Dirty Jobs

Dirty Jobs

Category: Reality Television

Star: Mike Rowe (also narrator for Mythbusters and Most Dangerous Catch?---to be verified)

Opening Theme: "We Care A Lot" by Faith No More

Number of Episodes: 78

Original Run: November 7, 2003 to present

Dirty Jobs is a Discovery Channel show. In the show Mike Rowe takes on jobs that are seen as "dirty" because they are difficult, strange, and/or messy. He works with the professionals of each job to show who does what job and how. The show premiered with three pilot episodes in November 2003. It returned as a series on July 26, 2005. The episodes shown on the European Discovery Channel sometimes include scenes that were not included in the U.S. version

An Australian version of the show commenced airing on the Nine Network from October 7, 2007.

Mike Rowe is a smart quick-witted television personality. The way he interacts with the people in the blue-collar jobs he is exploring makes the show the success it is.

The show is filmed so that Rowe is seen as a fully-involved assistant during a typical work day. He does the actual work and faces the actual risks of job. The usually cameraman is Doug Glover, who often gets just as dirty as Rowe does. Rowe is always muttering, on camera, about how Dave Barsky (field producer for the show) is putting him in another dangerous situation to get "the shot".

Mike Rowe makes jokes about the jobs but he never makes fun of the workers themselves. The show is about showing what people will do to earn money.

The show always begin with Mike Rowe's quote as follows: "My name is Mike Rowe, and this is my job: I explore the country looking for people who aren't afraid to get dirty—hard-working men and women who earn an honest living doing the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us. Now... get ready, to get dirty."Dirty Jobs is a spin-off of from a segment host Mike Rowe did on a local San Francisco program called Somebody's Gotta Do It. He did a very graphic piece on cow artificial insemination, Rowe got all kinds of letters. Rowe then sent the tape to the Discovery Channel and they made it a show (Dirty Jobs).

Dirty Jobs is now produced by Craig Piligian (executive producer) of Pilgrim Film & Television. The Discovery Channel executive producer is Gena McCarthy. Craig Piligian is also the producer of American Chopper and American Hot Rod. Mike has stated in recently aired promos (done along side a large sow) that he originally wanted to honor his father, and grandfather, by bringing fame to the less-than-glorious careers.

In July 2006, the show aired two special episodes, one at the beginning and one at the end, of Discovery Channel's Shark Week. Mike Rowe hosted these. Rowe was shown doing a number of jobs related to the animals. He took on the job of a shark repellent tester and a shark suit tester. Both of those jobs involved Rowe jumping into a shark feeding frenzy. The show titles were "Dirty Jobs That Bite" (the opening show) and "Dirty Jobs That Bite Harder" (closing show).

In late August of 2006, the show made its 100th episode. To celebrate it a two-hour episode showing Mike's day with the U.S. Army's 187th Ordnance Battalion at Fort Jackson. There were bloopers and an "about me" segment of Mike's crew. Mike Rowe and Dave Barsky played a guitar/banjo duet and performed a song about the 100 dirty jobs. The show aired a 2-hour 150th job special in early December 2007.

The special showed footage of Rowe's 150th job (working on a yak and bison farm in Montana) and footage of a party held at a San Francisco junkyard where people featured in past Dirty Jobs segments were united with Rowe.

Each episode ends with a segment where Rowe tells the viewers that the show's continued existence depends on viewer submissions of suggestions for additional dirty jobs, and instructs them to go to the show's website for details on how to submit ideas. Rowe has often noted that the show would be lost without the viewer contributions. The Discovery Channel has been flooded with idea submissions. In July 2007 Rowe was a guest on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He told Ferguson "I haven't had an original idea since then."

There was stuff that was "too gross" to make it on air. One such situation was a segment filmed by Dirty Jobs in 2003. It involved roadkill taxidermy. According to roadkill taxidermy artist Stephen Paternite the segment was cut by the Discovery Channel as "too gross." The segment involved Mike Rowe and Paternite gathering skin dead raccoons, which Paternite will eventually turn into art pieces. The segment is available on Paternite's website and on You Tube under the name "Too Gross for Discovery." Other segments that were not aired include the "body farmer" and crime scene investigators. Even aired segments can be heavily edited, such as the "skull cleaner" segment. Parts of it were seen as too graphic for television.

Wipeout Awards

Wipeout Awards

You've seen the Golden Globes, The Academy Awards, Ocar's, etc...

Well this is an award show to celebrate all the funny stuff that happens on Wipeout.

See a lot of Wipeout stuff on YouTube, until it gets taken off.  You can always go to YTV and the internet in general.  Buy the dvds in your local store.  Don't drink anything or eat anything while watching; you will shoot the food and drink right out of your nose from laughing.

Here are some sample scenes.

Fun clip 1

Fun clip 2

The Drew Carey Show

The Drew Carey Show

Format: Sitcom

Created by: Drew Carey, Bruce Helford

Starring Drew Carey. Ryan Stiles. Diedrich Bader. Christa Miller (1995–2002). Kevin Pollak (1995–1996). Kathy Kinney.Craig Ferguson (1996–2003). John Carroll Lynch (1998–2003). Cynthia Watros (2002–2004) Opening theme: Moon Over Parma (1995-1996) Five O'Clock World by The Vogues (1996-1997) Cleveland Rocks by The Presidents of the United States of America (1997-2004)

Country of origin: United States

No. of seasons: 9

No. of episodes: 233

The Drew Carey Show Production

Running time: 22 Minutes

Production company(s): Mohawk Productions Warner Bros. Television

The Drew Carey Show Broadcast

Original channel: ABC

Original run: September 13, 1995 – September 8, 2004

The Drew Carey Show is a long-running American sitcom (set in Cleveland, Ohio) that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004 and was known for its "everyman" characters and themes. The show revolved around comedian Drew Carey, an office worker who has had a long-life working experience, and the highs and the lows of both his romances and his relationships to long-time friends, Lewis, Oswald and Kate. It currently airs on the ION Television network in the United States, weeknights at 10 pm Eastern Standard Time Monday through Wednesday.

The show was created by Drew Carey, who had both stand-up comedy and writing experience, and Bruce Helford, who was once a writer for Roseanne.

The Drew Carey Show

Cast and characters

Drew Carey (Drew Carey) - The protagonist, a perpetual "nice guy." For most of the series, he works in the human resources department of Winfred-Lauder, a multinational department store chain. He's portrayed as a lovable loser, though he's the most successful of his group of friends. Drew is the founder and co-owner of Buzz Beer, a special coffee-containing brew. He has a long-standing feud with Mimi Bobeck; his pranks have included destroying her clothes, shredding her vacation requests, and masquerading as Antonio Banderas to taunt her.

The Drew Carey Show

Lewis Kiniski (Ryan Stiles) - Forms a double-act with Oswald. Lewis, who is tall, lanky, and blonde, is in his forties and can be counted on to nonchalantly say bizarre and offensive things. He possesses an IQ of 163, but works as a janitor for a company called DrugCo. Due to accidentally releasing a virus into the population, he was busted down to janitor from a position that required him to wear a lab coat. It's uncertain if he was a scientist or lab assistant, though it's possible he was joking. At one point, he posed as Drew to take his physical exam for him, inadvertently taking a psychiatric exam as well. The results showed him to be mentally unstable and possibly criminally insane, although this was due to giving answers which he thought suited Drew's life and situation.

The Drew Carey Show

Oswald Lee Harvey (Diedrich Bader) - Lewis's slightly shorter, dark-haired friend is the dumb one of the double-act, which tends to be his most distinguishing characteristic. Lewis described him once as a "man-child stuck in a state of prolonged adolescence." At one point Oswald trained to be a nurse, but he proved unsuitable. Oswald was a deejay at the beginning of the first season but later on became a delivery driver for Global Parcel (a fictional package-delivery service). His name is a play on Lee Harvey Oswald. In the episode Bus-ted, it is revealed that Oswald joined the group of friends to replace Adam, a childhood friend who fell through the ice on a lake.

The Drew Carey Show

Kate O'Brien (Christa Miller) - Friends with Drew, Lewis, and Oswald since they were kids. Kate is a bit of a tomboy and a hothead. She and Oswald almost got married at one point, but she called it off just after Oswald threw her a surprise wedding (essentially leaving Oswald at the altar). Kate later found out about Drew's long-standing crush on her at their high school reunion, and she realized that she had feelings for him too. They dated for a season (even becoming engaged) but broke up when they disagreed about having kids. Drew and Kate were married for a short time in a later season, although this was illegal, as Drew had just become married to his old girlfriend, Nicki. Eventually, Drew's sham was discovered and Kate felt betrayed. Drew eventually regained Kate's trust and they became friends again. Kate left at the beginning of the eighth season, marrying a sailor and moving from Cleveland to Guam.

The Drew Carey Show

Cast and characters continued

Mimi Bobeck (Kathy Kinney) - Mr. Bell's, and then later Mr. Wick's, assistant/secretary. She is an overweight woman who wears a lot of make-up, but has very high self-esteem. (As an in-joke, Mimi's mother was played by Tammy Faye Bakker.) Mimi is Drew's arch-nemesis; she vowed to make Drew's life a living hell after Drew denied her a job based on her makeup. Mimi's pranks have included gluing Drew's hand to a pornographic magazine, covering Drew's desk with garbage, and eventually sending Drew to China while he is unconscious. She is also known for calling him a "pig." Her character can be seen as an attack on societal norms of beauty, much as the main character of Rosalie Goes Shopping. Mimi's past has a lot of connections to the world of music; she often talks about being a roadie for Foghat and was married to Eddie Money for two weeks after appearing at his first concert. Additionally, she admits to sleeping with both Joe Walsh and Peter Frampton. Frampton still carries a torch for Mimi; he has a tattoo of her likeness on his chest. Later on, Mimi becomes more of a friend to Drew (they agree to put their feud on hold while Mimi dates/marries Steve) and a good, if unconventional, mother to Gus. Early in the series, it was revealed that Mimi was of Polish ancestry, and inherited the title of Duchess of Kraków after her aunt died. However, the episode with this content received a great deal of complaint from the Polish community, and all mention of Mimi's heritage has been removed from the show (with alternative footage placed over these bits in syndication).

The Drew Carey Show

Nigel Algernon Wick (Craig Ferguson) - Drew's boss after the first season, replacing Mr. Bell (Kevin Pollak). British, crude, boisterous and offensive, he was also a cocaine addict before he was forced to go into rehab. For some time, he and Drew were in a same-sex marriage (technically a civil union) in order for Mr. Wick to get his Green Card and Drew to get his job back. When he first appeared on stage in guest episodes in the last two seasons he was greeted with thunderous applause. Wick always had unusual methods of firing employees (and nearly always fired someone named Johnson). He is almost always referred to as "Mr. Wick," and his first name is rarely used. In the show's first April Fools episode, Mr. Wick was shot in the crotch with a crossbow and had to have one of his testicles removed (a gag that was referred to for the rest of the series). Wick also lost a toe and a nipple in a fox hunt that went terribly wrong.

The Drew Carey Show

Steve Carey (John Carroll Lynch) - Drew's cross-dressing brother. He came to Cleveland and got a job in the cosmetics department at Winfred-Lauder. He fell in love with Mimi and after several seasons of dating they married. In later seasons the concept of Steve being a cross-dresser is abandoned entirely with little explanation (though it is hinted that he gave it up to make Mimi happy). He left, along with Kate and Wick, early in the eighth season.

