout its eight-year run, Will & Grace earned 16 Emmy Awards and 83 nominations. All four stars each received an Emmy Award throughout the series, making it one of only three sitcoms in the award's history to achieve this feat. In 2014 the Writers Guild of America placed the sitcom at number 94 in their list of the 101 Best Written TV series of all time.
Since the final episode aired, the sitcom has been credited with helping and improving public opinion of the LGBT community, with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden commenting that the show "probably did more to educate the American public" on LGBT issues "than almost anything anybody has ever done so far".
In 2014 the Smithsonian Institution added an LGBT history collection to their museum which included items from Will and Grace. The curator Dwight Blocker Bowers stated that the sitcom used "comedy to familiarize a mainstream audience with gay culture" that was "daring and broke ground" in American media.
Will & Grace was filmed in front of a live studio audience (most episodes and scenes) on Tuesday nights, at Stage 17 in CBS Studio Center, a space that totals 14,000 sq ft (1,300 m2). Will and Grace's apartment is on display at the Emerson College Library, having been donated by series creator Max Mutchnick.
When the set was removed in April 2014, rumours came up about a cast reunion, but the actors involved denied that such a reunion was planned. It was merely moved to Emerson's new center in Los Angeles. A long-running legal battle between both the original executive producers and creators and NBC took place between 2003 and 2007. All seasons of the series have been released on DVD and the show has been broadcast in more than 60 countries.
On September 26, 2016, the cast reunited for a 10-minute special (released online), urging Americans to vote in the 2016 presidential election. After the success of the 10-minute reunion special, NBC announced that the network is exploring the idea of putting Will & Grace back into production - which they did.
Premise:
Will & Grace is set in New York City and focuses on the relationship between Will Truman, a gay lawyer, and his best friend Grace Adler, a Jewish woman who owns an interior design firm.
Also featured are their friends Karen Walker, an alcoholic socialite, and Jack McFarland, a flamboyantly gay actor. The interplay of relationships features the trials and tribulations of dating, marriage, divorce and casual sex; as well as comical key stereotypes of gay and Jewish culture.
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
During its original run, Will & Grace was one of the most successful television series with gay principal characters.
Despite initial criticism for its particular portrayal of homosexual characters, it went on to become a staple of NBC's Must See TV Thursday night lineup and was met with continued critical acclaim.
It was ensconced in the Nielsen top 20 for half of its network run. The show was the highest-rated sitcom among adults 18–49, from 2001 and 2005. Throughout its eight-year run, Will & Grace earned 16 Emmy Awards and 83 nominations. All four stars each received an Emmy Award throughout the series, making it one of only three sitcoms in the award's history to achieve this feat. In 2014 the Writers Guild of America placed the sitcom at number 94 in their list of the 101 Best Written TV series of all time.
Since the final episode aired, the sitcom has been credited with helping and improving public opinion of the LGBT community, with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden commenting that the show "probably did more to educate the American public" on LGBT issues "than almost anything anybody has ever done so far".
In 2014 the Smithsonian Institution added an LGBT history collection to their museum which included items from Will and Grace. The curator Dwight Blocker Bowers stated that the sitcom used "comedy to familiarize a mainstream audience with gay culture" that was "daring and broke ground" in American media.
Will & Grace was filmed in front of a live studio audience (most episodes and scenes) on Tuesday nights, at Stage 17 in CBS Studio Center, a space that totals 14,000 sq ft (1,300 m2). Will and Grace's apartment is on display at the Emerson College Library, having been donated by series creator Max Mutchnick.
When the set was removed in April 2014, rumours came up about a cast reunion, but the actors involved denied that such a reunion was planned. It was merely moved to Emerson's new center in Los Angeles. A long-running legal battle between both the original executive producers and creators and NBC took place between 2003 and 2007. All seasons of the series have been released on DVD and the show has been broadcast in more than 60 countries.
On September 26, 2016, the cast reunited for a 10-minute special (released online), urging Americans to vote in the 2016 presidential election. After the success of the 10-minute reunion special, NBC announced that the network is exploring the idea of putting Will & Grace back into production - which they did.
Premise:
Will & Grace is set in New York City and focuses on the relationship between Will Truman, a gay lawyer, and his best friend Grace Adler, a Jewish woman who owns an interior design firm.
Also featured are their friends Karen Walker, an alcoholic socialite, and Jack McFarland, a flamboyantly gay actor. The interplay of relationships features the trials and tribulations of dating, marriage, divorce and casual sex; as well as comical key stereotypes of gay and Jewish culture.
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
- Cast and characters
- Production
- Reception
- Syndication
- Lawsuit
- Merchandise
- Spin-offs
- See Also: List of television shows with LGBT characters
WKRP in Cincinnati (CBS: 1978-1982)
YouTube Video: WKRP "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly" Thanksgiving
Pictured: L-R: Richard Sanders as "Les Nessman"; Jan Smithers as "Bailey Quarters"; Tim Reid as "Venus Flytrap"; (Front) Loni Anderson as "Jennifer Marlowe"; (Back) Gordon Jump as "Arthur Carlson"; Frank Bonner as Herb Tarlek; Howard Hesseman as "Dr. Johnny Fever"; and Gary Sandy as "Andy Travis".
WKRP in Cincinnati is an American sitcom that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta. Many of the characters and even some of the stories (including season 1 episode 7, "Turkeys Away") are based on people and events at WQXI.
The ensemble cast consists of Gary Sandy, Howard Hesseman, Gordon Jump, Loni Anderson, Tim Reid, Jan Smithers, Richard Sanders and Frank Bonner.
Like many other MTM productions, the humor came more from running gags based on the known predilections and quirks of each character, rather than from outlandish plots or racy situations, since the show has a realistic setting. The characters also developed somewhat over the course of the series.
The series won a Humanitas Prize and received 10 Emmy Award nominations, including three for Outstanding Comedy Series. Andy Ackerman won an Emmy Award for Videotape Editing in season 3.
WKRP premiered September 18, 1978 on the CBS television network, and aired for four seasons and 88 episodes through April 21, 1982. During the third and fourth seasons, CBS repeatedly moved the show around its schedule, contributing to lower ratings and its eventual cancellation.
When WKRP went into syndication, it became an unexpected success, despite not reaching the desired number of 100 episodes for daily stripping. (90 half-hour episodes were available for syndication, due to two of the first-run 88 episodes being an hour long.)
For the next decade, it was one of the most popular sitcoms in syndication, outperforming many programs which had been more successful in prime time, including all the other MTM Enterprises sitcoms.
Jump, Sanders, and Bonner reprised their roles, appearing as regular characters in a spin-off/sequel series, The New WKRP in Cincinnati, which ran from 1991 to 1993 in syndication. Hesseman, Reid and Anderson also reprised their roles on this show as guest stars.
Premise:
The station's new program director Andy Travis tries to turn around struggling easy listening radio station WKRP by switching its format from dated easy listening music to Rock and roll, despite the well-meaning efforts of the mostly incompetent staff: bumbling station manager Arthur Carlson, greasy sales manager Herb Tarlek, and clueless news director Les Nessman.
To help bolster ratings, Travis hires a new disc jockey: New Orleans native Venus Flytrap, and allows spaced-out former major market DJ Dr. Johnny Fever, (already doing mornings in the easy listening format as John Caravella) to be himself.
Rounding out the cast are super receptionist Jennifer Marlowe and enthusiastic junior employee Bailey Quarters. Lurking in the background and making an occasional appearance is ruthless business tycoon Mrs. Carlson, the station's owner and the mother of Arthur Carlson.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta. Many of the characters and even some of the stories (including season 1 episode 7, "Turkeys Away") are based on people and events at WQXI.
The ensemble cast consists of Gary Sandy, Howard Hesseman, Gordon Jump, Loni Anderson, Tim Reid, Jan Smithers, Richard Sanders and Frank Bonner.
Like many other MTM productions, the humor came more from running gags based on the known predilections and quirks of each character, rather than from outlandish plots or racy situations, since the show has a realistic setting. The characters also developed somewhat over the course of the series.
The series won a Humanitas Prize and received 10 Emmy Award nominations, including three for Outstanding Comedy Series. Andy Ackerman won an Emmy Award for Videotape Editing in season 3.
WKRP premiered September 18, 1978 on the CBS television network, and aired for four seasons and 88 episodes through April 21, 1982. During the third and fourth seasons, CBS repeatedly moved the show around its schedule, contributing to lower ratings and its eventual cancellation.
When WKRP went into syndication, it became an unexpected success, despite not reaching the desired number of 100 episodes for daily stripping. (90 half-hour episodes were available for syndication, due to two of the first-run 88 episodes being an hour long.)
For the next decade, it was one of the most popular sitcoms in syndication, outperforming many programs which had been more successful in prime time, including all the other MTM Enterprises sitcoms.
Jump, Sanders, and Bonner reprised their roles, appearing as regular characters in a spin-off/sequel series, The New WKRP in Cincinnati, which ran from 1991 to 1993 in syndication. Hesseman, Reid and Anderson also reprised their roles on this show as guest stars.
Premise:
The station's new program director Andy Travis tries to turn around struggling easy listening radio station WKRP by switching its format from dated easy listening music to Rock and roll, despite the well-meaning efforts of the mostly incompetent staff: bumbling station manager Arthur Carlson, greasy sales manager Herb Tarlek, and clueless news director Les Nessman.
To help bolster ratings, Travis hires a new disc jockey: New Orleans native Venus Flytrap, and allows spaced-out former major market DJ Dr. Johnny Fever, (already doing mornings in the easy listening format as John Caravella) to be himself.
Rounding out the cast are super receptionist Jennifer Marlowe and enthusiastic junior employee Bailey Quarters. Lurking in the background and making an occasional appearance is ruthless business tycoon Mrs. Carlson, the station's owner and the mother of Arthur Carlson.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Desperate Housewives (ABC: 2004-2012)
YouTube Video: Desperate Housewives - Gaby FUNNIEST clips
Pictured (L-R): Nicollette Sheridan as Edie Britt; Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp; Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer; Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo; and Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004 to May 13, 2012. Executive producer Cherry served as showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season included Bob Daily, George W. Perkins, John Pardee, Joey Murphy, David Grossman, and Larry Shaw.
Set on Wisteria Lane, a street in the fictional town of Fairview in the fictional Eagle State, Desperate Housewives followed the lives of a group of women as seen through the eyes of their late friend and neighbor who committed suicide in the pilot episode.
The storyline covers thirteen years of the women's lives over eight seasons, set between the years 2004–2008, and later 2013–2017 (the story arc included a five-year passage of time, as well as flashbacks ranging from the 1980s to the 2020s). They worked through domestic struggles and family life, while facing the secrets, crimes and mysteries hidden behind the doors of their—on the surface—beautiful and seemingly perfect suburban neighborhood.
The series featured an ensemble cast, headed by:
Brenda Strong narrated the series as the late Mary Alice Young, appearing sporadically in flashbacks or dream sequences.
Desperate Housewives was well received by viewers and critics alike. It won multiple Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
From the 2004–05 through the 2008–09 television seasons, its first five seasons were rated amongst the top ten most watched series.
In 2007, it was reported to be the most popular show in its demographic worldwide, with an audience of approximately 120 million and was also reported as the third most watched television series in a study of ratings in 20 countries.
In 2012, it remained as the most-watched comedy series internationally based on data from Eurodata TV Worldwide, which measured ratings across five continents; it has held this position since 2006. Moreover, it was the third-highest revenue earning series for 2010, with US $2.74 million per half hour. The show placed #56 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list.
In 2011, it was confirmed that Desperate Housewives would conclude after its eighth season. It aired its series finale in May 2012. By the end of the series, it had surpassed Charmed as the longest running hour-long television series featuring all female leads by two episodes.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Set on Wisteria Lane, a street in the fictional town of Fairview in the fictional Eagle State, Desperate Housewives followed the lives of a group of women as seen through the eyes of their late friend and neighbor who committed suicide in the pilot episode.
The storyline covers thirteen years of the women's lives over eight seasons, set between the years 2004–2008, and later 2013–2017 (the story arc included a five-year passage of time, as well as flashbacks ranging from the 1980s to the 2020s). They worked through domestic struggles and family life, while facing the secrets, crimes and mysteries hidden behind the doors of their—on the surface—beautiful and seemingly perfect suburban neighborhood.
The series featured an ensemble cast, headed by:
- Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer,
- Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo,
- Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp,
- and Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis.
Brenda Strong narrated the series as the late Mary Alice Young, appearing sporadically in flashbacks or dream sequences.
Desperate Housewives was well received by viewers and critics alike. It won multiple Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
From the 2004–05 through the 2008–09 television seasons, its first five seasons were rated amongst the top ten most watched series.
In 2007, it was reported to be the most popular show in its demographic worldwide, with an audience of approximately 120 million and was also reported as the third most watched television series in a study of ratings in 20 countries.
In 2012, it remained as the most-watched comedy series internationally based on data from Eurodata TV Worldwide, which measured ratings across five continents; it has held this position since 2006. Moreover, it was the third-highest revenue earning series for 2010, with US $2.74 million per half hour. The show placed #56 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list.
In 2011, it was confirmed that Desperate Housewives would conclude after its eighth season. It aired its series finale in May 2012. By the end of the series, it had surpassed Charmed as the longest running hour-long television series featuring all female leads by two episodes.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Designing Women (CBS: 1986-1993)
YouTube Video: Designing Women with Henry Cho-Airplane scene
Pictured L-R: Annie Potts as Mary Jo Shively; Jean Smart as Charlene Frazier; Dixie Carter as Julia Sugarbaker; and Delta Burke as Suzanne Sugarbaker
Designing Women is an American sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, until May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes.
The comedy series Designing Women was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason Mozark Productions in association with Columbia Pictures Television for CBS.
The series centers on the lives of four women and one man working together at an interior designing firm in Atlanta, Georgia called Sugarbakers & Associates.
It originally starred Dixie Carter as president of the design firm Julia Sugarbaker, Delta Burke as her ex-beauty queen sister and the designing firm's silent partner, Suzanne Sugarbaker, Annie Potts as head designer Mary Jo Shively, and Jean Smart as office manager Charlene Frazier.
Later in its run, the series received recognition for its well-publicized behind-the-scene conflicts and cast changes. Julia Duffy and Jan Hooks replaced Burke and Smart for season six, but Duffy was not brought for the seventh and final season, and she was replaced by Judith Ivey.
Premise:
Main character Julia Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter) is an elegant, outspoken liberal intellectual middle-age widow. Her younger sister, Suzanne Sugarbaker (Delta Burke), is a thrice-divorced, rich, flashy, often self-centered, former Miss Georgia World. They are constantly at personal odds, but have launched Sugarbaker and Associates Designs, an interior design firm.
Julia manages the company, while Suzanne is mostly a financial backer who simply hangs around and annoys everyone under the guise of being the firm's salesperson. However, she does bring in new customers on a regular basis through breakfast, lunch and dinner appointments.
The pragmatic designer Mary Jo Shively (Annie Potts), a recent divorcee raising two children, and the sweet-natured but somewhat naïve office manager Charlene Frazier (later Stillfield) (Jean Smart) are initial investors and coworkers.
Anthony Bouvier (Meshach Taylor), a former prison inmate who was falsely convicted of a robbery, is the only man on the staff, and later in the series becomes a partner. Bernice Clifton (Alice Ghostley), an absent-minded friend of the Sugarbaker matriarch, also appears frequently.
Carter and Burke had both been members of the cast of the CBS sitcom Filthy Rich, which was written by Bloodworth-Thomason. Coincidentally, Potts and Smart guest-starred together in a 1985 episode of Lime Street, which was also created by Bloodworth-Thomason.
Although it was a traditional comedy, and often included broad physical comedy, Designing Women was very relevant (particularly in episodes written by Bloodworth-Thomason herself), and featured discussions of controversial topics such as homophobia, racism, dating clergy, AIDS, hostile societal attitudes towards the overweight, and spousal abuse. The episode "Killing All the Right People" from season two (1987) directly addressed the prejudice associated with the AIDS epidemic after Bloodworth-Thomason's mother died of the disease, and the episode won two Emmy nominations.
The program became noted for the monologues delivered by Julia in indignation to other characters, a character trait that began in the second episode, when Julia verbally castigated a beauty queen who had made fun of Suzanne.
That speech, which Julia ends by emphatically saying, "And that, Marjorie, just so you will know, and your children will someday know....is the night....the lights....went out.....in Georgia!" became a fan favorite.
Dixie Carter, a registered Republican, disagreed with many of her character's left-of-center commentaries, and eventually made a deal with the producers that for every speech she gave, Julia would get to sing a song in a future episode. As a liberal Republican who was actively involved in civil rights issues, Carter used this deal more as a means to indulge her passion for singing than to promote right-wing commentary.
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
The comedy series Designing Women was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason Mozark Productions in association with Columbia Pictures Television for CBS.
The series centers on the lives of four women and one man working together at an interior designing firm in Atlanta, Georgia called Sugarbakers & Associates.
It originally starred Dixie Carter as president of the design firm Julia Sugarbaker, Delta Burke as her ex-beauty queen sister and the designing firm's silent partner, Suzanne Sugarbaker, Annie Potts as head designer Mary Jo Shively, and Jean Smart as office manager Charlene Frazier.
Later in its run, the series received recognition for its well-publicized behind-the-scene conflicts and cast changes. Julia Duffy and Jan Hooks replaced Burke and Smart for season six, but Duffy was not brought for the seventh and final season, and she was replaced by Judith Ivey.
Premise:
Main character Julia Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter) is an elegant, outspoken liberal intellectual middle-age widow. Her younger sister, Suzanne Sugarbaker (Delta Burke), is a thrice-divorced, rich, flashy, often self-centered, former Miss Georgia World. They are constantly at personal odds, but have launched Sugarbaker and Associates Designs, an interior design firm.
Julia manages the company, while Suzanne is mostly a financial backer who simply hangs around and annoys everyone under the guise of being the firm's salesperson. However, she does bring in new customers on a regular basis through breakfast, lunch and dinner appointments.
The pragmatic designer Mary Jo Shively (Annie Potts), a recent divorcee raising two children, and the sweet-natured but somewhat naïve office manager Charlene Frazier (later Stillfield) (Jean Smart) are initial investors and coworkers.
Anthony Bouvier (Meshach Taylor), a former prison inmate who was falsely convicted of a robbery, is the only man on the staff, and later in the series becomes a partner. Bernice Clifton (Alice Ghostley), an absent-minded friend of the Sugarbaker matriarch, also appears frequently.
Carter and Burke had both been members of the cast of the CBS sitcom Filthy Rich, which was written by Bloodworth-Thomason. Coincidentally, Potts and Smart guest-starred together in a 1985 episode of Lime Street, which was also created by Bloodworth-Thomason.
Although it was a traditional comedy, and often included broad physical comedy, Designing Women was very relevant (particularly in episodes written by Bloodworth-Thomason herself), and featured discussions of controversial topics such as homophobia, racism, dating clergy, AIDS, hostile societal attitudes towards the overweight, and spousal abuse. The episode "Killing All the Right People" from season two (1987) directly addressed the prejudice associated with the AIDS epidemic after Bloodworth-Thomason's mother died of the disease, and the episode won two Emmy nominations.
The program became noted for the monologues delivered by Julia in indignation to other characters, a character trait that began in the second episode, when Julia verbally castigated a beauty queen who had made fun of Suzanne.
That speech, which Julia ends by emphatically saying, "And that, Marjorie, just so you will know, and your children will someday know....is the night....the lights....went out.....in Georgia!" became a fan favorite.
Dixie Carter, a registered Republican, disagreed with many of her character's left-of-center commentaries, and eventually made a deal with the producers that for every speech she gave, Julia would get to sing a song in a future episode. As a liberal Republican who was actively involved in civil rights issues, Carter used this deal more as a means to indulge her passion for singing than to promote right-wing commentary.
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
I Dream of Jeannie (NBC: 1965-1970)
YouTube Video I Dream of Jeannie- Funny clip
Pictured (L-R): Larry Hagman as Captain/Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson and Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie
I Dream of Jeannie is an American fantasy and comedy sitcom starring Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and whom she eventually marries. Produced by Screen Gems, the show originally aired from September 18, 1965 to May 26, 1970 with new episodes, and through September 1970 with season repeats, both on NBC. The show ran for five seasons and produced 139 episodes. The first season consisted of 30 episodes filmed in black and white.
Premise:
In the pilot episode, "The Lady in the Bottle", astronaut Captain Tony Nelson, United States Air Force, is on a space flight when his one-man capsule Stardust One comes down far from the planned recovery area, near a deserted island in the South Pacific.
On the beach, Tony notices a strange bottle that rolls by itself. When he rubs it after removing the stopper, smoke starts shooting out and a non English-speaking female genie materializes and kisses Tony on the lips, shocking him.
They cannot understand each other until Tony expresses his wish that Jeannie (a homophone of genie) could speak English, which she then does.
Then, per his instructions, she "blinks" and causes a recovery helicopter to show up to rescue Tony, who is so grateful, he tells her she is free, but Jeannie, who has fallen in love with Tony at first sight after being trapped for 2,000 years, re-enters her bottle and rolls it into Tony's duffel bag so she can accompany him back home.
One of the first things Jeannie does, in a subsequent episode, is break up Tony's engagement to his commanding general's daughter, who, along with that particular general, is never seen again. This event reflects producer Sidney Sheldon's decision that the engagement depicted in the pilot episode would not be part of the series continuity; he realized the romantic triangle he created between Jeannie, "Master", and Melissa Stone would not pan out in the long run.
Tony at first keeps Jeannie in her bottle most of the time, but he finally relents and allows her to enjoy a life of her own. However, her life is devoted mostly to his, and most of their problems stem from her love and affection towards Tony.
Her desire to please him and fulfill her ancient heritage as a genie, especially when he does not want her to do so. His efforts to cover up Jeannie's antics, because of his fear that he would be dismissed from the space program if her existence were known, brings him to the attention of NASA's resident psychiatrist, U.S. Air Force Colonel Dr. Alfred Bellows.
In a running gag, Dr. Bellows tries over and over to prove to his superiors that Tony is either crazy or hiding something, but he is always foiled ("He's done it to me, again!") and Tony's job remains secure. A frequently used plot device is that Jeannie loses her powers when she is confined in a closed space. She is unable to leave her bottle when it is corked, and under certain circumstances, the person who removed the cork would become her new master. A multiple-episode story arc involves Jeannie (in miniature) becoming trapped in a safe when it is accidentally locked.
Eden with husband Michael Ansara as 'The Blue Djinn', 1966 Tony's best friend and fellow astronaut, United States Army Corps of Engineers Captain Roger Healey, does not know about Jeannie for several episodes; when he finds out (in the episode "The Richest Astronaut in the Whole Wide World" [January 15, 1966]), he steals her so he can live in luxury, but not for long before Tony reclaims his status as Jeannie's master.
Roger is often shown trying to make a quick buck or girl-crazy, and hopes to claim Jeannie so he can use her to live a princely life or gain beautiful girlfriends, but overall he is respectful that Tony is Jeannie's master, and later her husband. Both Tony and Roger are promoted to the rank of major late in the first season. In later seasons, Roger's role is retconned to portray him knowing about Jeannie from the beginning (i.e., to him having been with Tony on the space flight that touched down, and thus having seen Jeannie introduce herself to Tony).
Jeannie's evil fraternal twin sister, mentioned in a second-season episode (also named Jeannie and also portrayed by Barbara Eden [albeit in a brunette wig]), proves to have a mean streak starting in the third season (demonstrated in her initial appearance in "Jeannie or the Tiger?" [September 19, 1967]), repeatedly trying to steal Tony for herself, with her as the real "master".
Her final attempt in the series comes right after Tony and Jeannie get married, with a ploy involving a man played by Barbara Eden's real-life husband at the time, Michael Ansara (in a kind of in-joke, while Jeannie's sister pretends to be attracted to him, she privately scoffs at him). The evil sister, whose name is never revealed, wears a green costume, with a skirt rather than pantaloons.
Early in the fifth season (September 30, 1969), Jeannie is called upon by her Uncle Sully (Jackie Coogan) to become queen of their family's native country, Basenji. Tony inadvertently gives grave offense to Basenji national pride in their feud with neighboring Kasja.
To regain favor, Tony is required by Sully to marry Jeannie and avenge Basenji's honor, by killing the ambassador from Kasja when he visits NASA. After Sully puts Tony through an ordeal of nearly killing the ambassador, Tony responds in a fit of anger that he is fed up with Sully and his cohorts and he would not marry Jeannie if she were "the last genie on earth".
Hearing this, Jeannie bitterly leaves Tony and returns to Basenji. With Jeannie gone, Tony realizes how deeply he loves her. That outweighs all concerns he has had about Jeannie's threat to his career.
He flies to Basenji to win Jeannie back. Upon their return to NASA, Tony introduces Jeannie as his fiancée, in which she attires herself as a modern American woman in public and it is easily accepted Tony found a girlfriend.
This changed the show's premise in that instead of the avoidance of Jeannie's exposure, it was to hide her magical abilities. This is contrary to the mythology created by Sidney Sheldon's own season-two script for "The Birds and Bees Bit", in which it was claimed that, upon marriage, a genie loses all of her magical powers.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further information:
Premise:
In the pilot episode, "The Lady in the Bottle", astronaut Captain Tony Nelson, United States Air Force, is on a space flight when his one-man capsule Stardust One comes down far from the planned recovery area, near a deserted island in the South Pacific.
On the beach, Tony notices a strange bottle that rolls by itself. When he rubs it after removing the stopper, smoke starts shooting out and a non English-speaking female genie materializes and kisses Tony on the lips, shocking him.
They cannot understand each other until Tony expresses his wish that Jeannie (a homophone of genie) could speak English, which she then does.
Then, per his instructions, she "blinks" and causes a recovery helicopter to show up to rescue Tony, who is so grateful, he tells her she is free, but Jeannie, who has fallen in love with Tony at first sight after being trapped for 2,000 years, re-enters her bottle and rolls it into Tony's duffel bag so she can accompany him back home.
One of the first things Jeannie does, in a subsequent episode, is break up Tony's engagement to his commanding general's daughter, who, along with that particular general, is never seen again. This event reflects producer Sidney Sheldon's decision that the engagement depicted in the pilot episode would not be part of the series continuity; he realized the romantic triangle he created between Jeannie, "Master", and Melissa Stone would not pan out in the long run.
Tony at first keeps Jeannie in her bottle most of the time, but he finally relents and allows her to enjoy a life of her own. However, her life is devoted mostly to his, and most of their problems stem from her love and affection towards Tony.
Her desire to please him and fulfill her ancient heritage as a genie, especially when he does not want her to do so. His efforts to cover up Jeannie's antics, because of his fear that he would be dismissed from the space program if her existence were known, brings him to the attention of NASA's resident psychiatrist, U.S. Air Force Colonel Dr. Alfred Bellows.
In a running gag, Dr. Bellows tries over and over to prove to his superiors that Tony is either crazy or hiding something, but he is always foiled ("He's done it to me, again!") and Tony's job remains secure. A frequently used plot device is that Jeannie loses her powers when she is confined in a closed space. She is unable to leave her bottle when it is corked, and under certain circumstances, the person who removed the cork would become her new master. A multiple-episode story arc involves Jeannie (in miniature) becoming trapped in a safe when it is accidentally locked.
Eden with husband Michael Ansara as 'The Blue Djinn', 1966 Tony's best friend and fellow astronaut, United States Army Corps of Engineers Captain Roger Healey, does not know about Jeannie for several episodes; when he finds out (in the episode "The Richest Astronaut in the Whole Wide World" [January 15, 1966]), he steals her so he can live in luxury, but not for long before Tony reclaims his status as Jeannie's master.
Roger is often shown trying to make a quick buck or girl-crazy, and hopes to claim Jeannie so he can use her to live a princely life or gain beautiful girlfriends, but overall he is respectful that Tony is Jeannie's master, and later her husband. Both Tony and Roger are promoted to the rank of major late in the first season. In later seasons, Roger's role is retconned to portray him knowing about Jeannie from the beginning (i.e., to him having been with Tony on the space flight that touched down, and thus having seen Jeannie introduce herself to Tony).
Jeannie's evil fraternal twin sister, mentioned in a second-season episode (also named Jeannie and also portrayed by Barbara Eden [albeit in a brunette wig]), proves to have a mean streak starting in the third season (demonstrated in her initial appearance in "Jeannie or the Tiger?" [September 19, 1967]), repeatedly trying to steal Tony for herself, with her as the real "master".
Her final attempt in the series comes right after Tony and Jeannie get married, with a ploy involving a man played by Barbara Eden's real-life husband at the time, Michael Ansara (in a kind of in-joke, while Jeannie's sister pretends to be attracted to him, she privately scoffs at him). The evil sister, whose name is never revealed, wears a green costume, with a skirt rather than pantaloons.
Early in the fifth season (September 30, 1969), Jeannie is called upon by her Uncle Sully (Jackie Coogan) to become queen of their family's native country, Basenji. Tony inadvertently gives grave offense to Basenji national pride in their feud with neighboring Kasja.
To regain favor, Tony is required by Sully to marry Jeannie and avenge Basenji's honor, by killing the ambassador from Kasja when he visits NASA. After Sully puts Tony through an ordeal of nearly killing the ambassador, Tony responds in a fit of anger that he is fed up with Sully and his cohorts and he would not marry Jeannie if she were "the last genie on earth".
Hearing this, Jeannie bitterly leaves Tony and returns to Basenji. With Jeannie gone, Tony realizes how deeply he loves her. That outweighs all concerns he has had about Jeannie's threat to his career.
He flies to Basenji to win Jeannie back. Upon their return to NASA, Tony introduces Jeannie as his fiancée, in which she attires herself as a modern American woman in public and it is easily accepted Tony found a girlfriend.
This changed the show's premise in that instead of the avoidance of Jeannie's exposure, it was to hide her magical abilities. This is contrary to the mythology created by Sidney Sheldon's own season-two script for "The Birds and Bees Bit", in which it was claimed that, upon marriage, a genie loses all of her magical powers.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further information:
- Cast and characters
- Production
- Broadcast and Multi-part story arcs
- Reception
- Reunion movies
- Animated series
- Factual and geographic errors
- In popular culture
Get Smart (NBC (1965–69; CBS (1969–70)
YouTube Video of funny scenes from Get Smart
Pictured: Don Adams as "Maxwell Smart, Agent 86"; and Barbara Feldon (as "Agent 99")
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre released on September 18, 1965.
Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show stars Don Adams (as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86), Barbara Feldon (as Agent 99), and Edward Platt (as Thaddeus, the Chief).
Henry said they created the show by request of Daniel Melnick, who was a partner, along with Leonard Stern and David Susskind, of the show's production company, Talent Associates, to capitalize on "the two biggest things in the entertainment world today"--James Bond and Inspector Clouseau. Brooks said: "It's an insane combination of James Bond and Mel Brooks comedy."
During the show's run, it generated a number of popular catchphrases, including:
The show was followed by the films The Nude Bomb (a theatrical release) and Get Smart, Again! (a made-for-TV sequel to the series), as well as a 1995 revival series, and a 2008 film remake.
In 2010, TV Guide ranked Get Smart's opening title sequence at No. 2 on its list of TV's Top 10 Credits Sequences as selected by readers.
