Bob Leszczak - Single Season Sitcoms of the 1990s: A Complete Guide

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

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e-ISBN: 978-1-4766-3198-1

2018 BOB LESZCZAK. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Front cover image of television set 2018 PrettyVectors/iStock

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com

To the ever-expanding number of cable channels airing vintage TV programming, including Antenna TV, Buzzr, Cozi TV, The Decades Channel, Family Net, Get TV, Laff, Me TV, Nick at Nite and TV Land. See, there is an audience for those 54 and older. If only radio would take heed. Dare to dream.

My most sincere and heartfelt thanks go out to all of the mega-talents who attempt to entertain the masses in prime time on a weekly basis. Not even the most savvy and astute members of Hollywoods elite can bat 1000. There are always more misses than hits, and this author is eternally grateful for the time, kindness and patience exhibited by actors, writers, producers, directors, showrunners, creators and musicians such as Betsy Aidem, Cindy Begel, Ed Begley, Jr., Andrew Bilgore, Steve Bluestein, Charlotte Booker, Dennis Boutsikaris, Patrick Breen, Phil Buckman, Jere Burns, John Caponera, Kelly Carlin, John Cothran, Jr., Murphy Cross, Eddie Deezen, John DiResta, John Ducey, Steven Eckholdt, Mark Evanier, Timothy Fall, Jack Gallagher, Eric Gilliland, Mel Gorham, Dave Hackel, Molly Hagan, Anthony C. Hall, Amy Hill, Roger Kabler, Barnet Kellman, Dennis Klein, Wayne Kline, Peter Lefcourt, Mark Jordan Legan, Rose Marie, John Markus, Craig Richard Nelson, David A. Neuman, Walter Olkewicz, Peter Onorati, Stuart Pankin, Carmen Thomas-Paris, Corey Parker, Kelly Perine, Ethan Phillips, Bronson Pinchot, David Pollock, Wayne Powers, David Pressman, Anthony Tyler Quinn, William Ragsdale, Mark Rothman, Ed Scharlach, Jack Seifert, Vonda Shepard, Rondell Sheridan, Cathy Silvers, Tom Snow, Phoef Sutton, Bill Timoney, Robert Torti, Joyce Van Patten, Liz Vassey, Billy Vera, Darrell Vickers, Steve Vinovich, Michael J. Weithorn, Harland Williams and Joel Zwick.

Those not quoted, but very important to this volumes completion, include Perry Anzilotti, Lucie Arnaz, Gregg Binkley, Kenny Blank, Ben Bode, Nestor Carbonell, Wilbert Cobbs, Tony Denison, Greg Garcia, Dan Gauthier, Rick and Rich Gomez, Tom Kleinschmidt, David Manson, Frank Mula, Park Overall, Marian Peters, Ed Robinson, Joshua Rudoy, David Schwartz, Jeffrey C. Sherman, Fred Stoller, Stu Shostak, Vincent Terrace and Adam and JoAnn Zolotin.

Extra double secret thanks go out to Richard Sackley, who secured episodes of so many of the programs in this book.

Prior to the hype, apprehension and panic fomented by that great unknown nicknamed Y2K, we experienced the 1990s. It was a decade that saw an uptick in the use of cell phones (albeit very large and cumbersome onesjust watch Seinfeld) and the Internet (remember waiting and waiting for dial-up and that loud squeal?). Bill Clintons campaign song, Fleetwood Macs Dont Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow), gifted the United States with hope and a positive outlook, despite lingering and escalating tensions in Iraq. Baseball fans had to endure a players strike during the 1994 season, and found no closure as the World Series had to be called off. The sport was dealt yet another blow later in the decade as the excitement incited by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in the season home run record chase was quashed by the revelation of rampant steroid usage.

The 1990s saw the founding of Amazon and eBay (a wholly new way to shop); the first Harry Potter book by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone); and introduction to phenomena known as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Pokemon. Major hit motion pictures Pulp Fiction, Saving Private Ryan, Waynes World, Home Alone, Goodfellas, Forrest Gump, The Silence of the Lambs, Fargo, Good Will Hunting, The Sixth Sense, Dances with Wolves, Toy Story and Titanic all left an indelible mark. Tattoos and body piercings also began to leave their mark on the nations youth.

However, not all of the trends and fads of the 1990s had the same staying power. Blockbuster Video Stores, pogs, slap bracelets, pump sneakers, Beanie Babies, Furby, Koosh Balls, Tickle Me Elmo, Crystal Pepsi, the Sony Walkman and Discman, Tamagotchi, Gak, Super Soakers, pagers, grunge rock, the Taco Bell Chihuahua, the Macarena and the Lambada, Big Dog shirts, Big Johnson shirts, Coed Naked shirts, fanny packs and the marriage between Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley all came and Wendt (as did George Wendt in his own eponymous sitcom, see entry). In fact, a lot of sitcoms suffered a similar fate. To be fair, there were many wildly successful ones with Home Improvement, Frasier, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, Roseanne and Seinfeld serving as leaders of the pack. Wings, Mad About You, Family Matters, The Drew Carey Show, That 70s Show, Empty Nest, Hanging with Mr. Cooper, The Nanny, Boy Meets World, Just Shoot Me, Dharma and Greg, Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Cosby, Full House, Blossom, Third Rock from the Sun, Coach, Daves World, Cybill, Caroline in the City, Major Dad, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Suddenly Susan, Murphy Brown, The John Larroquette Show, Grace Under Fire and Hermans Head also enjoyed decent prime time runs. Some of the programs listed above will be referenced when necessary, but as in my earlier works Single Season Sitcoms 19481979, A Complete Guide and Single Season Sitcoms of the 1980s, A Complete Guide, the focus of this book is those 90s sitcoms that ran for a single season or less. These shows are great in number because the 1990s saw the addition of the UPN and WB Networks, which were responsible for a goodly amount of less-than-successful programming, in part because of fewer affiliates than ABC, CBS and NBC. The Fox Network was still finding its footing in the 1990s, and there were some missteps along the way. Add to the fray a bevy of original shows aired on cable channels, and all told you have more than enough to fill this book.

Big names in starring or co-starring roles were not always a guarantee of success. Examples include Gregory Hines (The Gregory Hines Show), Ed McMahon (The Tom Show), Fred Savage (Working), Dan Aykroyd (Soul Man), George Carlin (The George Carlin Show), Julie Andrews (Julie), Henry Winkler (Monty), Bob Newhart (Bob, George & Leo), Robert Guillaume (Pacific Station), Farrah Fawcett and Ryan ONeal (Good Sports), Nell Carter (You Take the Kids), Delta Burke (Delta, Women of the House), Robert Vaughn (Danger Theater), Brian Keith (Walter & Emily), Howie Mandell (Good Grief), Bronson Pinchot (Meego, The Trouble with Larry), Whoopi Goldberg and Jean Stapleton (Bagdad Caf), James Garner (Man of the People), Tony Danza (Hudson Street, The Tony Danza Show