The Drew Carey Show

Kellie Newmark (Cynthia Watros) - Drew's childhood friend. She has had a crush on Drew since high school but never told him. She was married but her husband cheated on her with her sister. Her mother is an alcoholic and leaves her father, eventually hooking up with Lewis. After Kate leaves, Drew realizes that he loves Kellie. Drew is afraid to tell Kellie because it may ruin their friendship like it did with Kate. After Lily leaves Drew, they confess their feelings for each other. When Kellie comes out while Drew is talking to his dad and asks Drew what they are going to do about their feelings for each other, Drew's dad falls off the roof and dies. Eventually during the beginning stage of their relationship Kellie finds out she is pregnant with Drew Jr. but won't marry Drew because she doesn't think he is ready for marriage. During the finale she decides Drew is ready. But her water breaks and she and Drew get married right when the baby is born.

The Drew Carey Show

Drew's marriages

Much of the show's humor revolved around Drew's single life. However, Drew was married a number of times during the show's run. His spouses during the series were:

Diane (Nicole Sullivan) - A cocktail waitress Drew met on a business trip to Las Vegas. She tricked Drew into marrying her because she believed having a husband would give her an edge in winning custody of her children. Drew agreed to help her with the social workers, and they divorced a week later.

Mr. Wick - Drew's boss for the majority of the series, desperately wanted a spouse when his visa expired and he was threatened with deportation. He bribed Drew with a promotion and several benefits to get Drew to marry him in Vermont (technically, this is considered a civil union and not a wedding). They stayed married for just over a year to throw off any suspicion from the INS. Drew kicked Mr. Wick out of his house once Wick became too "clingy" with Drew's friends and life.

Nicki Fifer (Kate Walsh) - A real estate agent whom Drew dated and became engaged to; she dumped him after gaining a large amount of weight while they were dating (and, in her own words, "couldn't be with a man who would tempt [her] to eat"). She lost the weight, got married and came back to Drew after her divorce (when Drew had just left a mental institution). Drew asked her to marry him on an impulse, and she agreed. Unfortunately, Drew also got married to Kate soon after (thus becoming a bigamist) and she left him. Nicki returned later, having regained all her previous weight, and attempted to kill Drew because she blamed him for all the recent problems in her life. Drew let Nicki stay at his house until she could get back on her feet, after which she was never seen or heard from again. Kate - The love of Drew's life and his best friend since childhood, Drew and Kate first broke off their engagement after a disagreement about having kids. After Drew's stint in the mental hospital, Kate realized that she still loved Drew and asked him to marry her. Drew agreed (despite having recently married Nicki and still being married to Mr. Wick) and kept both his marriages a secret for a time. Both wives discovered the situation, and Kate, furious, dumped Drew and told the newspapers about the situation; Drew became known as "The Impotent Bisexual Bigamist."

Lily (Tammy Lauren) - A Southern belle who met Drew after Oswald and Lewis started a campaign to find him a wife. Drew brought Lily to Cleveland and attempted to establish a relationship with her, but found it difficult to deal with Lily's night terrors. Drew ended up proposing to Lily on three different occasions: once in his house, another in a movie theater, and finally, back at his home again. After Drew tore up all of his pre-determined wedding plan receipts, Lily agreed to marry him. Lily left Drew after the wedding, driving off without him after giving Drew his ring back. At the reception, Drew and Kellie expressed their hidden love for each other and began their relationship, which would also lead to Drew's final marriage.

Kellie Newmark - Drew's childhood friend who was introduced in the eighth season. Drew went to a strip club and discovered that Kellie was working as a stripper to support herself after her divorce from her husband. Drew takes her into his house and their friendship blossoms. They were both reluctant to confess their feelings for another, but they became a couple after Drew & Lily's wedding. Kellie soon becomes pregnant, but refuses to marry Drew for another eight months. On their wedding day and the series finale, Kellie gave birth to Drew Jr.

The Drew Carey Show

Other characters

Larry Almada (Ian Gomez) - One of Drew's co-workers. After leaving Winfred-Lauder, he set up a reasonably successful dating service which later expanded into a television chat show.

Gerald Hawthorne Bell (Kevin Pollak) - Drew's boss for The Drew Carey Show's first season. The interesting thing about Mr. Bell was that he only appeared in in person for his last appearance. He gets caught having relations with a woman in his office and he and Mrs. Lauder have to talk it out, but when he appears, he is wearing a Santa costume. We only heard his voice on Drew's speakerphone, despite the fact that Drew had his desk very close to Mr. Bell's office. Little was known about him, but he did not come across as a nice person. He seemed sexist and self-centered and had an office romance with a staff member (unlike Drew's romance with Lisa, Bell was only after the sex). In the last episode of the first season, Mr. Bell finally appeared on camera as he was seen leaving his office after getting fired from the store.

Beulah Carey (Marion Ross) - Drew's and Steve's mother married to George Carey (Stanley Anderson).

King Augustus Antonio Carey - "King Gus," Steve and Mimi's son (and Drew's nephew). Before he was born, he saved Mimi from being fired by Drew in the episode "Drew Pops Something On Kate". Just as Drew is about to fire Mimi, Gus kicks while in the womb for the first time, and Drew has compassion for Mimi, preventing her from getting fired. He was born while Drew was in a coma, and his spirit (voiced by Jon Polito) met Drew up in Heaven before being born. After hearing Drew make jokes about how horrible Mimi was, Gus was afraid to be born. Drew convinced him that Mimi would be a good mother by going back down to Earth and spending time in the baby's body. Drew told this story to the others after coming out of his coma, but nobody believed him. Gus was an infant for most of his time on the show, but received an age boost (putting him somewhere between 5 and 6 years old) for the final season. He burns down his house, initially thought to be with a wood-burning kit that Drew gives him as a gift. Since Mimi and Gus had nowhere to live, Drew offers his home to them, and they stay there almost until the end of the show. It was later discovered that Gus was a pyromaniac and intentionally started a fire in the house.

Fran Lauder (Nan Martin) - One of the executives' "cougars" (and partial namesake) of the Winfred-Lauder corporation who inherits the store from her dead husband.

Lisa Robbins (Katy Selverstone) - Drew's girlfriend from season one.

Jay Clemens (Robert Torti) - Kate's boyfriend from season one.

Evan (Kyle Howard) - Co-owner of Never Ending Store with his brother, Scott (of the two bosses, he is regarded as the 'nice' one). He is a Zen-seeking Buddhist who promotes peace and support, although he himself has a life coach, sees a family therapist with his brother, and takes anti-anxiety pills. He has a tenuous relationship with Scott because they spend so much time together.

Scott (Jonathan Mangum) - Co-owner of Never Ending Store with his brother, Evan. He is more business-minded than Evan, and can get very irritated by Evan's peace-seeking way of life. He teaches computer classes during the summer.

The Drew Carey Show

Guest Stars

Penn & Teller as Genn and Feller in "Drew Meets Lawyers" (Season 1, Episode 6) and "See Drew Run" (Season 2, Episode 17)

The Drew Carey Show

David Cross as Earl in "Drew and the Unstable Element" (Season 1, Episode 13) and "Two Drews and the Queen of Poland Walk Into a Bar" (Season 2, Episode 20).

The Drew Carey Show

Joey Ramone, Dave Mustaine, Slash, Lisa Loeb, Dusty Hill, Johnny Lang, Rick Nielsen, Michael Stanley, Matthew Sweet and Roy Clark as themselves in "In Ramada da Vida" (Season 4, Episode 2)

The Drew Carey Show

Triple H as Wrestler Sponsor for Buzz Beer

The Drew Carey Show

Henry Rollins as E-Bay Ass Kicking Guy and Amy Farrington as Bonnie in "Hickory Dickory... Double Date" (Season 8, Episode 5)

The Drew Carey Show

Gregory Jbara as Ron in "Drew and the Conspiracy" (Season 4, Episode 1) and "Golden Boy" (Season 4, Episode 3).

The Drew Carey Show

Charles Nelson Reilly as Mr. Hathaway, Lewis's boss, in "DrugCo" (Season 4)

The Drew Carey Show

Joe Walsh, in numerous episodes.

The Drew Carey Show

"Weird Al" Yankovic as himself in "Drew Between the Rock and a Hard Place" (Season 4)

The Drew Carey Show

Rush Limbaugh as himself in "The Salon" (Season 3)

The Drew Carey Show

French Stewart as Buddy in "Drew's Best Friend" (Season 9, Episode 10)

The Drew Carey Show

Colin Mochrie in "She's Gotta Have It", "Drew Live", and "Drew Live II"

The Drew Carey Show

Eras

The Drew Carey Show ran for nine years. Like many shows with long runs, the show's run can be broken down into several "eras."

The Drew Carey Show "Moon Over Parma"/Chemistry Titles Era (1995–1996)

The first season of The Drew Carey Show was significantly different from the rest of the series. Drew and Mimi worked at Winfred-Lauder under Mr. Bell, who existed only as a voice on Drew's speakerphone. Mr. Bell was never seen until the last episode of the season after he was fired by the new owners. Other characters that appeared exclusively in this era were Drew's hillbilly neighbor, Jules, and his family. Drew's first girlfriend, Lisa, was introduced in this season, and she remained with the cast until the early episodes of the second season.

The Drew Carey Show

Nine of the episode titles were related to chemistry in some way with names such as "The Joining of Two Unlike Elements Is a Mixture" and "Isomers Have Distinct Characteristics". No explanation for this was ever given, and the tradition was abandoned by the end of the season. After episode 19, "Atomic Cat Fight", the remainder were given names relevant to their story line (such as, "Drew and Mrs. Lauder"). Episode 10's title, "Science Names Suck", pokes fun at the scientific type names.

The Drew Carey Show

Season One also had a three episode arc involving a seemingly innocuous comic strip Drew displayed in his cubicle which led to a hostile workplace lawsuit.

Buzz Beer, beer that had caffeine and tasted like coffee, was invented by the main characters in the last episode of the first season. The concept stayed with the series until the very end.

The Drew Carey Show

Eras continued

The Drew Carey Show Wick Era (1996–2002)

The second season was notably different from the first. The opening theme used in season one, "Moon Over Parma," was replaced by "Five O'Clock World" by The Vogues (who come from Pittsburgh, home of the Cleveland Browns' biggest rivals, the Steelers) for the second season opener and episodes 10-22 and 24. The theme song for episode 8 was "What is Hip" by Tower of Power. These themes were then replaced in season three by "Cleveland Rocks", a cover by The Presidents of the United States of America of an Ian Hunter song although the theme did not make its first appearance until episode 3 of that season (the original was later used in a bloopers-filled episode).

The Drew Carey Show

Season two also introduced the concept of the music video-like opening as the cast danced and sang around the various sets of the show. In the second episode of the second season Nigel Wick was introduced to replace Mr. Bell.

Lisa and Drew moved in together early in the second season, but it didn't work out. However, this allowed the introduction of Speedy, Drew's dog, whose presence remained until the end of the series. Steve, Drew's cross-dressing brother, was introduced during this period. He eventually fell in love with Mimi and they had one child, Gus.

The Drew Carey Show

Drew was promoted several times, taking away Wick's job. However, Wick always managed to return and take Drew's job back from him. At the end of this era, Wick and Drew were co-managers of the Winfred-Lauder department store. Drew was also fired once, but got his job back by "marrying" Wick in Vermont, allowing him to get his green card. This was also the era in which series regular Kate and Drew got romantically involved. They were on the verge of getting married, but they called it off when they realized they didn't feel the same about the prospect of children.