The show ended its 4½-year run on May 15, 1970, having a total of 5 seasons and 138 episodes.
Premise:
The series centers on bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart, also known as Agent 86. His female partner is Agent 99, Agents 86 and 99 work for "CONTROL," a secret U.S. government counter-intelligence agency based in Washington, D.C.
The pair investigates and thwarts various threats to the world, though Smart's bumbling nature and demands to do things by-the-book invariably cause complications. However, Smart never fails to save the day. Looking on is the long-suffering head of CONTROL, who is addressed simply as "Chief."
The nemesis of CONTROL is KAOS, described as "an international organization of evil". In the series, KAOS was supposedly formed in Bucharest, Romania, in 1904. Neither CONTROL nor KAOS is actually an acronym.
Many guest actors appeared as KAOS agents, including William Schallert (who also had a recurring role as The Admiral, the first Chief of CONTROL). Conrad Siegfried, played by Bernie Kopell, as Smart's KAOS archenemy. King Moody (originally appearing as a generic KAOS killer) portrayed the dim-witted but burly Shtarker, Siegfried's assistant.
The enemies, world-takeover plots and gadgets seen in Get Smart parody the James Bond movies. "Do what they did except just stretch it half an inch," Mel Brooks said of the methods of this TV series.
Max and 99 marry in season four, and have twins in season five. Agent 99 became the first woman on an American hit sitcom to keep her job after marriage and motherhood.
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show stars Don Adams (as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86), Barbara Feldon (as Agent 99), and Edward Platt (as Thaddeus, the Chief).
Henry said they created the show by request of Daniel Melnick, who was a partner, along with Leonard Stern and David Susskind, of the show's production company, Talent Associates, to capitalize on "the two biggest things in the entertainment world today"--James Bond and Inspector Clouseau. Brooks said: "It's an insane combination of James Bond and Mel Brooks comedy."
During the show's run, it generated a number of popular catchphrases, including:
- "Would you believe...",
- "Missed it by that much!",
- "Sorry about that, Chief",
- "The Old (such-and-such) Trick",
- "And... loving it",
- and "I asked you not to tell me that".
The show was followed by the films The Nude Bomb (a theatrical release) and Get Smart, Again! (a made-for-TV sequel to the series), as well as a 1995 revival series, and a 2008 film remake.
In 2010, TV Guide ranked Get Smart's opening title sequence at No. 2 on its list of TV's Top 10 Credits Sequences as selected by readers.
The show ended its 4½-year run on May 15, 1970, having a total of 5 seasons and 138 episodes.
Premise:
The series centers on bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart, also known as Agent 86. His female partner is Agent 99, Agents 86 and 99 work for "CONTROL," a secret U.S. government counter-intelligence agency based in Washington, D.C.
The pair investigates and thwarts various threats to the world, though Smart's bumbling nature and demands to do things by-the-book invariably cause complications. However, Smart never fails to save the day. Looking on is the long-suffering head of CONTROL, who is addressed simply as "Chief."
The nemesis of CONTROL is KAOS, described as "an international organization of evil". In the series, KAOS was supposedly formed in Bucharest, Romania, in 1904. Neither CONTROL nor KAOS is actually an acronym.
Many guest actors appeared as KAOS agents, including William Schallert (who also had a recurring role as The Admiral, the first Chief of CONTROL). Conrad Siegfried, played by Bernie Kopell, as Smart's KAOS archenemy. King Moody (originally appearing as a generic KAOS killer) portrayed the dim-witted but burly Shtarker, Siegfried's assistant.
The enemies, world-takeover plots and gadgets seen in Get Smart parody the James Bond movies. "Do what they did except just stretch it half an inch," Mel Brooks said of the methods of this TV series.
Max and 99 marry in season four, and have twins in season five. Agent 99 became the first woman on an American hit sitcom to keep her job after marriage and motherhood.
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- Production including Production personnel
- Characters
- Production notes
- Notable guest stars
- Broadcast
- Emmy awards
- Adaptations
- DVD releases and rights
Bob Newhart and his TV Series "The Bob Newhart Show" (CBS: 1972-1978) and "Newhart" (CBS: 1982-1990)
YouTube Videos:
Bob Newhart Standup Comedy Routine: Bus Driver Training
"The Bob Newhart Show: The Infamous Thanksgiving Episode" (1972)
"Newhart" TV Sitcom: "The Stratford Horror Picture Show"
Pictures LEFT: Bob Newhart; CENTER: "The Bob Newhart Show"; and RIGHT: "Newhart"
George Robert "Bob" Newhart (September 5, 1929-July 18, 2024) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues.
The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide bestseller and reached number one on the Billboard pop album chart—it remains the 20th best-selling comedy album in history.The follow-up album, The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back! was also a massive success, and the two albums held the Billboard number one and number two spots simultaneously.
Newhart later went into acting, starring in two long-running and award-winning situation comedies, first as psychologist Dr. Robert "Bob" Hartley on the 1970s sitcom The Bob Newhart Show and then as innkeeper Dick Loudon on the 1980s sitcom Newhart.
He also had two short-lived sitcoms in the nineties titled Bob and George and Leo. Newhart also appeared in film roles such as Major Major in Catch-22 and Papa Elf in Elf. He provided the voice of Bernard in the Walt Disney animated films The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under.
In 2004 he played the library head Judson in The Librarian, a character which continued in 2014 to the TV series The Librarians. In 2013, Newhart made his first of four guest appearances on The Big Bang Theory, for which he received his first Primetime Emmy Award on September 15, 2013.
On February 20, 2015, Newhart was honored with the Publicists of the International Cinematographers Guild Lifetime Achievement Award.
For further amplification about Bob Newhart, click here.
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The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide bestseller and reached number one on the Billboard pop album chart—it remains the 20th best-selling comedy album in history.The follow-up album, The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back! was also a massive success, and the two albums held the Billboard number one and number two spots simultaneously.
Newhart later went into acting, starring in two long-running and award-winning situation comedies, first as psychologist Dr. Robert "Bob" Hartley on the 1970s sitcom The Bob Newhart Show and then as innkeeper Dick Loudon on the 1980s sitcom Newhart.
He also had two short-lived sitcoms in the nineties titled Bob and George and Leo. Newhart also appeared in film roles such as Major Major in Catch-22 and Papa Elf in Elf. He provided the voice of Bernard in the Walt Disney animated films The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under.
In 2004 he played the library head Judson in The Librarian, a character which continued in 2014 to the TV series The Librarians. In 2013, Newhart made his first of four guest appearances on The Big Bang Theory, for which he received his first Primetime Emmy Award on September 15, 2013.
On February 20, 2015, Newhart was honored with the Publicists of the International Cinematographers Guild Lifetime Achievement Award.
For further amplification about Bob Newhart, click here.
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The Bob Newhart Show is an American sitcom produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes spanning over six seasons.
Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers. The show was filmed before a live audience.
Premise:
The show centers on Robert Hartley, Ph.D. (Newhart), a Chicago psychologist. It divides most of its action between the character's work and his home life, with Hartley's supportive, although occasionally sarcastic, wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), and their friendly but inept neighbor, airline navigator Howard Borden (Bill Daily).
At the medical office where Hartley had his psychology practice are Jerry Robinson, D.D.S. (Peter Bonerz), an orthodontist who also has a practice on the floor, and their receptionist, Carol Kester (Marcia Wallace), as well as a number of other doctors who appear occasionally. Hartley's three most frequently seen regular patients are the cynical and neurotic Elliot Carlin (Jack Riley), the milquetoast Marine veteran Emile Peterson (John Fiedler), and shy, reserved Lillian Bakerman (Florida Friebus), an elderly lady who spends most of her sessions knitting.
Carlin was ranked 49th in TV Guide's List of the 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time, and Riley reprised the character in guest appearances on both St. Elsewhere and Newhart. Most of the situations involve Newhart's character playing straight man to his wife, colleagues, friends, and patients.
A frequent running gag on the show is an extension of Newhart's stand-up comedy routines, where Newhart played one side of a telephone conversation, the other side of which is not heard. In a nod to this, for the first two seasons, the episodes opened with Bob answering the telephone by saying "Hello?". Emily routinely acts as straight "man" to dimwitted Howard, and on occasion to Bob.
For further information about the "Bob Newhart Show", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers. The show was filmed before a live audience.
Premise:
The show centers on Robert Hartley, Ph.D. (Newhart), a Chicago psychologist. It divides most of its action between the character's work and his home life, with Hartley's supportive, although occasionally sarcastic, wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), and their friendly but inept neighbor, airline navigator Howard Borden (Bill Daily).
At the medical office where Hartley had his psychology practice are Jerry Robinson, D.D.S. (Peter Bonerz), an orthodontist who also has a practice on the floor, and their receptionist, Carol Kester (Marcia Wallace), as well as a number of other doctors who appear occasionally. Hartley's three most frequently seen regular patients are the cynical and neurotic Elliot Carlin (Jack Riley), the milquetoast Marine veteran Emile Peterson (John Fiedler), and shy, reserved Lillian Bakerman (Florida Friebus), an elderly lady who spends most of her sessions knitting.
Carlin was ranked 49th in TV Guide's List of the 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time, and Riley reprised the character in guest appearances on both St. Elsewhere and Newhart. Most of the situations involve Newhart's character playing straight man to his wife, colleagues, friends, and patients.
A frequent running gag on the show is an extension of Newhart's stand-up comedy routines, where Newhart played one side of a telephone conversation, the other side of which is not heard. In a nod to this, for the first two seasons, the episodes opened with Bob answering the telephone by saying "Hello?". Emily routinely acts as straight "man" to dimwitted Howard, and on occasion to Bob.
For further information about the "Bob Newhart Show", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
- Opening sequence
- Cast
- Episodes
- Ratings
- Awards and honors
- Final episode
- Later appearances by series characters
- DVD releases
- See also List of The Bob Newhart Show writers
Newhart is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning over eight seasons.
The series stars comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who own and operate an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that is home to many eccentric characters.
TV Guide, TV Land, and A&E named the Newhart series finale as one of the most memorable in television history. Newhart was recorded on videotape for Season 1, with the remaining seasons shot on film.
Premise:
Bob Newhart plays Dick Loudon, an author of do-it-yourself books and travel books (including "Many Moods Of Minnesota" and "Captivating Kansas".)
He and his wife Joanna move from New York City to a small, unnamed town in rural Vermont (possibly Norwich) to operate the 200-year-old Stratford Inn. Dick is a sane, mild-mannered everyman surrounded by a community of oddballs in a town which exists in an illogical world governed by rules that elude him.
Near the end of the second season, Newhart was retooled and Dick began hosting a low-rated talk show on the town's local television station. As the series progressed, episodes focused increasingly on Dick's TV career and the quirky townsfolk. As the years went by, some characters were dropped and others were added.
Click on any of the following hyperlinks for further amplification:
The series stars comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who own and operate an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that is home to many eccentric characters.
TV Guide, TV Land, and A&E named the Newhart series finale as one of the most memorable in television history. Newhart was recorded on videotape for Season 1, with the remaining seasons shot on film.
Premise:
Bob Newhart plays Dick Loudon, an author of do-it-yourself books and travel books (including "Many Moods Of Minnesota" and "Captivating Kansas".)
He and his wife Joanna move from New York City to a small, unnamed town in rural Vermont (possibly Norwich) to operate the 200-year-old Stratford Inn. Dick is a sane, mild-mannered everyman surrounded by a community of oddballs in a town which exists in an illogical world governed by rules that elude him.
Near the end of the second season, Newhart was retooled and Dick began hosting a low-rated talk show on the town's local television station. As the series progressed, episodes focused increasingly on Dick's TV career and the quirky townsfolk. As the years went by, some characters were dropped and others were added.
Click on any of the following hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Cast
- Opening credits
- "The Last Newhart"
- Reception including U.S. television ratings
- Awards and Nominations
- DVD releases
Tim Allen
YouTube Video: Classic Tim Allen Stand Up Comedy Clip - Going to the Dentist (1988)
Including his TV Series:
"Home Improvement" (ABC: 1991-1999)
YouTube Video: "Home Improvement" Tim Taylor Accident Clips
"Last Man Standing" (ABC: 2011-Present)
YouTube Video: Tim Allen - Precious Snowflake [Politically Correct America]
Pictured: Tim Allen LEFT: as a Stand-up Comedian, CENTER: in "Home Improvement"; RIGHT: in "Last Man Standing"
Timothy Allen Dick, known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor, comedian, and author.
He is known for his role as Tim "The Toolman" Taylor in the ABC television show "Home Improvement" (1991–1999) as well as for his starring roles in several films, including:
Since 2011, he has starred as Mike Baxter in the TV series Last Man Standing.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Tim Allen: ___________________________________________________________________________
He is known for his role as Tim "The Toolman" Taylor in the ABC television show "Home Improvement" (1991–1999) as well as for his starring roles in several films, including:
- Disney's The Santa Clause trilogy,
- Disney/Pixar's Toy Story trilogy (as the voice of Buzz Lightyear), Wild Hogs,
- and Galaxy Quest (1999).
Since 2011, he has starred as Mike Baxter in the TV series Last Man Standing.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Tim Allen: ___________________________________________________________________________
Home Improvement is an American television sitcom starring Tim Allen that aired on ABC from September 17, 1991, to May 25, 1999, with a total of 204 half-hour episodes spanning over eight seasons. The series was created by Matt Williams, Carmen Finestra and David McFadzean.
In the 1990s it was one of the most watched sitcoms in the American market, winning many awards. The series launched Tim Allen's acting career and was the start of the television career of Pamela Anderson, who was part of the recurring cast for the first two seasons.
Show Background:
Based on the stand-up comedy of Tim Allen, Home Improvement made its debut on ABC on September 17, 1991, and was one of the highest-rated sitcoms for almost the entire decade. It went to No. 1 in the ratings during the 1993–1994 season; the same year Allen had the No. 1 book (Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man) and movie (The Santa Clause).
Beginning in Season 2, Home Improvement began each episode with a cold open, which features the show's logo during the teaser. From Season 4 until the end of the series in 1999, an anthropomorphic version of the logo was used in different types of animation
For further information about the Home Improvement TV Series, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Last Man Standing is an American television sitcom starring Tim Allen that currently airs on ABC. The series premiered on October 11, 2011. On May 13, 2016, ABC renewed the series for a sixth season. The sixth season premiered on Friday, September 23, 2016.
Premise:
The series follows Mike Baxter, a senior executive and director of marketing for an outdoor sporting goods store chain based in Denver, Colorado, whose world is filled by women – especially at home with his wife and three daughters.
For further amplification about the TV Series "Last Man Standing", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
In the 1990s it was one of the most watched sitcoms in the American market, winning many awards. The series launched Tim Allen's acting career and was the start of the television career of Pamela Anderson, who was part of the recurring cast for the first two seasons.
Show Background:
Based on the stand-up comedy of Tim Allen, Home Improvement made its debut on ABC on September 17, 1991, and was one of the highest-rated sitcoms for almost the entire decade. It went to No. 1 in the ratings during the 1993–1994 season; the same year Allen had the No. 1 book (Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man) and movie (The Santa Clause).
Beginning in Season 2, Home Improvement began each episode with a cold open, which features the show's logo during the teaser. From Season 4 until the end of the series in 1999, an anthropomorphic version of the logo was used in different types of animation
For further information about the Home Improvement TV Series, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
- Plot details and storylines
- Awards, nominations and other reception
- Production
- Post-series events
- Cast
- Episodes
- DVD releases
Last Man Standing is an American television sitcom starring Tim Allen that currently airs on ABC. The series premiered on October 11, 2011. On May 13, 2016, ABC renewed the series for a sixth season. The sixth season premiered on Friday, September 23, 2016.
Premise:
The series follows Mike Baxter, a senior executive and director of marketing for an outdoor sporting goods store chain based in Denver, Colorado, whose world is filled by women – especially at home with his wife and three daughters.
For further amplification about the TV Series "Last Man Standing", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Mama's Family (NBC: 1983-1984 and in Syndication: 1986-1990)
YouTube Video of the funniest scenes from Mama's Family
Mama's Family is an American television sitcom starring Vicki Lawrence as Thelma Harper (Mama). The series is a spin-off of a recurring series of comedy sketches called "The Family" featured on The Carol Burnett Show (1974–78) and Carol Burnett & Company (1979). That led to the made-for-TV movie, Eunice, and finally the television series.
The show's theme song is "Bless My Happy Home" by Peter Matz (music) and Vicki Lawrence (lyrics). The show's producers chose to use an instrumental version.
Mama's Family originally aired on NBC, debuting on January 22, 1983. After several timeslot changes and subsequent drop in ratings the network cancelled the series, the final episode airing on April 7, 1984. NBC broadcast reruns until September 1985.
Two years after its cancellation, original series producer Joe Hamilton Productions (JHP) decided to follow a lead that several other programs at the time had set and revive Mama's Family for first-run syndication on local stations across the United States. The revived series, produced by JHP and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures, premiered on September 27, 1986. The syndicated version garnered substantially higher ratings than did its network version, eventually becoming the highest rated sitcom in first-run syndication. Its four season-run ended on February 24, 1990.
Overview:
The show, set in the city of Raytown, revolves around the wacky misadventures of the Harper family, extended non-Harper family members, and their neighbor friend in later seasons.
Always at the center of the trouble and confusion is head of the clan and matriarch Thelma Harper—a buxom, blue-haired, purse-lipped, 65-year-old widow, who is portrayed as explosively quick-tempered, abrasive, brash, smart alecky, and full of snappy retorts.
Thelma's snappy retorts and fretful wisecracks are particularly highlighted with a running gag in which the final scenes of each episode cut to an exterior shot of her house. While the exterior of Thelma's house displays, she's heard riposting the comments of whoever has previously spoken.
This is then followed by audience laughter and applause. In spite of the many digs and fretful wisecracks that Mama regularly and casually makes about her family, she is nurturing and obliging at heart. She allows her various family members to live in her home, who would otherwise have no place to live.
Beyond providing her resident family members shelter, Thelma routinely cooks for and cleans up after them as well. Despite her nurturance, Thelma's various family members can be ingrates, even banding together and ganging up on Thelma on occasion.
Click here for more about "Mama's Family"
The show's theme song is "Bless My Happy Home" by Peter Matz (music) and Vicki Lawrence (lyrics). The show's producers chose to use an instrumental version.
Mama's Family originally aired on NBC, debuting on January 22, 1983. After several timeslot changes and subsequent drop in ratings the network cancelled the series, the final episode airing on April 7, 1984. NBC broadcast reruns until September 1985.
Two years after its cancellation, original series producer Joe Hamilton Productions (JHP) decided to follow a lead that several other programs at the time had set and revive Mama's Family for first-run syndication on local stations across the United States. The revived series, produced by JHP and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures, premiered on September 27, 1986. The syndicated version garnered substantially higher ratings than did its network version, eventually becoming the highest rated sitcom in first-run syndication. Its four season-run ended on February 24, 1990.
Overview:
The show, set in the city of Raytown, revolves around the wacky misadventures of the Harper family, extended non-Harper family members, and their neighbor friend in later seasons.
Always at the center of the trouble and confusion is head of the clan and matriarch Thelma Harper—a buxom, blue-haired, purse-lipped, 65-year-old widow, who is portrayed as explosively quick-tempered, abrasive, brash, smart alecky, and full of snappy retorts.
Thelma's snappy retorts and fretful wisecracks are particularly highlighted with a running gag in which the final scenes of each episode cut to an exterior shot of her house. While the exterior of Thelma's house displays, she's heard riposting the comments of whoever has previously spoken.
This is then followed by audience laughter and applause. In spite of the many digs and fretful wisecracks that Mama regularly and casually makes about her family, she is nurturing and obliging at heart. She allows her various family members to live in her home, who would otherwise have no place to live.
Beyond providing her resident family members shelter, Thelma routinely cooks for and cleans up after them as well. Despite her nurturance, Thelma's various family members can be ingrates, even banding together and ganging up on Thelma on occasion.
Click here for more about "Mama's Family"
Barney Miller (ABC: 1975-1982)
YouTube Video: Fish at his Funniest! - Barney Miller - 1976
Pictured L-R: Max Gail as "Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz"; Hal Linden as "Captain Barney Miller"; Ron Glass as "Det. Ron Harris"; Abe Vigoda as "Sgt. Philip K. Fish"; and Jack Soo as "Sgt. Nick Yemana"
Barney Miller is an American sitcom set in a New York City Police Department police station in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982, on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker. Noam Pitlik directed the majority of the episodes.
Premise:
Barney Miller takes place almost entirely within the confines of the detectives' squad room and Captain Barney Miller's adjoining office of New York City's fictional 12th Precinct, located in Greenwich Village.
A typical episode would feature the detectives of the 12th bringing in several complainants and/or suspects to the squad room. Usually, two or three separate subplots are in a given episode, with different officers dealing with different crimes. Once a year, an episode would feature one or more of the detectives outside of the walls of the precinct, either on a stakeout or at one of their homes.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Premise:
Barney Miller takes place almost entirely within the confines of the detectives' squad room and Captain Barney Miller's adjoining office of New York City's fictional 12th Precinct, located in Greenwich Village.
A typical episode would feature the detectives of the 12th bringing in several complainants and/or suspects to the squad room. Usually, two or three separate subplots are in a given episode, with different officers dealing with different crimes. Once a year, an episode would feature one or more of the detectives outside of the walls of the precinct, either on a stakeout or at one of their homes.
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The Golden Girls (NBC: 1985-1992)
YouTube Video Golden Girls funniest scene
Pictured L-R: Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux; Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo; Beatrice Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak; and Betty White as Rose Nylund
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning over seven seasons.
The show stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty, as four older women who share a home in Miami, Florida. It was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions, in association with Touchstone Television, and Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas, and Harris served as the original executive producers.
The Golden Girls received critical acclaim throughout most of its run and won several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series twice. It also won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
Each of the four stars received an Emmy Award (from multiple nominations during the series' run), making it one of only three sitcoms in the award's history to achieve this. The series also ranked among the top ten highest-rated programs for six out of its seven seasons. In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Golden Girls number 54 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time. In 2014, the Writers Guild of America placed the sitcom at number 69 in their list of the "101 Best Written TV Series of All Time".
Premise:
The series revolves around four older, single women (three widows and one divorcée) sharing a house in Miami, Florida. The owner of the house is a widow named Blanche Devereaux (McClanahan), who was joined by fellow widow Rose Nylund (White) and divorcée Dorothy Zbornak (Arthur) after they both responded to a room-for-rent ad on the bulletin board of a local grocery store a year prior to the start of the series. In the pilot episode, the three were joined by Dorothy's 80-year-old mother, Sophia Petrillo (Getty), after the retirement home where she lived burned down.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks below for additional information:
The show stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty, as four older women who share a home in Miami, Florida. It was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions, in association with Touchstone Television, and Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas, and Harris served as the original executive producers.
The Golden Girls received critical acclaim throughout most of its run and won several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series twice. It also won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
Each of the four stars received an Emmy Award (from multiple nominations during the series' run), making it one of only three sitcoms in the award's history to achieve this. The series also ranked among the top ten highest-rated programs for six out of its seven seasons. In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Golden Girls number 54 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time. In 2014, the Writers Guild of America placed the sitcom at number 69 in their list of the "101 Best Written TV Series of All Time".
Premise:
The series revolves around four older, single women (three widows and one divorcée) sharing a house in Miami, Florida. The owner of the house is a widow named Blanche Devereaux (McClanahan), who was joined by fellow widow Rose Nylund (White) and divorcée Dorothy Zbornak (Arthur) after they both responded to a room-for-rent ad on the bulletin board of a local grocery store a year prior to the start of the series. In the pilot episode, the three were joined by Dorothy's 80-year-old mother, Sophia Petrillo (Getty), after the retirement home where she lived burned down.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks below for additional information:
- Pilot
- Finale
- Episodes
- Cast and characters
- Production
- Reception
- Distribution
- Home media release
- Spin-offs
- Adaptations
Empty Nest (NBC: 1988-1995)
YouTube Video The Best of Dreyfuss the Dog on Empty Nest
Pictured (L-R): Kristy McNichol as Barbara Weston; David Leisure as Charley Dietz; Richard Mulligan as Dr. Harry Weston; Park Overall as Laverne Todd; and Dinah Manoff as Carol Weston
Empty Nest is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from October 8, 1988 to April 29, 1995. The series was created as a spin-off of The Golden Girls by creator and producer Susan Harris.
For its first three seasons, Empty Nest was one of the year's top 10 most-watched programs. It was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions in association with Touchstone Television. Originally developed from an episode of The Golden Girls, in Empty Nest the two adult daughters of the recently widowed pediatrician Dr. Harry Weston return to live in the same house.
Empty Nest was part of NBC's Saturday night block of programming, and during its first four seasons it aired at 9:30pm ET, directly following The Golden Girls.
Two of the cast were alumni from one of Susan Harris' earlier shows, Soap; Mulligan was (briefly) Manoff's father-in-law in Soap.
An incarnation of the series initially appeared in the 1987 Golden Girls episode "Empty Nests." In the episode, George and Renee Corliss (played by Paul Dooley and Rita Moreno, respectively) were introduced as the Girls' neighbors, a middle-aged couple suffering from empty nest syndrome.
In this version, George was a busy doctor and Renee had been an actress, a profession she intended to pursue again now that their children had left home. Their teenage daughter Jenny (Jane Harnick) visited from college, and Renee's brother Chuck (Geoffrey Lewis), who suffered from multiple personality disorder, also appeared.
The set of the Corliss house was exactly the same as the one that later became the Weston residence, and the Corlisses also had an annoying neighbor played by David Leisure (although theirs was named Oliver).
The "Empty Nests" episode screened as the Season Two finale of The Golden Girls and was intended to act as a backdoor pilot for the spin-off, which was to begin during the fall 1987 TV season. However, the series did not go ahead as planned, and the premise was later extensively revamped before Empty Nest appeared on screens in 1988.
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For its first three seasons, Empty Nest was one of the year's top 10 most-watched programs. It was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions in association with Touchstone Television. Originally developed from an episode of The Golden Girls, in Empty Nest the two adult daughters of the recently widowed pediatrician Dr. Harry Weston return to live in the same house.
Empty Nest was part of NBC's Saturday night block of programming, and during its first four seasons it aired at 9:30pm ET, directly following The Golden Girls.
Two of the cast were alumni from one of Susan Harris' earlier shows, Soap; Mulligan was (briefly) Manoff's father-in-law in Soap.
An incarnation of the series initially appeared in the 1987 Golden Girls episode "Empty Nests." In the episode, George and Renee Corliss (played by Paul Dooley and Rita Moreno, respectively) were introduced as the Girls' neighbors, a middle-aged couple suffering from empty nest syndrome.
In this version, George was a busy doctor and Renee had been an actress, a profession she intended to pursue again now that their children had left home. Their teenage daughter Jenny (Jane Harnick) visited from college, and Renee's brother Chuck (Geoffrey Lewis), who suffered from multiple personality disorder, also appeared.
The set of the Corliss house was exactly the same as the one that later became the Weston residence, and the Corlisses also had an annoying neighbor played by David Leisure (although theirs was named Oliver).
The "Empty Nests" episode screened as the Season Two finale of The Golden Girls and was intended to act as a backdoor pilot for the spin-off, which was to begin during the fall 1987 TV season. However, the series did not go ahead as planned, and the premise was later extensively revamped before Empty Nest appeared on screens in 1988.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further information:
Dharma & Greg (ABC: 1997-2002)
YouTube Video: Dharma and Greg on a Hot Tin Roof
Dharma & Greg is an American television sitcom that aired from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002.
It stars Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who got married on their first date despite being complete opposites.
The series was co-produced by Chuck Lorre Productions, More-Medavoy Productions and 4 to 6 Foot Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The show's theme song was written and performed by composer Dennis C. Brown.
Created by executive producers Dottie Dartland and Chuck Lorre, the comedy took much of its inspiration from so-called culture-clash "fish out of water" situations. The show earned eight Golden Globe nominations, six Emmy Award nominations, and six Satellite Awards nominations. Elfman earned a Golden Globe in 1999 for Best Actress.
Overview:
Free spirited yoga instructor Dharma and lawyer Greg get married on their first date despite being complete opposites. Their conflicting views lead to comical situations. Greg was born and raised as a conservative Republican. He was educated at Harvard pre-law and Stanford law.
After he graduated, he went to work with the US Attorney's Office as a federal prosecutor in San Francisco. He met Dharma, who was a yoga instructor and grew up with hippie parents. They saw each other once when they were kids at a subway station. Once they grew up, Dharma made the first move and found Greg. Greg fell in love with her immediately, and the couple eloped and got married. Greg's parents and Dharma's parents are totally different. But over time they too learn to like each other, causing a unique family blend.
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It stars Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who got married on their first date despite being complete opposites.
The series was co-produced by Chuck Lorre Productions, More-Medavoy Productions and 4 to 6 Foot Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The show's theme song was written and performed by composer Dennis C. Brown.
Created by executive producers Dottie Dartland and Chuck Lorre, the comedy took much of its inspiration from so-called culture-clash "fish out of water" situations. The show earned eight Golden Globe nominations, six Emmy Award nominations, and six Satellite Awards nominations. Elfman earned a Golden Globe in 1999 for Best Actress.
Overview:
Free spirited yoga instructor Dharma and lawyer Greg get married on their first date despite being complete opposites. Their conflicting views lead to comical situations. Greg was born and raised as a conservative Republican. He was educated at Harvard pre-law and Stanford law.
After he graduated, he went to work with the US Attorney's Office as a federal prosecutor in San Francisco. He met Dharma, who was a yoga instructor and grew up with hippie parents. They saw each other once when they were kids at a subway station. Once they grew up, Dharma made the first move and found Greg. Greg fell in love with her immediately, and the couple eloped and got married. Greg's parents and Dharma's parents are totally different. But over time they too learn to like each other, causing a unique family blend.
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The Dick Van Dyke Show (CBS: 1961-1966)
YouTube Video: The Dick Van Dyke Show ~ Charades
Pictured L-R: Morey Amsterdam as "Maurice "Buddy" Sorrell"; Richard Deacon as Melvin "Mel" Cooley; Dick Van Dyke as "Robert Simpson "Rob" Petrie"; Rose Marie as "Sally Rogers" and Mary Tyler Moore as "Laura Petrie"
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning over five seasons.
The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Larry Mathews, and Mary Tyler Moore. It centered on the work and home life of television comedy writer Rob Petrie (Van Dyke). The show was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff. The music for the show's theme song was written by Earle Hagen.
The series won 15 Emmy Awards. In 1997, the episodes "Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth" and "It May Look Like a Walnut" were ranked at 8 and 15 respectively on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. In 2002, it was ranked at 13 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and in 2013, it was ranked at 20 on their list of the 60 Best Series.
Premise:
The two main settings show the work and home life of Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), the head writer of a comedy/variety show produced in Manhattan. Viewers are given an "inside look" at how a television show (the fictitious The Alan Brady Show) was written and produced.
Many scenes deal with Rob and his co-writers, Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam) and Sally Rogers (Rose Marie). Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon), a balding straight man and recipient of numerous insulting one-liners from Buddy, was the show's producer and the brother-in-law of the show's star, Alan Brady (Carl Reiner).