This era of the show was also known for its special events episodes. Virtually every season had two such episodes: "What's Wrong With This Episode?" and "Drew Live". The first contained a large number of deliberate mistakes; the person who could catch them all and mail in the correct answers would win a prize. The second was a live show that was performed three times (Eastern, Central and Pacific Time zones), heavily featuring cast members from Whose Line is it Anyway?. These episodes had very loose plots, interrupted at regular intervals by improvisational games. There was also the season 5 finale "A Very Special Drew", in which the cast indulged in intentionally manipulative and syrupy melodrama in a facetious attempt to get an Emmy nomination. This episode also breaks the fourth wall when Craig Ferguson touts the Emmy prospects of Nigel Wick, leading Kathy Kinney to snap "You'll never get an Emmy. Your character is too cartoonish." When the Emmy quest fails, Drew borrows about $100 from his friends, takes some money from his own wallet, and heads out to buy some Golden Globe awards.

By far the most extreme was the Drew Carey's Back-to-School Rock 'n' Roll Comedy Hour which was shown a few weeks before the first episode of the 2001 season. The show was a series of sketches which was far closer in content and tone to Saturday Night Live or MADtv than The Drew Carey Show.

This tradition of bizarrely themed episodes was parodied by Carey's friend "Weird Al" Yankovic in his song "Couch Potato" (itself a parody of Eminem's "Lose Yourself"), which referred to "a special all-Pig Latin episode of Drew Carey".

The Drew Carey Show

The Drew Carey Show Neverending Store Era (2002–2004)

In the fall of 2002 the show returned. The concept of Winfred-Lauder and the characters' jobs there was abandoned completely. Show openings alternated with remixes of the previous theme songs, credits, and logo; however, the opening was still a montage of various moments from past seasons of the show. The new concept involves Drew getting a job at the company that rented the building occupied by Winfred-Lauder, an Internet start-up department store called "Neverending Store". Mimi gets a job as well, and Mr. Wick gets the only job he's qualified for—janitor. However, Wick stopped appearing altogether after a few episodes; Steve was also phased out in the same way. The most notable change, however, was when Kate O'Brien, played by Christa Miller, one of the show's main cast, left, to be at home and have a recurring guest-star role on her husband Bill Lawrence's show Scrubs. She was quickly replaced with Kellie, an old high school friend of Drew's who had been working as a stripper.

The Drew Carey Show

Drew's bosses were a set of twenty-something Internet geeks. The combination of high intelligence, low social skills, and hacker naïveté created a very different sort of humor for the show. However they weren't the main focus. Like in the first season, Drew's life outside the office took center stage once again. Interestingly, the show began featuring cameos from reality-TV participants in the final two seasons, such as former Road Rules star Timmy Beggy, The Real World alum Cara Khan, and The Amazing Race winner Reichen Leikmeuhl.

The Drew Carey Show

Tony The Bus-Driver Bill Cobbs became a main fixture, appearing in virtually every episode of the last two seasons. He typically played a role similar to a smart-alecky bartender that Drew could tell his problems to. (One of the first lines he uttered in the series: "There's only one reason a man doesn't want to go home at the end of the day: ugly children.")

The Drew Carey Show

In the eighth season Drew decided that he would get married a year from the date he set; a day which would coincide with the last episode of the season. Drew wouldn't make the deadline, but he would realize in the process that he was in love with Kellie. The eighth season was put in a dead timeslot on Monday nights, frequently clashing with Monday Night Football. It was yanked mid-season and the remaining episodes were shown during the summer of 2003. ABC was forced to finance a ninth season, even though they had effectively canceled the show. The ninth season did not show during the fall of 2003, but ended up getting shown in the summer of 2004, with some of the episodes out of order.

The last season's tone changed radically from the previous seasons. The directors started experimenting with one-camera set-ups, showing that the sets were completely built, there actually were four walls in most rooms, and the rooms were actually linked together. The writers were equally brazen, as they had Gus burn down Mimi's house, forcing her to move in with Drew after Steve left her. Drew and Mimi's mutual hatred of each other finally vanished and they became true friends.

The season ended with Drew getting Wick's help to open up a department store, using the vacated building that Neverending Store left behind. However, Drew is quickly kicked out of his job as store manager by Wick, who has been given his job by the project's sole investor: his father-in-law. Mimi is also relieved of her vice-presidency and made Mr. Wick's assistant, Drew becomes the assistant director of personnel. Drew goes and sits at his desk, the surroundings are now the same as the Winfield-Lauder set that hadn't been seen for two years, and Barry Manilow's "Looks Like We Made It" starts up.

The actual final episode follows as Drew and Kellie's first child is born, scant moments after the two are married. The final scene is Drew playing pool in his backyard in the rain; the same scene that ended the first episode. He looks up at the camera and thanks the audience, saying it has been fun. The series ends with a montage set to "You Can Still Rock in America".


The Drew Carey Show

Buzz Beer

Buzz Beer is a fictional beer that contains a mixture of beer and coffee. The beer was first introduced in the last episode of the first season, Buzz Beer which originally aired May 8, 1996. Buzz Beer was initially brewed by Drew, Kate, Oswald, and Lewis in Drew's garage. In episode Cap-Beer-Cino, another company made a knockoff version of it called Cap-Beer-Cino, which was one of the rejected names suggested by Kate in the "Buzz Beer" episode. At one point in the show, Mimi replaced Kate when Mimi won a share of the company after beating Kate at poker. Buzz Beer is sold at the Warsaw Tavern, the bar at which Drew, Kate, Oswald, and Lewis hang out. Lewis and Oswald are in charge of coming up with new promotions for the beer which usually are not successful. Drew is constantly shooting down Lewis and Oswald's ideas, especially when the two prevent Buzz Beer from winning the "Beer of the Month Award" at a beer convention. Near the end of the series, the brewery was moved from Drew's garage to Lewis and Oswald's house.

As for its success in the Drew Carey universe, Lewis once stated that "the combination of caffeine and alcohol should be more addictive than heroin, but so far sales haven't borne that out."

The Drew Carey Show

Show background

Based on the real-life experiences of Carey's life, the show debuted on the ABC network on September 13, 1995, and was highly-rated for four years before sliding in popularity. Because the network had few hits on the schedule in 2001, it renewed the show for two additional seasons. However, the show further sank in ratings the following season, not unlike many other live sitcoms. Even its series finale's ratings were lower than otherwise would have been expected. The final two episodes aired on September 8, 2004. The show was produced by Mohawk Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. The two companies would go on to co-produce other shows such as The Norm Show and The Oblong

The Drew Carey Show

Ratings

The show finished its first season (1995–1996) barely in the Top 50, placing 48th in the Nielsen ratings, with an average rating of 10.1. The second season did considerably better, making it into the Top 20 finishing the 1996–1997 season 18th in the Nielsen ratings with an average rating of 11.5. Viewership increased 13.9% from season one.

The show finished its third season at a higher place in the ratings, placing 16th with an average rating of 11.1 during the 1997–1998 season; however, the ratings share was a drop of 3.5% from the second season.

During Season four (1998–1999), the series finished the season in the Nielsen ratings higher in the Top 20 making it to 14th place but with an average rating of 9.9, a decrease of 10.8% from the third season.

The show finished the 1999–2000 season 24th in the Nielsen ratings, the first time since season one that the show was not in the Top 20, with an average rating of 9.5, a decrease of 4% from the fourth season. This was a much smaller drop than many series suffered (given the erosion of network audiences). This was also a smaller drop than it suffered the season before. The show's 2000–2001 season finished 41st with an average rating of 8.23, a decrease of 13.4 percent from the fifth season.

ABC signed a new contract to keep the show on through a ninth season, even though the show had yet to enter its seventh season at that time. The 2001–2002 season saw one of the show's biggest drop in ratings, finishing 57th with an average rating of 5.9, a significant drop of 28.3% from the sixth season. The show finished the 2002–2003 season 119th with an average rating of 3.29, a drop of 44.23 percent from the seventh season. This caused ABC to put the series on hiatus, airing the rest of the season in the summer of 2003. Unable to get out of their contract, ABC was forced to allow the show to film a ninth season, paying three million dollars per episode. Not doing well enough to make a slot in the fall, the ninth season was aired during the summer of 2004.

The Drew Carey Show

DVD Releases

Season Releases

DVD Name Release Date Ep# Special Features

The Complete First Season April 24, 2007 22 1-900-MIMI (a phone sex spoof featuring Mimi)

Life Inside a Cubicle Featurette

Special Releases

On February 28, 2006, a six-episode release of the sitcom was released on DVD entitled "The Drew Carey Show: TV Favorites". Initially, the DVD was exclusively sold at Best Buy, but later sold at other national retailers as well. The DVD features the episodes Pilot, Playing the Unified Field, We'll Remember Always, Evaluation Day, Drew Blows His Promotion, My Best Friend's Wedding, and DrugCo.

No word yet on any other DVD releases for the show.



The Drew Carey Show

Trivia

The bar that Drew and his friends would always go to in the show was called "The Warsaw Tavern." The inspiration for "The Warsaw Tavern" is called "Murphy's Law" and is located on Memphis Ave. in the Old Brooklyn part of Cleveland, Ohio. This was one of Drew's favorite bars he would frequent in real life. The actual exterior structure of Murphy's Law is used on the TV show, although the interior is entirely different. Murphy's Law has autographed pictures of most of the cast members on the walls.

In Carey's bestselling book, Dirty Jokes and Beer, he revealed a list of subject matter that the censors objected to, such as mild language, sexual innuendo, and one episode that made light of a character's mental instability. Carey also mentions that in one second-season episode, he was forced to wear puffy pants because when he sits with tight pants, ABC thought he had an erection, a situation later parodied on the show.

John Carroll Lynch, who plays Drew's older brother, Steve, is actually five years younger than Drew Carey. The character of Kellie, who went to high school with Carey, was played by Cynthia Watros, who is ten years younger than him.

The season 5 episode "Drew Goes to the Browns Game", which coincided with the team returning to the NFL that season, showed the team playing the Minnesota Vikings in their "first game back" when Drew ran onto the field. In reality, the team played their archrivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in their first game back, losing 43-0. Carey had been one of the most vocal Browns fans when the original team moved to Baltimore during the show's first season. Carey even did the coin toss for the game, which was nationally televised on ABC's sister network ESPN.

In the last seasons of the show, Drew Carey was earning $600,000 to $750,000 per episode..

The producers experimented with different filming techniques the last season. For a few episodes, instead of using the traditional four camera format in front of a live audience, a single camera technique using a "fourth wall" was employed. The experiment was short-lived after the cast, crew, and producers felt the energy was better in front of the large studio audience.

When "Weird Al" Yankovic appeared on the show, he had recently undergone Lasik surgery and had shaved, so he no longer had his trademark glasses and mustache. The producers felt that the audience would not recognize him and get the "You didn't say you played the accordion..." joke, so they outfitted him with fake glasses and mustache.

The episode, "My Best Friend's Wedding" had an opening scene that combined live-action with animation where Daffy Duck asks Drew for a job at Winfred-Lauder. Gerry Cohen directed the live-action portion of that sequence and Jeff Siergey directed the animation.

Craig Ferguson initially auditioned at Warner Brothers for a role as a Hispanic photographer on Suddenly Susan, and after he failed his audition, the casting director referred him to The Drew Carey Show which was auditioning across the studio.[2] The Drew Carey Show was the first television show to have an episode simulcast on the Internet.












The Drew Carey Show

Trivia continued

Marion Ross made occasional guest appearances as Drew's mother. Her Happy Days co-star Tom Bosley and Tammy Faye Bakker appeared in one episode as Mimi's parents, and she herself was called "Mrs. Cunningham" in an April Fools episode as an intentional goof, referring to Ross' role on Happy Days. 70's sexpot Adrienne Barbeau appeared a few times as Oswald's mother. Lost in Space star, June Lockhart appeared twice as Lewis' mother. Christa Miller's real life aunt Susan Saint James once appeared as Kate's mother. Shirley Jones of The Partridge Family played a senior citizen whom Drew dated for 3 episodes. Ryan Stiles also joined Drew Carey as a regular on the US version of the improvisation show Whose Line is it Anyway?, which was hosted by Carey.

Joe Walsh made occasional guest appearances as both himself and as a band member.

Drew was the only character to appear in every episode of the series.

Whose Line is it Anyway? was an improvisational show that Carey hosted. Three episodes, entitled "Drew Live", "Drew Live II" and "Drew Live III" had many of the stars of the show on there such as Wayne Brady, Laura Hall, Brad Sherwood, and Greg Proops. Chip Esten and Kathy Greenwood were in Drew Live II, while Jeff B. Davis joined Esten & Proops in "Drew Live III" as the "Stall For Time Players". Ryan Stiles who played Lewis was also on the show. Colin Mochrie was also on the show, had appeared in an episode earlier as Eugene Anderson.

In one episode with sci-fi props there is a model of a spacecraft from the miniseries V can be seen on a kitchen table. Mr. Wick was named by head writer Clay Graham after an old girlfriend who had dumped him in order to "immortalize her treachery."

The character of Maggie Wick, Nigel Wick's mother, was originally written for Australian comic actor Dame Edna. When he was unable at the last moment to appear, actor Richard Chamberlain was approached, and he agreed to play the part in drag. One year later, Chamberlain officially "came out" as gay in his autobiography, "Shattered Love."

Mimi has been heavily referenced on Carey's current show, The Price Is Right. Often, he tells contestants who have not won their way on stage that they will have to face her in the "First Four Breakfast Club". Also, audience members have been known to wear various clothing items with her face on them.

Two of the show's other regulars (Craig Ferguson and Ryan Stiles) have moved on to CBS shows as well. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is aired after The Late Show with David Letterman, and Ryan Stiles currently has a recurring guest role on the sitcom Two and a Half Men.















*************************************************

Car Repair

For the best car repair service go to Don's Auto Clinic at

1950 Ellesmere Rd #21 Scarborough ON, M1H 2V8 Phone: 416-438-9575

Make an appointment and don't worry about what kind of service you'll get because it's the best. I've been going there for at least 3 years. (Zane Ladhani---of Zane's Comedy Warehouse www.zanes-comedy-warehouse.com)

Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.





Chinese Food



Chinese Food is great and there are a lot of restaurants but if you want to go to one of the best chinese food restaurants in Toronto then go to Kim Kims at

Kim Kim Hakka Chinese Restaurant 1188 Kennedy Road Scarborough, ON M1P 2L1 416-757-8300 (Near Kennedy and Lawrence)

I ususally have the Curry Chicken on Rice but you'll be happy with whatever you order.

If you can't handle spicy food tell them when you order.

Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.



Real Estate Services



The best real estate agents in Toronto are the Wright Sisters. They

are the right choice whether you're buying or selling property.



Lindsay & Melanie Wright Sales Representatives

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage 2237 Queen Street East Toronto ON M4E 1G2

Office: (416) 699-9292 Toll Free: 1-866-921-9292 Fax: (416) 699-8576

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Dr. Katz

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Dr. Katz




Dr. Katz

Dr Katz, Professional Therapist Format: Animated Sitcom

Created by: Jonathan Katz, Tom Snyder

Starring: Jonathan Katz, H. Jon Benjamin, Laura Silverman

Country of origin: USA

No. of seasons: 6

No. of episodes: 81 (3 unaired)

Production

Running time: approx. 0:22

Broadcast

Original channel: Comedy Central

Original run: May 28, 1995 – December 24, 1999


Dr Katz, Professional Therapist is an animated series that originally ran on Comedy Central from May
28, 1995 to December 24, 1999, starring Jonathan Katz, H. Jon Benjamin, and Laura Silverman. The
show was created by Katz and Tom Snyder, made by Tom Snyder Productions, and usually produced
by Katz and Loren Bouchard. The show was computer animated in a crude, easily recognizable style
called Squigglevision, in which all persons and animate objects are colored and have constantly
squiggling outlines, while all other inanimate objects are static and usually gray in color.

Format

The show focused on the title character, Dr. Jonathan Katz, who was voiced by, and visually based on,
the comedian of the same name. Dr Katz was a professional psychoanalyst who had famous comedians
and actors as patients, usually two per episode. The comedians' therapy sessions generally consisted of
them doing their onstage material while Dr Katz offered insights or simply let them rant. Meanwhile,
therapy sessions featuring actors and actresses offered more interpersonal dialogue between Katz and
his patient to better suit their predisposition. Dr Katz is a very laid-back, well-intentioned man who
enjoys playing the guitar and spending time at the bar with his friends, Stanley and Julie.

Mixed in with all the scenes involving the doctor and his clients are scenes dealing with the doctor's
personal life. He has a son, Benjamin, who is an aimless and childish grown son. His secretary, Laura
(Laura Silverman) is disinterested and useless. He has two friends: Stanley (Will Le Bow), and the
barmaid, Julie, voiced by one of the show's producers, Julianne Shapiro. Another character, Todd
(Todd Barry) interacted with Ben.

Each show would typically begin with Dr. Katz and Ben waking up and beginning a plotline shared by
the two.

The show would end in a similar way each week; while Dr Katz was in a session with a patient, music
signaling the close of the show would begin to play. Katz would acknowledge it and tell the patient
"Whoops, you know what the music means... our time is up" or something similar to that.

Much of the show's content, particularly dialogue between Katz and Benjamin, was improvised
through a process called "retroscripting", in which a vague outline is developed but the actual dialogue
is ad-libbed. This style, as well as Squigglevision, would reappear in Home Movies, a cartoon that
features many members of the Dr. Katz cast and crew.


Original airing

The first episode of Dr. Katz aired on May 28, 1995. A total of 81 episodes were produced, though the
final three -- "Bakery Ben," "Uncle Nothing" and "Lerapy" -- did not air in the United States. (They
were aired in Canada and overseas, however.) Comedy Central began the show's sixth and final season
on June 15, 1999, but ran only the first six episodes. The network chose to schedule nine of the
remaining twelve episodes for a Christmas Eve marathon, which served as the show's finale. The final
three episodes were not released until their inclusion on the 2007 DVD box set.


Episodes

Episode # Prod # Air Date Episode Title

Season 1: 1995



1. 1- 1 101 28 May 95 Pot-Bellied Pigs

2. 1- 2 102 4 Jun 95 Pretzelkins

3. 1- 3 103 11 Jun 95 Bully

4. 1- 4 104 18 Jun 95 Cholesterol

5. 1- 5 105 25 Jun 95 Everybody's Got a Tushy

6. 1- 6 106 2 Jul 95 Family Car


Season 2: 1996



7. 2- 1 201 15 Oct 95 Bystander Ben

8. 2- 2 202 29 Oct 95 Real Estate 9. 2- 3 203 12 Nov 95 Glasses

10. 2- 4 204 17 Dec 95 Office Management

11. 2- 5 205 14 Jan 96 Bees and SIDS

12. 2- 6 206 21 Jan 96 Drinky the Drunk Guy

13. 2- 7 207 7 Apr 96 Sticky Notes

14. 2- 8 208 14 Apr 96 It Takes Some Getting Used To

15. 2- 9 209 21 Apr 96 The Particle Board

16. 2-10 210 28 Apr 96 A Journey for the Betterment of People

17. 2-11 211 5 May 96 Theory of Intelligence

18. 2-12 212 12 May 96 Henna

19. 2-13 213 26 May 96 ESP



Season 3: 1996-1997



20. 3- 1 301 6 Oct 96 Monte Carlo

21. 3- 2 302 13 Oct 96 Blind Date

22. 3- 3 303 20 Oct 96 Fructose

23. 3- 4 304 27 Oct 96 Earring

24. 3- 5 305 3 Nov 96 Koppleman and Katz

25. 3- 6 306 5 Jan 97 Guess Who

26. 3- 7 307 12 Jan 97 Day Planner

27. 3- 8 309 19 Jan 97 Studio Guy

28. 3- 9 308 26 Jan 97 Mourning Person

29. 3-10 310 2 Feb 97 L'il Helper

30. 3-11 311 9 Feb 97 Big Fat Slug

31. 3-12 312 2 Mar 97 New Phone System

32. 3-13 313 9 Mar 97 Reunion



Season 4: 1997



33. 4- 1 405 9 May 97 Ben Treats

34. 4- 2 401 22 Jun 97 Memoirs

35. 4- 3 402 29 Jun 97 Electric Bike

36. 4- 4 403 6 Jul 97 Broadcaster Ben

37. 4- 5 404 13 Jul 97 Trash Day

38. 4- 6 406 27 Jul 97 Sharon Meyers

39. 4- 7 407 3 Aug 97 Mask

40. 4- 8 408 10 Aug 97 Closets

41. 4- 9 409 17 Aug 97 Wild Weekend

42. 4-10 410 24 Aug 97 Chopper

43. 4-11 411 31 Aug 97 Alibi

44. 4-12 412 7 Sep 97 Ben-Centennial

45. 4-13 413 14 Sep 97 Undercover



Season 5: 1998



46. 5- 1 503 17 Jun 98 Old Man

47. 5- 2 501 22 Jun 98 Fanny Pack

48. 5- 3 505 29 Jun 98 Metaphors

49. 5- 4 502 6 Jul 98 Movies

50. 5- 5 512 13 Jul 98 Ticket

51. 5- 6 504 20 Jul 98 Phone Luv

52. 5- 7 506 27 Jul 98 Chain Letter

53. 5- 8 507 3 Aug 98 Babysitting Ben

54. 5- 9 508 10 Aug 98 Miles Away

55. 5-10 509 17 Aug 98 London Broil

56. 5-11 510 24 Aug 98 Feng Shui

57. 5-12 511 21 Sep 98 Alderman

58. 5-13 513 28 Sep 98 Paranoia

59. 5-14 514 5 Oct 98 Waltz

60. 5-15 515 12 Oct 98 Anniversary

61. 5-16 516 19 Oct 98 Community Theater

62. 5-17 517 26 Oct 98 Ping-Pong

63. 5-18 518 23 Nov 98 Thanksgiving



Season 6: 1999

64. 6- 1 601 15 Jun 99 Sissy Boy

65. 6- 2 602 22 Jun 99 Pullman Square

66. 6- 3 603 29 Jun 99 Wisdom Teeth

67. 6- 4 604 6 Jul 99 Past Lives

68. 6- 5 605 13 Jul 99 Ben's Partay

69. 6- 6 615 20 Jul 99 Walk for Hunger

70. 6- 7 606 24 Dec 99 Used Car

71. 6- 8 607 24 Dec 99 Ball and Chain

72. 6- 9 608 24 Dec 99 Snow Day

73. 6-10 609 24 Dec 99 Garden

74. 6-11 610 24 Dec 99 Big TV

75. 6-12 611 24 Dec 99 Vow of Silence

76. 6-13 612 24 Dec 99 You're Belinda

77. 6-14 614 24 Dec 99 Radio Katz

78. 6-15 613 24 Dec 99 Expert Witness

79. 6-16 616 Bakery Ben

80. 6-17 617 Uncle Nothing

81. 6-18 618 Lerapy



Notable guests



Dave Attell

Todd Barry

Joy Behar

Elayne Boosler

Bill Braudis

Kevin Brennan

Dave Chappelle

Louis C.K.