As Rob, Buddy, and Sally write for a comedy show, the premise provides a built-in forum for them to constantly make jokes. Other scenes focus on the home life of Rob, his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), and son Richie (Larry Mathews), who live at 148 Bonnie Meadow Road in suburban New Rochelle, New York. Also often seen are their next-door neighbors and best friends, Jerry Helper (Jerry Paris), a dentist, and his wife Millie (Ann Morgan Guilbert).
The Dick Van Dyke Show was preceded by a 1960 pilot for a series to be called Head of the Family with a different cast, although the characters were essentially the same, except for the absence of Mel Cooley.
In the pilot, Carl Reiner, who created the show based on his own experiences as a TV writer, played Robbie Petrie, with a long first "e": PEE-tree. Laura Petrie was played by Barbara Britton, Buddy Sorrell by Morty Gunty, Sally Rogers by Sylvia Miles, Richie by Gary Morgan, and Alan Sturdy, the Alan Brady character, was played by Jack Wakefield, although his face was never fully seen, which was also the case with Carl Reiner's Alan Brady for the first several seasons of The Dick Van Dyke Show.
The pilot was unsuccessful, which led Reiner to rework the show with Dick Van Dyke playing the central character. The pilot was subsequently the basis of the series episode "Father of the Week".
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The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Larry Mathews, and Mary Tyler Moore. It centered on the work and home life of television comedy writer Rob Petrie (Van Dyke). The show was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff. The music for the show's theme song was written by Earle Hagen.
The series won 15 Emmy Awards. In 1997, the episodes "Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth" and "It May Look Like a Walnut" were ranked at 8 and 15 respectively on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. In 2002, it was ranked at 13 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and in 2013, it was ranked at 20 on their list of the 60 Best Series.
Premise:
The two main settings show the work and home life of Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), the head writer of a comedy/variety show produced in Manhattan. Viewers are given an "inside look" at how a television show (the fictitious The Alan Brady Show) was written and produced.
Many scenes deal with Rob and his co-writers, Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam) and Sally Rogers (Rose Marie). Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon), a balding straight man and recipient of numerous insulting one-liners from Buddy, was the show's producer and the brother-in-law of the show's star, Alan Brady (Carl Reiner).
As Rob, Buddy, and Sally write for a comedy show, the premise provides a built-in forum for them to constantly make jokes. Other scenes focus on the home life of Rob, his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), and son Richie (Larry Mathews), who live at 148 Bonnie Meadow Road in suburban New Rochelle, New York. Also often seen are their next-door neighbors and best friends, Jerry Helper (Jerry Paris), a dentist, and his wife Millie (Ann Morgan Guilbert).
The Dick Van Dyke Show was preceded by a 1960 pilot for a series to be called Head of the Family with a different cast, although the characters were essentially the same, except for the absence of Mel Cooley.
In the pilot, Carl Reiner, who created the show based on his own experiences as a TV writer, played Robbie Petrie, with a long first "e": PEE-tree. Laura Petrie was played by Barbara Britton, Buddy Sorrell by Morty Gunty, Sally Rogers by Sylvia Miles, Richie by Gary Morgan, and Alan Sturdy, the Alan Brady character, was played by Jack Wakefield, although his face was never fully seen, which was also the case with Carl Reiner's Alan Brady for the first several seasons of The Dick Van Dyke Show.
The pilot was unsuccessful, which led Reiner to rework the show with Dick Van Dyke playing the central character. The pilot was subsequently the basis of the series episode "Father of the Week".
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- Characters
- Production
- Crossovers
- Cast reunions
- Theme
- Broadcast history and Nielsen ratings
- Primetime Emmy Awards
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- In popular culture
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Full House (ABC: 1987-1995)
YouTube Video: Full House: Funny Scenes (All 8 Seasons)
Pictured (L-R):
BOTTOM 4 = Candace Cameron Bure as "D.J. Tanner"; Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen as "Michelle Tanner"; Bob Saget as "Danny Tanner"; Jodie Sweetin as "Stephanie Tanner".
TOP 3 = Dave Coulier as "Joey Gladstone"; John Stamos as "Jesse Katsopolis"; and Lori Loughlin as "Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis"
Full House is an American coming of age sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show chronicles a widowed father, Danny Tanner, who enlists his brother-in-law and best friend to help raise his three daughters.
It aired from September 22, 1987, to May 23, 1995, broadcasting eight seasons and 192 episodes.
The series has been rebroadcast in syndication and tie-in merchandise, such as a series of books, have been marketed. A sequel series, Fuller House, premiered on Netflix on February 26, 2016.
Premise:
After his wife is killed in a car accident, news anchorman Danny Tanner recruits his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis (a rock musician) and best friend Joey Gladstone (who works as a stand-up comedian) to help raise his three young daughters: D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle, in his San Francisco home. Over time, the three men as well as the children bond and become closer to one another.
In season two, Danny is reassigned from his duties as sports anchor by his television station to become co-host of a local morning television show, Wake Up, San Francisco, and is teamed up with Nebraska native Rebecca Donaldson. Jesse and Becky eventually fall in love, and get married in season four. In season five, Becky gives birth to twin sons, Nicky and Alex.
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It aired from September 22, 1987, to May 23, 1995, broadcasting eight seasons and 192 episodes.
The series has been rebroadcast in syndication and tie-in merchandise, such as a series of books, have been marketed. A sequel series, Fuller House, premiered on Netflix on February 26, 2016.
Premise:
After his wife is killed in a car accident, news anchorman Danny Tanner recruits his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis (a rock musician) and best friend Joey Gladstone (who works as a stand-up comedian) to help raise his three young daughters: D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle, in his San Francisco home. Over time, the three men as well as the children bond and become closer to one another.
In season two, Danny is reassigned from his duties as sports anchor by his television station to become co-host of a local morning television show, Wake Up, San Francisco, and is teamed up with Nebraska native Rebecca Donaldson. Jesse and Becky eventually fall in love, and get married in season four. In season five, Becky gives birth to twin sons, Nicky and Alex.
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- Main cast and characters
- Production
- Broadcast history
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- U.S. syndication
- Reunions
- Spin-off series
- Other media
- Awards and nominations
The Nanny (CBS: 1993-1999)
YouTube Video The Nanny - The best of funny moments!
Pictured (L-R): Benjamin Salisbury as "Brighton Sheffield"; Nicholle Tom as "Margaret Sheffield"; Daniel Davis as "Niles" (as the loyal butler and chauffeur); Fran Drescher as "the Nanny"; Charles Shaughnessy as "Maxwell Sheffield" (the head of the household); Madeline Zima as "Grace Sheffield" (the youngest child in the Sheffield family); and Lauren Lane as "C.C. Babcock" (as the antagonist of the series)
The Nanny is an American television sitcom which originally aired on CBS from 1993 to 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashion queen from Flushing, New York who becomes the nanny of three children from the New York/British high society.
The show was created and produced by Drescher and her husband Peter Marc Jacobson, taking much of its inspiration from Drescher's personal life growing up in Queens, involving names and characteristics based on her relatives and friends.
The show earned a Rose d'Or and one Emmy Award, out of a total of twelve nominations, and Drescher was twice nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy. The sitcom has also spawned several foreign adaptations, loosely inspired by the original scripts.
Premise:
Jewish-American Fran Fine turns up on the doorstep of British Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) to sell cosmetics after having been both dumped and fired by her boyfriend and employer Danny Imperialli.
Instead, she finds herself the nanny of Maxwell's three children, Maggie, Brighton, and Grace. Maxwell Sheffield is unhappy about it at first, but Fran turns out to be just what he and his family needed.
While Fran Fine manages the children, butler Niles (Daniel Davis) manages the household and watches all the events that unfold with Fran as the new nanny. Niles, recognizing Fran's gift for bringing warmth back to the family, does his best to undermine Maxwell's business partner C.C. Babcock (Lauren Lane) who has her eyes on the very available Maxwell Sheffield. Niles is often seen making witty comments directed towards C.C with C.C often replying with a comment of her own in their ongoing game of one-upmanship.
As the series progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious that Maxwell is smitten with Fran even though he won't admit it, and Fran is smitten with him. The show teases the viewers with their closeness and "near misses" as well as with an engagement.
Towards the later seasons, they finally marry and expand their family by having fraternal twins. By the end of the series, it's also clear that Niles and C.C.'s constant sharp barbs are their bizarre form of flirtation and after a few false starts (including multiple impulsive and failed proposals from Niles) the pair marry in the series finale.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
The show was created and produced by Drescher and her husband Peter Marc Jacobson, taking much of its inspiration from Drescher's personal life growing up in Queens, involving names and characteristics based on her relatives and friends.
The show earned a Rose d'Or and one Emmy Award, out of a total of twelve nominations, and Drescher was twice nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy. The sitcom has also spawned several foreign adaptations, loosely inspired by the original scripts.
Premise:
Jewish-American Fran Fine turns up on the doorstep of British Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) to sell cosmetics after having been both dumped and fired by her boyfriend and employer Danny Imperialli.
Instead, she finds herself the nanny of Maxwell's three children, Maggie, Brighton, and Grace. Maxwell Sheffield is unhappy about it at first, but Fran turns out to be just what he and his family needed.
While Fran Fine manages the children, butler Niles (Daniel Davis) manages the household and watches all the events that unfold with Fran as the new nanny. Niles, recognizing Fran's gift for bringing warmth back to the family, does his best to undermine Maxwell's business partner C.C. Babcock (Lauren Lane) who has her eyes on the very available Maxwell Sheffield. Niles is often seen making witty comments directed towards C.C with C.C often replying with a comment of her own in their ongoing game of one-upmanship.
As the series progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious that Maxwell is smitten with Fran even though he won't admit it, and Fran is smitten with him. The show teases the viewers with their closeness and "near misses" as well as with an engagement.
Towards the later seasons, they finally marry and expand their family by having fraternal twins. By the end of the series, it's also clear that Niles and C.C.'s constant sharp barbs are their bizarre form of flirtation and after a few false starts (including multiple impulsive and failed proposals from Niles) the pair marry in the series finale.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Main characters
- Cast
- Theme song and opening credits
- Production
- Humor
- Impact
- Syndication including International syndication
- DVD releases
- Awards and nominations
- Foreign adaptations
How I Met Your Mother (CBS: 2005-2014)
YouTube Video: funny scenes from How I Met Your Mother
Pictured (L-R): Cobie Smulders as "Robin Scherbatsky; Josh Radnor as "Ted Mosby"; Jason Segel as "Marshall Eriksen"; Alyson Hannigan as "Lily Aldrin"; and Neil Patrick Harris as "Barney Stinson"
How I Met Your Mother (often abbreviated to HIMYM) is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014. The series follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his group of friends in Manhattan. As a framing device, Ted, in the year 2030, recounts to his son and daughter the events that led him to meeting their mother.
The series was created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, who also served as the show's executive producers and were frequent writers. The series was loosely inspired by their friendship when they both lived in New York City.
Among the 208 episodes, there were only four directors: Pamela Fryman (196 episodes), Rob Greenberg (7 episodes), Michael Shea (4 episodes), and Neil Patrick Harris (1 episode).
Known for its unique structure and eccentric humor, How I Met Your Mother has gained a cult following over the years. The show initially received positive reviews, while the later seasons received more mixed reviews.
The show was nominated for 28 Emmy Awards, winning nine. In 2010, Alyson Hannigan won the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actress. In 2012, seven years after its premiere, the series won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Network TV Comedy, and Neil Patrick Harris won the award for Favorite TV Comedy Actor.
The ninth and final season began airing on September 23, 2013, and concluded on March 31, 2014, with a double-length finale episode, which received polarized reviews from critics and fans alike for its controversial twist ending, as many critics and fans believed it contradicted many of the previous episodes.
Premise:
The series concerns the adventures of Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor) and how he met the mother of his children. The story starts in 2005 with a 27-year-old Ted Mosby living in New York City and working as an architect; the narrative deals primarily with his best friends, including the long-lasting couple Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel) and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan); the eccentric, womanizing-playboy Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris); and news anchor Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders).
The series explores many storylines, including a "will they or won't they" relationship between Robin and each of the two single male characters, Marshall and Lily's relationship, and the ups and downs of the characters' careers.
The show's frame story depicts Ted (voice of Bob Saget, credited) verbally retelling the story to his son Luke (David Henrie) and daughter Penny (Lyndsy Fonseca) as they sit on the couch in the year 2030.
This future-set frame is officially the show's "present day" and How I Met Your Mother exploits this framing device in numerous ways: to depict and re-depict events from multiple points of view; to set up jokes using quick and sometimes multiple flashbacks nested within the oral retelling; to substitute visual, verbal or aural euphemisms for activities Ted doesn't want to talk about with his children (sexual practices, use of illicit substances, vulgar language, etc.); and even to add some elements of humor: in the episode "How I Met Everyone Else", Ted describes his dates with a girlfriend whose name he has forgotten, leading all characters to act as though her given name were "Blah-Blah."
While the traditional love-story structure begins when the romantic leads first encounter each other, How I Met Your Mother does not introduce Ted's wife (Cristin Milioti) until the eighth-season finale, and only announces her name (Tracy McConnell) during the series finale. The show instead focuses on Ted's prior relationships and his dissatisfaction with those women, thus setting the stage for his eventual happiness with Tracy.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further information:
The series was created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, who also served as the show's executive producers and were frequent writers. The series was loosely inspired by their friendship when they both lived in New York City.
Among the 208 episodes, there were only four directors: Pamela Fryman (196 episodes), Rob Greenberg (7 episodes), Michael Shea (4 episodes), and Neil Patrick Harris (1 episode).
Known for its unique structure and eccentric humor, How I Met Your Mother has gained a cult following over the years. The show initially received positive reviews, while the later seasons received more mixed reviews.
The show was nominated for 28 Emmy Awards, winning nine. In 2010, Alyson Hannigan won the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actress. In 2012, seven years after its premiere, the series won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Network TV Comedy, and Neil Patrick Harris won the award for Favorite TV Comedy Actor.
The ninth and final season began airing on September 23, 2013, and concluded on March 31, 2014, with a double-length finale episode, which received polarized reviews from critics and fans alike for its controversial twist ending, as many critics and fans believed it contradicted many of the previous episodes.
Premise:
The series concerns the adventures of Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor) and how he met the mother of his children. The story starts in 2005 with a 27-year-old Ted Mosby living in New York City and working as an architect; the narrative deals primarily with his best friends, including the long-lasting couple Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel) and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan); the eccentric, womanizing-playboy Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris); and news anchor Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders).
The series explores many storylines, including a "will they or won't they" relationship between Robin and each of the two single male characters, Marshall and Lily's relationship, and the ups and downs of the characters' careers.
The show's frame story depicts Ted (voice of Bob Saget, credited) verbally retelling the story to his son Luke (David Henrie) and daughter Penny (Lyndsy Fonseca) as they sit on the couch in the year 2030.
This future-set frame is officially the show's "present day" and How I Met Your Mother exploits this framing device in numerous ways: to depict and re-depict events from multiple points of view; to set up jokes using quick and sometimes multiple flashbacks nested within the oral retelling; to substitute visual, verbal or aural euphemisms for activities Ted doesn't want to talk about with his children (sexual practices, use of illicit substances, vulgar language, etc.); and even to add some elements of humor: in the episode "How I Met Everyone Else", Ted describes his dates with a girlfriend whose name he has forgotten, leading all characters to act as though her given name were "Blah-Blah."
While the traditional love-story structure begins when the romantic leads first encounter each other, How I Met Your Mother does not introduce Ted's wife (Cristin Milioti) until the eighth-season finale, and only announces her name (Tracy McConnell) during the series finale. The show instead focuses on Ted's prior relationships and his dissatisfaction with those women, thus setting the stage for his eventual happiness with Tracy.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further information:
- Production
- Cast and characters
- Season synopsis for Seasons 1 through 9
- Critical reception
- Tie-ins
- Nielsen ratings
- Awards and nominations
- DVD releases
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX: 2005–12 and FXX: 2013–present)
YouTube Video: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Top 10 Funniest Moments
Pictured L-R: Glenn Howerton as Dennis Reynolds; Charlie Day as Charlie Kelly; Rob McElhenney as Ronald "Mac" McDonald; Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds; and Kaitlin Olson as Deandra "Sweet Dee" Reynolds
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. It moved to FXX for the ninth season.
It was created by Rob McElhenney, who developed it with Glenn Howerton. It is executive produced and primarily written by McElhenney, Howerton, and Charlie Day, all of whom star alongside Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito. The series follows the exploits of "The Gang", a group of self-centered friends who run the Irish bar Paddy's Pub in South Philadelphia.
The series was renewed for a twelfth season that premiered on January 4, 2017. On April 1, 2016, the series was renewed for a thirteenth and fourteenth season.
Premise:
The series follows "The Gang", a group of five depraved underachievers: twins Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton) and Deandra "Sweet Dee" Reynolds (Kaitlin Olson), their friends Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day) and Ronald "Mac" McDonald (Rob McElhenney), and (from season 2 onward) Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito), the man who raised Dennis and Dee.
The Gang runs the dilapidated Paddy's Pub, an Irish bar in South Philadelphia. Each member of the gang shows varying degrees of dishonesty, egotism, selfishness, greed, pettiness, ignorance, laziness, and unethical behavior; they are often engaged in controversial activities.
Episodes usually find them hatching elaborate schemes and conspiring against one another and others for personal gain, vengeance, or simply the entertainment of watching another's downfall. They habitually inflict mental, emotional, and physical pain on each other and anyone who crosses their path. They also regularly use blackmail to manipulate one another and others outside of the group.
The Gang's unity is never solid, and any of them would quickly dump any of the others for quick profit or personal gain, regardless of the consequences. Everything they do results in contention among themselves, and much of the show's dialogue involves the characters arguing or yelling at one another. Despite their lack of success or achievements, they maintain high opinions of themselves and display an obsessive interest in their own reputations and public images.
The Gang has no sense of shame when attempting to get what they want and often engage in activities that others would find humiliating, disgusting, or preposterous. These include smoking crack cocaine and pretending to be mentally challenged in order to qualify for welfare, attempted cannibalism, kidnapping, hiding naked inside a leather couch in order to eavesdrop on someone, coercing people into sleeping with them, forcing each other to eat inedible items, huffing paint, foraging in the sewers for valuables, sleeping with each other's romantic interests, seducing a priest, plugging their open wounds with trash, and stalking their crushes.
During the Season 7 episode "The Gang Gets Trapped", in which The Gang breaks into a family's home and has to hide from them when they return, an angry monologue by Dennis captures the essence of The Gang's modus operandi: “We immediately escalate everything to a ten... somebody comes in with some preposterous plan or idea, then all of a sudden everyone's on the gas, nobody's on the brakes, nobody's thinking, everyone's just talking over each other with one idiotic idea after another! Until, finally, we find ourselves in a situation where we've broken into somebody's house – and the homeowner is home!”
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It was created by Rob McElhenney, who developed it with Glenn Howerton. It is executive produced and primarily written by McElhenney, Howerton, and Charlie Day, all of whom star alongside Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito. The series follows the exploits of "The Gang", a group of self-centered friends who run the Irish bar Paddy's Pub in South Philadelphia.
The series was renewed for a twelfth season that premiered on January 4, 2017. On April 1, 2016, the series was renewed for a thirteenth and fourteenth season.
Premise:
The series follows "The Gang", a group of five depraved underachievers: twins Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton) and Deandra "Sweet Dee" Reynolds (Kaitlin Olson), their friends Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day) and Ronald "Mac" McDonald (Rob McElhenney), and (from season 2 onward) Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito), the man who raised Dennis and Dee.
The Gang runs the dilapidated Paddy's Pub, an Irish bar in South Philadelphia. Each member of the gang shows varying degrees of dishonesty, egotism, selfishness, greed, pettiness, ignorance, laziness, and unethical behavior; they are often engaged in controversial activities.
Episodes usually find them hatching elaborate schemes and conspiring against one another and others for personal gain, vengeance, or simply the entertainment of watching another's downfall. They habitually inflict mental, emotional, and physical pain on each other and anyone who crosses their path. They also regularly use blackmail to manipulate one another and others outside of the group.
The Gang's unity is never solid, and any of them would quickly dump any of the others for quick profit or personal gain, regardless of the consequences. Everything they do results in contention among themselves, and much of the show's dialogue involves the characters arguing or yelling at one another. Despite their lack of success or achievements, they maintain high opinions of themselves and display an obsessive interest in their own reputations and public images.
The Gang has no sense of shame when attempting to get what they want and often engage in activities that others would find humiliating, disgusting, or preposterous. These include smoking crack cocaine and pretending to be mentally challenged in order to qualify for welfare, attempted cannibalism, kidnapping, hiding naked inside a leather couch in order to eavesdrop on someone, coercing people into sleeping with them, forcing each other to eat inedible items, huffing paint, foraging in the sewers for valuables, sleeping with each other's romantic interests, seducing a priest, plugging their open wounds with trash, and stalking their crushes.
During the Season 7 episode "The Gang Gets Trapped", in which The Gang breaks into a family's home and has to hide from them when they return, an angry monologue by Dennis captures the essence of The Gang's modus operandi: “We immediately escalate everything to a ten... somebody comes in with some preposterous plan or idea, then all of a sudden everyone's on the gas, nobody's on the brakes, nobody's thinking, everyone's just talking over each other with one idiotic idea after another! Until, finally, we find ourselves in a situation where we've broken into somebody's house – and the homeowner is home!”
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The Office (NBC: 2005-2013)
YouTube Video: First Aid
Pictured (L-R): Jenna Fischer; John Krasinski; B. J. Novak; Steve Carell; and Rainn Wilson
The Office is an American television comedy series that aired on NBC from March 24, 2005 to May 16, 2013. It is an adaptation of the BBC series of the same name. The Office was adapted for American audiences by Greg Daniels, a veteran writer for Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons.
"The Office" is co-produced by Daniels' Deedle-Dee Productions, and Reveille Productions (later Shine America), in association with Universal Television. The original executive producers were Greg Daniels, Howard Klein, Ben Silverman, Ricky Gervais, and Stephen Merchant, with numerous others being promoted in later seasons.
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. To simulate the look of an actual documentary, it is filmed in a single-camera setup, without a studio audience or a laugh track.
The show debuted on NBC as a mid-season replacement and ran for nine seasons and 201 episodes. The Office features Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, Ed Helms, and James Spader on the main cast.
The first season of The Office was met with mixed reviews, but the following four seasons received widespread acclaim from television critics. These seasons were included on several critics' year-end top TV series lists, winning several awards including four Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series in 2006. While later seasons were criticized for a decline in quality, earlier writers oversaw the final season and ended the show's run with a positive reception.
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"The Office" is co-produced by Daniels' Deedle-Dee Productions, and Reveille Productions (later Shine America), in association with Universal Television. The original executive producers were Greg Daniels, Howard Klein, Ben Silverman, Ricky Gervais, and Stephen Merchant, with numerous others being promoted in later seasons.
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. To simulate the look of an actual documentary, it is filmed in a single-camera setup, without a studio audience or a laugh track.
The show debuted on NBC as a mid-season replacement and ran for nine seasons and 201 episodes. The Office features Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, Ed Helms, and James Spader on the main cast.
The first season of The Office was met with mixed reviews, but the following four seasons received widespread acclaim from television critics. These seasons were included on several critics' year-end top TV series lists, winning several awards including four Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series in 2006. While later seasons were criticized for a decline in quality, earlier writers oversaw the final season and ended the show's run with a positive reception.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Production
- Characters
- Season synopses for Seasons 1 through 9
- Product placement
- Reception
- Other media
Parks and Recreation (NBC: 2009-2015)
YouTube Video Top 10 Funniest Parks and Recreation Moments
Pictured (L-R): Paul Schneider; Aziz Ansari; Amy Poehler; Rashide Jones; Nick Offerman; Aubrey Plaza; and Chris Pratt.
Parks and Recreation, informally known as Parks and Rec, is an American political comedy television sitcom starring Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a perky, mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks Department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana.
Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009 to February 24, 2015, for 125 episodes, over seven seasons. It was written by the same writers and uses the same filming style as The Office, with the same implication of a documentary crew filming everyone.
The ensemble and supporting cast feature the following:
The writers researched local California politics for the show, and consulted with urban planners and elected officials. Poehler's character, Leslie Knope, underwent major changes after the first season, in response to audience feedback that she seemed unintelligent and "ditzy".
The writing staff incorporated current events into the episodes, such as a government shutdown in Pawnee inspired by the real-life global financial crisis of 2007–2008. Several guest stars, such as Jason Mantzoukas, Kathryn Hahn, Sam Elliott, Bill Murray, Louis C.K., Paul Rudd, and Jon Hamm, have been featured in the show, and their characters often appear in multiple episodes.
Parks and Recreation was part of NBC's "Comedy Night Done Right" programming during its Thursday night prime-time block. The series received mixed reviews during its first season, but, after a re-approach to its tone and format, the second and subsequent seasons were widely acclaimed.
Throughout its run, Parks and Recreation received several awards and nominations, including two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series, six Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe win for Poehler's performance, and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
In TIME's 2012 year-end lists issue, Parks and Recreation was named the number one television series of that year. In 2013, after receiving four consecutive nominations in the category, Parks and Recreation won the Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further information:
Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009 to February 24, 2015, for 125 episodes, over seven seasons. It was written by the same writers and uses the same filming style as The Office, with the same implication of a documentary crew filming everyone.
The ensemble and supporting cast feature the following:
- Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins,
- Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford,
- Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson,
- Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate,
- Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz,
- Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer,
- Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt,
- Rob Lowe as Chris Traeger,
- Jim O'Heir as Jerry Gergich,
- Retta as Donna Meagle,
- and Billy Eichner as Craig Middlebrooks.
The writers researched local California politics for the show, and consulted with urban planners and elected officials. Poehler's character, Leslie Knope, underwent major changes after the first season, in response to audience feedback that she seemed unintelligent and "ditzy".
The writing staff incorporated current events into the episodes, such as a government shutdown in Pawnee inspired by the real-life global financial crisis of 2007–2008. Several guest stars, such as Jason Mantzoukas, Kathryn Hahn, Sam Elliott, Bill Murray, Louis C.K., Paul Rudd, and Jon Hamm, have been featured in the show, and their characters often appear in multiple episodes.
Parks and Recreation was part of NBC's "Comedy Night Done Right" programming during its Thursday night prime-time block. The series received mixed reviews during its first season, but, after a re-approach to its tone and format, the second and subsequent seasons were widely acclaimed.
Throughout its run, Parks and Recreation received several awards and nominations, including two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series, six Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe win for Poehler's performance, and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
In TIME's 2012 year-end lists issue, Parks and Recreation was named the number one television series of that year. In 2013, after receiving four consecutive nominations in the category, Parks and Recreation won the Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further information:
Family Guy (Fox: 1999-present)
YouTube Video: Family Guy funniest moments
Family Guy is an American adult animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian.
The show is set in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island, and exhibits much of its humor in the form of cutaway gags that often lampoon American culture.
The family was conceived by MacFarlane after developing two animated films, The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve. MacFarlane redesigned the films' protagonist, Larry, and his dog, Steve, and renamed them Peter and Brian, respectively.
MacFarlane pitched a seven-minute pilot to Fox in 1998, and the show was greenlit and began production. Shortly after the third season of Family Guy had aired in 2002, Fox canceled the series, with one episode left unaired. Adult Swim burned off the episode in 2003, finishing the series' original run. However, favorable DVD sales and high ratings for syndicated reruns on Adult Swim convinced the network to renew the show in 2004 for a fourth season, which began airing on May 1, 2005.
Since its debut on January 31, 1999, 278 episodes of Family Guy have been broadcast. Its fifteenth season began on September 25, 2016. Family Guy has been nominated for 12 Primetime Emmy Awards and 11 Annie Awards, and has won three of each. In 2009, it was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, the first time an animated series was nominated for the award since The Flintstones in 1961.
Family Guy has also received criticism, including unfavorable comparisons to The Simpsons.
Many tie-in media have been released, including:
In 2008, MacFarlane confirmed that the cast was interested in producing a feature film and that he was working on a story for a film adaptation.
A spin-off series, The Cleveland Show, featuring Cleveland Brown, aired from September 27, 2009, to May 19, 2013.
"The Simpsons Guy", a crossover episode with The Simpsons, aired on September 28, 2014.
Family Guy is a joint production by Fuzzy Door Productions and 20th Century Fox Television and syndicated by 20th Television.
In 2013, TV Guide ranked Family Guy the ninth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time.
On May 15, 2016, Family Guy was renewed for a fifteenth season, which premiered on September 25, 2016.
The show is set in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island, and exhibits much of its humor in the form of cutaway gags that often lampoon American culture.
The family was conceived by MacFarlane after developing two animated films, The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve. MacFarlane redesigned the films' protagonist, Larry, and his dog, Steve, and renamed them Peter and Brian, respectively.
MacFarlane pitched a seven-minute pilot to Fox in 1998, and the show was greenlit and began production. Shortly after the third season of Family Guy had aired in 2002, Fox canceled the series, with one episode left unaired. Adult Swim burned off the episode in 2003, finishing the series' original run. However, favorable DVD sales and high ratings for syndicated reruns on Adult Swim convinced the network to renew the show in 2004 for a fourth season, which began airing on May 1, 2005.
Since its debut on January 31, 1999, 278 episodes of Family Guy have been broadcast. Its fifteenth season began on September 25, 2016. Family Guy has been nominated for 12 Primetime Emmy Awards and 11 Annie Awards, and has won three of each. In 2009, it was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, the first time an animated series was nominated for the award since The Flintstones in 1961.
Family Guy has also received criticism, including unfavorable comparisons to The Simpsons.
Many tie-in media have been released, including:
- Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, a straight-to-DVD special released in 2005;
- Family Guy: Live in Vegas, a soundtrack-DVD combo released in 2005, featuring music from the show as well as original music created by MacFarlane and Walter Murphy;
- a video game and pinball machine, released in 2006 and 2007, respectively;
- since 2005, six books published by Harper Adult based on the Family Guy universe;
- and Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy (2010), a series of parodies of the original Star Wars trilogy.
In 2008, MacFarlane confirmed that the cast was interested in producing a feature film and that he was working on a story for a film adaptation.
A spin-off series, The Cleveland Show, featuring Cleveland Brown, aired from September 27, 2009, to May 19, 2013.
"The Simpsons Guy", a crossover episode with The Simpsons, aired on September 28, 2014.
Family Guy is a joint production by Fuzzy Door Productions and 20th Century Fox Television and syndicated by 20th Television.
In 2013, TV Guide ranked Family Guy the ninth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time.
On May 15, 2016, Family Guy was renewed for a fifteenth season, which premiered on September 25, 2016.
Gilmore Girls (WB: 2000-2005; CW: 2006-2007)
YouTube Video: Funny Scenes from Gilmore Girls
Pictured (L-R): Alexis Bledel as (daughter) "Rory Gilmore" and Lauren Graham as ( single mother) "Lorelai Gilmore"
Gilmore Girls is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. Sherman-Palladino, her husband Daniel Palladino, David S. Rosenthal, and Gavin Polone served as the executive producers.