David Cross

Rodney Dangerfield

David Duchovny

Mitch Fatel

Jim Gaffigan

Jack Gallagher

Jeff Garlin

Jeff Goldblum

Whoopi Goldberg

Janeane Garofalo

Bobcat Goldthwait

Gilbert Gottfried

Kathy Griffin

Mitch Hedberg

Dom Irrera

Richard Jeni

Tom Kenny

Andy Kindler

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Ron Lynch

Denis Leary

David Mamet

Bonnie McFarlane

Kevin Meaney

Larry Miller

Kevin Nealon

Conan O'Brien

Bob Odenkirk

Patton Oswalt

Emo Philips

John Pinette

Brian Regan

Ray Romano

Mike Rowe

Rita Rudner

Winona Ryder

Lew Schneider

Garry Shandling

Sarah Silverman

Bobby Slayton

Margaret Smith

Barry Sobel

Jon Stewart

Ben Stiller

Fred Stoller

Wanda Sykes

Paul F. Tompkins

Steven Wright



References in popular culture

In "Summer Sucks," an episode of South Park, another Comedy Central cartoon, Dr. Katz appears as
Mr. Garrison's psychiatrist.

In an issue of Mad, Dr Katz moves to South Park and counsels the characters.

In episode 307 "Bush is a Pussy" of Mr. Show a Dr Katz scene is played out between Katz and Kedzie
Matthews, a spoof of a typical college comic, at the end of the episode.

In the Family Guy episode Saving Private Brian the main character Peter Griffin is seen talking to Dr.
Katz, while sitting on a recliner. Peter makes a comment about the Squigglevision style in which Dr
Katz is animated, saying "What the hell is wrong with you? Your skin is like moving around or
something," to which he replies, "I believe I'm having some sort of seizure."

In the Squidbillies episode Government Brain Voodoo Trouble, the therapist (later clarified as "the
rapist") is voiced by an uncredited Jonathan Katz.

In the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode, "Brilliant Number One," Space Ghost was drawn in Dr
Katz's style briefly, while asking Peter Fonda, "What does this tell us about your childhood?"

In the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode "King Dead," which featured H. Jon Benjamin as the guest,
the Dr Katz show is mentioned by name. Space Ghost is briefly shown in Squigglevision while stating
"cable is important" a reference to the fact Dr Katz was on Comedy Central and Space Ghost was
shown on Cartoon Network, both of which were basic cable channels.

In the direct-to-DVD parody film, Farce of the Penguins, Jonathan Katz appears as Steve, the owl who
gives therapeutic advice for $275/hr.

In the children's animated series Arthur, there was an episode where the children all proposed an idea
for a TV-show episode, all of which were based on various animated programs. Arthur's idea had
himself seeing Dr Katz, complaining about his sister, D.W.

On the sitcom Help Me Help You, Jonathan Katz appeared as Dr Katz.


Comic strip

A comic strip of the same name was produced by the LA Times syndicate. One book collection was
published, Hey I've Got My Own Problems. Writers included Bill Braudis and Dave Blazek, with
artwork by Dick Truxaw.


DVD releases

Season Releases

DVD Name Release Date Ep # Additional Information

Season 1 May 9, 2006 6 Bonus features include cast and crew commentary, and several animated
shorts.

Season 2 November 21, 2006 13 Bonus features include cast and crew commentary, and "follow-up
calls" with previous guest stars.

The Complete Series November 20, 2007 81 Bonus Features include a 28-page booklet with
patients' "memories from the couch" and new drawings, as well as "An Evening with Dr Katz: Live
from the Comedy Central Stage."

Doris Day

Doris Day


Format: Sitcom; Western

Created by: James Fritzell

Starring: Doris Day

Country of origin: United States

No. of seasons: 5

No. of episodes: 128

Production

Running time: 60 minutes

Broadcast

Original channel: CBS Television

Original run: September 24, 1968 – February 19, 1973

The show is a 128-episode American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 1968 until September 1973. In addition to showcasing Doris Day, the show is remembered for its many abrupt format changes over the course of its five-year run. It is also remembered for Day's claim, in her autobiography Doris Day: Her Own Story (1975), that her husband Martin Melcher had signed her to do the TV series without her knowledge, a fact she only discovered when Melcher died of heart disease on April 20, 1968. The TV show premiered on September 28, 1968.

Day had been a popular film actress in the 1950s and early 1960s. In this gentle sitcom, she was cast as Doris Martin, a widow and mother of two young sons who, when the series premiered, had just moved back to a rural ranch outside of San Francisco after having lived in big cities for most of her adult life.

Other characters during this initial phase of the program included Doris's father Buck (played by Denver Pyle) and their hired hand on the ranch, Leroy (played by James Hampton).

In the 1969-70 TV season, the Doris Martin character began to commute from the ranch to San Francisco, where she worked as a secretary for a magazine. New workplace characters were added. McLean Stevenson (who would later leave the series to star in M*A*S*H) played her boss, and her friend and coworker, Myrna Gibbons, was played by Rose Marie in a role similar to her more famous Sally Rogers role on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Pyle and Hampton were still seen during this season.

At the start of the 1970-71 season, Doris and her sons moved from the ranch to San Francisco, where they lived above an Italian restaurant. Doris began writing articles for the magazine at which she worked, Today's World. Most of the characters from the previous season remained, with the exceptions of Pyle and Hampton's characters.

The fourth season, 1971-72, saw the most radical change in the series. Perhaps inspired by the success of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Day's character suddenly became a swinging single career woman. The entire cast, other than Day herself, was gone; even Doris Martin's two sons were no longer in the cast (or even referred to). Doris Martin now had a new editor, Cy Bennett (played by character actor John Dehner) , and she was no longer a secretary, but rather a full-time staff writer. Actress Jackie Joseph joined the cast as well, as Doris' friend, Jackie Parker. (The character was now depicted as though she has always been a reporter, and no reference was ever made to her ever having been a secretary.) The series continued with this format until it was canceled in 1973.

The Doris Day Show was considered a rather lightweight comedy, and was never a huge ratings success (although it was popular enough to survive on primetime TV for five seasons). Even though it premiered at a time when rural comedies such as Green Acres were still the norm, it continued into the era when topical, relevant sitcoms such as All in the Family prevailed. In fact, The Doris Day Show was once, in 1971, referred to in an episode of All in the Family. As the bigoted white character Archie Bunker awkwardly attempts to make small talk with his new African American neighbor Louise Jefferson, he asks her: "Er, how did you like the Julia show last night?" Louise Jefferson replies, "Fine. How did you like Doris Day?"

One implication of this exchange was that the sunny sitcom Julia, starring Diahann Carroll as a middle-class African American nurse, a show considered rather groundbreaking at the time by many white Americans, was in fact no more relevant for black Americans than the lightweight Doris Day Show was relevant for whites.


Nielsen Ratings

The show itself was a big hit in the ratings for the first four seasons, though it dropped fairly dramatically in the final season:

1968 - #30

1969 - #10

1970 - #20

1971 - #24

1972 - #32

1973 - #45


DVD Releases

MPI Home Video has released all 5 seasons of The Doris Day Show on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. Each DVD release contains extensive special features.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date


Season 1 28 June 28, 2005

Season 2 26 October 25, 2005

Season 3 26 May 30, 2006

Season 4 24 February 27, 2007

Season 5 24 November 20, 2007

Doogie Howser

Doogie Howser



Doogie Howser, M.D.

Format: Drama/Sitcom

Created by: Steven Bochco, David E. Kelley

Starring: Neil Patrick Harris, Max Casella, Lisa Dean Ryan Belinda Montgomery, James Sikking, Markus Redmond, Lawrence Pressman, Mitchell Anderson, Robyn Lively, Kathryn Layng

Country of origin: United States

No. of seasons: 4

No. of episodes: 97

Production

Running time: 24 minutes

Broadcast

Original channel: ABC

Original run: September 19, 1989 – March 24, 1993 Doogie Howser, M.D. is a television comedy-drama starring Neil Patrick Harris as a brilliant teenage doctor who was also faced with the problems of being a normal teenager. The show ran from September 1989 to March 1993.

Production

Created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, the weekly, half-hour "dramedy" starred Neil Patrick Harris as Douglas "Doogie" Howser, a child prodigy who became the youngest practicing physician in the country. The show was set in Los Angeles, California and ran for four years on ABC. The soundtrack of the series is by Mike Post and uses Post's trademark mid to late 1980s Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer.


Cast



Actor Role

Neil Patrick Harris Dr. Douglas "Doogie" Howser

Max Casella Vincent "Vinnie" Delpino

James Sikking Dr. David Howser

Belinda Montgomery Katherine Howser

Lisa Dean Ryan Wanda Plenn

Lucy Boryer Janine Stewart

Lawrence Pressman Dr. Benjamin Canfield

Mitchell Anderson Dr. Jack McGuire

Kathryn Layng Nurse Mary Margaret "Curly" Spaulding

Markus Redmond Raymond Alexander

Episodes

There were four seasons of Doogie Howser M.D., totaling 97 episodes. Steven Bochco revealed that the show's cancellation came abruptly at the hands of ABC executives--before he and the show's staff had a chance to complete the story line. Bochco believed Doogie would have left the pressures of medicine to become a writer.


Plot

The main character is Dr. Douglas "Doogie" Howser (Harris), the son of David and Catherine Howser. At the age of five, he was diagnosed with early-stage pediatric leukemia after suspicious bruising was discovered by his father, who is also a medical doctor. After successful treatments, he began to express a genius level of intelligence. At age six, he got a perfect score on the SAT. He completed high school in nine weeks, graduated from Princeton University at age 10 and finished medical school four years later. At age 14, he was the youngest licensed doctor in the country. The series picks up on his 16th birthday; the cold open of the pilot episode shows him stopping his field test for his driver's license to help an injured person at the scene of a traffic accident.

In the series, Doogie works as a resident surgeon at a hospital in Los Angeles, and still lives at home with his parents. He also has a best friend, Vinnie Delpino (Max Casella), who is a more typical teenager and keeps him grounded in life outside his profession. He keeps a diary on his computer; each episode typically ends with him making an entry in it. A trademark of the show was Vinnie climbing in through his window, to visit his friend. Doogie initially has a girlfriend, Wanda Plenn, but they break up in the course of the series.

During the shows first season, Doogie and Vinnie wind up in a hostage situation in a convenience store and get to know their captor (Raymond Alexander) over the episode, leading Doogie to reflect on his privileged upbringing. He's arrested, but later returns after his release from prison to ask Doogie for help staying straight. Doogie helps him get a job as an orderly at his hospital, helping him start a new life away from crime.

DVD releases

Anchor Bay Entertainment has released all 4 seasons of the TV series on DVD in Region 1.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date

Doogie Howser, M.D.: Season One 26 March 22, 2005

Doogie Howser, M.D.: Season Two 25 September 6, 2005

Doogie Howser, M.D.: Season Three 24 January 17, 2006

Doogie Howser, M.D.: Season Four 22 April 18, 2006



Cultural impact

Smart mice obtained by genetic engineering have been named "Doogie mice" in reference to this character. The sequence at the end of an episode of the T.V. series How I Met Your Mother entitled "The Bracket" is an allusion to the end of each Doogie Howser M.D. episode, where the character Barney Stinson is also played by Neil Patrick Harris. In Veronica Mars, when Wallace is in Chicago, Veronica complains about feeling like Doogie Howser due to their one-sided email exchanges.

The Donna Reed Show

The Donna Reed Show

Another popular 1950's sitcom about a close family. The Stones consist of loving homemaker Donna, her pediatrician husband Alex, and their children Mary and Jeff. Many situations arise like when they found a baby on their doorstep or take in a rebellious youth or when Donna tries to patch up marital spats among friends.

The Donna Reed Show

Donna Reed

Born: Donnabelle Mullenger January 27, 1921(1921-01-27) Denison, Iowa USA

Died: January 14, 1986 (aged 64)Beverly Hills, California

Occupation: actress

Years active: 1941 - 1985

Spouse(s) William Tuttle (1943-1945) Tony Owen (1945-1971) Grover Asmus (1974-1986)

Awards won

Academy Awards

Best Supporting Actress 1953 From Here to Eternity

Golden Globe Awards

Best TV Star - Female 1962 The Donna Reed Show Donna Reed (January 27, 1921 - January 14, 1986) was an Academy Award-winning American actress.


The Donna Reed Show

Biography

Personal life

Reed was born Donnabelle Mullenger on a farm near Denison, Iowa. Denison Iowa now hosts the Donna Reed Festival every year. The trees that Reed's father planted still stand and the route to their home, southeast of Denison, is named Donna Reed Drive. This route is now paved to the north corner of the old Mullenger farm. Reed was the daughter of Hazel Jane (née Shives) and William Richard Mullenger. She was the eldest of five children. and was reared as a Methodist. Reed was the mother of four children with husband, producer Tony Owen (1907-1984), two of whom the couple adopted at The Cradle in Evanston, Illinois. She and Owen divorced in 1972, and four years later, Reed married retired U. S. Army Colonel Grover W. Asmus (1926-2003).

She was committed to both motherhood and gender equality. In 1967, in opposition to the Vietnam War, she co-founded the interest group, Another Mother for Peace.

Reed attended Denison High School and graduated in the top ten of a class of eighty-five. After high school, in 1938, she left for Los Angeles to live with her Aunt Mildred. Reed was ecstatic to discover that for five dollars a semester she could enroll in radio and secretarial courses at Los Angeles City College.

Career Reed in It's a Wonderful LifeReed is probably best remembered for her roles as the wholesome housewife Donna Stone on television's The Donna Reed Show and as Mary Bailey in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946). However, early in her career, she posed topless for a series of cheesecake glamour photographs and won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing a prostitute in From Here to Eternity (1953). In later years Reed sometimes complained that she was denied more challenging roles similar to her Oscar-winning part in From Here to Eternity.

In her later years she temporarily replaced Barbara Bel Geddes who had decided to step down from her role as "Miss Ellie" in the television series Dallas in the 1984-85 season. When Bel Geddes agreed to return to the role for the 1985-86 season, Reed was fired. She sued the show's production company for breach of contract and received an undisclosed seven-figure settlement shortly before her death from cancer. During a 2007 TV special, "Bring Back...Dallas", on the UK's Channel 4 it was revealed that Larry Hagman got Bel Geddes back, an action which left Reed jobless.


Death

Reed died at the age of sixty-four in Beverly Hills, California from pancreatic cancer and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Reed was survived by her four children; Mary Owen, Timothy Owen, Penny Owen Stigers, and Tony Owen Jr.

The Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts, based in Reed's hometown of Denison, was organized after Reed's death in 1987 by her husband, Grover Asmus, actresses Shelley Fabares and Norma Connolly, and numerous friends, associates, and family members. The non-profit organization grants scholarships for performing arts students, runs an annual festival of performing arts workshops, and operates "The Donna Reed Center for the Performing Arts". Some of the workshops offered include theater performance, children's musical theater, methods of theater arts coaching, private coaching, and writing for screen and stage. The performing arts center was formerly an opera house built in 1914, and later renovated into the Ritz Movie Theater where the young Reed first fell in love with movies.


Filmography

Year/Title/Role/Other notes

1941 The Get-Away Maria Theresa 'Terry' O'Reilly Alternative title: The Getaway Shadow of the Thin Man Molly Babes on Broadway Jonesy's Secretary Uncredited

1942 Personalities Uncredited The Bugle Sounds Sally Hanson The Courtship of Andy Hardy Melodie Eunice Nesbit Mokey Anthea Delano Calling Dr. Gillespie Marcia Bradburn Apache Trail Rosalia Martinez Eyes in the Night Barbara Lawry

1943 The Human Comedy Bess Macauley Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case Marcia Bradburn Alternative title: Crazy to Kill The Man from Down Under Mary Wilson Thousands Cheer Customer in Red Skelton Skit

1944 See Here, Private Hargrove Carol Holliday Gentle Annie Mary Lingen

1945 The Picture of Dorian Gray Gladys Hallward They Were Expendable Lt. Sandy Davyss

1946 Faithful in My Fashion Jean Kendrick It's a Wonderful Life Mary Hatch Bailey Alternative title: Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life

1947 Green Dolphin Street Marguerite Patourel

1948 Beyond Glory Ann Daniels

1949 Chicago Deadline Rosita Jean D'Ur

1951 Saturday's Hero Melissa Alternative title: Idols in the Dust


1952 Scandal Sheet Julie Allison Alternative title: The Dark Page

Hangman's Knot Molly Hull

1953 Trouble Along the Way Alice Singleton Alternative title: Alma Mater

Raiders of the Seven Seas Alida

From Here to Eternity Alma "Lorene" Burke Won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

The Caddy Kathy Taylor

Gun Fury Jennifer Ballard

1954 They Rode West Laurie MacKaye

Three Hours to Kill Laurie Mastin

The Last Time I Saw Paris Marion Ellswirth/Matine

The Ford Television Theatre Lydia Campbell TV, 1 episode

1955 The Far Horizons Sacajawea Alternative title: The Untamed West

Tales of Hans Anderson TV, 1 episode

The Benny Goodman Story Alice Hammond

1956 Ransom! Edith Stannard Alternative title: Fearful Decision

Backlash Karyl Orton

Beyond Mombasa Ann Wilson

1957 General Electric Theater Rayna TV, 1 episode

Suspicion Letty Jason TV, 1 episode

1958 The Whole Truth Carol Poulton

1958-1966 The Donna Reed Show Donna Stone TV, 275 episodes, Won Best TV Star Golden Globe, Nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Series Emmy (1959-1962)

1974 Yellow-Headed Summer

1979 The Best Place to Be Sheila Callahan Television movie

1983 Deadly Lessons Miss Wade Television movie

1984 The Love Boat TV, 2 episodes

1984-1986 Dallas Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Southworth Ewing TV, 24 episodes


Awards and nominations

Year Group Award Film or series Result

1954 Academy Award Best Actress in a Supporting Role From Here to Eternity Won

1963 Golden Globe Award Best TV Star - Female The Donna Reed Show Won

1964 Golden Apple Award Most Cooperative Actress - Won

1959 Emmy Award Best Actress in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Comedy Series The Donna Reed Show Nominated

1960 Emmy Award Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Series (Lead or Support) The Donna Reed Show Nominated

1961 Emmy Award Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Series (Lead) The Donna Reed Show Nominated

1962 Emmy Award Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Series (Lead) The Donna Reed Show Nominated

2004 TV Land Awards The Most Irreplaceable Replacement Dallas Nominated

2006 TV Land Awards The Most Irreplaceable Replacement Dallas Nominated


The Donna Reed Show

Genre: Sitcom

Starring: Donna Reed, Carl Betz, Shelley Fabares (she does a great job on Coach -- a more recent sitcom), Paul Petersen Patty Petersen, Bob Crane, Jimmy Hawkins Opening theme: "Happy Days"

Country of origin: United States

Language(s): English

No. of seasons: 8 No. of episodes: 275 Production

Producer(s): Tony Owen, Bill Robert

Running time: 30 min.

Broadcast

Original channel: ABC

Original run: September 24, 1958 – March 19, 1966

The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom which aired on ABC from 1958 to 1966. It starred Donna Reed as Donna Stone, a housewife to pediatrician Alex Stone, played by Carl Betz. The couple had two children together, Mary and Jeff. Another series regular (from 1963-1965) was future Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane. For many years its main sponsor was the Campbell Soup Company with Johnson & Johnson as the principal alternate sponsor.


Overview

The show was a situation comedy, focusing on parenting problems and the love lives and activities of the children, distinctive in that Donna was deeply involved in the lives of the kids, helping them solve their problems while Dr. Alex had to see patients (a stark and refreshing contrast to Father Knows Best and I Love Lucy). The show was also unique in that Donna frequently worked as a nurse, at a time when most TV mothers were housewives.

Former "Mouseketeer" Paul Petersen portrayed the son Jeff. The character of Mary, played by Shelley Fabares, became very popular on Top 40 radio thanks to a single she recorded in 1962 called "Johnny Angel." It sold over a million copies, and Fabares left the show in 1963 to pursue other acting and singing opportunities. In the series, Mary Stone left to attend college away from home, while Petersen's real-life sister Patty Petersen joined the cast as Trisha. (Petersen had his own recording career, his biggest hit being the 1963 single "My Dad", for Colpix Records.)

Other actors had secondary roles on the series over the years, including Jimmy Hawkins as Mary Stone's persistent boyfriend Scotty and Bob Crane, who played a neighbor.

Syndication and DVD release

Reruns aired on Nick at Nite from 1985 through 1994 and on TV Land in 2002.

For a limited time in 2004, General Mills offered a DVD of two episodes inside boxes of Total and Oatmeal Crisp.

In June 2008, Arts Alliance America announced a DVD set of the show's first season is scheduled for released on October 28, 2008.

The Brady Bunch

The Brady Bunch



Category: Sitcom
Created By: Sherwood Schwartz

Stars: Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, Eve Plumb, Mike Lookinland, Susan Olsen, Ann B. Davis

Opening Theme: Theme

Number of Seasons: 5

Number of Episodes: 117

Original Channel: ABC

Original Run: September 26, 1969 to March 8, 1974

The show is an American television situation comedy based around a large blended family. The show originally aired from September 26, 1969 to August 30, 1974 on the ABC network and was subsequently syndicated across the world.

Overview

Origins

Sherwood Schwartz, creator of the series, conceived the idea for the series after reading an article in the Los Angeles Times that said "40% of marriages [in the United States] had a child or children from [a] previous marriage."

Despite the similarities between the series and the 1968 theatrical release Yours, Mine and Ours starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, the original script for The Brady Bunch (which was titled Yours and Mine at that early stage) predated the script for the film. However, the success of the film was likely a factor in the network ordering the series.