The series debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and remained a tent-pole to the network until its move to The CW on September 26, 2006. The series originally ran for seven seasons and ended its run on May 15, 2007.
The show follows single mother Lorelai Gilmore (Graham) and her daughter, also named Lorelai but who prefers to be called Rory (Bledel), living in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut.
The town is filled with colorful characters and is located approximately 30 minutes from Hartford, Connecticut (as stated in the show's pilot). The series explores issues of family, friendship and romance, as well as generational divides and social class.
Ambition, education, work, love, family, and questions of class constitute some of the series' central concerns. The show's social commentary manifests most clearly in Lorelai's difficult relationship with her wealthy, appearance-obsessed parents, Emily and Richard Gilmore, and in Rory's interactions with the students at the Chilton Academy, and later, Yale University.
Gilmore Girls was released to critical acclaim. It featured fast-paced dialogue filled with pop-culture references. It won one Emmy Award for makeup in 2004. The show placed No. 32 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list, and was listed as one of Time magazine's "All-TIME 100 TV Shows" in 2007.
On November 25, 2016, a four-part miniseries revival titled Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, aired on Netflix. Each episode covers a season of the year, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for additional information:
The series debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and remained a tent-pole to the network until its move to The CW on September 26, 2006. The series originally ran for seven seasons and ended its run on May 15, 2007.
The show follows single mother Lorelai Gilmore (Graham) and her daughter, also named Lorelai but who prefers to be called Rory (Bledel), living in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut.
The town is filled with colorful characters and is located approximately 30 minutes from Hartford, Connecticut (as stated in the show's pilot). The series explores issues of family, friendship and romance, as well as generational divides and social class.
Ambition, education, work, love, family, and questions of class constitute some of the series' central concerns. The show's social commentary manifests most clearly in Lorelai's difficult relationship with her wealthy, appearance-obsessed parents, Emily and Richard Gilmore, and in Rory's interactions with the students at the Chilton Academy, and later, Yale University.
Gilmore Girls was released to critical acclaim. It featured fast-paced dialogue filled with pop-culture references. It won one Emmy Award for makeup in 2004. The show placed No. 32 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list, and was listed as one of Time magazine's "All-TIME 100 TV Shows" in 2007.
On November 25, 2016, a four-part miniseries revival titled Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, aired on Netflix. Each episode covers a season of the year, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for additional information:
- Development
- Writing and filming
- Music
- Change of network and cancellation
- Revival
- Cast and characters
- Episodes
- Reception
- Broadcast
- Home media and online releases
- Books
- See also: Gilmore Guys, an unofficial podcast discussing each episode of the series chronologically, which has also featured several cast members discussing the series.
Malcolm in the Middle (Fox: 2000-2006)
YouTube Video of "the funniest moment"
Pictured L-R: Bryan Cranston plays Malcolm's immature but loving father, Hal; Jane Kaczmarek as Malcolm's overbearing, authoritarian mother, Lois; Christopher Masterson as as the oldest brother Francis; Justin Berfield is Malcolm's dimwitted older brother Reese; Frankie Muniz in the lead role of Malcolm; and Erik Per Sullivan as youngest brother Dewey.
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes.
The series received critical acclaim and won a Peabody Award, seven Emmy Awards, one Grammy Award, and seven Golden Globe nominations.
The series follows a family of six, and later seven, and stars Frankie Muniz in the lead role of Malcolm, a somewhat normal boy who tests at genius level. While he enjoys his intelligence, he despises having to take classes for gifted children, who are mocked by the other students who call them "Krelboynes"—a reference to the nerdy Seymour Krelboyne of The Little Shop of Horrors.
Jane Kaczmarek is Malcolm's overbearing, authoritarian mother, Lois, and Bryan Cranston plays his immature but loving father, Hal.
Christopher Masterson plays eldest brother Francis, a former rebel who, in earlier episodes, was in military school, but eventually marries and settles into a steady job. Justin Berfield is Malcolm's dimwitted older brother Reese, a cruel bully who tortures Malcolm at home, even while he defends him at school. Younger brother Dewey, bitter about his ruined childhood, smart, and musically talented, is portrayed by Erik Per Sullivan.
At first, the show's focus was on Malcolm, but as the series progressed, it began to explore all six members of the family. A fifth son, Jamie, was introduced as a baby at the end of Season 4.
Malcolm in the Middle was produced by Satin City and Regency Television in association with Fox Television Studios (syndicated by Fox corporate sibling 20th Television).
The show has proven popular worldwide and has been syndicated in 57 countries. In the United States, it had been syndicated during the day on FX and at night on Nickelodeon's sister channel TeenNick, as well as local stations.
From 2016, it now airs on Comedy Central.
The show received universal acclaim from critics and proved an extremely popular draw for the network. It was placed No. 88 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list, and was named by Alan Sepinwall of HitFix as one of the 10 best shows in Fox network history.
Premise:
Set in a suburban neighborhood in the fictional Tri-County Area, Malcolm in the Middle is about a boy named Malcolm and his dysfunctional family. The show stars Frankie Muniz as Malcolm, the third of four (later five) boys, his brothers, and their parents, Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) and Hal (Bryan Cranston). The first, Francis (Christopher Masterson), was sent away to military school, leaving at home his three brothers, Reese (Justin Berfield), Malcolm, and Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan), Malcolm being the middle child still at home.
In season four, the character Jamie (James and Lukas Rodriguez) was added to the show as the fifth son. The show centered on Malcolm dealing with the rigors of being a child and enduring the eccentricities of his life early on. Later seasons gradually explored the other members of the family and their friends in more depth, including others such as Craig Feldspar, Lois's coworker, Malcolm's friend Stevie Kenarban, and Stevie's dad Abe.
The series was different from many others in that Malcolm broke the fourth wall by talking directly to the viewer, all scenes were shot using a single-camera setup, and the show employed neither a laugh track nor a live studio audience. Emulating the style of hour-long dramas, this half-hour show was shot on film instead of video.
Another distinctive aspect of the show is that the cold open of every episode is unrelated to the main story. Exceptions were episodes which were the conclusions of "two-parters"; each part two episode opened with a recap of its part one episode.
Click on any of the blue hyperlinks below for additional background:
The series received critical acclaim and won a Peabody Award, seven Emmy Awards, one Grammy Award, and seven Golden Globe nominations.
The series follows a family of six, and later seven, and stars Frankie Muniz in the lead role of Malcolm, a somewhat normal boy who tests at genius level. While he enjoys his intelligence, he despises having to take classes for gifted children, who are mocked by the other students who call them "Krelboynes"—a reference to the nerdy Seymour Krelboyne of The Little Shop of Horrors.
Jane Kaczmarek is Malcolm's overbearing, authoritarian mother, Lois, and Bryan Cranston plays his immature but loving father, Hal.
Christopher Masterson plays eldest brother Francis, a former rebel who, in earlier episodes, was in military school, but eventually marries and settles into a steady job. Justin Berfield is Malcolm's dimwitted older brother Reese, a cruel bully who tortures Malcolm at home, even while he defends him at school. Younger brother Dewey, bitter about his ruined childhood, smart, and musically talented, is portrayed by Erik Per Sullivan.
At first, the show's focus was on Malcolm, but as the series progressed, it began to explore all six members of the family. A fifth son, Jamie, was introduced as a baby at the end of Season 4.
Malcolm in the Middle was produced by Satin City and Regency Television in association with Fox Television Studios (syndicated by Fox corporate sibling 20th Television).
The show has proven popular worldwide and has been syndicated in 57 countries. In the United States, it had been syndicated during the day on FX and at night on Nickelodeon's sister channel TeenNick, as well as local stations.
From 2016, it now airs on Comedy Central.
The show received universal acclaim from critics and proved an extremely popular draw for the network. It was placed No. 88 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list, and was named by Alan Sepinwall of HitFix as one of the 10 best shows in Fox network history.
Premise:
Set in a suburban neighborhood in the fictional Tri-County Area, Malcolm in the Middle is about a boy named Malcolm and his dysfunctional family. The show stars Frankie Muniz as Malcolm, the third of four (later five) boys, his brothers, and their parents, Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) and Hal (Bryan Cranston). The first, Francis (Christopher Masterson), was sent away to military school, leaving at home his three brothers, Reese (Justin Berfield), Malcolm, and Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan), Malcolm being the middle child still at home.
In season four, the character Jamie (James and Lukas Rodriguez) was added to the show as the fifth son. The show centered on Malcolm dealing with the rigors of being a child and enduring the eccentricities of his life early on. Later seasons gradually explored the other members of the family and their friends in more depth, including others such as Craig Feldspar, Lois's coworker, Malcolm's friend Stevie Kenarban, and Stevie's dad Abe.
The series was different from many others in that Malcolm broke the fourth wall by talking directly to the viewer, all scenes were shot using a single-camera setup, and the show employed neither a laugh track nor a live studio audience. Emulating the style of hour-long dramas, this half-hour show was shot on film instead of video.
Another distinctive aspect of the show is that the cold open of every episode is unrelated to the main story. Exceptions were episodes which were the conclusions of "two-parters"; each part two episode opened with a recap of its part one episode.
Click on any of the blue hyperlinks below for additional background:
Bill Cosby including TV Sitcoms "The Cosby Show" (NBC: 1984-1992) and "Cosby" (CBS: 1996-2000)
YouTube Video: Bill Cosby 49 Stand Up Comedy
Pictured: Bill Cosby: (L) as a stand-up comedian; (R) with Phylicia Rashad in “The Cosby Show”
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. (born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, author and singer.
Cosby's start in stand-up comedy began at the hungry i in San Francisco, and was followed by his landing a starring role in the 1960s television show I Spy.
He was also a regular on the children's television series The Electric Company during the show's first two seasons.
Using the Fat Albert character developed during his stand-up routines, Cosby created, produced, and hosted the animated comedy television series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, a show that ran from 1972 to 1985, centering on a group of young friends growing up in an urban area.
Throughout the 1970s, Cosby starred in a number of films, and he occasionally returned to film later in his career. After attending Temple University in the 1960s, he received his bachelor's degree there in 1971. In 1973 he received a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and in 1976 he earned his Doctor of Education degree, also from UMass. His dissertation discussed the use of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids as a teaching tool in elementary schools.
Beginning in the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in a television sitcom, The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992 and was rated as the number one show in America for five years, 1984 through 1989.
The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an affluent African-American family. Cosby produced the Cosby Show spin-off sitcom A Different World, which aired from 1987 to 1993; starred in the sitcom Cosby from 1996 to 2000; and hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things for two seasons, from 1998 to 2000.
Cosby has been the subject of publicized sexual assault allegations since about 2000. He has been accused by 60 women of rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse, and sexual misconduct, with the earliest alleged incidents taking place in the mid-1960s and the most recent in 2008.
He has denied the allegations. Numerous related lawsuits against Cosby are pending. And although most of the acts alleged by his accusers fall outside the statutes of limitations for criminal legal proceedings, one notable case has been ruled actionable, and he has been charged with three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He surrendered to authorities on December 30, 2015, and was released on $1 million bail. Cosby is scheduled to go on trial on or before June 5, 2017.
Click here for further information about Bill Cosby.
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Cosby's TV Sitcom "The Cosby Show" (NBC: 1984-1992)
The Cosby Show is an American television sitcom starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.
According to TV Guide, the show "was TV's biggest hit in the 1980s, and almost single-handedly revived the sitcom genre and NBC's ratings fortunes". In May 1992, Entertainment Weekly stated that The Cosby Show helped to make possible a larger variety of shows with a predominantly African-American cast, from In Living Color to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The Cosby Show was based on comedy routines in Cosby's stand-up act, which in turn were based on his family life. The show spawned the spin-off A Different World, which ran for six seasons from 1987 to 1993. In many areas, reruns of the show have been discontinued as a result of the sexual assault allegations against Cosby.
Premise:
The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights, New York, at 10 Stigwood Avenue.
The patriarch is Cliff Huxtable, an obstetrician, son of a prominent jazz trombonist. The matriarch is his wife, attorney Clair Huxtable.
They have five children, four daughters and one son: Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy.
Despite its comedic tone, the show sometimes involves serious subjects, like Theo's experiences dealing with dyslexia, inspired by Cosby's dyslexic son, Ennis. The show also deals with teen pregnancy when Denise's friend, Veronica (Lela Rochon), becomes pregnant.
Click here for further amplification about "The Cosby Show"
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Cosby's TV Sitcom "Cosby" (CBS: 1996-2000)
Cosby is an American sitcom television series broadcast on CBS from September 16, 1996, to April 28, 2000, loosely based on the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave. The program starred Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad, who had previously worked together in the 1984–1992 NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. Madeline Kahn portrayed their neighbor, Pauline, until her death in 1999.
Synopsis:
Cosby portrayed grumpy Hilton Lucas, a New York City man forced into early (and unwanted) retirement from his job as an airline customer service agent. His wife Ruth was played by Phylicia Rashad. Initially, Telma Hopkins was cast as Ruth Lucas; however, she was recast after she didn't react well to Cosby's tendency to ad lib.
The couple had one daughter, Erica Lucas, initially portrayed by Audra McDonald and later portrayed by T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh. Doug E. Doug played Griffin Vesey, a foster son the Lucas family took in when he was younger. Griffin occasionally tried to win Erica's affections, but they decided just to remain friends when in the fourth and final season, Darien Sills-Evans portrayed Darien Evans, Erica's fiancé/husband. Jurnee Smollett also joined the cast as 11-year-old Jurnee, whom Hilton adored.
The show was based on the concept from the BBC series One Foot in the Grave. David Renwick, the creator and writer of One Foot in the Grave, was listed as a consultant of Cosby. One Foot in the Grave was notable for containing dark humor for a mainstream sitcom.
The tone was significantly lightened for Cosby, although certain controversial scenes, such as a scene in which the lead character incinerates a live tortoise, were recreated (albeit with a turtle in this case).
A notable later episode was the fourth season premiere, "My Spy", which showed Hilton watching an episode of I Spy (the 1960s series in which Cosby co-starred) and then dreaming an adventure with Robert Culp's character from that series.
The same season also presented an episode entitled "Loving Madeline" which featured the standard opening credits for the series but was in fact a tribute to Kahn featuring the cast members out of character discussing the recently deceased actress, punctuated by clips from past episodes (this is similar to what an earlier sitcom, Barney Miller, did following the death of cast member Jack Soo in the late 1970s).
Cosby premiered to an audience of more than 24.7 million viewers, but averaged 16 million viewers, during the course of the season.
As the series progressed, ratings shrank and CBS, fresh with new hit comedies in Everybody Loves Raymond and The King of Queens, decided to move the series from Monday to Wednesday and eventually Friday.
The moves led to a drop in ratings and, frustrated by declining ratings and the move, Cosby and CBS executive Leslie Moonves mutually decided to end the series. The last episode, "The Song Remains the Same", aired on April 28, 2000, and was the 95th episode to be produced and broadcast, drawing just over 7 million viewers.
Click here for more about the TV Sitcom "Cosby"
Cosby's start in stand-up comedy began at the hungry i in San Francisco, and was followed by his landing a starring role in the 1960s television show I Spy.
He was also a regular on the children's television series The Electric Company during the show's first two seasons.
Using the Fat Albert character developed during his stand-up routines, Cosby created, produced, and hosted the animated comedy television series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, a show that ran from 1972 to 1985, centering on a group of young friends growing up in an urban area.
Throughout the 1970s, Cosby starred in a number of films, and he occasionally returned to film later in his career. After attending Temple University in the 1960s, he received his bachelor's degree there in 1971. In 1973 he received a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and in 1976 he earned his Doctor of Education degree, also from UMass. His dissertation discussed the use of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids as a teaching tool in elementary schools.
Beginning in the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in a television sitcom, The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992 and was rated as the number one show in America for five years, 1984 through 1989.
The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an affluent African-American family. Cosby produced the Cosby Show spin-off sitcom A Different World, which aired from 1987 to 1993; starred in the sitcom Cosby from 1996 to 2000; and hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things for two seasons, from 1998 to 2000.
Cosby has been the subject of publicized sexual assault allegations since about 2000. He has been accused by 60 women of rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse, and sexual misconduct, with the earliest alleged incidents taking place in the mid-1960s and the most recent in 2008.
He has denied the allegations. Numerous related lawsuits against Cosby are pending. And although most of the acts alleged by his accusers fall outside the statutes of limitations for criminal legal proceedings, one notable case has been ruled actionable, and he has been charged with three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He surrendered to authorities on December 30, 2015, and was released on $1 million bail. Cosby is scheduled to go on trial on or before June 5, 2017.
Click here for further information about Bill Cosby.
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Cosby's TV Sitcom "The Cosby Show" (NBC: 1984-1992)
The Cosby Show is an American television sitcom starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.
According to TV Guide, the show "was TV's biggest hit in the 1980s, and almost single-handedly revived the sitcom genre and NBC's ratings fortunes". In May 1992, Entertainment Weekly stated that The Cosby Show helped to make possible a larger variety of shows with a predominantly African-American cast, from In Living Color to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The Cosby Show was based on comedy routines in Cosby's stand-up act, which in turn were based on his family life. The show spawned the spin-off A Different World, which ran for six seasons from 1987 to 1993. In many areas, reruns of the show have been discontinued as a result of the sexual assault allegations against Cosby.
Premise:
The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights, New York, at 10 Stigwood Avenue.
The patriarch is Cliff Huxtable, an obstetrician, son of a prominent jazz trombonist. The matriarch is his wife, attorney Clair Huxtable.
They have five children, four daughters and one son: Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy.
Despite its comedic tone, the show sometimes involves serious subjects, like Theo's experiences dealing with dyslexia, inspired by Cosby's dyslexic son, Ennis. The show also deals with teen pregnancy when Denise's friend, Veronica (Lela Rochon), becomes pregnant.
Click here for further amplification about "The Cosby Show"
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Cosby's TV Sitcom "Cosby" (CBS: 1996-2000)
Cosby is an American sitcom television series broadcast on CBS from September 16, 1996, to April 28, 2000, loosely based on the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave. The program starred Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad, who had previously worked together in the 1984–1992 NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. Madeline Kahn portrayed their neighbor, Pauline, until her death in 1999.
Synopsis:
Cosby portrayed grumpy Hilton Lucas, a New York City man forced into early (and unwanted) retirement from his job as an airline customer service agent. His wife Ruth was played by Phylicia Rashad. Initially, Telma Hopkins was cast as Ruth Lucas; however, she was recast after she didn't react well to Cosby's tendency to ad lib.
The couple had one daughter, Erica Lucas, initially portrayed by Audra McDonald and later portrayed by T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh. Doug E. Doug played Griffin Vesey, a foster son the Lucas family took in when he was younger. Griffin occasionally tried to win Erica's affections, but they decided just to remain friends when in the fourth and final season, Darien Sills-Evans portrayed Darien Evans, Erica's fiancé/husband. Jurnee Smollett also joined the cast as 11-year-old Jurnee, whom Hilton adored.
The show was based on the concept from the BBC series One Foot in the Grave. David Renwick, the creator and writer of One Foot in the Grave, was listed as a consultant of Cosby. One Foot in the Grave was notable for containing dark humor for a mainstream sitcom.
The tone was significantly lightened for Cosby, although certain controversial scenes, such as a scene in which the lead character incinerates a live tortoise, were recreated (albeit with a turtle in this case).
A notable later episode was the fourth season premiere, "My Spy", which showed Hilton watching an episode of I Spy (the 1960s series in which Cosby co-starred) and then dreaming an adventure with Robert Culp's character from that series.
The same season also presented an episode entitled "Loving Madeline" which featured the standard opening credits for the series but was in fact a tribute to Kahn featuring the cast members out of character discussing the recently deceased actress, punctuated by clips from past episodes (this is similar to what an earlier sitcom, Barney Miller, did following the death of cast member Jack Soo in the late 1970s).
Cosby premiered to an audience of more than 24.7 million viewers, but averaged 16 million viewers, during the course of the season.
As the series progressed, ratings shrank and CBS, fresh with new hit comedies in Everybody Loves Raymond and The King of Queens, decided to move the series from Monday to Wednesday and eventually Friday.
The moves led to a drop in ratings and, frustrated by declining ratings and the move, Cosby and CBS executive Leslie Moonves mutually decided to end the series. The last episode, "The Song Remains the Same", aired on April 28, 2000, and was the 95th episode to be produced and broadcast, drawing just over 7 million viewers.
Click here for more about the TV Sitcom "Cosby"
Ray Ramano (Comedian) and "Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS: 1996-2005)
YouTube Video: Everybody Loves Raymond - Funniest Moments
Pictured: LEFT: Ray Ramano as a Stand-up Comedian; RIGHT as star of "Everybody Loves Raymond (with co-stars (L-R) (mother) Doris Roberts, (father) Peter Boyle, (brother) Brad Garrett, and (wife) Patricia Heaton
Raymond Albert "Ray" Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, for which he received an Emmy Award, and as the voice of "Manny" in the Ice Age film series.
He created and starred in the TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age (2009–11). From 2012 to 2015, Romano had a recurring role as Hank Rizzoli, a love interest of Sarah Braverman in Parenthood.
For more about Ray Ramano, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom starring Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, Madylin Sweeten, and Monica Horan. It ran on CBS from September 13, 1996 to May 16, 2005.
Many of the situations from the show could be inspired by the real-life experiences of Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal, and the show's writing staff. The main characters on the show might possibly be loosely based on Romano and Rosenthal's real-life family members.
Overview:
The show revolves around the life of everyman Italian-American Raymond Barone, a sportswriter for Newsday living with his family in Long Island. Moany and sarcastic, Raymond takes few things seriously, making jokes in nearly every situation, no matter how troubling or serious. He often avoids responsibilities around the house and with his kids, leaving this to wife Debra.
Raymond and Debra have a daughter Ally (Alexandra) and twin sons Michael and Geoffrey (originally Matthew and Gregory in the pilot). The Barone children are regular characters but not a major focus. Raymond's parents, Marie and Frank, live across the street with older son Robert (who, later in the series, has his own apartment).
All Barone relatives frequently make their presence known to the annoyance of Raymond and Debra; Debra's justifiable complaints about Raymond's overbearing family serve as one of the show's comedic elements.
Out of the three unwanted visitors, Debra is particularly intimidated by Marie, an insulting, controlling, manipulative (though ultimately caring) woman who criticizes Debra passive-aggressively and praises Ray, clearly favoring him over other son "Robbie," whose birth necessitated her marriage (a fact revealed in the episode "Good Girls").
Raymond typically falls in the middle of family arguments, incapable of taking any decisive stand, especially if it might invoke his mother's disapproval.
Robert, a miserable gentle giant, jealous of his younger sibling's position as favorite son and also of the success his brother has achieved both professionally and personally, is Ray's biggest rival.
Robert and Raymond frequently argue like overgrown children, focusing much of their energy on picking on or one upping each other, although deep down they love each other dearly.
Barone patriarch Frank is a fiery proletarian prone to insults and merciless put downs directed at any and all targets. Largely an absentee father when the boys were growing up, Frank buries his feelings and rarely gives in to sentiment.
As the series progresses, however, several episodes demonstrate that the senior Barone loves his family immensely. Unlike everyone else, Frank has no problem comically criticizing Marie and often comes to Debra's defense following Marie's comments.
Raymond and Debra's marriage is fraught with conflicts. Raymond prefers sports television over discussions with Debra on marital matters. Like his father, Raymond works full-time, leaving most child-rearing responsibilities to his wife; he often has to be forced into helping around the house.
One of the show's recurring elements finds the couple having a long discussion in bed each night before going to sleep.
For more about "Everybody Loves Raymond", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
He created and starred in the TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age (2009–11). From 2012 to 2015, Romano had a recurring role as Hank Rizzoli, a love interest of Sarah Braverman in Parenthood.
For more about Ray Ramano, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
- Personal life and family
- Career
- Competitions
- Filmography
- Writing credits
- Bibliography
- Awards and nominations
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom starring Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, Madylin Sweeten, and Monica Horan. It ran on CBS from September 13, 1996 to May 16, 2005.
Many of the situations from the show could be inspired by the real-life experiences of Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal, and the show's writing staff. The main characters on the show might possibly be loosely based on Romano and Rosenthal's real-life family members.
Overview:
The show revolves around the life of everyman Italian-American Raymond Barone, a sportswriter for Newsday living with his family in Long Island. Moany and sarcastic, Raymond takes few things seriously, making jokes in nearly every situation, no matter how troubling or serious. He often avoids responsibilities around the house and with his kids, leaving this to wife Debra.
Raymond and Debra have a daughter Ally (Alexandra) and twin sons Michael and Geoffrey (originally Matthew and Gregory in the pilot). The Barone children are regular characters but not a major focus. Raymond's parents, Marie and Frank, live across the street with older son Robert (who, later in the series, has his own apartment).
All Barone relatives frequently make their presence known to the annoyance of Raymond and Debra; Debra's justifiable complaints about Raymond's overbearing family serve as one of the show's comedic elements.
Out of the three unwanted visitors, Debra is particularly intimidated by Marie, an insulting, controlling, manipulative (though ultimately caring) woman who criticizes Debra passive-aggressively and praises Ray, clearly favoring him over other son "Robbie," whose birth necessitated her marriage (a fact revealed in the episode "Good Girls").
Raymond typically falls in the middle of family arguments, incapable of taking any decisive stand, especially if it might invoke his mother's disapproval.
Robert, a miserable gentle giant, jealous of his younger sibling's position as favorite son and also of the success his brother has achieved both professionally and personally, is Ray's biggest rival.
Robert and Raymond frequently argue like overgrown children, focusing much of their energy on picking on or one upping each other, although deep down they love each other dearly.
Barone patriarch Frank is a fiery proletarian prone to insults and merciless put downs directed at any and all targets. Largely an absentee father when the boys were growing up, Frank buries his feelings and rarely gives in to sentiment.
As the series progresses, however, several episodes demonstrate that the senior Barone loves his family immensely. Unlike everyone else, Frank has no problem comically criticizing Marie and often comes to Debra's defense following Marie's comments.
Raymond and Debra's marriage is fraught with conflicts. Raymond prefers sports television over discussions with Debra on marital matters. Like his father, Raymond works full-time, leaving most child-rearing responsibilities to his wife; he often has to be forced into helping around the house.
One of the show's recurring elements finds the couple having a long discussion in bed each night before going to sleep.
For more about "Everybody Loves Raymond", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Larry David in "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO: 2000-2011)
YouTube Video of Larry David in "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, playwright, and television producer.
He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television series Seinfeld, and he served as its head writer and executive producer from 1989 to 1996. David has subsequently gained further recognition for the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, which he also created, in which he stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself.
David's work won him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1993. Formerly a stand-up comedian, David went into television comedy, writing and starring in ABC's Fridays, as well as writing briefly for Saturday Night Live.
He has won two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as being voted by fellow comedians and comedy insiders as number 23 of the greatest comedy stars ever in a 2004 British poll to select "The Comedian's Comedian".
For more about Larry David, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
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Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO that premiered on October 15, 2000. The series was created by Larry David (above), who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself.
The series follows Larry in his life as a semi-retired television writer and producer in Los Angeles and later New York City.
Also starring are Cheryl Hines as his wife, Cheryl; Jeff Garlin as his manager, Jeff; and Susie Essman as Jeff's wife, Susie. Curb Your Enthusiasm often features guest stars, and many of these appearances are by celebrities playing versions of themselves fictionalized to varying degrees.
The plots and subplots of the episodes are established in an outline written by David, and the dialogue is largely improvised by the actors (a technique known as retroscripting). As with Seinfeld, which David co-created, the subject matter in Curb Your Enthusiasm often involves the minutiae of daily life, and plots often revolve around Larry David's many faux pas and his problems with certain social conventions and expectations, as well as his annoyance with other people's behavior.
The character has a hard time letting such annoyances go unexpressed, which often leads him into awkward situations.
The series was developed from a 1999 one-hour special, Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm, which David and HBO originally envisioned as a one-time project. The special was shot as a mockumentary, where the characters were aware of the presence of cameras and a crew.
The series itself is not a mock documentary but is shot in a somewhat similar, cinéma vérité-like style. Curb Your Enthusiasm has received high critical acclaim and has grown in popularity since its debut.
It has been nominated for 38 Primetime Emmy Awards, and Robert B. Weide received an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the episode "Krazee Eyez Killa". The show won the 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
After season eight finished in 2011, the series went on an indefinite hiatus. In June 2016, after a five-year absence, it was announced the series would return for a ninth season, scheduled to premiere in 2017.
Concept and Title:
The series stars Larry David as an extreme fictionalized version of himself. Like the real-life David, the character is well known in the entertainment industry as the co-creator and main co-writer of the highly successful sitcom Seinfeld.
For most of the series, the Larry David character is living a married-without-children life in Los Angeles with his wife, Cheryl (played by Cheryl Hines). David's main confidant on the show is his manager, Jeff Greene (played by Curb executive producer Jeff Garlin), who has a temperamental wife, Susie (Susie Essman).
A large portion of the show's many guest stars are celebrities and public figures, such as actors, comedians, sportspeople, and politicians, who play themselves. These include David's longtime friend Richard Lewis as well as Ted Danson and his wife, Mary Steenburgen, who all have recurring roles as fictionalized versions of themselves.
The show is set and filmed in various affluent Westside communities of (and occasionally in downtown) Los Angeles, as well as in the adjacent cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City and Santa Monica. David's hometown of New York City is also featured in some episodes, most prominently in the eighth season.
Although David maintains an office, he leads a semiretired life in the series and is rarely shown working regularly, other than in season four, which centered on his being cast as the lead in the Mel Brooks musical The Producers, and in season seven, writing a Seinfeld reunion show.
Most of the series revolves around David's interactions with his friends and acquaintances, with David often at odds with the other characters, usually to his detriment. Despite this, the characters do not seem to harbor ill feelings toward each other for any extended period, and the cast has stayed stable throughout the show.
David has explained the show's title in TV interviews as reflecting his perception that many people seem to live their lives projecting false enthusiasm, which he believes is used to imply that "they are better than you." This conflicts with his dry style. The title also urges the audience not to expect too much from the show; at the time of the premiere, David wanted to lower expectations after Seinfeld's phenomenal success.
He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television series Seinfeld, and he served as its head writer and executive producer from 1989 to 1996. David has subsequently gained further recognition for the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, which he also created, in which he stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself.
David's work won him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1993. Formerly a stand-up comedian, David went into television comedy, writing and starring in ABC's Fridays, as well as writing briefly for Saturday Night Live.
He has won two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as being voted by fellow comedians and comedy insiders as number 23 of the greatest comedy stars ever in a 2004 British poll to select "The Comedian's Comedian".
For more about Larry David, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
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Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO that premiered on October 15, 2000. The series was created by Larry David (above), who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself.
The series follows Larry in his life as a semi-retired television writer and producer in Los Angeles and later New York City.
Also starring are Cheryl Hines as his wife, Cheryl; Jeff Garlin as his manager, Jeff; and Susie Essman as Jeff's wife, Susie. Curb Your Enthusiasm often features guest stars, and many of these appearances are by celebrities playing versions of themselves fictionalized to varying degrees.