Plot

Mike Brady (Robert Reed), a widowed architect with sons Greg (Barry Williams), Peter (Christopher Knight) and Bobby (Mike Lookinland), married Carol Martin (née Tyler) (Florence Henderson), whose daughters were Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Jan (Eve Plumb) and Cindy (Susan Olsen). The daughters took the Brady surname. Schwartz wanted Carol to have been a divorcée. The network objected to this, but a compromise was reached whereby no mention was made of the circumstances in which Carol's first marriage ended, but many assume she was widowed. The newly-formed juvenile sextet, parents Carol and Mike, Mike's live-in housekeeper Alice (Ann B. Davis), and the boys' dog Tiger settled into a large, suburban home designed by Mike.

Often erroneously cited as the first series to show a "blended" family (two series which debuted in the 1950s, Make Room For Daddy and Bonanza had step-siblings and half-siblings respectively), it came at a time when divorce and remarriage in America was seeing a surge. Episodes in the first season chronicled the family learning to adjust to its new circumstances and become a unit, as well as typical childhood problems such as dating, rivalries and family squabbles and the fact that their house had two bedrooms for six children.

Subtle references to larger social problems occasionally found their way into the dialogue from time to time. In one social-issue episode, season two's "The Liberation of Marcia Brady," Marcia explores the oppression of the Brady women and sets out to prove a girl can do anything a boy can. The boys find this very upsetting and Peter finds himself joining the Sunflower Girls, Marcia's club, in hopes of making her back down from her 'bad idea'.

Mike did much of his architectural work in an office/design studio within the house, an apparent way of lending some realism to the way in which sitcom dads seem to be almost always at home while nonetheless earning a good living. In the episodes where he was shown in his away-from-home office, he often came home from work about the same time the children got home from school.

The theme song penned by Schwartz quickly communicated to audiences that the Bradys were a blended family though the situation largely was de-emphasized from the second season on with a few exceptions. In the episodes "Not So Rose Colored Glasses" and "Jan's Aunt Jenny" mention was made that Mike and Carol had been married for three years. Those episodes were in the third season. In "Kelly's Kids," reference was made to the Bradys' adoptions ("Either way, you adopted three boys and you adopted three girls, right?") when their neighbors, the Kellys, adopted three boys of different races..

Original Run and Subsequent Success

In 1971, due to the success of the Brady's ABC Friday night companion show The Partridge Family, (about a musical family) some episodes began to feature the Brady Kids as a singing group. Though only a handful of shows actually featured them singing and performing ("Doe-Ri-Me" in the third season, "Amateur Nite" in the fourth and "Johnny Bravo" in the fifth), the Brady Bunch began to produce albums. Though they never charted as high as the Partridges, the cast began touring the U.S. during the summer hiatus from the show, headlining as The Kids from the Brady Bunch. Although only Barry Williams and Maureen McCormick stayed in the music business as adults, Christopher Knight readily admits he felt he could not sing and recalls having great anxiety about performing live on stage with the cast.

The Brady Bunch never achieved high ratings during its primetime run (never placing in the top 25 in the five years it aired) and was canceled in 1974 when Greg graduated from high school and was about to enroll in college. Despite its less-than-stellar primetime ratings and having won no awards, the show would, inexplicably to some observers, become a true cultural phenomenon, having lasted in the minds of Americans and in syndication for nearly four decades. The series has spawned several sequel series on all three traditional major U.S. networks, two made-for-theater and three made-for-TV movies, a touring stage show and countless specials and documentaries on both network and cable TV.

Since its first airing in syndication in September 1975, an episode of the show has been broadcast somewhere in the U.S. and abroad every single day of every single year through at least 2007[citation needed]. Reruns were also shown on ABC in the daytime from July 9, 1973 to August 29, 1975, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern/10:30 Central. The run was interrupted only once, between April 21 and June 27, 1975, when ABC ran a short-lived game show, Blankety Blanks, in that time slot.

When the episodes were repeated in syndication, they usually appeared every weekday in late-afternoon or early-evening slots on local stations. This enabled children to watch the episodes when they came home from school, making the program widely popular and giving it iconic status, strangely enough, most among those who were too young to have seen the series during its prime time run. The show's longevity in the public mind largely owes to that phenomenon, which was a unique aberration from the traditional norm of a previously-run network program being sold to stations as schedule filler between network programming blocs.

According to Schwartz, the reason the show has become a part of Americana despite the fact that there have been other shows that ran longer, rated higher and were critically acclaimed is that the episodes were written from the standpoint of the children and addressed situations that children could understand (such as girl trouble, jealousy towards their older siblings and meeting a famous baseball player). The Bradys also comprised a harmonious family (compared to the likes of the Bunkers, the Bundys, the Simpsons, etc...), though they did run into problems occasionally, when one of the children did not cooperate with his or her parents or the other children. In fact, anticipating the likelihood that some children might "act out" some plotlines, the producers had a form letter they sent to children who wrote stating their desires to run away from their own families and live with the Bradys. It has also been noted that the Bradys, while not wealthy, lived well by the middle-class standards of the early 1970s, having a live-in housekeeper and taking frequent trips.

The show presently airs on the TV Land cable network.

Cast

The regular cast appeared in an opening title sequence in which video head shots were arranged in a three-by-three grid, with each cast member appearing to look at the other cast members. The sequence has been widely imitated and lampooned since.

Marcia Brady/Maureen McCormick Carol Brady/Florence Henderson Greg Brady/Barry Williams Jan Brady/Eve Plumb Alice Nelson/Ann B. Davis Peter Brady/Christopher Knight Cindy Brady/Susan Olsen Mike Brady/Robert Reed Bobby Brady/Mike Lookinland

A recurring character was Alice's boyfriend, Sam Franklin (Allan Melvin), the owner of a local butcher shop. (By the time of The Brady Girls Get Married, a made-for-TV movie in 1981, Alice and Sam were married.) Sam is incorrectly perceived to have appeared in many of the show's episodes. While he is frequently mentioned in dialogue and Alice occasionally went out on dates with him when she wasn't needed around the house, Sam actually appears in only eight episodes, although his appearances span all the seasons.

Although many actors who become type-cast into the roles they played on a particular series sometimes resent this, it is exactly the opposite with the actors and actresses who played on the Brady Bunch series. Recently on a TV Land documentary, the actors revealed that they all remain close friends, and most have remained in regular contact with one another. On several episodes of Christopher Knight's reality show series, My Fair Brady, Florence Henderson made guest appearances, and gave advice on Chris' ongoing relationship issues. Knight also invited Williams, Susan Olsen, and Mike Lookinland to a wedding party, during which most of his time was spent hanging out with them, away from the party, and he stated that it was important that his fiance accept that his Brady Bunch friends are an important part of his life.


Cousin Oliver Robbie Rist as Cousin Oliver

In 1974 during the show's final season, the producers decided to add a younger character, Cousin Oliver (Robbie Rist), since the Brady children were now all 12 or older (Barry Williams was 19 during the show's final season) and a lot of the fifth season was aimed towards Greg going to college. In the episode in which Oliver was introduced ("Welcome Aboard"), Carol explains that her brother—Jack Tyler, Oliver's father—took a four-month engineering assignment in a South American jungle where there would be no schools. He was taking his wife, Pauline, with him and Oliver couldn't go.

At first, the Brady kids think that accident-prone Oliver is a "jinx," and this discussion is overheard by Oliver. Oliver later tells Mike what he heard, and Mike sits down with the kids for a discussion about the importance of making Oliver feel welcome in their family because, like it or not, Oliver was staying. The kids express their concerns that Oliver is the reason they keep getting into trouble, but Mike assures them that these are merely accidents. The kids promise their father to try harder to be nice to Oliver and make him feel like he belongs and, true to their word, they do try to include Oliver more. Oliver overcomes his accident-prone life when the Brady kids, along with Alice and their mother, Carol, get to guest star in a movie because they had Oliver with them. The movie roles were a prize given to a person in line for the studio tour, which was the last member of their group. If Oliver were not with them, the people behind them would have won. Oliver is overjoyed.

Oliver appeared in the series' last six episodes; ratings were not boosted enough to keep the show from being canceled. (This also parallels The Partridge Family, which brought in a younger character named "Ricky" for six episodes of its final season that same year, in an unsuccessful attempt to revitalize the show.) Because of this, Cousin Oliver is sometimes jokingly referred to as the character who "killed The Brady Bunch" and is sometimes viewed as the reason for the show "jumping the shark," though, realistically, the show had run its course and would have ended regardless, due to the mediocre ratings and tensions between the producers and Reed (see below). Rist also played Ted and Georgette Baxter's son on the last year of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, but the child actor has never been seriously blamed for causing its demise.

"Cousin Oliver" has become television slang for a new character (especially a cute kid) introduced late into a show's run to boost interest and ratings, particularly when the show features child actors who have supposedly grown out of the age of cuteness.


The Bradys' Dog, Tiger

The dog that played Tiger was hit by a car and killed early in the first season. When a replacement dog proved problematic, the producers decided the dog would only appear when essential to the plot. Tiger appeared in about half the episodes in the first season and about half a dozen episodes in the second season. The dog last appeared in "What Goes Up," which aired in 1971, and was not shown or mentioned again.

According to Barry Williams, the doghouse remained visible in the backyard set because it was used to cover holes in the artificial turf caused by a falling stage light.

In The Brady Bunch Movie, after Carol tells Mike "Go get 'em, tiger" she remarks to herself, "Tiger... Tiger... whatever happened to that dog?"

At the end of A Very Brady Sequel, a dog runs through the yard where a party is occurring. Cindy and Bobby turn to each other and say "Tiger?" Cousin Oliver chases the dog offscreen, which is followed by the sound of an unseen car crash. Cindy and Bobby seem unfazed.

The series pilot contained the only appearance of Fluffy, a cat that belonged to Carol's girls prior to her marriage to Mike. No explanation was given for the cat's absence in subsequent episodes.


The Brady House

The house used in exterior shots, which bears little relation to the interior design of the Bradys' home, is located at 11222 Dilling Street, North Hollywood, within the city limits of Los Angeles, California. According to a 1994 article in the Los Angeles Times, the San Fernando Valley house was built in 1959 and selected as the Brady residence because series creator Schwartz felt it looked like a home where an architect would live.

The real house is a split-level ranch home. A false window was attached to the front's A-frame section to give the illusion it had two full stories during filming of the series' many establishing shots, all of which took place before the program debuted.

The address of the house in the series was given as 4222 Clinton Way (or Avenue). Although no city ever was specified, it was presumed from references to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Rams, and a Hollywood movie studio, among many others, that the Bradys lived in Southern California, most likely Los Angeles or one of its suburbs. In the 2002 TV movie The Brady Bunch in the White House, Cindy's map and Mike's speech state that the family lived in Santa Monica, California.

In the years since the show first aired, those who have owned the house have had problems with visitors who trespassed on the property to peep into the windows, or who came to the front door asking to see the fictional Bradys. As a result, the property has been extensively re-landscaped, so someone casually driving by most likely would not recognize it as the house shown in the TV show. For many fans, however, it is indeed still recognizable as the Brady house.

Contemporary establishing shots of the house were filmed with the owner's permission for the 1990 TV series The Bradys. The owner refused to restore the property to its 1969 look for The Brady Bunch Movie in 1995, so a façade resembling the original home was built around an existing house.

Spin=Offs and Sequels

Several sequels to the original series were made, featuring all or most of the original cast.