The plots and subplots of the episodes are established in an outline written by David, and the dialogue is largely improvised by the actors (a technique known as retroscripting). As with Seinfeld, which David co-created, the subject matter in Curb Your Enthusiasm often involves the minutiae of daily life, and plots often revolve around Larry David's many faux pas and his problems with certain social conventions and expectations, as well as his annoyance with other people's behavior.
The character has a hard time letting such annoyances go unexpressed, which often leads him into awkward situations.
The series was developed from a 1999 one-hour special, Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm, which David and HBO originally envisioned as a one-time project. The special was shot as a mockumentary, where the characters were aware of the presence of cameras and a crew.
The series itself is not a mock documentary but is shot in a somewhat similar, cinéma vérité-like style. Curb Your Enthusiasm has received high critical acclaim and has grown in popularity since its debut.
It has been nominated for 38 Primetime Emmy Awards, and Robert B. Weide received an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the episode "Krazee Eyez Killa". The show won the 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
After season eight finished in 2011, the series went on an indefinite hiatus. In June 2016, after a five-year absence, it was announced the series would return for a ninth season, scheduled to premiere in 2017.
Concept and Title:
The series stars Larry David as an extreme fictionalized version of himself. Like the real-life David, the character is well known in the entertainment industry as the co-creator and main co-writer of the highly successful sitcom Seinfeld.
For most of the series, the Larry David character is living a married-without-children life in Los Angeles with his wife, Cheryl (played by Cheryl Hines). David's main confidant on the show is his manager, Jeff Greene (played by Curb executive producer Jeff Garlin), who has a temperamental wife, Susie (Susie Essman).
A large portion of the show's many guest stars are celebrities and public figures, such as actors, comedians, sportspeople, and politicians, who play themselves. These include David's longtime friend Richard Lewis as well as Ted Danson and his wife, Mary Steenburgen, who all have recurring roles as fictionalized versions of themselves.
The show is set and filmed in various affluent Westside communities of (and occasionally in downtown) Los Angeles, as well as in the adjacent cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City and Santa Monica. David's hometown of New York City is also featured in some episodes, most prominently in the eighth season.
Although David maintains an office, he leads a semiretired life in the series and is rarely shown working regularly, other than in season four, which centered on his being cast as the lead in the Mel Brooks musical The Producers, and in season seven, writing a Seinfeld reunion show.
Most of the series revolves around David's interactions with his friends and acquaintances, with David often at odds with the other characters, usually to his detriment. Despite this, the characters do not seem to harbor ill feelings toward each other for any extended period, and the cast has stayed stable throughout the show.
David has explained the show's title in TV interviews as reflecting his perception that many people seem to live their lives projecting false enthusiasm, which he believes is used to imply that "they are better than you." This conflicts with his dry style. The title also urges the audience not to expect too much from the show; at the time of the premiere, David wanted to lower expectations after Seinfeld's phenomenal success.
30 Rock (NBC: 2006-2013)
YouTube Video: Jack's Best Lines
YouTube Video of the best of Colleen Donaghy: A video tribute to Elaine Stritch - Entertainment Weekly
Pictured (L-R): Tracy Morgan; Alec Baldwin; Tina Fey; Jane Krakowski; and Jack McBrayer
30 Rock is an American satirical television sitcom created by Tina Fey that ran on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013.
It follows the life of Liz Lemon (Tina Fey), who is a writer for a fictional sketch-comedy, The Girlie Show.
The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences when she herself was the head writer for Saturday Night Live from 1997 to 2006. The series' name refers to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, where the NBC Studios are located and where Saturday Night Live is written, produced, and performed. This series is produced by Broadway Video and Little Stranger, Inc., in association with NBCUniversal.
30 Rock episodes were produced in a single-camera setup (with the exception of the two live episodes that were taped in the multiple-camera setup), and were filmed in New York.
The pilot episode premiered on October 11, 2006, and seven seasons followed.
The series stars Fey with a supporting cast that includes:
30 Rock uses surreal humor to parody the complex corporate structure of NBC and its then parent company General Electric. Television critic Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club once remarked that it "usually adopts the manic pacing of a live-action cartoon."
The show was influential in its extensive use of smash cuts: sudden, short cuts to unrelated scenes showing something the characters are briefly discussing. 30 Rock also became known for its dedication to making these extremely elaborate, once showing a set that took three days to build for only six seconds of video.
30 Rock received positive reviews from critics throughout much of its run; seasons two and three garnered the most praise, and its final season was acclaimed as well.
The show won several major awards (including Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2007, 2008, and 2009 and nominations for every other year it ran), achieving the top ranking on many critics' year-end "best of" 2006-2013 lists. On July 14, 2009, the series was nominated for 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most in a single year for a comedy series.
Over the course of the series, it was nominated for 103 Primetime Emmy Awards and won 16, in addition to numerous other nominations and wins from other awards shows. Despite the high praise, the series struggled in the ratings throughout its run, something of which Fey herself has made light.
In 2009, Comedy Central and WGN America bought the syndication rights to the show, which began airing on both networks on September 19, 2011; the series also entered into local broadcast syndication on the same day.
Today, 30 Rock is regarded as a landmark series. Its series finale in particular has been named as one of the greatest in television history by several publications. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named 30 Rock the 21st best-written television series of all time.
For further information about 30 Rock, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
It follows the life of Liz Lemon (Tina Fey), who is a writer for a fictional sketch-comedy, The Girlie Show.
The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences when she herself was the head writer for Saturday Night Live from 1997 to 2006. The series' name refers to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, where the NBC Studios are located and where Saturday Night Live is written, produced, and performed. This series is produced by Broadway Video and Little Stranger, Inc., in association with NBCUniversal.
30 Rock episodes were produced in a single-camera setup (with the exception of the two live episodes that were taped in the multiple-camera setup), and were filmed in New York.
The pilot episode premiered on October 11, 2006, and seven seasons followed.
The series stars Fey with a supporting cast that includes:
- Alec Baldwin,
- Tracy Morgan,
- Jane Krakowski,
- Jack McBrayer,
- Scott Adsit,
- Judah Friedlander,
- Katrina Bowden,
- Keith Powell,
- Lonny Ross,
- John Lutz, Kevin Brown,
- Grizz Chapman, Maulik Pancholy, and Rachel Dratch.
30 Rock uses surreal humor to parody the complex corporate structure of NBC and its then parent company General Electric. Television critic Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club once remarked that it "usually adopts the manic pacing of a live-action cartoon."
The show was influential in its extensive use of smash cuts: sudden, short cuts to unrelated scenes showing something the characters are briefly discussing. 30 Rock also became known for its dedication to making these extremely elaborate, once showing a set that took three days to build for only six seconds of video.
30 Rock received positive reviews from critics throughout much of its run; seasons two and three garnered the most praise, and its final season was acclaimed as well.
The show won several major awards (including Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2007, 2008, and 2009 and nominations for every other year it ran), achieving the top ranking on many critics' year-end "best of" 2006-2013 lists. On July 14, 2009, the series was nominated for 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most in a single year for a comedy series.
Over the course of the series, it was nominated for 103 Primetime Emmy Awards and won 16, in addition to numerous other nominations and wins from other awards shows. Despite the high praise, the series struggled in the ratings throughout its run, something of which Fey herself has made light.
In 2009, Comedy Central and WGN America bought the syndication rights to the show, which began airing on both networks on September 19, 2011; the series also entered into local broadcast syndication on the same day.
Today, 30 Rock is regarded as a landmark series. Its series finale in particular has been named as one of the greatest in television history by several publications. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named 30 Rock the 21st best-written television series of all time.
For further information about 30 Rock, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Bewitched (ABC: 1964-1972)
YouTube Video BEWITCHED - DOUBLE, DOUBLE... TOIL AND TROUBLE
Starring: Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York (1964–1969), Agnes Moorehead, and David White. Dick Sargent replaced an ill York for the final three seasons (1969–1972)
Bewitched is an American television situation comedy fantasy series which was broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972. It was created by Sol Saks under executive director Harry Ackerman.
The series is about A young-looking witch named Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) meets and marries a mortal named Darrin Stephens (originally Dick York, later Dick Sargent). While Samantha pledges to forsake her powers and become a typical suburban housewife, her magical family disapproves of the mixed marriage and frequently interferes in the couple's lives.
Episodes often begin with Darrin becoming the victim of a spell, the effects of which wreak havoc with mortals such as his boss, clients, parents, and neighbors. By the epilogue, however, Darrin and Samantha most often embrace, having overcome the devious elements that failed to separate them.
The witches and their male counterparts, warlocks, are very long-lived; while Samantha appears to be a young woman, many episodes suggest she is actually hundreds of years old. To keep their society secret, witches avoid showing their powers in front of mortals other than Darrin.
Nevertheless, the effects of their spells – and Samantha's attempts to hide their supernatural origin from mortals – drive the plot of most episodes. Witches and warlocks usually use physical gestures along with their incantations. To perform magic, Samantha often twitches her nose to create a spell. Effective special visual effects are accompanied by music to highlight such an action.
Bewitched enjoyed great popularity, finishing as the number two show in America during its debut season, and becoming the longest-running supernatural-themed sitcom of the 1960s–1970s. The show continues to be seen throughout the world in syndication and on recorded media.
In 2002, Bewitched was ranked #50 on "TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". In 1997, the same magazine ranked the season 2 episode "Divided He Falls" #48 on their list of the "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time".
Premise:
A young-looking witch named Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) meets and marries a mortal named Darrin Stephens (originally Dick York, later Dick Sargent).
While Samantha pledges to forsake her powers and become a typical suburban housewife, her magical family disapproves of the mixed marriage and frequently interferes in the couple's lives.
Episodes often begin with Darrin becoming the victim of a spell, the effects of which wreak havoc with mortals such as his boss, clients, parents, and neighbors. By the epilogue, however, Darrin and Samantha most often embrace, having overcome the devious elements that failed to separate them.
The witches and their male counterparts, warlocks, are very long-lived; while Samantha appears to be a young woman, many episodes suggest she is actually hundreds of years old.
To keep their society secret, witches avoid showing their powers in front of mortals other than Darrin. Nevertheless, the effects of their spells – and Samantha's attempts to hide their supernatural origin from mortals – drive the plot of most episodes.
Witches and warlocks usually use physical gestures along with their incantations. To perform magic, Samantha often twitches her nose to create a spell. Effective special visual effects are accompanied by music to highlight such an action.
Click on any of the blue hyperlinks below for more information about TV sitcom "Bewitched":
The series is about A young-looking witch named Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) meets and marries a mortal named Darrin Stephens (originally Dick York, later Dick Sargent). While Samantha pledges to forsake her powers and become a typical suburban housewife, her magical family disapproves of the mixed marriage and frequently interferes in the couple's lives.
Episodes often begin with Darrin becoming the victim of a spell, the effects of which wreak havoc with mortals such as his boss, clients, parents, and neighbors. By the epilogue, however, Darrin and Samantha most often embrace, having overcome the devious elements that failed to separate them.
The witches and their male counterparts, warlocks, are very long-lived; while Samantha appears to be a young woman, many episodes suggest she is actually hundreds of years old. To keep their society secret, witches avoid showing their powers in front of mortals other than Darrin.
Nevertheless, the effects of their spells – and Samantha's attempts to hide their supernatural origin from mortals – drive the plot of most episodes. Witches and warlocks usually use physical gestures along with their incantations. To perform magic, Samantha often twitches her nose to create a spell. Effective special visual effects are accompanied by music to highlight such an action.
Bewitched enjoyed great popularity, finishing as the number two show in America during its debut season, and becoming the longest-running supernatural-themed sitcom of the 1960s–1970s. The show continues to be seen throughout the world in syndication and on recorded media.
In 2002, Bewitched was ranked #50 on "TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". In 1997, the same magazine ranked the season 2 episode "Divided He Falls" #48 on their list of the "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time".
Premise:
A young-looking witch named Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) meets and marries a mortal named Darrin Stephens (originally Dick York, later Dick Sargent).
While Samantha pledges to forsake her powers and become a typical suburban housewife, her magical family disapproves of the mixed marriage and frequently interferes in the couple's lives.
Episodes often begin with Darrin becoming the victim of a spell, the effects of which wreak havoc with mortals such as his boss, clients, parents, and neighbors. By the epilogue, however, Darrin and Samantha most often embrace, having overcome the devious elements that failed to separate them.
The witches and their male counterparts, warlocks, are very long-lived; while Samantha appears to be a young woman, many episodes suggest she is actually hundreds of years old.
To keep their society secret, witches avoid showing their powers in front of mortals other than Darrin. Nevertheless, the effects of their spells – and Samantha's attempts to hide their supernatural origin from mortals – drive the plot of most episodes.
Witches and warlocks usually use physical gestures along with their incantations. To perform magic, Samantha often twitches her nose to create a spell. Effective special visual effects are accompanied by music to highlight such an action.
Click on any of the blue hyperlinks below for more information about TV sitcom "Bewitched":
- Precursors
- Production and broadcasting
- Nielsen ratings
- Cultural context
- Reception
- Impact
- In popular culture
- Spin-offs, crossovers, and remakes
- Comic book adaptation
- Episodes
Becker (CBS: 1998-2004)
YouTube Video from "Becker" Very Best of Ted Danson
Pictured: Cast of Becker from Left to Right: Hattie Wilson, Shawnee Smith, Ted Danson (as Dr. Becker), Saverio Guerra, Nancy Travis, and Alex Désert
Becker is an American sitcom that ran from 1998 to 2004 on CBS. Set in the New York City borough of The Bronx, the show starred Ted Danson as John Becker, a misanthropic doctor who operates a small practice and is constantly annoyed by his patients, co-workers, friends, and practically everything and everybody else in his world.
Despite everything, his patients and friends are loyal because Becker genuinely cares about them. The series was produced by Paramount Network Television.
Premise:
The show revolved around Becker and the things that annoyed him, although the supporting cast also had their moments. The relationships between Becker and Reggie (later, Chris) formed the key plots of many episodes. The show tackled more serious issues as well, such as race, homosexuality, Cerebral AVM, and political correctness.
Reception:
Becker debuted in a Monday slot at 9:30 PM Eastern time. The show performed well for its first four seasons, piggybacking off the ratings of its lead-in, Everybody Loves Raymond.
CBS moved the show to Sunday in 2002, and its ratings deteriorated quickly, eventually forcing the network to put it on hiatus.
CBS had planned to cancel it after the fifth season, but gave it a last-minute reprieve because of a dearth of promising comedy pilots. Becker's sixth season was to be as a mid-season replacement for the 2003–2004 season, and thus only 13 episodes were ordered.
Despite this, CBS' comedy lineup forced them to move Becker's sixth season debut to the fall, where the show was moved to Wednesday and paired up with The King of Queens. Ratings remained low, and the show finished out its run in January 2004, after 129 episodes.
Despite everything, his patients and friends are loyal because Becker genuinely cares about them. The series was produced by Paramount Network Television.
Premise:
The show revolved around Becker and the things that annoyed him, although the supporting cast also had their moments. The relationships between Becker and Reggie (later, Chris) formed the key plots of many episodes. The show tackled more serious issues as well, such as race, homosexuality, Cerebral AVM, and political correctness.
Reception:
Becker debuted in a Monday slot at 9:30 PM Eastern time. The show performed well for its first four seasons, piggybacking off the ratings of its lead-in, Everybody Loves Raymond.
CBS moved the show to Sunday in 2002, and its ratings deteriorated quickly, eventually forcing the network to put it on hiatus.
CBS had planned to cancel it after the fifth season, but gave it a last-minute reprieve because of a dearth of promising comedy pilots. Becker's sixth season was to be as a mid-season replacement for the 2003–2004 season, and thus only 13 episodes were ordered.
Despite this, CBS' comedy lineup forced them to move Becker's sixth season debut to the fall, where the show was moved to Wednesday and paired up with The King of Queens. Ratings remained low, and the show finished out its run in January 2004, after 129 episodes.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX/FXX: 2005-Present)
YouTube Video Best Moments From It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Pictured: Cast, from Left to Right: Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, Danny DeVito, Glenn Howerton, and Rob McElhenney
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (sometimes referred to as Always Sunny or simply Sunny) is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. It moved to FXX from the ninth season.
It was created by Rob McElhenney, who developed it with Glenn Howerton. It is executive produced and primarily written by McElhenney, Howerton, and Charlie Day, all of whom star alongside Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito.
The series follows the exploits of "The Gang", a group of self-centered friends who run the Irish bar Paddy's Pub in South Philadelphia.
The series completed airing its eleventh season on March 9, 2016, and is renewed for a twelfth season.
On April 1, 2016, the series was renewed for a thirteenth and fourteenth season, which will make it tied with The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet for the longest running live-action comedy series in American history.
Premise:
The series follows "The Gang", a group of five depraved underachievers: twins Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton) and Deandra "Sweet Dee" Reynolds (Kaitlin Olson), their friends Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day) and Ronald "Mac" McDonald (Rob McElhenney), and (from season 2 onward) Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito), the man who raised Dennis and Dee.
The Gang runs the dilapidated Paddy's Pub, an Irish bar in South Philadelphia.
Each member of the gang shows varying degrees of dishonesty, egotism, selfishness, greed, pettiness, ignorance, laziness, and unethical behavior; they are often engaged in controversial activities.
Episodes usually find them hatching elaborate schemes and conspiring against one another and others for personal gain, vengeance, or simply the entertainment of watching another's downfall. They habitually inflict mental, emotional, and physical pain on each other and anyone who crosses their path. They also regularly use blackmail to manipulate one another and others outside of the group.
The Gang's unity is never solid, and any of them would quickly dump any of the others for quick profit or personal gain, regardless of the consequences. Everything they do results in contention among themselves, and much of the show's dialogue involves the characters arguing or yelling at one another.
Despite their lack of success or achievements, they maintain high opinions of themselves and display an obsessive interest in their own reputations and public images.
The Gang has no sense of shame when attempting to get what they want and often engage in activities that others would find humiliating, disgusting, or preposterous.
These include:
For more about "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
It was created by Rob McElhenney, who developed it with Glenn Howerton. It is executive produced and primarily written by McElhenney, Howerton, and Charlie Day, all of whom star alongside Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito.
The series follows the exploits of "The Gang", a group of self-centered friends who run the Irish bar Paddy's Pub in South Philadelphia.
The series completed airing its eleventh season on March 9, 2016, and is renewed for a twelfth season.
On April 1, 2016, the series was renewed for a thirteenth and fourteenth season, which will make it tied with The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet for the longest running live-action comedy series in American history.
Premise:
The series follows "The Gang", a group of five depraved underachievers: twins Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton) and Deandra "Sweet Dee" Reynolds (Kaitlin Olson), their friends Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day) and Ronald "Mac" McDonald (Rob McElhenney), and (from season 2 onward) Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito), the man who raised Dennis and Dee.
The Gang runs the dilapidated Paddy's Pub, an Irish bar in South Philadelphia.
Each member of the gang shows varying degrees of dishonesty, egotism, selfishness, greed, pettiness, ignorance, laziness, and unethical behavior; they are often engaged in controversial activities.
Episodes usually find them hatching elaborate schemes and conspiring against one another and others for personal gain, vengeance, or simply the entertainment of watching another's downfall. They habitually inflict mental, emotional, and physical pain on each other and anyone who crosses their path. They also regularly use blackmail to manipulate one another and others outside of the group.
The Gang's unity is never solid, and any of them would quickly dump any of the others for quick profit or personal gain, regardless of the consequences. Everything they do results in contention among themselves, and much of the show's dialogue involves the characters arguing or yelling at one another.
Despite their lack of success or achievements, they maintain high opinions of themselves and display an obsessive interest in their own reputations and public images.
The Gang has no sense of shame when attempting to get what they want and often engage in activities that others would find humiliating, disgusting, or preposterous.
These include:
- smoking crack cocaine and pretending to be mentally challenged in order to qualify for welfare,
- attempted cannibalism,
- kidnapping,
- hiding naked inside a leather couch in order to eavesdrop on someone,
- coercing people into sleeping with them,
- forcing each other to eat inedible items,
- huffing paint,
- foraging in the sewers for valuables,
- sleeping with each other's romantic interests,
- seducing a priest,
- plugging their open wounds with trash,
- and stalking their crushes.
For more about "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Kate & Allie (CBS: 1984-1989)
YouTube Video: Kate and Allie E06S09 "The Nearlyweds" Full Episode
Pictured: From the Season One DVD Video Set Cover
Kate & Allie is an American television situation comedy that ran from March 19, 1984 to May 22, 1989 on CBS, starring Susan Saint James and Jane Curtin as two divorced women, both with children, who decide to live together in the same house. The series was created by Sherry Coben.
Overview:
The show stars Susan Saint James as the free-spirited Kate McArdle and Jane Curtin as her more traditional childhood friend, Allie Lowell. The two decide to share a brownstone in New York City's Greenwich Village after their divorces, and raise their families together.
The show also starred Ari Meyers as Kate's daughter Emma, and Frederick Koehler and Allison Smith as Allie's children Chip and Jennie.
Both Kate and Allie dated men regularly, but were portrayed as strong, independent women, which was still a relative novelty on television at the time. Unlike other successful career women portrayed before them, Kate and Allie were shown to be wise to the games men play, but not averse to remarrying if the opportunity presented itself.
Overview:
The show stars Susan Saint James as the free-spirited Kate McArdle and Jane Curtin as her more traditional childhood friend, Allie Lowell. The two decide to share a brownstone in New York City's Greenwich Village after their divorces, and raise their families together.
The show also starred Ari Meyers as Kate's daughter Emma, and Frederick Koehler and Allison Smith as Allie's children Chip and Jennie.
Both Kate and Allie dated men regularly, but were portrayed as strong, independent women, which was still a relative novelty on television at the time. Unlike other successful career women portrayed before them, Kate and Allie were shown to be wise to the games men play, but not averse to remarrying if the opportunity presented itself.
Mad About You (NBC: 1992-1999)
YouTube Video: Mad About You Season 1 Episode 9 "Riding Backwards"
Mad About You is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 23, 1992 to May 24, 1999. The show starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a newly married couple in New York City.
Premise:
The series focuses mainly on newlyweds Paul Buchman, a documentary filmmaker, and Jamie Stemple Buchman, a public relations specialist, as they deal with everything from humorous daily minutiae to major struggles. Near the end of the show's run, they have a baby daughter, whom they name Mabel.
Main Cast Members:
Premise:
The series focuses mainly on newlyweds Paul Buchman, a documentary filmmaker, and Jamie Stemple Buchman, a public relations specialist, as they deal with everything from humorous daily minutiae to major struggles. Near the end of the show's run, they have a baby daughter, whom they name Mabel.
Main Cast Members:
- Paul Reiser as Paul Buchman (born April 19, 1962), a filmmaker. After attending the New York University Film School, he struggled for recognition before finally succeeding in film-making in New York City. He and his family reside in Union Square.
- Helen Hunt as Jamie "James" Buchman (née Stemple, born February 19, 1963), the younger daughter of Gus and Theresa Stemple. After seven boyfriends at Yale University, she met Paul Buchman at a New York newsstand by stealing his copy of The New York Times with an implausible excuse. Her difficult relationship with her mother-in-law is an ongoing source of jokes on the show.
- Maui as Murray, the Buchmans' collie mix dog. He was a puppy when Paul found him, and Paul met Jamie while walking him. He sometimes chases an invisible mouse, and often ends up crashing into the bedroom wall. In a later episode, Jamie does discover the "real" mouse that Murray has been chasing. In the two-part series finale, The Final Frontier, adult Mabel says that Murray died when she was six, but she was not told until she was twelve. Twice voted the most popular dog by the readers of TV Guide, Murray is loyal and endearing while being very laid back and a bit thick-skulled. Maui was originally found in a Castaic, California, animal shelter by noted Hollywood animal trainer Boone Narr. Maui weighed 58 pounds and was primarily trained by Betty Linn. His first assignments came in TV commercials and as the backup for the top dog in the feature film "Bingo."
- Anne Ramsay as Lisa Stemple, Jamie's older sister. Lisa has unfathomable psychological issues. Jamie is referred to as "Stella" in a book written by Lisa's therapist: "It was Stella's over-protectiveness that suffocated her ability to relate to others, and tethered her to a lifetime of insecurity and neurosis." After an envious rage, she blames Jamie for all of her problems in an interview with her shrink that becomes a chapter of a book called "Manics". With no place else to go, she does her laundry at Paul and Jamie's apartment while scavenging through her sister's clothes and food. Every visit from her parents triggers her eating disorder. In between bouts of weirdness, she still cares deeply for Paul and Jamie and is often trusted to house sit for them, usually with unfortunate results.
- Leila Kenzle as Fran Devanow, Jamie's best friend. She is the regional vice president at Farrer-Gantz Public Relations who hired Jamie as her assistant. Near 1989, Fran quits Farrer-Gantz to spend time with her five-year-old son, Ryan, and husband, Mark. Jamie is then promoted to Fran's position. Fran and Mark's relationship lasts 10 years, and their separation shocks Jamie and Paul. After divorcing Mark, Fran returns to her old position at Farrer-Gantz, since Jamie had quit, but she, too, eventually quits and goes into business with Jamie. Fran and Mark eventually reconcile.
- John Pankow as Ira Buchman, Paul's cousin. He first appears in the episode "The Wedding Affair". Ira is from the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn. He worked for Paul's father, Burt, at Buchman's Sporting Goods. Paul and Ira have a close friendship, but their hidden rivalry came out when Ira took ownership of Buchman's Sporting Goods upon Burt's retirement. Even so, he frequently appears as loving and supportive towards Paul and Jamie.
- Cynthia Harris as Sylvia Buchman, Paul's mother. Sylvia almost always gives Jamie a hard time, but occasionally does show kindness towards her daughter-in-law.
- Louis Zorich as Burt Buchman, Paul's father. Burt runs a sporting goods store – until he passes it onto Ira upon retirement. His signature line in the show occurs whenever he visits Paul and Jamie's apartment, exclaiming at the door, "It's me, Burt! Burt Buchman, your father!"
- Alyssa and Justin Baric (twins) as Mabel Buchman, Paul and Jamie's daughter. She was finally named when Jamie's overbearing mother proclaimed that "Mothers Always Bring Extra Love." Alyssa and Justin Baric played Mabel from the beginning of season six when Mabel was brought home from the hospital ("Coming Home"). They continued to play the role of Mabel for numerous episodes. Carter and Madison Gayle play the role at a later time. In the season six episode "Letters to Mabel", an 18-year-old Mabel is played by Meredith Bishop. In the series finale, a teen Mabel is played by Cara DeLizia, and an adult Mabel is played by Janeane Garofalo.
- Richard Kind as Dr. Mark Devanow, Fran's ex-husband, with whom she is on good terms. A former obstetrician, Mark left Fran and their young son because he felt smothered and wanted to see the world. After returning to New York, he converts to Buddhism and works for a grocery store, although he eventually returns to his old profession. He eventually is able to win Fran back.
Father Knows Best (CBS: 1954-1955, 1958-1960; and NBC: 1955-1958)
YouTube Video: Father Knows Best Christmas Greeting
Pictured: The Andersons-top from left: Elinor Donahue, Robert Young, Jane Wyatt. Bottom: Lauren Chapin, Billy Gray.
Father Knows Best was an American sitcom starring Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin. The series, which first began on radio in 1949, aired for six seasons with a total of 203 episodes.
The series debuted on CBS in October 1954. It ran for one season and was canceled the following year. NBC picked up the series where it remained for three seasons. After a second cancellation in 1958, CBS picked up the series yet again where it aired until May 1960.
Created by Ed James, Father Knows Best, follows the lives of the Andersons, a middle class family living in the Midwestern town of Springfield.
A total of 203 episodes were produced, running until September 17, 1960, and appearing on all three of the television networks of the time, including prime-time repeats from September 1960 through April 1963.
The series debuted on CBS in October 1954. It ran for one season and was canceled the following year. NBC picked up the series where it remained for three seasons. After a second cancellation in 1958, CBS picked up the series yet again where it aired until May 1960.
Created by Ed James, Father Knows Best, follows the lives of the Andersons, a middle class family living in the Midwestern town of Springfield.
A total of 203 episodes were produced, running until September 17, 1960, and appearing on all three of the television networks of the time, including prime-time repeats from September 1960 through April 1963.
Night Court (NBC: 1984-1992)
YouTube Video: Night Court Dan Fielding fends off Teri Hatcher
Pictured: TV Guide Cover featuring Night Court
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court, Criminal Court Part 2, presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold T. "Harry" Stone (played by Harry Anderson). The series was created by comedy writer Reinhold Weege, who had previously worked on Barney Miller in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Night Court, according to the first season DVD, was created without comedian/magician Harry Anderson in mind; but Anderson auditioned with the claim that he was Harry Stone.
Anderson had developed a following with his performances on Saturday Night Live and made several successful appearances as con man "Harry the Hat" on another NBC sitcom, Cheers. (For the first several years of its run, Night Court aired on NBC Thursday nights after Cheers, which had moved to the time slot before Night Court to accommodate the new series, which started as a mid-season replacement in January 1984.)
In later seasons, while Anderson remained the key figure, John Larroquette became a popular personality winning a number of awards and many fans for his performance as the lecherous Dan Fielding.
The comedy style of Night Court changed as the series progressed. During its initial seasons, the show was often compared to Barney Miller. In addition to being created by a writer of that show, Night Court (like Barney Miller) was set in a tired, rundown part of New York City, featured a quirky and dry comedy style, and dealt with a staff who tried to cope with a parade of eccentric, often neurotic criminals and complainants.
Furthering this comparison, these characters were routinely played by character actors who had made frequent guest appearances on Barney Miller, including Stanley Brock, Philip Sterling, Peggy Pope, and Alex Henteloff. But, while the characters appearing in the courtroom (and the nature of their transgressions) were often whimsical, bizarre or humorously inept, the show initially took place in the "real world".
In an early review of the show, Time magazine called Night Court, with its emphasis on non-glamorous, non-violent petty crime, the most realistic law show on the air.
Gradually, however, Night Court abandoned its initial "real world" setting, and changed to what could best be described as broad, almost slapstick comedy. Logic and realism were frequently sidelined for more surreal humor, such as having the cartoon character, Wile E. Coyote, as a defendant and convicting him for harassment of The Road Runner with an admonition to find a meal by some other means.
In the opening episode of Season 4, a ventriloquist dummy talks on his own without the ventriloquist to Dan, who panics and shouts while backing away slowly down the hall.
The show featured several defendants who appeared before the court again and again—notably the Wheelers, June and Bob (Brent Spiner), who initially pretended to be stereotypical hicks from West Virginia; but they were later revealed as Yugoslavians and at one point even ran a concession stand in the courthouse.
When asked by Harry why they claimed West Virginia at first, Bob replies, "I dunno. It was just the first exotic place that popped into my head." The Wheelers were notoriously unlucky and were usually brought in on hilariously pathetic circumstances.
Other Star Trek-actors-to-be that had guest spots on Night Court included Robin Curtis from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (which incidentally, John Larroquette also co-starred in as a Klingon), Nana Visitor of Deep Space 9 and Paddi Edwards as Hank Shannon of Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Dauphin.
Night Court, according to the first season DVD, was created without comedian/magician Harry Anderson in mind; but Anderson auditioned with the claim that he was Harry Stone.
Anderson had developed a following with his performances on Saturday Night Live and made several successful appearances as con man "Harry the Hat" on another NBC sitcom, Cheers. (For the first several years of its run, Night Court aired on NBC Thursday nights after Cheers, which had moved to the time slot before Night Court to accommodate the new series, which started as a mid-season replacement in January 1984.)
In later seasons, while Anderson remained the key figure, John Larroquette became a popular personality winning a number of awards and many fans for his performance as the lecherous Dan Fielding.
The comedy style of Night Court changed as the series progressed. During its initial seasons, the show was often compared to Barney Miller. In addition to being created by a writer of that show, Night Court (like Barney Miller) was set in a tired, rundown part of New York City, featured a quirky and dry comedy style, and dealt with a staff who tried to cope with a parade of eccentric, often neurotic criminals and complainants.
Furthering this comparison, these characters were routinely played by character actors who had made frequent guest appearances on Barney Miller, including Stanley Brock, Philip Sterling, Peggy Pope, and Alex Henteloff. But, while the characters appearing in the courtroom (and the nature of their transgressions) were often whimsical, bizarre or humorously inept, the show initially took place in the "real world".
In an early review of the show, Time magazine called Night Court, with its emphasis on non-glamorous, non-violent petty crime, the most realistic law show on the air.
Gradually, however, Night Court abandoned its initial "real world" setting, and changed to what could best be described as broad, almost slapstick comedy. Logic and realism were frequently sidelined for more surreal humor, such as having the cartoon character, Wile E. Coyote, as a defendant and convicting him for harassment of The Road Runner with an admonition to find a meal by some other means.
In the opening episode of Season 4, a ventriloquist dummy talks on his own without the ventriloquist to Dan, who panics and shouts while backing away slowly down the hall.
The show featured several defendants who appeared before the court again and again—notably the Wheelers, June and Bob (Brent Spiner), who initially pretended to be stereotypical hicks from West Virginia; but they were later revealed as Yugoslavians and at one point even ran a concession stand in the courthouse.
When asked by Harry why they claimed West Virginia at first, Bob replies, "I dunno. It was just the first exotic place that popped into my head." The Wheelers were notoriously unlucky and were usually brought in on hilariously pathetic circumstances.
Other Star Trek-actors-to-be that had guest spots on Night Court included Robin Curtis from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (which incidentally, John Larroquette also co-starred in as a Klingon), Nana Visitor of Deep Space 9 and Paddi Edwards as Hank Shannon of Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Dauphin.
Coach (ABC: 1989-1997)
YouTube Video: Coach "Pencil Trick"
Coach is an American sitcom that aired for nine seasons on ABC from February 28, 1989 to May 14, 1997, with a total of 197 half-hour episodes spanning over nine seasons. The series stars Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, head coach of the fictional Division I-A college football team the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles.
For the last two seasons, Coach Fox and the supporting characters coached the Orlando Breakers, a fictional National Football League expansion team.
The program also starred Jerry Van Dyke as Luther Van Dam and Bill Fagerbakke as Michael "Dauber" Dybinski, assistant coaches under Fox. The role of Hayden's girlfriend (and later wife) Christine Armstrong, a television news anchor, was played by Shelley Fabares.
Premise:
In early seasons, Coach Fox continues to come to grips with the emerging womanhood of his "little girl", Kelly, now a campus coed played by Clare Carey, who after being raised mostly by her mother, enrolled at Minnesota State mainly because she wanted to be near her father.
Kelly dated (and eventually married in the second season) theater mime Stuart Rosebrock (Kris Kamm), whom Hayden could not stand. Their marriage ended in 1991 after Stuart, returning from filming his own kids TV show, Buzzy the Beaver, told Kelly that he'd met another woman.
While overtly supporting Kelly with her heartbreak, Coach Fox clandestinely couldn't have been happier to have "Stu" out of both of their lives. After graduating from Minnesota State in 1993, Kelly was hired by a major ad agency in New York. She was only seen in occasional guest spots thereafter.
Much of Hayden's coaching job, besides mentoring his players, was working with his defensive coordinator Luther Van Dam (Jerry Van Dyke), a lifelong bachelor who often struggled with self-confidence, and special teams coach Michael "Dauber" Dybinski (Bill Fagerbakke), an ex-player at Minnesota State and a stereotypical "dumb jock".
The ongoing joke was that Dybinski had not yet graduated from Minnesota State despite being enrolled for several years (he would later graduate with three bachelor's degrees in physical education, business administration, and forestry without even knowing it until he got his transcript for that semester), but who would often surprisingly be of intellectual help to the team, usually learned from a class he was attending or because he was a fan of Nova.
Another person Hayden could not stand was the ladies' basketball coach Judy Watkins (Comedian Pam Stone), whom Hayden often got into prank wars with. His relationship with her was complicated by the fact that Dauber dated her until 1995, when she confessed to an affair after returning from a coaching job in Romania.
Also seen throughout the run was Minnesota State athletic director Howard Burleigh (Kenneth Kimmins) and his nutty wife, Shirley (Georgia Engel), who were close friends with Hayden and Christine.
At the end of season 7, Hayden is offered a job with a fictional NFL expansion team called the "Orlando Breakers". Hayden agrees and takes his coaching staff with him for the final two seasons. The Foxes adopted a baby boy named Timothy (played by twins Brennan and Brian Felker). Many season 9 episodes focused on the couple's newfound joy of parenthood, as they had been unable to conceive a child together before they decided to adopt.
For the last two seasons, Coach Fox and the supporting characters coached the Orlando Breakers, a fictional National Football League expansion team.
The program also starred Jerry Van Dyke as Luther Van Dam and Bill Fagerbakke as Michael "Dauber" Dybinski, assistant coaches under Fox. The role of Hayden's girlfriend (and later wife) Christine Armstrong, a television news anchor, was played by Shelley Fabares.
Premise:
In early seasons, Coach Fox continues to come to grips with the emerging womanhood of his "little girl", Kelly, now a campus coed played by Clare Carey, who after being raised mostly by her mother, enrolled at Minnesota State mainly because she wanted to be near her father.
Kelly dated (and eventually married in the second season) theater mime Stuart Rosebrock (Kris Kamm), whom Hayden could not stand. Their marriage ended in 1991 after Stuart, returning from filming his own kids TV show, Buzzy the Beaver, told Kelly that he'd met another woman.
While overtly supporting Kelly with her heartbreak, Coach Fox clandestinely couldn't have been happier to have "Stu" out of both of their lives. After graduating from Minnesota State in 1993, Kelly was hired by a major ad agency in New York. She was only seen in occasional guest spots thereafter.
Much of Hayden's coaching job, besides mentoring his players, was working with his defensive coordinator Luther Van Dam (Jerry Van Dyke), a lifelong bachelor who often struggled with self-confidence, and special teams coach Michael "Dauber" Dybinski (Bill Fagerbakke), an ex-player at Minnesota State and a stereotypical "dumb jock".
The ongoing joke was that Dybinski had not yet graduated from Minnesota State despite being enrolled for several years (he would later graduate with three bachelor's degrees in physical education, business administration, and forestry without even knowing it until he got his transcript for that semester), but who would often surprisingly be of intellectual help to the team, usually learned from a class he was attending or because he was a fan of Nova.
Another person Hayden could not stand was the ladies' basketball coach Judy Watkins (Comedian Pam Stone), whom Hayden often got into prank wars with. His relationship with her was complicated by the fact that Dauber dated her until 1995, when she confessed to an affair after returning from a coaching job in Romania.
Also seen throughout the run was Minnesota State athletic director Howard Burleigh (Kenneth Kimmins) and his nutty wife, Shirley (Georgia Engel), who were close friends with Hayden and Christine.
At the end of season 7, Hayden is offered a job with a fictional NFL expansion team called the "Orlando Breakers". Hayden agrees and takes his coaching staff with him for the final two seasons. The Foxes adopted a baby boy named Timothy (played by twins Brennan and Brian Felker). Many season 9 episodes focused on the couple's newfound joy of parenthood, as they had been unable to conceive a child together before they decided to adopt.
Mr. Belvedere (ABC: 1985-1990)
YouTube Video: Mr. Belvedere "The Baby"
Mr. Belvedere is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from March 15, 1985 to July 8, 1990. The series is based on the Lynn Aloysius Belvedere character created by Gwen Davenport for her 1947 novel Belvedere, which was later adapted into the 1948 film Sitting Pretty.
The sitcom stars Christopher Hewett in the title role, who takes a job as a butler with an American family headed by George Owens, played by Bob Uecker.
Premise:
The series follows posh butler Lynn Belvedere, as he struggles to adapt to the Owens household. The breadwinner, George (Bob Uecker), is a sportswriter (however, in the pilot, he worked in construction).
His wife Marsha (Ilene Graff) is attending law school. At the show's start, older son Kevin (Rob Stone) is a senior in high school, daughter Heather (Tracy Wells) is a freshman, and Wesley (Brice Beckham) is in elementary school.
Over the course of the series, George becomes a sportscaster (a career shared with Uecker, who balanced his role as the longtime play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers while starring in the series), Marsha graduates from law school and starts a career as a lawyer, Kevin leaves for college and gets his own apartment, Heather moves up in high school, and Wesley moves up to junior high.
Several episodes deal with the relationship between Wesley and Mr. Belvedere, who are always at odds with one another, with Wesley constantly antagonizing Belvedere. It is shown that deep down, however, they really love each other.
In season two's "Wesley's Friend" – one of the series' many very special episodes – Danny, one of Wesley's classmates, contracts HIV via Factor VIII (the same type of the disease contracted by Ryan White).
Danny is taken out of school due to the ignorance and uncertainty that shared by the parents of many of the other children at Wesley's school. After hearing rumors from his friends about how HIV can be spread, leading them to shun him if he keeps spending time with Danny.
Wesley begins to avoid Danny in fear of getting the disease himself. Mr. Belvedere is there for him and the child, and he helps Wesley to shed his fear of the boy and publicly accept him as his friend.
Throughout the series, Mr. Belvedere serves as a mentor of sorts to Wesley as well as to the other children. Being a cultured man with many skills and achievements (having even once worked for Winston Churchill), he also comes to serve as some sort of a "counselor" to the Owens clan, helping them solve their dilemmas and stay out of mischief.
Each episode ends with Mr. Belvedere writing in his journal, recounting the events of the day (which is heard by the audience via his narration) with the Owens family and what he got out of it in terms of a lesson.
A frequent gag on the show involves Heather's air-headed best friend Angela (Michele Matheson), who always (except for in one episode) mispronounces Mr. Belvedere's name (such as calling him "Mr. Bumpersticker", "Mr. Bellpepper", "Mr. Butterfinger" or "Mr. Velveeta").
Another frequent gag involves George and Mr. Belvedere butting heads, with George being annoyed with his "nosy English housekeeper" always interfering.
Yet another recurring gag features George always trying to be initiated into a local charity club, the "Happy Guys of Pittsburgh".
Wesley's highly acrimonious relationship with the never-seen next door neighbors, the Hufnagels, and the shenanigans he pulls on them was another recurring plot element. Furthermore, in season six, episode eleven, the show contains a flash forward to 2040 where Donald Trump is mentioned as the owner of the moon.
For more about the TV sitcom "Mr. Belvedere", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
The sitcom stars Christopher Hewett in the title role, who takes a job as a butler with an American family headed by George Owens, played by Bob Uecker.
Premise:
The series follows posh butler Lynn Belvedere, as he struggles to adapt to the Owens household. The breadwinner, George (Bob Uecker), is a sportswriter (however, in the pilot, he worked in construction).
His wife Marsha (Ilene Graff) is attending law school. At the show's start, older son Kevin (Rob Stone) is a senior in high school, daughter Heather (Tracy Wells) is a freshman, and Wesley (Brice Beckham) is in elementary school.
Over the course of the series, George becomes a sportscaster (a career shared with Uecker, who balanced his role as the longtime play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers while starring in the series), Marsha graduates from law school and starts a career as a lawyer, Kevin leaves for college and gets his own apartment, Heather moves up in high school, and Wesley moves up to junior high.
Several episodes deal with the relationship between Wesley and Mr. Belvedere, who are always at odds with one another, with Wesley constantly antagonizing Belvedere. It is shown that deep down, however, they really love each other.
In season two's "Wesley's Friend" – one of the series' many very special episodes – Danny, one of Wesley's classmates, contracts HIV via Factor VIII (the same type of the disease contracted by Ryan White).
Danny is taken out of school due to the ignorance and uncertainty that shared by the parents of many of the other children at Wesley's school. After hearing rumors from his friends about how HIV can be spread, leading them to shun him if he keeps spending time with Danny.
Wesley begins to avoid Danny in fear of getting the disease himself. Mr. Belvedere is there for him and the child, and he helps Wesley to shed his fear of the boy and publicly accept him as his friend.
Throughout the series, Mr. Belvedere serves as a mentor of sorts to Wesley as well as to the other children. Being a cultured man with many skills and achievements (having even once worked for Winston Churchill), he also comes to serve as some sort of a "counselor" to the Owens clan, helping them solve their dilemmas and stay out of mischief.
Each episode ends with Mr. Belvedere writing in his journal, recounting the events of the day (which is heard by the audience via his narration) with the Owens family and what he got out of it in terms of a lesson.
A frequent gag on the show involves Heather's air-headed best friend Angela (Michele Matheson), who always (except for in one episode) mispronounces Mr. Belvedere's name (such as calling him "Mr. Bumpersticker", "Mr. Bellpepper", "Mr. Butterfinger" or "Mr. Velveeta").
Another frequent gag involves George and Mr. Belvedere butting heads, with George being annoyed with his "nosy English housekeeper" always interfering.
Yet another recurring gag features George always trying to be initiated into a local charity club, the "Happy Guys of Pittsburgh".
Wesley's highly acrimonious relationship with the never-seen next door neighbors, the Hufnagels, and the shenanigans he pulls on them was another recurring plot element. Furthermore, in season six, episode eleven, the show contains a flash forward to 2040 where Donald Trump is mentioned as the owner of the moon.
For more about the TV sitcom "Mr. Belvedere", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
- Production
- Cast
- Episodes
- Theme song and opening sequence
- Ratings and cancellation
- Syndication
- DVD releases
- Awards and nominations
- In popular culture
Saved by the Bell (NBC: 1989-1993)
YouTube Video Evolution of the Zack Morris Brick Phone
Pictured: People Magazine Reunion Cover
Saved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from 1989 to 1993. A reboot of the Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, the show follows a group of friends and their principal.
Primarily focusing on lighthearted comedic situations, it occasionally touches on serious social issues, such as:
The series starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Lark Voorhies, Dennis Haskins, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Mario Lopez.
The show spawned two spin-off series: Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993–94), a primetime series that follows several of the characters to college, and Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1993–2000), a Saturday morning series that follows a new group of students at Bayside High School.
The series also spawned two TV movies, Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style in 1992 and Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas in 1994.
Saved by the Bell, which pre-dates the enforcement of the 1990 Children's Television Act, has since been classified as educational and informational.
The show was named one of the "20 Best School Shows of all Time" by AOL TV.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "Saved by the Bell"
Primarily focusing on lighthearted comedic situations, it occasionally touches on serious social issues, such as:
- drug use,
- driving under the influence,
- homelessness,
- remarriage,
- death,
- women's rights,
- and environmental issues.
The series starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Lark Voorhies, Dennis Haskins, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Mario Lopez.
The show spawned two spin-off series: Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993–94), a primetime series that follows several of the characters to college, and Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1993–2000), a Saturday morning series that follows a new group of students at Bayside High School.
The series also spawned two TV movies, Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style in 1992 and Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas in 1994.
Saved by the Bell, which pre-dates the enforcement of the 1990 Children's Television Act, has since been classified as educational and informational.
The show was named one of the "20 Best School Shows of all Time" by AOL TV.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "Saved by the Bell"
- History
- Characters
- Episodes
- Spin-offs
- Reunions
- Merchandise
- Behind the Bell
- Bayside! The Musical! The Saved by the Bell Parody
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (NBC: 1990-1996)
YouTube Video Fresh Prince of Bel-Air / funny scenes
Pictured: The cast of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. From top left: Hilary Banks, Geoffrey, Vivian Banks, Carlton Banks. From bottom left: Ashley Banks, Philip Banks, Will Smith.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996.
The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his wealthy aunt and uncle in their Bel Air mansion after getting into a fight on a local basketball court.
In the series, his lifestyle often clashes with the lifestyle of his relatives in Bel Air. The series ran for six seasons and aired 148 episodes.
Premise:
The theme song and opening sequence set the premise of the show. Will Smith is a street-smart teenager, born and raised in West Philadelphia. While playing basketball, Will misses a shot and the ball hits a group of people, causing a confrontation that frightens his mother, who sends him to live with his aunt and uncle in the "town" of Bel Air, Los Angeles.
He flies from Philadelphia to Los Angeles on a one-way ticket in first class. He then whistles for a taxi that has dice in the reflection screen and the word "FRESH" on its vanity plates.
Will's working class background ends up clashing in various humorous ways with the upper class, "bourgeois" world of the Banks family – Will's uncle Phil and aunt Vivian and their children, Will's cousins Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air":
The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his wealthy aunt and uncle in their Bel Air mansion after getting into a fight on a local basketball court.
In the series, his lifestyle often clashes with the lifestyle of his relatives in Bel Air. The series ran for six seasons and aired 148 episodes.
Premise:
The theme song and opening sequence set the premise of the show. Will Smith is a street-smart teenager, born and raised in West Philadelphia. While playing basketball, Will misses a shot and the ball hits a group of people, causing a confrontation that frightens his mother, who sends him to live with his aunt and uncle in the "town" of Bel Air, Los Angeles.
He flies from Philadelphia to Los Angeles on a one-way ticket in first class. He then whistles for a taxi that has dice in the reflection screen and the word "FRESH" on its vanity plates.
Will's working class background ends up clashing in various humorous ways with the upper class, "bourgeois" world of the Banks family – Will's uncle Phil and aunt Vivian and their children, Will's cousins Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air":
- Development
- Cast and characters
- Episodes
- Crossovers and other appearances
- Syndication
- Ratings
- DVD releases
- Awards and nominations
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (CBS: 1959-1963)
YouTube Video: Dobie Gillis -- Maynard Joins the Army
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (also known as simply Dobie Gillis or Max Shulman's Dobie Gillis in later seasons and in syndication) is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5, 1963.
The series and several episode scripts were adapted from the "Dobie Gillis" short stories written by Max Shulman since 1945, and first collected in 1951 under the same title as the subsequent TV series. Shulman also wrote a feature film adaptation of his "Dobie Gillis" stories for MGM in 1953, entitled The Affairs of Dobie Gillis.
Dobie Gillis is significant as the first American television program produced for a major network to feature teenagers as leading characters. In other series, such as Father Knows Best and Leave It to Beaver, teenagers were portrayed as supporting characters in a family story.
An even earlier 1954 series, Meet Corliss Archer, featured teenagers in leading roles and aired in syndication. Dobie Gillis broke ground by depicting elements of the counterculture, particularly the Beat Generation, primarily embodied in a stereotypical version of the "beatnik". Series star Dwayne Hickman would later say that Dobie represented “the end of innocence of the 1950s before the oncoming 1960s revolution”.
The series revolved around teenager Dobie Gillis (Dwayne Hickman), who aspired to have popularity, money, and the attention of beautiful and unattainable girls, whose entrance into Dobie's life was often accompanied by the song "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" softly playing in the background.
He did not have any of these qualities in abundance, and the tiny crises surrounding Dobie's lack of success made the story in each weekly episode. Also constantly in question, by Dobie and others, was Dobie's future, as the boy proved to be a poor student and an aimless drifter.
Often falling in love with a new girl within minutes, often referring to them as soft and round and pink and creamy, the would-be poet Dobie would address his loves with flowery phrases such as "my great, tawny animal" and go out of his way each week to attract, keep, or win back the girl-of-the-moment.
His partner-in-crime was American television's first beatnik, Maynard G. Krebs (Bob Denver), who became the series' breakout character. An enthusiastic fan of jazz music (with a strong distaste for the music of Lawrence Welk), Maynard plays the bongos, collects tinfoil and petrified frogs, and steers clear of romance, authority figures, and work (yelping "Work?!" every time he hears the word).
Always speaking with the vernacular and slang of the beatniks and jazz musicians he admired, Maynard punctuates his sentences with the word "like" and has a tendency towards malapropisms.
The main running gag on Dobie Gillis would have Dobie or one of the other characters rattling off a series of adjectives describing something undesirable or disgusting ("I'd be a ragged, useless, dirty wreck!"), at which point a previously unseen Maynard would appear (entering the scene in close-up), saying "You rang?"
Dobie Gillis is set in Central City, a fictitious city in the Midwestern United States (the original short stories are explicitly set in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area). One of the show's running gags is the reference, especially by Maynard, to a movie called The Monster that Devoured Cleveland and its sequels, one of which always seems to be playing at the local cinema.
For more about "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
The series and several episode scripts were adapted from the "Dobie Gillis" short stories written by Max Shulman since 1945, and first collected in 1951 under the same title as the subsequent TV series. Shulman also wrote a feature film adaptation of his "Dobie Gillis" stories for MGM in 1953, entitled The Affairs of Dobie Gillis.
Dobie Gillis is significant as the first American television program produced for a major network to feature teenagers as leading characters. In other series, such as Father Knows Best and Leave It to Beaver, teenagers were portrayed as supporting characters in a family story.
An even earlier 1954 series, Meet Corliss Archer, featured teenagers in leading roles and aired in syndication. Dobie Gillis broke ground by depicting elements of the counterculture, particularly the Beat Generation, primarily embodied in a stereotypical version of the "beatnik". Series star Dwayne Hickman would later say that Dobie represented “the end of innocence of the 1950s before the oncoming 1960s revolution”.
The series revolved around teenager Dobie Gillis (Dwayne Hickman), who aspired to have popularity, money, and the attention of beautiful and unattainable girls, whose entrance into Dobie's life was often accompanied by the song "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" softly playing in the background.
He did not have any of these qualities in abundance, and the tiny crises surrounding Dobie's lack of success made the story in each weekly episode. Also constantly in question, by Dobie and others, was Dobie's future, as the boy proved to be a poor student and an aimless drifter.
Often falling in love with a new girl within minutes, often referring to them as soft and round and pink and creamy, the would-be poet Dobie would address his loves with flowery phrases such as "my great, tawny animal" and go out of his way each week to attract, keep, or win back the girl-of-the-moment.
His partner-in-crime was American television's first beatnik, Maynard G. Krebs (Bob Denver), who became the series' breakout character. An enthusiastic fan of jazz music (with a strong distaste for the music of Lawrence Welk), Maynard plays the bongos, collects tinfoil and petrified frogs, and steers clear of romance, authority figures, and work (yelping "Work?!" every time he hears the word).
Always speaking with the vernacular and slang of the beatniks and jazz musicians he admired, Maynard punctuates his sentences with the word "like" and has a tendency towards malapropisms.
The main running gag on Dobie Gillis would have Dobie or one of the other characters rattling off a series of adjectives describing something undesirable or disgusting ("I'd be a ragged, useless, dirty wreck!"), at which point a previously unseen Maynard would appear (entering the scene in close-up), saying "You rang?"
Dobie Gillis is set in Central City, a fictitious city in the Midwestern United States (the original short stories are explicitly set in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area). One of the show's running gags is the reference, especially by Maynard, to a movie called The Monster that Devoured Cleveland and its sequels, one of which always seems to be playing at the local cinema.
For more about "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
- Cast
- Episodes
- Broadcast history and Nielsen ratings
- Production
- Other media
- Sequel films
- DVD releases
- In popular culture
Who's the Boss? (ABC: 1984-1992)
YouTube Video Who's the boss Top 5 funny clips
Pictured: FRONT ROW: Danny Pintauro; Tony Danza; and Alyssa Milano. BACK ROW: Judith Light and Katherine Helmond
Who's the Boss? is an American sitcom created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, which aired on ABC from September 20, 1984 to April 25, 1992.
Produced by Embassy Television (later Embassy Communications and ELP Communications), in association with Hunter-Cohan Productions and Columbia Pictures Television, the series starred Tony Danza as a retired major league baseball player who relocates to Fairfield, Connecticut to work as a live-in housekeeper for a divorced advertising executive, played by Judith Light. Also featured were Alyssa Milano, Danny Pintauro and Katherine Helmond.
The show received positive reviews throughout most of its run, becoming one of the most popular sitcoms of the mid-to-late 1980s. The series was nominated for more than forty awards, including ten Primetime Emmy Award and five Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one of each. Also very successful in the ratings, Who's the Boss? consistently ranked in the top ten in the final primetime ratings between the years of 1985 and 1989, and has since continued in syndication worldwide.
Premise:
Widower Anthony Morton "Tony" Micelli is a former second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals who was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury. He wants to move out of Brooklyn to find a better environment for his daughter, Samantha. He ends up taking a job in upscale Fairfield, Connecticut, as a live-in housekeeper for divorced advertising executive Angela Bower and her son Jonathan.
The Micellis moved into the Bower residence. Also frequenting is Angela's feisty, sexually progressive mother, Mona Robinson. Mona dates all kinds of men, from college age to silver-haired CEOs. This portrayal of an "older woman" with an active social and sexual life was unusual for television at the time.
The title of the show refers to the clear role reversal of the two lead actors, where a woman was the breadwinner and a man (although he was not her husband) stayed at home and took care of the house. It challenged contemporary stereotypes of Italian-American young males as macho and boorish and wholly ignorant of life outside of urban working-class neighborhoods, as Tony was depicted as sensitive, intelligent and domestic with an interest in intellectual pursuits.
The easy-going, spontaneous Tony and the driven, self-controlled Angela are attracted to each other, though both are uncomfortable with the notion for much of the run of the show. While there is playful banter and many hints of attraction, Tony and Angela do their best to avoid facing this aspect of their developing relationship, and date other people.
Angela has a steady romantic interest in Geoffrey Wells (Robin Thomas), while Tony has a variety of girlfriends who come and go, including Kathleen Sawyer (Kate Vernon) in seasons six and seven. In the meantime, however, they become best friends, relying on each other frequently for emotional support. In addition, Tony provides a male role model for Jonathan, while Angela and Mona give Samantha the womanly guidance she had been missing.
Keeping ties with Tony's and Samantha's Brooklyn roots, motherly former neighbor Mrs. Rossini (Rhoda Gemignani), who ends up becoming a thorn in Mona's side, and several other friends turn up a few times each season, sometimes in New York, sometimes in Connecticut.
Angela eventually strikes out on her own and opens her own ad firm in season three, while Tony decides to go back to school, enrolling in the same college that daughter Samantha would later attend in 1990.
Samantha's best friend Bonnie (Shana Lane-Block) is a recurring character during these seasons, while romance comes into her life in the form of boyfriend Jesse Nash (Scott Bloom) during her senior year of high school and into college.
At the start of season eight, Tony and Angela finally acknowledge their love for each other. However, the series does not end with the widely expected marriage but on a more ambiguous note.
This was due primarily to concerns by the network that a marriage, representing a definitive ending, could hurt syndication. Tony Danza also vehemently opposed the marriage, saying it would contradict the original purpose of the show.
During the final season, Samantha finds a new love in Hank Thomopoulous (Curnal Achilles Aulisio), who became a full-time character in January 1992. A fellow college student, Hank was originally poised to enter a medical program, but soon decides to become a puppeteer. Sam and Hank were engaged in a matter of weeks, and in February, they were married.
For more about "Who's the Boss?", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Produced by Embassy Television (later Embassy Communications and ELP Communications), in association with Hunter-Cohan Productions and Columbia Pictures Television, the series starred Tony Danza as a retired major league baseball player who relocates to Fairfield, Connecticut to work as a live-in housekeeper for a divorced advertising executive, played by Judith Light. Also featured were Alyssa Milano, Danny Pintauro and Katherine Helmond.
The show received positive reviews throughout most of its run, becoming one of the most popular sitcoms of the mid-to-late 1980s. The series was nominated for more than forty awards, including ten Primetime Emmy Award and five Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one of each. Also very successful in the ratings, Who's the Boss? consistently ranked in the top ten in the final primetime ratings between the years of 1985 and 1989, and has since continued in syndication worldwide.
Premise:
Widower Anthony Morton "Tony" Micelli is a former second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals who was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury. He wants to move out of Brooklyn to find a better environment for his daughter, Samantha. He ends up taking a job in upscale Fairfield, Connecticut, as a live-in housekeeper for divorced advertising executive Angela Bower and her son Jonathan.
The Micellis moved into the Bower residence. Also frequenting is Angela's feisty, sexually progressive mother, Mona Robinson. Mona dates all kinds of men, from college age to silver-haired CEOs. This portrayal of an "older woman" with an active social and sexual life was unusual for television at the time.
The title of the show refers to the clear role reversal of the two lead actors, where a woman was the breadwinner and a man (although he was not her husband) stayed at home and took care of the house. It challenged contemporary stereotypes of Italian-American young males as macho and boorish and wholly ignorant of life outside of urban working-class neighborhoods, as Tony was depicted as sensitive, intelligent and domestic with an interest in intellectual pursuits.
The easy-going, spontaneous Tony and the driven, self-controlled Angela are attracted to each other, though both are uncomfortable with the notion for much of the run of the show. While there is playful banter and many hints of attraction, Tony and Angela do their best to avoid facing this aspect of their developing relationship, and date other people.
Angela has a steady romantic interest in Geoffrey Wells (Robin Thomas), while Tony has a variety of girlfriends who come and go, including Kathleen Sawyer (Kate Vernon) in seasons six and seven. In the meantime, however, they become best friends, relying on each other frequently for emotional support. In addition, Tony provides a male role model for Jonathan, while Angela and Mona give Samantha the womanly guidance she had been missing.
Keeping ties with Tony's and Samantha's Brooklyn roots, motherly former neighbor Mrs. Rossini (Rhoda Gemignani), who ends up becoming a thorn in Mona's side, and several other friends turn up a few times each season, sometimes in New York, sometimes in Connecticut.
Angela eventually strikes out on her own and opens her own ad firm in season three, while Tony decides to go back to school, enrolling in the same college that daughter Samantha would later attend in 1990.
Samantha's best friend Bonnie (Shana Lane-Block) is a recurring character during these seasons, while romance comes into her life in the form of boyfriend Jesse Nash (Scott Bloom) during her senior year of high school and into college.
At the start of season eight, Tony and Angela finally acknowledge their love for each other. However, the series does not end with the widely expected marriage but on a more ambiguous note.
This was due primarily to concerns by the network that a marriage, representing a definitive ending, could hurt syndication. Tony Danza also vehemently opposed the marriage, saying it would contradict the original purpose of the show.
During the final season, Samantha finds a new love in Hank Thomopoulous (Curnal Achilles Aulisio), who became a full-time character in January 1992. A fellow college student, Hank was originally poised to enter a medical program, but soon decides to become a puppeteer. Sam and Hank were engaged in a matter of weeks, and in February, they were married.
For more about "Who's the Boss?", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Wings (NBC: 1990-1997)
YouTube Video Wings - Antonio is not (just) a handy man
Pictured: Cast of Wings Seasons 7-8 (l to r): Tony Shalhoub, Crystal Bernard, Timothy Daly, Steven Weber, Rebecca Schull, David Schramm, Amy Yasbeck
Wings is an American sitcom that ran for eight seasons on NBC from April 19, 1990, to May 21, 1997.
Starring Tim Daly and Steven Weber as brothers Joe and Brian Hackett, the show is set at the fictional "Tom Nevers Field" airport, a small two-airline airport in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where the Hackett brothers operate Sandpiper Air.
Other regulars include:
Farrah Forke later joined the cast for two seasons. When Forke left, Amy Yasbeck joined the cast for the remainder of the show's run from 1994–1997. Thomas Haden Church left the show in spring 1995 to star in the Fox sitcom Ned and Stacey, and Brian Haley joined the cast as the new mechanic.
Wings was created and produced by Cheers veterans David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee. The trio would later create the sitcom Frasier, which was a spinoff of Cheers.
Characters from Cheers occasionally made special guest appearances on Wings. All three series were produced by Paramount Network Television.
Reruns of the show aired regularly on the USA Network from September 13, 1993, to June 16, 2000, and then sporadically after that, and again on Nick at Nite from January 2004 to June 2006. It can currently be seen on Antenna TV, Hulu Plus, Netflix (DVD only) and Comedy Gold.
For more about "Wings", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Starring Tim Daly and Steven Weber as brothers Joe and Brian Hackett, the show is set at the fictional "Tom Nevers Field" airport, a small two-airline airport in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where the Hackett brothers operate Sandpiper Air.
Other regulars include:
Farrah Forke later joined the cast for two seasons. When Forke left, Amy Yasbeck joined the cast for the remainder of the show's run from 1994–1997. Thomas Haden Church left the show in spring 1995 to star in the Fox sitcom Ned and Stacey, and Brian Haley joined the cast as the new mechanic.
Wings was created and produced by Cheers veterans David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee. The trio would later create the sitcom Frasier, which was a spinoff of Cheers.
Characters from Cheers occasionally made special guest appearances on Wings. All three series were produced by Paramount Network Television.
Reruns of the show aired regularly on the USA Network from September 13, 1993, to June 16, 2000, and then sporadically after that, and again on Nick at Nite from January 2004 to June 2006. It can currently be seen on Antenna TV, Hulu Plus, Netflix (DVD only) and Comedy Gold.
For more about "Wings", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
- Main characters
- Recurring characters
- Locale
- Cheers tie-ins
- Episodes
- Broadcast history and Nielsen ratings
- Awards and nominations
- Home media releases
- Music, opening sequence and closing credits
- See also:
- Nantucket Airlines
- Cape Air
- Funny or Die Wings movie Kickstarter April Fools' Day parody.
Soap (ABC: 1977-1981)
YouTube Video: Soap's Funniest Moments - Mary Tumbles Down the Stairs
Soap is an American sitcom that originally ran on ABC from September 13, 1977 until April 20, 1981.
The show was created as a night-time parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to a soap opera, the show's story was presented in a serial format and included melodramatic plot elements such as alien abduction, demonic possession, murder, and kidnapping.
In 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME," and in 2010, the Tates and the Campbells ranked at number 17 in TV Guide's list of "TV's Top Families."
The show was created, written, and executively produced by Susan Harris, and also executively produced by Paul Junger Witt (Harris' future husband) and Tony Thomas. Each returning season was preceded by a 90-minute retrospective of the previous season. Two of these retrospectives were made available on VHS in 1994, but were not included on any DVD collections.
The show aired 85 episodes over the course of four seasons. Eight of these (including the final four) aired as one-hour episodes during the original run on ABC. These hour-long episodes were later split in two, yielding 93 half-hour episodes for syndication. Like most sitcoms of the era, Soap was videotaped, but this coincidentally helped further its emulation of the daytime soap opera format, as most such productions were also videotaped.
All episodes are currently available on region 1 DVD in four separate box sets. In the past, the series has rerun on local syndicated channels as well as on cable on Comedy Central and TV Land. It ran on over-the-air television on Antenna TV, until December 30, 2012. As of Spring 2016, it is shown on IFC.
The show starred Katherine Helmond and Cathryn Damon as sisters/matriarchs of their own families. The cast also included three former soap opera actors. Robert Mandan (Chester Tate) had previously appeared on Search for Tomorrow as a leading man for Mary Stuart, and Donnelly Rhodes (Dutch Leitner) had played the first husband of Katherine Chancellor on The Young and the Restless. Arthur Peterson, Jr. ("The Major") played Rev. John Ruthledge in the radio version of Guiding Light.
For more about the sitcom "Soap", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
The show was created as a night-time parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to a soap opera, the show's story was presented in a serial format and included melodramatic plot elements such as alien abduction, demonic possession, murder, and kidnapping.
In 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME," and in 2010, the Tates and the Campbells ranked at number 17 in TV Guide's list of "TV's Top Families."
The show was created, written, and executively produced by Susan Harris, and also executively produced by Paul Junger Witt (Harris' future husband) and Tony Thomas. Each returning season was preceded by a 90-minute retrospective of the previous season. Two of these retrospectives were made available on VHS in 1994, but were not included on any DVD collections.
The show aired 85 episodes over the course of four seasons. Eight of these (including the final four) aired as one-hour episodes during the original run on ABC. These hour-long episodes were later split in two, yielding 93 half-hour episodes for syndication. Like most sitcoms of the era, Soap was videotaped, but this coincidentally helped further its emulation of the daytime soap opera format, as most such productions were also videotaped.
All episodes are currently available on region 1 DVD in four separate box sets. In the past, the series has rerun on local syndicated channels as well as on cable on Comedy Central and TV Land. It ran on over-the-air television on Antenna TV, until December 30, 2012. As of Spring 2016, it is shown on IFC.
The show starred Katherine Helmond and Cathryn Damon as sisters/matriarchs of their own families. The cast also included three former soap opera actors. Robert Mandan (Chester Tate) had previously appeared on Search for Tomorrow as a leading man for Mary Stuart, and Donnelly Rhodes (Dutch Leitner) had played the first husband of Katherine Chancellor on The Young and the Restless. Arthur Peterson, Jr. ("The Major") played Rev. John Ruthledge in the radio version of Guiding Light.
For more about the sitcom "Soap", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
- Plot
- Characters
- Nielsen ratings and time slots
- Pre-broadcast protests and controversy
- "The Soap Memo"
- Premiere and critical reception
- Later seasons and cancellation
- Legacy
- Awards and nominations
- DVD releases
- See also:
Benson (ABC: 1979-1986)
YouTube Video of The last appearance of Jessica Tate on a 1983 episode of "Benson".
Benson is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1979 to April 19, 1986. The series is a spin-off of the soap opera parody Soap in which the character Benson, portrayed by Robert Guillaume, had first appeared as the wise-cracking yet level-headed African-American butler for the highly dysfunctional Tate family.
However, Benson eschewed the soap opera format of its parent show for a more conventional/ traditional sitcom structure. The series was created by Susan Harris, and produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions. In 1985, Guillaume won an Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in the show.
For more about "Benson", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
However, Benson eschewed the soap opera format of its parent show for a more conventional/ traditional sitcom structure. The series was created by Susan Harris, and produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions. In 1985, Guillaume won an Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in the show.
For more about "Benson", click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Petticoat Junction (CBS: 1963-1970)
YouTube Video Petticoat Junction CANNONBALL CHRISTMAS
Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970.
The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley, her Uncle Joe Carson, and her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Betty Jo Bradley.
The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters produced by Paul Henning. Petticoat Junction was created upon the success of Henning's previous rural/urban-themed sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971). The success of Petticoat Junction led to a spin-off, Green Acres (1965–1971). Petticoat Junction was produced by Wayfilms (a joint venture of Filmways Television and Pen-Ten Productions).
The show follows the goings-on at the rural Shady Rest Hotel. Widow Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet) is the proprietor. Her lazy-but-lovable Uncle Joe Carson (Edgar Buchanan) helps her in the day-to-day running of the hotel while she serves as a mediator in the various minor crises that befall her three beautiful daughters: redhead Betty Jo (Linda Kaye Henning); brunette Bobbie Jo (first Pat Woodell, later Lori Saunders); and blonde Billie Jo (first Jeannine Riley, then Gunilla Hutton, and finally Meredith MacRae).
Uncle Joe frequently comes up with half-baked get-rich-quick schemes and ill-conceived hotel promotions.
Much of the show also focuses on the Hooterville Cannonball, an 1890s steam-driven train run more like a taxi service by engineer Charley Pratt (Smiley Burnette) and conductor Floyd Smoot (Rufe Davis). It was not uncommon for the Cannonball to make an unscheduled stop for passengers to go fishing, or to pick fruit for Kate Bradley's apple butter and pies. The Hooterville spur line had been cut off from the rest of the railroad 20 years before the start of the show by the failure of a trestle. Charlie and Floyd are retired employees of the railroad receiving pensions.
Many plots involve railroad executive Homer Bedloe's futile attempts to shut down and scrap the Hooterville Cannonball. Occasionally, youngest daughter Betty Jo can be found with her hand on the Cannonball's throttle, as running the train is one of her favorite pastimes.
The series pilot introduced a feminist element whereby Betty Jo turned out to be skilled at driving the train: train engineer was traditionally a man's job; executives from the C. & F.W. Railroad's headquarters are shocked when they learn of this.
Trips on the Cannonball usually include a stop in Hooterville at Drucker's Store, run by Sam Drucker (Frank Cady). Drucker's is the local hub, where menfolk come to play checkers and chat. Sam Drucker is the postmaster, and his telephone is a lifeline for the Bradleys, Uncle Joe, and others.
The Shady Rest Hotel is located at a water stop along an isolated branch line of the C. & F.W. Railroad, halfway between the rural farm community of Hooterville and the small town of Pixley, each about 25 miles (40 km) away. Kate Bradley says her grandfather built the hotel there because that was where the lumber fell off the train.
The town of Pixley, at one end of the Cannonball's route, was named for Pixley, California. A number of location shots were filmed in the real Pixley. The exact location of Hooterville is never mentioned on Petticoat Junction or Green Acres. It is likely in the Ozark Mountains; one of the proposed titles for the show was Ozark Widow.
The Shady Rest is an old-fashioned hotel, accessible only by train, where guests share bathing facilities and eat together with the family at a large dining-room table. Kate Bradley cooks sumptuous meals on a wood-burning stove, and her specialty is chicken 'n' dumplings. Meals were prepared for the show by property master Vince Vecchio. In a 1966 interview, Bea Benaderet said, "I suspect that Vince is better at cooking things like mother used to than anybody's mother ever was."
Regarding the show's title, Petticoat Junction, the hotel is located at a water stop, not a junction (where two or more railroad lines meet). The train stop is nicknamed "petticoat junction" because the Bradley sisters often go skinny-dipping in the railway's water tower and leave their petticoats hanging over its side. The opening titles of the series show their petticoats hanging on the tower while they are swimming.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more information about the TV Sitcom "Petticoat Junction":
The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley, her Uncle Joe Carson, and her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Betty Jo Bradley.
The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters produced by Paul Henning. Petticoat Junction was created upon the success of Henning's previous rural/urban-themed sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971). The success of Petticoat Junction led to a spin-off, Green Acres (1965–1971). Petticoat Junction was produced by Wayfilms (a joint venture of Filmways Television and Pen-Ten Productions).
The show follows the goings-on at the rural Shady Rest Hotel. Widow Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet) is the proprietor. Her lazy-but-lovable Uncle Joe Carson (Edgar Buchanan) helps her in the day-to-day running of the hotel while she serves as a mediator in the various minor crises that befall her three beautiful daughters: redhead Betty Jo (Linda Kaye Henning); brunette Bobbie Jo (first Pat Woodell, later Lori Saunders); and blonde Billie Jo (first Jeannine Riley, then Gunilla Hutton, and finally Meredith MacRae).
Uncle Joe frequently comes up with half-baked get-rich-quick schemes and ill-conceived hotel promotions.
Much of the show also focuses on the Hooterville Cannonball, an 1890s steam-driven train run more like a taxi service by engineer Charley Pratt (Smiley Burnette) and conductor Floyd Smoot (Rufe Davis). It was not uncommon for the Cannonball to make an unscheduled stop for passengers to go fishing, or to pick fruit for Kate Bradley's apple butter and pies. The Hooterville spur line had been cut off from the rest of the railroad 20 years before the start of the show by the failure of a trestle. Charlie and Floyd are retired employees of the railroad receiving pensions.
Many plots involve railroad executive Homer Bedloe's futile attempts to shut down and scrap the Hooterville Cannonball. Occasionally, youngest daughter Betty Jo can be found with her hand on the Cannonball's throttle, as running the train is one of her favorite pastimes.
The series pilot introduced a feminist element whereby Betty Jo turned out to be skilled at driving the train: train engineer was traditionally a man's job; executives from the C. & F.W. Railroad's headquarters are shocked when they learn of this.
Trips on the Cannonball usually include a stop in Hooterville at Drucker's Store, run by Sam Drucker (Frank Cady). Drucker's is the local hub, where menfolk come to play checkers and chat. Sam Drucker is the postmaster, and his telephone is a lifeline for the Bradleys, Uncle Joe, and others.
The Shady Rest Hotel is located at a water stop along an isolated branch line of the C. & F.W. Railroad, halfway between the rural farm community of Hooterville and the small town of Pixley, each about 25 miles (40 km) away. Kate Bradley says her grandfather built the hotel there because that was where the lumber fell off the train.
The town of Pixley, at one end of the Cannonball's route, was named for Pixley, California. A number of location shots were filmed in the real Pixley. The exact location of Hooterville is never mentioned on Petticoat Junction or Green Acres. It is likely in the Ozark Mountains; one of the proposed titles for the show was Ozark Widow.
The Shady Rest is an old-fashioned hotel, accessible only by train, where guests share bathing facilities and eat together with the family at a large dining-room table. Kate Bradley cooks sumptuous meals on a wood-burning stove, and her specialty is chicken 'n' dumplings. Meals were prepared for the show by property master Vince Vecchio. In a 1966 interview, Bea Benaderet said, "I suspect that Vince is better at cooking things like mother used to than anybody's mother ever was."
Regarding the show's title, Petticoat Junction, the hotel is located at a water stop, not a junction (where two or more railroad lines meet). The train stop is nicknamed "petticoat junction" because the Bradley sisters often go skinny-dipping in the railway's water tower and leave their petticoats hanging over its side. The opening titles of the series show their petticoats hanging on the tower while they are swimming.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more information about the TV Sitcom "Petticoat Junction":
- Show history
- Hooterville Cannonball
- Cast notes
- Cast changes
- Changes in tone and characters
- Death of Bea Benaderet
- The final two seasons
- Reunions
- Episode list
- Cast of characters
- Nielsen ratings/Broadcast history
- Green Acres and Beverly Hillbillies crossovers
- Crossovers with Green Acres
- Theme song
- Syndication
- DVD releases
- Petticoat Junction Amusement Park
- Petticoat Junction Cafeteria and Shady Rest Hotel in Mabank, Texas
- See also:
Green Acres (CBS: 1965-1971)
YouTube Video: Green Acres - Hot Water Soup
Green Acres is an American sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to Petticoat Junction, the series was first broadcast on CBS, from September 15, 1965, to April 27, 1971.
Receiving solid ratings during its six-year run, Green Acres was cancelled in 1971 as part of the "rural purge" by CBS. The sitcom has been in syndication and is available in DVD and VHS releases. In 1997 the two-part episode "A Star Named Arnold is Born" was ranked #59 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.
Background:
Following the success of The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction, CBS offered producer Paul Henning another half-hour on the schedule—with no pilot required (which was very unusual).
Henning encouraged colleague Jay Sommers to create a series for the time slot. Sommers created the show based on his 1950 radio series, Granby's Green Acres. The radio series, which lasted 13 episodes, had starred Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet as a big-city family who moved to the country.
In pre-production, proposed titles were Country Cousins and The Eddie Albert Show.
Premise:
Green Acres is about Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert), an erudite New York City attorney, acting on his dream to be a farmer, and Lisa Douglas (Eva Gabor), his glamorous Hungarian wife, who is dragged unwillingly from an upscale Manhattan penthouse apartment and the city life she adores to a ramshackle farm.
The theme tune, as with those of the show's rural cousins, explains the basic premise of the show. At the end of the opening sequence, Albert and Gabor strike a pose in parody of Grant Wood's 1930 painting American Gothic.
The debut episode is a mockumentary about their decision to move to a rural area, anchored by former ABC newscaster John Charles Daly. Daly was the host of the CBS game show What's My Line, and a few weeks after the show's debut Albert and Gabor returned the favor by appearing on What's My Line as that episode's Mystery Guests, and publicly thanked Daly for helping to launch their series.
After the first episodes, the series developed an absurdist world. Though many episodes were still standard 1960s sitcom fare, the show became notable for its surrealism and satire. Characters frequently broke the fourth wall to address the audience, and on several occasions Lisa was seen apparently reading the superimposed episode credits (which she called 'the written-bys') although they were invisible to Oliver.
The writers soon developed a trademark suite of running jokes and visual gags that recurred throughout the series:
The show appealed to children through its slapstick, silliness and shtick, but adults were able to appreciate it on a different level.
The show is set in the same universe as Henning's other rural television comedy, Petticoat Junction, featuring such picturesque towns as Hooterville, Pixley, Crabwell Corners and Stankwell Falls. At times it shares some of the popular characters from Petticoat Junction, including Joe Carson, Fred and Doris Ziffel, Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley, and Floyd Smoot.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Green Acres:
Receiving solid ratings during its six-year run, Green Acres was cancelled in 1971 as part of the "rural purge" by CBS. The sitcom has been in syndication and is available in DVD and VHS releases. In 1997 the two-part episode "A Star Named Arnold is Born" was ranked #59 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.
Background:
Following the success of The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction, CBS offered producer Paul Henning another half-hour on the schedule—with no pilot required (which was very unusual).
Henning encouraged colleague Jay Sommers to create a series for the time slot. Sommers created the show based on his 1950 radio series, Granby's Green Acres. The radio series, which lasted 13 episodes, had starred Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet as a big-city family who moved to the country.
In pre-production, proposed titles were Country Cousins and The Eddie Albert Show.
Premise:
Green Acres is about Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert), an erudite New York City attorney, acting on his dream to be a farmer, and Lisa Douglas (Eva Gabor), his glamorous Hungarian wife, who is dragged unwillingly from an upscale Manhattan penthouse apartment and the city life she adores to a ramshackle farm.
The theme tune, as with those of the show's rural cousins, explains the basic premise of the show. At the end of the opening sequence, Albert and Gabor strike a pose in parody of Grant Wood's 1930 painting American Gothic.
The debut episode is a mockumentary about their decision to move to a rural area, anchored by former ABC newscaster John Charles Daly. Daly was the host of the CBS game show What's My Line, and a few weeks after the show's debut Albert and Gabor returned the favor by appearing on What's My Line as that episode's Mystery Guests, and publicly thanked Daly for helping to launch their series.
After the first episodes, the series developed an absurdist world. Though many episodes were still standard 1960s sitcom fare, the show became notable for its surrealism and satire. Characters frequently broke the fourth wall to address the audience, and on several occasions Lisa was seen apparently reading the superimposed episode credits (which she called 'the written-bys') although they were invisible to Oliver.
The writers soon developed a trademark suite of running jokes and visual gags that recurred throughout the series:
- Lisa's inedible hotcakes and treacle-like coffee,
- Oliver's constantly exploding Hoyt-Clagwell tractor,
- the regular annoying visits by local con-man Mr Haney,
- Eb's irritating habit of addressing Oliver as "Dad",
- Oliver doing all the farming in a three-piece suit,
- the perennial inability of local handymen the Monroe Brothers (one of whom was a woman) to complete any work on the house,
- Oliver and Lisa's ongoing battle with the phone company and their struggles with the precarious electricity supply,
- and the town's apparent ability to overhear everything that happens in the Douglas house.
The show appealed to children through its slapstick, silliness and shtick, but adults were able to appreciate it on a different level.
The show is set in the same universe as Henning's other rural television comedy, Petticoat Junction, featuring such picturesque towns as Hooterville, Pixley, Crabwell Corners and Stankwell Falls. At times it shares some of the popular characters from Petticoat Junction, including Joe Carson, Fred and Doris Ziffel, Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley, and Floyd Smoot.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Green Acres:
- Main characters
- Supporting characters
- "Rural purge" cancellation
- Reunion film
- Cast
- Guest stars
- Episodes
- Revivals
- Popular culture references
- DVD releases
- Granby's Green Acres
- Nielsen ratings
- Film and Broadway adaptation
- Recognition
- Slot machine
The Drew Carey Show (ABC: 1995-2004)
YouTube Video: Funniest Scenes from The Drew Carey Show
Pictured: Cast of The Drew Carey Show (L-R): John Carroll Lynch, Kathy Kinney, Diedrich Bader, Drew Carey, Ryan Stiles, Christa Miller, and Craig Ferguson
The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004, and was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor.
The show was created by Carey, who had both stand-up comedy and writing experience, and Bruce Helford, who was once a writer for Roseanne. It was the first television show to have an episode simulcast on the Internet.
Produced by Mohawk Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, it debuted on September 13, 1995, and ranked among the Top 30 programs for four seasons before sliding in popularity. Ratings declined sharply during the final two seasons, and the last two episodes aired on September 8, 2004.
Premise:
Drew Carey is a fictionalized version of himself, a self-proclaimed "everyman". Drew Carey (the actor) has been quoted as saying his character is what the actor would have been if he had not become an actor. He has a "gang" of friends who embark with him on his everyday trials and tribulations.
Drew's friends include:
For its first seven seasons, Drew's workplace is the office of fictional Cleveland department store Winfred-Louder, where he has worked for years and still works as Assistant Director of Personnel.
One of his coworkers is Mimi Bobeck (Kathy Kinney), a large woman with a clownish wardrobe, a lot of make-up (including her trademark bright blue eye shadow), and a foul mutual dislike for Drew. The two eventually become closer (although still maintaining a less heated rivalry), primarily because Mimi fell in love with and married Drew's crossdressing heterosexual brother Steve (John Carroll Lynch), a frequently recurring character.
In the first season they work for the unseen Mr. Bell (Kevin Pollak), only seen in the season one finale, to which he is greeted with applause; in later seasons, their boss and sometimes-co-worker is Nigel Wick (Craig Ferguson), an eccentric, sadistic and unlucky Englishman. In the final two seasons, they work for peaceful, hippie-like Evan (Kyle Howard) and the much more professional Scott (Jonathan Mangum), tech-smart but naïve twenty-somethings who own the Neverending Store, an online retailer with offices in the same location.
In addition to his day job, Drew, along with Oswald, Lewis, and Kate (replaced from around Season 5 onwards by Mimi), runs a small business out of his garage, selling Buzz Beer, a caffeinated alcoholic drink. It becomes popular in the region and is sold at the group's hangout, The Warsaw Tavern.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about the Drew Carey Show:
The show was created by Carey, who had both stand-up comedy and writing experience, and Bruce Helford, who was once a writer for Roseanne. It was the first television show to have an episode simulcast on the Internet.
Produced by Mohawk Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, it debuted on September 13, 1995, and ranked among the Top 30 programs for four seasons before sliding in popularity. Ratings declined sharply during the final two seasons, and the last two episodes aired on September 8, 2004.
Premise:
Drew Carey is a fictionalized version of himself, a self-proclaimed "everyman". Drew Carey (the actor) has been quoted as saying his character is what the actor would have been if he had not become an actor. He has a "gang" of friends who embark with him on his everyday trials and tribulations.
Drew's friends include:
- erudite but unambitious Lewis (Ryan Stiles),
- excitable dimwitted Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and his friend (later on-off girlfriend) Kate (Christa Miller).
- In the final two seasons, Kate gets married and moves to Guam, in the same two-part episode that introduces and develops Drew's relationship with Kellie (Cynthia Watros), which carries on over the final two seasons.
For its first seven seasons, Drew's workplace is the office of fictional Cleveland department store Winfred-Louder, where he has worked for years and still works as Assistant Director of Personnel.
One of his coworkers is Mimi Bobeck (Kathy Kinney), a large woman with a clownish wardrobe, a lot of make-up (including her trademark bright blue eye shadow), and a foul mutual dislike for Drew. The two eventually become closer (although still maintaining a less heated rivalry), primarily because Mimi fell in love with and married Drew's crossdressing heterosexual brother Steve (John Carroll Lynch), a frequently recurring character.
In the first season they work for the unseen Mr. Bell (Kevin Pollak), only seen in the season one finale, to which he is greeted with applause; in later seasons, their boss and sometimes-co-worker is Nigel Wick (Craig Ferguson), an eccentric, sadistic and unlucky Englishman. In the final two seasons, they work for peaceful, hippie-like Evan (Kyle Howard) and the much more professional Scott (Jonathan Mangum), tech-smart but naïve twenty-somethings who own the Neverending Store, an online retailer with offices in the same location.
In addition to his day job, Drew, along with Oswald, Lewis, and Kate (replaced from around Season 5 onwards by Mimi), runs a small business out of his garage, selling Buzz Beer, a caffeinated alcoholic drink. It becomes popular in the region and is sold at the group's hangout, The Warsaw Tavern.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about the Drew Carey Show:
- Synopsis by Season:
- Season 1 (1995–1996)
Seasons 2–7 (1996–2002)
Seasons 8–9 (2002–2004)
- Season 1 (1995–1996)
- Post-series
- Cast and characters
- Episodes
- Syndication
- Merchandise
- DVD releases
Three's Company (ABC: 1977-1984)
YouTube Video of The Best of Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977 to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom Man About the House.
The story revolves around three single roommates: Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt), Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers), and Jack Tripper (John Ritter), who all platonically live together in a Santa Monica, California apartment building owned by Stanley Roper (Norman Fell) and Helen Roper (Audra Lindley).
Following Somers' departure in late 1981, Jenilee Harrison joined the cast as Cindy Snow, who was soon replaced by Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden. After Norman Fell and Audra Lindley left the series for their own sitcom, Don Knotts joined the cast as the roommates' new landlord Ralph Furley.
The show, a comedy of errors, chronicles the escapades and hijinks of the trio's constant misunderstandings, social lives, and financial struggles, such as keeping the rent current, living arrangements and breakout characters. A top ten hit from 1977 to 1983, the series has remained popular in syndication and through DVD releases.
Premise:
After crashing a party and finding himself passed out in the bathtub, cooking school student Jack Tripper meets Janet Wood, a florist, and Chrissy Snow, a secretary, in need of a new roommate to replace their departing roommate Eleanor. Having only been able to afford to live at the YMCA, Jack quickly accepts the offer to move in with the duo.
However, due to overbearing landlord Stanley Roper's intolerance for co-ed living situations, even in a multi-bedroom apartment, Jack is allowed to move in only after Janet tells Mr. Roper that Jack is gay.
Although Mrs. Roper figures out Jack's true sexuality in the second episode, she does not tell her husband, who tolerates but mocks him. Frequently siding with the three roommates instead of her husband, Mrs. Roper's bond with the roommates grows until the eventual spinoff The Ropers.
Jack continues the charade when new landlord Ralph Furley takes over the apartment complex because Mr. Furley insists that his hard-nosed brother Bart (the building's new owner) would also never tolerate such living situations.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "Three's Company:
The story revolves around three single roommates: Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt), Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers), and Jack Tripper (John Ritter), who all platonically live together in a Santa Monica, California apartment building owned by Stanley Roper (Norman Fell) and Helen Roper (Audra Lindley).
Following Somers' departure in late 1981, Jenilee Harrison joined the cast as Cindy Snow, who was soon replaced by Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden. After Norman Fell and Audra Lindley left the series for their own sitcom, Don Knotts joined the cast as the roommates' new landlord Ralph Furley.
The show, a comedy of errors, chronicles the escapades and hijinks of the trio's constant misunderstandings, social lives, and financial struggles, such as keeping the rent current, living arrangements and breakout characters. A top ten hit from 1977 to 1983, the series has remained popular in syndication and through DVD releases.
Premise:
After crashing a party and finding himself passed out in the bathtub, cooking school student Jack Tripper meets Janet Wood, a florist, and Chrissy Snow, a secretary, in need of a new roommate to replace their departing roommate Eleanor. Having only been able to afford to live at the YMCA, Jack quickly accepts the offer to move in with the duo.
However, due to overbearing landlord Stanley Roper's intolerance for co-ed living situations, even in a multi-bedroom apartment, Jack is allowed to move in only after Janet tells Mr. Roper that Jack is gay.
Although Mrs. Roper figures out Jack's true sexuality in the second episode, she does not tell her husband, who tolerates but mocks him. Frequently siding with the three roommates instead of her husband, Mrs. Roper's bond with the roommates grows until the eventual spinoff The Ropers.
Jack continues the charade when new landlord Ralph Furley takes over the apartment complex because Mr. Furley insists that his hard-nosed brother Bart (the building's new owner) would also never tolerate such living situations.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "Three's Company:
South Park (Comedy Central: 1997-Present)
YouTube Video: South Park Season 20: Trolls | Comedy Central
South Park is an American adult animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for the Comedy Central television network. The show revolves around four boys--Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick—and their bizarre adventures in and around the titular Colorado town.
Much like The Simpsons, South Park uses a very large ensemble cast of recurring characters and became infamous for its profanity and dark, surreal humor that satirizes a wide range of topics towards a mature audience.
Parker and Stone developed the show from The Spirit of Christmas, two consecutive animated shorts created in 1992 and 1995. The latter became one of the first Internet viral videos, ultimately leading to South Park's production. It debuted in August 1997 with great success, consistently earning the highest ratings of any basic cable program. Subsequent ratings have varied but it remains one of Comedy Central's highest rated shows, and is slated to air in new episodes through 2019.
The pilot episode was produced using cutout animation, leading to all subsequent episodes being produced with computer animation that emulated the cutout technique. Parker and Stone perform most of the voice acting for the show's male characters. Since 2000, each episode has typically been written and produced in the week preceding its broadcast, with Parker serving as the primary writer and director. There have been a total of 277 episodes over the course of the show's 20 seasons.
South Park has received numerous accolades, including five Primetime Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and numerous inclusions in various publications' lists of greatest television shows. The show's popularity resulted in a feature-length theatrical film, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut which was released in June 1999, less than two years after the show's premiere, and became a commercial and critical success, even garnering a nomination for an Academy Award. In 2013, TV Guide ranked South Park the tenth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time.
Premise:
The show follows the exploits of four boys, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick. The boys live in the fictional small town of South Park, located within the real-life South Park basin in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado.
The town is also home to an assortment of frequent characters such as students, families, elementary school staff, and other various residents, who tend to regard South Park as a bland, quiet place to live. Prominent settings on the show include the local elementary school, bus stop, various neighborhoods and the surrounding snowy landscape, actual Colorado landmarks, and the shops and businesses along the town's main street, all of which are based on the appearance of similar locations in Fairplay.
Stan is portrayed as the everyman of the group, as the show's website describes him as an "average, American 4th grader". Kyle is the lone Jew among the group, and his portrayal in this role is often dealt satirically. Stan is modeled after Parker, while Kyle is modeled after Stone. They are best friends, and their friendship, symbolically intended to reflect Parker and Stone's friendship, is a common topic throughout the series.
Eric Cartman (usually nicknamed by his surname only) is loud, obnoxious, and amoral, often portrayed as an antagonist. His anti-Semitic attitude has resulted in a progressive rivalry with Kyle, although the deeper reason is the strong clash between Kyle's strong morality and Cartman's complete lack of such.
Kenny, who comes from a poor family, wears his parka hood so tightly that it covers most of his face and muffles his speech. During the show's first five seasons, Kenny would die in nearly every episode before returning in the next with little-to-no definitive explanation given. He was written out of the show's sixth season in 2002, re-appearing in the season finale. Since then, Kenny's death has been seldom used by the show's creators.
During the show's first 58 episodes, the boys were in the third grade. In the season four episode "4th Grade" (2000), they entered the fourth grade, but have remained ever since.
Plots are often set in motion by events, ranging from the fairly typical to the supernatural and extraordinary, which frequently happen in the town. The boys often act as the voice of reason when these events cause panic or incongruous behavior among the adult populace, who are customarily depicted as irrational, gullible, and prone to vociferation. The boys are also frequently confused by the contradictory and hypocritical behavior of their parents and other adults, and often perceive them as having distorted views on morality and society.
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Much like The Simpsons, South Park uses a very large ensemble cast of recurring characters and became infamous for its profanity and dark, surreal humor that satirizes a wide range of topics towards a mature audience.
Parker and Stone developed the show from The Spirit of Christmas, two consecutive animated shorts created in 1992 and 1995. The latter became one of the first Internet viral videos, ultimately leading to South Park's production. It debuted in August 1997 with great success, consistently earning the highest ratings of any basic cable program. Subsequent ratings have varied but it remains one of Comedy Central's highest rated shows, and is slated to air in new episodes through 2019.
The pilot episode was produced using cutout animation, leading to all subsequent episodes being produced with computer animation that emulated the cutout technique. Parker and Stone perform most of the voice acting for the show's male characters. Since 2000, each episode has typically been written and produced in the week preceding its broadcast, with Parker serving as the primary writer and director. There have been a total of 277 episodes over the course of the show's 20 seasons.
South Park has received numerous accolades, including five Primetime Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and numerous inclusions in various publications' lists of greatest television shows. The show's popularity resulted in a feature-length theatrical film, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut which was released in June 1999, less than two years after the show's premiere, and became a commercial and critical success, even garnering a nomination for an Academy Award. In 2013, TV Guide ranked South Park the tenth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time.
Premise:
The show follows the exploits of four boys, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick. The boys live in the fictional small town of South Park, located within the real-life South Park basin in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado.
The town is also home to an assortment of frequent characters such as students, families, elementary school staff, and other various residents, who tend to regard South Park as a bland, quiet place to live. Prominent settings on the show include the local elementary school, bus stop, various neighborhoods and the surrounding snowy landscape, actual Colorado landmarks, and the shops and businesses along the town's main street, all of which are based on the appearance of similar locations in Fairplay.
Stan is portrayed as the everyman of the group, as the show's website describes him as an "average, American 4th grader". Kyle is the lone Jew among the group, and his portrayal in this role is often dealt satirically. Stan is modeled after Parker, while Kyle is modeled after Stone. They are best friends, and their friendship, symbolically intended to reflect Parker and Stone's friendship, is a common topic throughout the series.
Eric Cartman (usually nicknamed by his surname only) is loud, obnoxious, and amoral, often portrayed as an antagonist. His anti-Semitic attitude has resulted in a progressive rivalry with Kyle, although the deeper reason is the strong clash between Kyle's strong morality and Cartman's complete lack of such.
Kenny, who comes from a poor family, wears his parka hood so tightly that it covers most of his face and muffles his speech. During the show's first five seasons, Kenny would die in nearly every episode before returning in the next with little-to-no definitive explanation given. He was written out of the show's sixth season in 2002, re-appearing in the season finale. Since then, Kenny's death has been seldom used by the show's creators.
During the show's first 58 episodes, the boys were in the third grade. In the season four episode "4th Grade" (2000), they entered the fourth grade, but have remained ever since.
Plots are often set in motion by events, ranging from the fairly typical to the supernatural and extraordinary, which frequently happen in the town. The boys often act as the voice of reason when these events cause panic or incongruous behavior among the adult populace, who are customarily depicted as irrational, gullible, and prone to vociferation. The boys are also frequently confused by the contradictory and hypocritical behavior of their parents and other adults, and often perceive them as having distorted views on morality and society.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about the TV Comedy "South Park":
- Themes and style
- Origins and creation
- Production
- Distribution
- Reception
- Influence
- Film
- Media and merchandise
King of the Hill (Fox: 1997-2009)
YouTube Video: Top 10 "King Of The Hill" Episodes
King of the Hill is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels that ran from January 12, 1997 to September 13, 2009 on Fox. It centered on the Hills, a middle-class American family in the fictional city of Arlen, Texas. It attempted to retain a realistic approach, seeking humor in the conventional and mundane aspects of everyday life.
Judge and Daniels conceived the series after a run with Judge's Beavis and Butt-head on MTV, and the series debuted on the Fox network as a mid-season replacement on January 12, 1997, quickly becoming a hit.
The series' popularity led to worldwide syndication, and reruns aired nightly on Adult Swim. The show became one of Fox's longest-running series (third-longest as an animated series, after Family Guy and The Simpsons), and briefly held the record for the second longest running animated sitcom in history. In 2007, it was named by Time magazine as one of the top 100 greatest television shows of all time. The title theme was written and performed by The Refreshments. King of the Hill won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for seven.
A total of 259 episodes episodes aired over the course of its 13 seasons. The final episode aired on the Fox on September 13, 2009. Four episodes from the final season were to have aired on Fox, but later premiered in nightly syndication from May 3 to 6, 2010. King of the Hill was a joint production by 3 Arts Entertainment, Deedle-Dee Productions, Judgemental Films, and 20th Century Fox Television and syndicated by 20th Television.
Series Synopsis:
King of the Hill is set in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas. The show centers around the Hill family, whose head is the ever-responsible, hard-working, loyal, disciplined, and honest Hank Hill (voiced by Mike Judge). The pun title refers to Hank as the head of the family as well as metaphorically to the children's game King of the Hill.
Hank is employed as an assistant manager at Strickland Propane, selling "propane and propane accessories". He is very traditional and moral, and he takes exceptionally good care of his dog, Ladybird, which he treats, more often than not, as a member of the family and as a human.
Hank is married to Peggy Hill (née Platter) (voiced by Kathy Najimy), a native of Montana, who is a substitute Spanish teacher, although she has little grasp of the language; she has also found employment as a freelance author, Boggle champion, notary public, softball pitcher and real estate agent. Her overconfidence and trusting nature often leads her into getting involved in complex schemes that Peggy doesn't recognize as criminal or irresponsible until it's too late.
Hank and Peggy's only child, Bobby Hill (voiced by Pamela Adlon), is a husky pre-pubescent boy who is generally friendly and well-liked, but not very bright, and often prone to making bad decisions.
Throughout the series, Peggy's niece, Luanne Platter (voiced by Brittany Murphy), the daughter of her scheming brother Hoyt (guest voiced by Johnny Knoxville in "Life: A Loser's Manual", the 12th season finale) and his alcoholic ex-wife Leanne (voiced by Adlon in "Leanne's Saga"), lives with the Hill family. Naïve and very emotional, Luanne was originally encouraged to move out by her Uncle Hank, but over time, he accepts her as a member of the family.
Over the course of the series, Luanne works as a beauty technician and puppeteer at a local cable access TV station. Luanne later marries Elroy "Lucky" Kleinschmidt (voiced by Tom Petty), a snaggle-toothed layabout who lives on the settlements he earns from frivolous lawsuits.
Hank has a healthy relationship with his mother, Tillie (voiced by Tammy Wynette, later Beth Grant and K Callan), a kind woman who lives in Arizona. Hank is, at first, uncomfortable with his mother dating Gary (voiced by Carl Reiner), a Jewish man, but he is more reasonable when she marries Chuck (voiced by William Devane).
In contrast, Hank has a love/hate relationship with his shin-less father, Col. Cotton Hill (voiced by Toby Huss), a hateful veteran of World War II who verbally abused Tillie during their marriage, leading to their divorce.
Cotton, who spends most of his time at strip joints, later marries the much younger Didi (voiced by Ashley Gardner), a candy striper who attended kindergarten with Hank. Together, Cotton and Didi have a son, "G.H." ("Good Hank"), who bears a striking resemblance to Bobby.
Other main characters include Hank's friends and their families. Dale Gribble (voiced by Johnny Hardwick) is the Hills' chain-smoking and paranoid next-door neighbor and Hank's best friend. He owns his own pest control business, Dale's Dead Bug, and he is also a licensed bounty hunter and president of the Arlen Gun Club. Dale is married to Nancy Hicks-Gribble (voiced by Ashley Gardner), a weather girl—and later anchor woman—for the Channel 84 news.
The only Gribble child, Joseph (voiced by Brittany Murphy; later Breckin Meyer) is the result of Nancy's 15-year-long affair with John Redcorn (voiced by Victor Aaron; later Jonathan Joss), a Native American healer. Dale never realizes that Redcorn is having an affair with his wife, nor does he ever question Joseph's obvious Native American features; rather, Dale considers Redcorn to be one of his best friends. Despite his biological parentage,
Joseph is more influenced in temperament by Dale's personality. Joseph is Bobby's best friend, and the two often get into trouble as the result of their combined enthusiasm and naivety.
Early in the series, the Souphanousinphones, an upper-middle class Laotian family, move in next-door to the Hills. The family consists of the materialistic Kahn (voiced by Toby Huss), his social-climber wife Minh (voiced by Lauren Tom), and their teenage daughter, Kahn, Jr., or "Connie" (voiced by Lauren Tom). Kahn—who fled poverty in Laos to become a successful businessman in America—is often at odds with his neighbors, believing them to be hillbillies and rednecks due to their lower socioeconomic status. Minhn often becomes involved in activities with Peggy and Nancy, whom she looks down on as uncivilized and ignorant, despite still considering them her best friends.
Connie has been pushed by her father to become a child prodigy and excels at a variety of things from academics to music, though she rejects her father's materialism and judgmental nature. She develops a relationship with Bobby that blossoms into romance over the first half of the series before the two decide to remain friends. Connie often accompanies Bobby and Joseph on their misadventures as a neglected voice of reason.
Jeff Boomhauer (voiced by Mike Judge), known simply as "Boomhauer", lives across from the Hills. Boomhauer is a slim womanizer whose mutterings are hard to understand to the audience, but easily understood by his friends and most other characters.
Despite Boomhauer's gibberish speech, he can sing clearly; he can also speak fluent Spanish and French. His occupation is not explicitly stated; a single line early in the series indicates he's an electrician living on worker's comp. The series finale reveals that he is a Texas Ranger. His given name, "Jeff", was not revealed until the 13th and final season.
Also living across from the Hills is Bill Dauterive (voiced by Stephen Root), an overweight, divorced, and clinically depressed man. Bill is unlucky in love, though he finds near-success with several women, including former Texas Governor Ann Richards. The series briefly depicts him entering into a long-term relationship with Khan's mother, though later format changes would retcon this. Throughout the series, he often expresses an unrequited attraction to Peggy, which she occasionally uses to rope him into her schemes. Despite his popularity in high school, he is now seen as a loser. Bill is a Sergeant in the United States Army, where he gives haircuts to soldiers.
Other minor characters include:
Following the show's slice of life format, which was consistently present throughout its run, the show presented itself as being more down to earth than other competing animated sitcoms, e.g. The Simpsons, due to the way the show applied realism and often derived its plots and humor from mundane topics. Critics also noted the great deal of humanity shown throughout the show.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "King of the Hill":
Judge and Daniels conceived the series after a run with Judge's Beavis and Butt-head on MTV, and the series debuted on the Fox network as a mid-season replacement on January 12, 1997, quickly becoming a hit.
The series' popularity led to worldwide syndication, and reruns aired nightly on Adult Swim. The show became one of Fox's longest-running series (third-longest as an animated series, after Family Guy and The Simpsons), and briefly held the record for the second longest running animated sitcom in history. In 2007, it was named by Time magazine as one of the top 100 greatest television shows of all time. The title theme was written and performed by The Refreshments. King of the Hill won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for seven.
A total of 259 episodes episodes aired over the course of its 13 seasons. The final episode aired on the Fox on September 13, 2009. Four episodes from the final season were to have aired on Fox, but later premiered in nightly syndication from May 3 to 6, 2010. King of the Hill was a joint production by 3 Arts Entertainment, Deedle-Dee Productions, Judgemental Films, and 20th Century Fox Television and syndicated by 20th Television.
Series Synopsis:
King of the Hill is set in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas. The show centers around the Hill family, whose head is the ever-responsible, hard-working, loyal, disciplined, and honest Hank Hill (voiced by Mike Judge). The pun title refers to Hank as the head of the family as well as metaphorically to the children's game King of the Hill.
Hank is employed as an assistant manager at Strickland Propane, selling "propane and propane accessories". He is very traditional and moral, and he takes exceptionally good care of his dog, Ladybird, which he treats, more often than not, as a member of the family and as a human.
Hank is married to Peggy Hill (née Platter) (voiced by Kathy Najimy), a native of Montana, who is a substitute Spanish teacher, although she has little grasp of the language; she has also found employment as a freelance author, Boggle champion, notary public, softball pitcher and real estate agent. Her overconfidence and trusting nature often leads her into getting involved in complex schemes that Peggy doesn't recognize as criminal or irresponsible until it's too late.
Hank and Peggy's only child, Bobby Hill (voiced by Pamela Adlon), is a husky pre-pubescent boy who is generally friendly and well-liked, but not very bright, and often prone to making bad decisions.
Throughout the series, Peggy's niece, Luanne Platter (voiced by Brittany Murphy), the daughter of her scheming brother Hoyt (guest voiced by Johnny Knoxville in "Life: A Loser's Manual", the 12th season finale) and his alcoholic ex-wife Leanne (voiced by Adlon in "Leanne's Saga"), lives with the Hill family. Naïve and very emotional, Luanne was originally encouraged to move out by her Uncle Hank, but over time, he accepts her as a member of the family.
Over the course of the series, Luanne works as a beauty technician and puppeteer at a local cable access TV station. Luanne later marries Elroy "Lucky" Kleinschmidt (voiced by Tom Petty), a snaggle-toothed layabout who lives on the settlements he earns from frivolous lawsuits.
Hank has a healthy relationship with his mother, Tillie (voiced by Tammy Wynette, later Beth Grant and K Callan), a kind woman who lives in Arizona. Hank is, at first, uncomfortable with his mother dating Gary (voiced by Carl Reiner), a Jewish man, but he is more reasonable when she marries Chuck (voiced by William Devane).
In contrast, Hank has a love/hate relationship with his shin-less father, Col. Cotton Hill (voiced by Toby Huss), a hateful veteran of World War II who verbally abused Tillie during their marriage, leading to their divorce.
Cotton, who spends most of his time at strip joints, later marries the much younger Didi (voiced by Ashley Gardner), a candy striper who attended kindergarten with Hank. Together, Cotton and Didi have a son, "G.H." ("Good Hank"), who bears a striking resemblance to Bobby.
Other main characters include Hank's friends and their families. Dale Gribble (voiced by Johnny Hardwick) is the Hills' chain-smoking and paranoid next-door neighbor and Hank's best friend. He owns his own pest control business, Dale's Dead Bug, and he is also a licensed bounty hunter and president of the Arlen Gun Club. Dale is married to Nancy Hicks-Gribble (voiced by Ashley Gardner), a weather girl—and later anchor woman—for the Channel 84 news.
The only Gribble child, Joseph (voiced by Brittany Murphy; later Breckin Meyer) is the result of Nancy's 15-year-long affair with John Redcorn (voiced by Victor Aaron; later Jonathan Joss), a Native American healer. Dale never realizes that Redcorn is having an affair with his wife, nor does he ever question Joseph's obvious Native American features; rather, Dale considers Redcorn to be one of his best friends. Despite his biological parentage,
Joseph is more influenced in temperament by Dale's personality. Joseph is Bobby's best friend, and the two often get into trouble as the result of their combined enthusiasm and naivety.
Early in the series, the Souphanousinphones, an upper-middle class Laotian family, move in next-door to the Hills. The family consists of the materialistic Kahn (voiced by Toby Huss), his social-climber wife Minh (voiced by Lauren Tom), and their teenage daughter, Kahn, Jr., or "Connie" (voiced by Lauren Tom). Kahn—who fled poverty in Laos to become a successful businessman in America—is often at odds with his neighbors, believing them to be hillbillies and rednecks due to their lower socioeconomic status. Minhn often becomes involved in activities with Peggy and Nancy, whom she looks down on as uncivilized and ignorant, despite still considering them her best friends.
Connie has been pushed by her father to become a child prodigy and excels at a variety of things from academics to music, though she rejects her father's materialism and judgmental nature. She develops a relationship with Bobby that blossoms into romance over the first half of the series before the two decide to remain friends. Connie often accompanies Bobby and Joseph on their misadventures as a neglected voice of reason.
Jeff Boomhauer (voiced by Mike Judge), known simply as "Boomhauer", lives across from the Hills. Boomhauer is a slim womanizer whose mutterings are hard to understand to the audience, but easily understood by his friends and most other characters.
Despite Boomhauer's gibberish speech, he can sing clearly; he can also speak fluent Spanish and French. His occupation is not explicitly stated; a single line early in the series indicates he's an electrician living on worker's comp. The series finale reveals that he is a Texas Ranger. His given name, "Jeff", was not revealed until the 13th and final season.
Also living across from the Hills is Bill Dauterive (voiced by Stephen Root), an overweight, divorced, and clinically depressed man. Bill is unlucky in love, though he finds near-success with several women, including former Texas Governor Ann Richards. The series briefly depicts him entering into a long-term relationship with Khan's mother, though later format changes would retcon this. Throughout the series, he often expresses an unrequited attraction to Peggy, which she occasionally uses to rope him into her schemes. Despite his popularity in high school, he is now seen as a loser. Bill is a Sergeant in the United States Army, where he gives haircuts to soldiers.
Other minor characters include:
- Buck Strickland (voiced by Stephen Root),
- Hank's licentious boss at Strickland Propane;
- Joe Jack (voiced by Toby Huss)
- Enrique (Danny Trejo),
- Hank's co-workers at Strickland;
- Carl Moss (voiced by Dennis Burkley),
- Bobby's principal at Tom Landry Middle School;
- and Reverend Karen Stroup (voiced by Mary Tyler Moore, later Ashley Gardner), the female minister of Arlen First Methodist.
Following the show's slice of life format, which was consistently present throughout its run, the show presented itself as being more down to earth than other competing animated sitcoms, e.g. The Simpsons, due to the way the show applied realism and often derived its plots and humor from mundane topics. Critics also noted the great deal of humanity shown throughout the show.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "King of the Hill":
- History
- Facing cancellation
- Cancellation
- Television ratings
- Setting and characters
- Episodes
- Home media
- Reception
- Awards and nominations
Phil Silvers and "The Phil Silvers Show" (CBS: 1955-1959)
YouTube Video from the "Phil Silvers TV Comedy": Sgt. Bilko "A Mess Sergeant Can't Win"
Phil Silvers (May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedy actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show (see below), a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S. Army post in which he played Master Sergeant Ernest (Ernie) Bilko.
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"The Phil Silvers Show" (CBS: 1955-1959, originally titled You'll Never Get Rich, is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot called "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast - all half-an-hour long except for a 1959 one-hour live special.
The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko of the United States Army.
The series was created and largely written by Nat Hiken, and won three consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Series. The show is sometimes titled Sergeant Bilko or simply Bilko in reruns, and is very often referred to by these names, both on-screen and by viewers. The show's success transformed Silvers from a journeyman comedian into a star, and writer-producer Hiken from a highly regarded behind-the-scenes comedy writer into a publicly recognized creator.
Premise:
The series was originally set in Fort Baxter, a sleepy, unremarkable U.S. Army post in the fictional town of Roseville, Kansas, and centered on the soldiers of the Fort Baxter motor pool under Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko. However, Bilko and his men seemed to spend very little time actually performing their duties—Bilko in particular spent most of his time trying to wheedle money through various get-rich-quick scams and promotions, or to find ways to get others to do his work for him.
While Bilko's soldiers regularly helped him with his schemes, they were just as likely to become "pigeons" in one of his schemes. Nevertheless, Bilko exhibited an odd paternalism toward his victims, and would doggedly shield them from all outside antagonists.
The sergeant's attitude toward his men has been described thus: "They were his men and if anyone was going to take them, it was going to be him and only him." Through it all, the platoon was generally loyal to Bilko despite their wariness of his crafty nature, and would depend on him to get them out of any military misfortune or outside mistreatment. In such circumstances, Bilko would employ the same psychological guile and chicanery he always used to outwit his suckers, but for good purposes.
Bilko's swindles were usually directed toward (or behind the back of) Col. John T. Hall, the overmatched and beleaguered post commander who had early in his career been nicknamed "Melon Head". Despite his flaws and weaknesses, Col. Hall would get the best of Bilko just enough to establish his credentials as a wary and vigilant adversary. The colonel would often be shown looking fretfully out his window, worried without explanation or evidence, simply because he knew that Bilko was out there somewhere, planning something. The colonel's wife, Nell (Hope Sansberry), had only the kindest thoughts toward Bilko, who would shamelessly flatter her whenever he saw her.
Bilko and Hall were not always adversaries. In a famous 1956 episode, "The Case of Private Harry Speakup", Bilko tries to help the Colonel set a speed record for inducting new recruits, which accidentally results in a recruit's pet chimpanzee (whose failure to answer when addressed, "Hurry! Speak Up!" gets mistaken for his name) passing the medical and psychiatric exams, receiving a uniform, being formally sworn in, then honorably discharged minutes later to cover up the mistake.
The show's setting changed with the fourth season, when the men of Fort Baxter were reassigned to Camp Fremont in California. This mass transfer was explained in story line as being orchestrated by Bilko, who had discovered a map showing a gold deposit near the abandoned army post. One reason for the change from Kansas was so that the series could more plausibly bring in guest stars from nearby Hollywood, such as Dean Martin, Mickey Rooney, Diana Dors and Lucille Ball. Silvers even played himself in an hour long episode.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "The Phil Silvers Show":
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Phil Silvers:
- Early life and career
- 1950s fame and later career
- Personal life
- Illness and death
- Legacy
- Stage credits
- Filmography
- Television
- Stage
"The Phil Silvers Show" (CBS: 1955-1959, originally titled You'll Never Get Rich, is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot called "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast - all half-an-hour long except for a 1959 one-hour live special.
The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko of the United States Army.
The series was created and largely written by Nat Hiken, and won three consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Series. The show is sometimes titled Sergeant Bilko or simply Bilko in reruns, and is very often referred to by these names, both on-screen and by viewers. The show's success transformed Silvers from a journeyman comedian into a star, and writer-producer Hiken from a highly regarded behind-the-scenes comedy writer into a publicly recognized creator.
Premise:
The series was originally set in Fort Baxter, a sleepy, unremarkable U.S. Army post in the fictional town of Roseville, Kansas, and centered on the soldiers of the Fort Baxter motor pool under Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko. However, Bilko and his men seemed to spend very little time actually performing their duties—Bilko in particular spent most of his time trying to wheedle money through various get-rich-quick scams and promotions, or to find ways to get others to do his work for him.
While Bilko's soldiers regularly helped him with his schemes, they were just as likely to become "pigeons" in one of his schemes. Nevertheless, Bilko exhibited an odd paternalism toward his victims, and would doggedly shield them from all outside antagonists.
The sergeant's attitude toward his men has been described thus: "They were his men and if anyone was going to take them, it was going to be him and only him." Through it all, the platoon was generally loyal to Bilko despite their wariness of his crafty nature, and would depend on him to get them out of any military misfortune or outside mistreatment. In such circumstances, Bilko would employ the same psychological guile and chicanery he always used to outwit his suckers, but for good purposes.
Bilko's swindles were usually directed toward (or behind the back of) Col. John T. Hall, the overmatched and beleaguered post commander who had early in his career been nicknamed "Melon Head". Despite his flaws and weaknesses, Col. Hall would get the best of Bilko just enough to establish his credentials as a wary and vigilant adversary. The colonel would often be shown looking fretfully out his window, worried without explanation or evidence, simply because he knew that Bilko was out there somewhere, planning something. The colonel's wife, Nell (Hope Sansberry), had only the kindest thoughts toward Bilko, who would shamelessly flatter her whenever he saw her.
Bilko and Hall were not always adversaries. In a famous 1956 episode, "The Case of Private Harry Speakup", Bilko tries to help the Colonel set a speed record for inducting new recruits, which accidentally results in a recruit's pet chimpanzee (whose failure to answer when addressed, "Hurry! Speak Up!" gets mistaken for his name) passing the medical and psychiatric exams, receiving a uniform, being formally sworn in, then honorably discharged minutes later to cover up the mistake.
The show's setting changed with the fourth season, when the men of Fort Baxter were reassigned to Camp Fremont in California. This mass transfer was explained in story line as being orchestrated by Bilko, who had discovered a map showing a gold deposit near the abandoned army post. One reason for the change from Kansas was so that the series could more plausibly bring in guest stars from nearby Hollywood, such as Dean Martin, Mickey Rooney, Diana Dors and Lucille Ball. Silvers even played himself in an hour long episode.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "The Phil Silvers Show":
- Production
- Cast
- Finale
- Aftermath
- Legacy
- UK reception
- Adaptations
- Broadcast history
- Ratings
- Primetime Emmy Award Nominations and Wins
- DVD releases
The Larry Sanders Show (HBO: 1992-1998)
YouTube Video: Robin Williams on The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. The series was created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein and aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network.
The series stars Shandling, Jeffrey Tambor, and Rip Torn and features celebrities playing exaggerated, self-parodying versions of themselves.
The supporting cast includes Janeane Garofalo, Wallace Langham, Penny Johnson, Linda Doucett, Scott Thompson and Jeremy Piven.
The show has its roots in Shandling's stand-up comedy background, his experience as a guest host on The Tonight Show and his earlier sitcom It's Garry Shandling's Show.
The program has had a marked and long-lasting influence on HBO as well as on television shows in the US and Britain such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock and The Office.
Regarded as an influential and landmark series, it ranked 38 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, the only HBO comedy to make the list, and was also included in Time magazine's list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time".
The show won 24 major awards, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, five CableACE Awards, four American Comedy Awards, two British Comedy Awards, two Peabody Awards, a BAFTA Award and a Satellite Award. It also received 86 nominations, including 56 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, five Directors Guild of America nominations, six Writers' Guild of America nominations, six American Comedy Awards nominations, three Golden Globe nominations, three Satellite Awards nominations and a GLAAD Award nomination.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about The "Larry Sanders Show":
The series stars Shandling, Jeffrey Tambor, and Rip Torn and features celebrities playing exaggerated, self-parodying versions of themselves.
The supporting cast includes Janeane Garofalo, Wallace Langham, Penny Johnson, Linda Doucett, Scott Thompson and Jeremy Piven.
The show has its roots in Shandling's stand-up comedy background, his experience as a guest host on The Tonight Show and his earlier sitcom It's Garry Shandling's Show.
The program has had a marked and long-lasting influence on HBO as well as on television shows in the US and Britain such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock and The Office.
Regarded as an influential and landmark series, it ranked 38 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, the only HBO comedy to make the list, and was also included in Time magazine's list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time".
The show won 24 major awards, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, five CableACE Awards, four American Comedy Awards, two British Comedy Awards, two Peabody Awards, a BAFTA Award and a Satellite Award. It also received 86 nominations, including 56 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, five Directors Guild of America nominations, six Writers' Guild of America nominations, six American Comedy Awards nominations, three Golden Globe nominations, three Satellite Awards nominations and a GLAAD Award nomination.
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Mom (CBS: 2013-Present)
YouTube Video: "Mom" Sitcom
Pictured: (Top) Allison Janney and (Bottom) Ann Faris
Mom is an American sitcom that premiered on September 23, 2013, on CBS.
The series was created by Chuck Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky, and Gemma Baker and produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Television. It stars Anna Faris and Allison Janney in lead roles as dysfunctional mother/daughter duo Christy and Bonnie Plunkett.
Also appearing in supporting roles are
The series has received positive reviews throughout its run. Janney and Faris have been lauded for their performances and have received numerous accolades with Janney having won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series back to back in 2014 and 2015.
The show has also garnered multiple nominations at the Critics' Choice Television Awards and the People's Choice Awards during its run.
The show has also received high ratings, which rose from the first to second season with an average viewership of 11.79 million. CBS renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on November 5, 2015. On March 25, 2016, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on October 27, 2016.
On March 23, 2017, CBS renewed the series for a fifth season, which is set to premiere on November 2, 2017.
Premise:
Mom follows Christy Plunkett (Anna Faris), a single mother who, after dealing with her battle with alcoholism and drug abuse, decides to restart her life in Napa, California, working as a waitress and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
Her mother Bonnie Plunkett (Allison Janney) is also a recovering drug and alcohol addict.
Christy's daughter, Violet (Sadie Calvano), who was born when Christy was 16, has also become a teen mother by her boyfriend, Luke (Spencer Daniels). Christy also has a young son, Roscoe (Blake Garrett Rosenthal) by her ex-husband, Baxter (Matt L. Jones), a deadbeat but likable pothead.
As the show progresses, it adds themes of real-life issues includin
The series was created by Chuck Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky, and Gemma Baker and produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Television. It stars Anna Faris and Allison Janney in lead roles as dysfunctional mother/daughter duo Christy and Bonnie Plunkett.
Also appearing in supporting roles are
- Sadie Calvano,
- Blake Garrett Rosenthal,
- Matt L. Jones,
- Spencer Daniels,
- Nate Corddry,
- French Stewart,
- William Fichtner,
- Beth Hall,
- Jaime Pressly,
- and Mimi Kennedy.
The series has received positive reviews throughout its run. Janney and Faris have been lauded for their performances and have received numerous accolades with Janney having won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series back to back in 2014 and 2015.
The show has also garnered multiple nominations at the Critics' Choice Television Awards and the People's Choice Awards during its run.
The show has also received high ratings, which rose from the first to second season with an average viewership of 11.79 million. CBS renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on November 5, 2015. On March 25, 2016, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on October 27, 2016.
On March 23, 2017, CBS renewed the series for a fifth season, which is set to premiere on November 2, 2017.
Premise:
Mom follows Christy Plunkett (Anna Faris), a single mother who, after dealing with her battle with alcoholism and drug abuse, decides to restart her life in Napa, California, working as a waitress and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
Her mother Bonnie Plunkett (Allison Janney) is also a recovering drug and alcohol addict.
Christy's daughter, Violet (Sadie Calvano), who was born when Christy was 16, has also become a teen mother by her boyfriend, Luke (Spencer Daniels). Christy also has a young son, Roscoe (Blake Garrett Rosenthal) by her ex-husband, Baxter (Matt L. Jones), a deadbeat but likable pothead.
As the show progresses, it adds themes of real-life issues includin