The Brady Bunch Hour

A variety show called The Brady Bunch Hour was spun-off in 1977. It was canceled after only nine episodes. Eve Plumb was the only regular cast member from the series who declined to be in the series and the role of Jan was recast with Geri Reischl. The entire cast took part in sketches and musical numbers, including the very non-musical Reed and Davis (in one memorable bit, a game-for-anything Reed even appeared in drag as Carmen Miranda). Produced by Sid and Marty Krofft, the sibling team behind H.R. Pufnstuf, Donny and Marie and other glitzy variety shows and children's series of the era, this show was an infamous disaster that has been much parodied since and enjoys an avid cult following. The show was intended to air every fifth week in the same slot as The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, but ended up scheduled sporadically throughout the season, leading to very inconsistent ratings, since fans could not remember when it was on or more likely saw a promo with Mike and Carol stating "The Brady Bunch Hour won't be seen this week, but we will back again soon".

This show was famously parodied on the Season 3 episode of That '70s Show (Red Sees Red). The entire family, due to a forced curfew is sitting around watching the show and each one leaves separately in anger (Red himself remarking that "This show is crap!"). Kitty then daydreams that her own family are the stars of a similar show. The show was also more directly parodied as part of "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" wherein the Simpsons star in a variety show spin-off of their show. It's noted during the show that Lisa Simpson had refused to participate, so she was replaced with a much older prom queen type who also claimed to be Lisa Simpson.


The Brady Girls Get Married / The Brady Brides

A TV reunion movie called The Brady Girls Get Married and a spin-off sitcom were produced in 1981 and aired on NBC. The reunion movie featured the entire original cast; this would prove to be the only time the entire cast worked together on a single project following the cancellation of the original series. The ensuing series (titled The Brady Brides) featured Maureen McCormick (Marcia) and Eve Plumb (Jan) in regular roles. The series had Marcia and Jan both married and both couples living together. The clashes between Jan's uptight husband, Phillip Covington III (a college professor who was several years older than Jan), and Marcia's more slob of a partner, Wally Logan (played by Jerry Houser) (a salesman who could never seem to keep a job), were the pivot on which many of the stories were based. Ten episodes were aired before the sitcom was canceled.


A Very Brady Christmas

A second TV reunion movie A Very Brady Christmas featured all the regular cast (except Susan Olsen; the role was played by Jennifer Runyon), as well as three grandchildren, Peter's girlfriend and the spouses of Greg, Marcia and Jan (Nora, Wally and Phillip, respectively).

Mike is still an architect and Jan has followed in his footsteps to become one herself; Carol is a realtor; Greg is a physician; Marcia is a stay-at-home mom; Peter works in an office; Cindy is in her last year of college; Bobby was in graduate school studying for business but dropped out to drive race cars.

After a series of pratfalls to get the family together, everyone comes home harboring various secrets (e.g., Jan and Phillip are considering separation; Wally is out of work again, having lost his job in a merger at his toy company; Greg's wife Nora wants to spend Christmas with her family; Cindy felt pressured to come home in lieu of a skiing trip with her college friends; Peter feels inferior to his girlfriend, who is also his boss; and Bobby hasn't revealed his leaving graduate school for a racing career). Alice, meanwhile, temporarily moves back in with Mike and Carol after her husband, Sam, runs off with another woman. (Allan Melvin did not reprise the role; he had retired from acting and was replaced in a single scene by Lewis Arquette.)

Even Mike has problems: Contractor Ted Roberts, wanting to save money on a downtown office complex project (at 34th St. and Oak) where Mike is the architect, demands that he redesign the building to omit important safety specifications. Mike advises against it and causes his firm to lose Roberts' services. On Christmas Day, the building crumbles, and Roberts, unable to contact anyone at the new firm he hired, must rely on Mike to find what caused the building's structure to become unstable. While inside, the building continues to crumble, trapping Mike and two security guards inside. Of course, everyone turns out to be okay, and Alice and Sam reunite.

The movie, which aired on CBS in December 1988 to high ratings, renewed interest in the Brady clan and set out the current careers and family situations which were continued in The Bradys.

The fact that this movie aired on CBS gave the Bradys a rare feat: the original show and reunions aired on all of the "big 3" networks — ABC, CBS and NBC.


The Bradys

The dramedy series The Bradys was produced in 1989 and premiered on February 6, 1990; Maureen McCormick was pregnant at the time and decided not to participate in this series; her role of Marcia was filled by Leah Ayres.

With this short-lived series came a brand new opening sequence and theme song. The visual still featured the familiar blue squares of the original series, and reunions (with the exception of the variety hour); then they all divide and move off-screen in different directions, with current episodic clips with the actors' names on the box they contain and a clip (from the Brady Bunch 1969 opening) of each actor superimposed in the back of a colored backdrop as a full clip opens up afterwards. Florence Henderson and Robert Reed appear side to side, the rest of the cast appear solo. After the last cast member (which is Mike Lookinland's "Bobby") is seen the familiar squares move back on screen with Ann B. Davis appearing in her spot; her clip blinks out and the squares divide staying on screen this time with the title appearing in the familiar title area (Alice's space).

The theme music used an instrumental version for the (CBS) network run and a lyrical version for reruns. The theme lyrics no longer featured the "That's the way we all became The Brady Bunch" lyrics and also the theme was no longer sung by The Brady Kids, it was performed by the Brady mom Florence Henderson.


Specials, Documentaries, and Other Revivals

The Brady Bunch has met with a remarkable amount of television coverage, although most of this did not happen until the series had been off the network for more than 20 years.

The Brady Kids, animated 22-episode series, aired 1972–74, about the Brady kids living in a tree house without any adults but with various pets. The first 17 episodes feature the voices of all six Brady kids, but Barry Williams and Christopher Knight are replaced for the last five episodes due to a contract dispute. The World of Sid & Marty Krofft at the Hollywood Bowl, 1973. Aired on Saturday morning on ABC. The kids sing in the famous Los Angeles venue, while Robert Reed and Ann B. Davis watch from box seats.

Donny and Marie Show, ABC, October 1, 1976. Florence Henderson, Maureen McCormick, Mike Lookinland, and Susan Olsen appear as their Brady characters on an episode of Donny and Marie Osmond's variety show, without permission of the copyright owners of The Brady Bunch. They appear in several comedy sketches and the kids sing Cole Porter's We Open in Venice.

The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, ABC, November 28, 1976. From the producers of Donny and Marie comes this special. It leads to The Brady Bunch Hour as a series on ABC.

The Brady Bunch Hour, ABC, January–May 1977 (8 episodes). Details above.

The Brady Girls Get Married, NBC, January–February 1981 (made for TV movie shown in three parts). Details above.

The Brady Brides, NBC, February–April 1981 (7 episodes). Details above.

The Love Boat, ABC, circa 1984. Although the name 'Brady' is not mentioned, Robert Reed and Florence Henderson appear in a cameo and talk about how they can take a cruise since the kids are all grown up. Other famous TV couples appear in the episode.

A Very Brady Christmas, CBS, December 18, 1988. The highest-rated TV movie of the 1988–89 television season.


Day by Day: A Very Brady Episode, NBC, February 5, 1989. Robert Reed and Florence Henderson reprise their roles as Mike and Carol in this episode of a short-lived sitcom starring Linda Kelsey and Courtney Thorne-Smith. Other Brady veterans appear, including (a then pregnant) Maureen McCormick. In the episode, a teenage boy in the family (Christopher Daniel Barnes) dreams he's Chuck Brady and escapes to the Bradys' world after he's yelled at for his poor scholastic habits (he was watching a Brady marathon); however, Chuck's dream comes apart when various Bradys begin repeating comments made only a few minutes earlier. Art came to imitate life when Barnes was cast as the new Greg Brady in the theatrical Brady Bunch movies in 1995 and 1996.

Free Spirit: The New Secretary, ABC, December 10, 1989. Although the name Brady is never mentioned, Robert Reed and Florence Henderson play a couple seeking a divorce in an episode of this short-lived sitcom about a witch (Corinne Bohrer) working as a nanny to a widowed lawyer.

The Real Live Brady Bunch stage show in the early 1990s featured re-enactments of series episodes. Andy Richter played Mike Brady, and appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on November 9, 1992 almost a year before becoming the sidekick on Late Night with Conan O' Brien.

The Bradys, CBS, February–March 1990 (six episodes). Details above.

The Brady 500, CBS, February 9, 1990. Bobby is injured in a car race and is paralyzed from the waist down. All original cast except for Maureen McCormick. This is actually the first two episodes of The Bradys and are also known as Start Your Engines Most of the cast, except Robert Reed, promoted their new series on the Sally Jesse Raphael series. Their live Florida broadcast was interrupted by rain.


Bradymania: A Very Brady Special, 1993. Based loosely on Elizabeth Moran's book Bradymania, this special was hosted by Florence Henderson and include clips comparing Brady behavior with that on other sitcoms.

The Brady Bunch Movie, 1995. Theatrical release. A parody of the original series. Most Brady veterans appear in cameos, except for deceased Robert Reed. Scenes with Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen were shot, but were cut from the final film.

A Very Brady Sequel, 1996. Theatrical release. Same cast as previous but with Tim Matheson playing a villain impersonating Carol's first husband (at the end of this film, Cousin Oliver is run over by a car).

Brady Bunch Home Movies, May 23, 1995. During the original series run, Robert Reed gave each of the juvenile cast members an 8 mm movie camera. This special includes footage the Brady kids shot in those days and is their tribute to Reed. Susan Olsen was executive producer.


Attack of the Bradys, 1998. Another VH1 special.

E! True Hollywood Story: The Brady Bunch, June 6, 1999. Members of the cast retell their anecdotes for the benefit of this E! Network series, including an extensive discussion of Robert Reed's homosexuality.

Unauthorized Brady Bunch: The Final Days, May 16, 2000. A made for TV movie looking at the making of The Brady Bunch focusing on the final season which was marred by dissension among the cast pertaining to their business arrangements and the creative direction of the show.

Growing Up Brady, May 21, 2000. A made-for-TV movie of Barry Williams's hit 1992 book.

Pop-Up Brady, VH-1, July 18, 2001. Several episodes of The Brady Bunch with textual commentary added in the form of on-screen balloons.

The Weakest Link, NBC, September 24, 2001. All members of the Brady cast, except Reed and Davis, compete on this game show, including Robbie Rist, who joked during introductions, "I hope I don't kill this show, too!" Topics included Brady trivia.

The Brady Bunch in the White House, November 29, 2002. Made-for-TV movie parody in the mould of The Brady Bunch Movie but with a mostly new cast.

The Brady Bunch 35th Anniversary Reunion Special: Still Brady after All These Years, September 29, 2004. Reunion special featuring entire surviving cast, hosted by Jenny McCarthy.

My Fair Brady, 2005. A reality TV series starring Christopher Knight and Adrianne Curry (The first America's Next Top Model Winner) and their relationship post a stint on VH1's The Surreal Life. Barry Williams, Florence Henderson, Susan Olsen and Mike Looklinland all appear in the series as well.

Coming Together under One Roof, 2005. Sherwood Schwartz narrates this documentary about the creation of The Brady Bunch for the DVD release of the first season.

Biography: The Brady Bunch, A&E Network, June 24, 2005. A&E's popular documentary program, having earlier profiled both Florence Henderson and Robert Reed, devotes an episode to the series.

The Brady Bunch Cast Back in Hawaii, 2005. Florence Henderson, Barry Williams, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, and Susan Olsen go back to Hawaii and meet up with Don Ho.




Robert Reed vs. the Producers

Robert Reed became increasingly jaded about appearing in the series, as he felt that his Shakespearean training would mean nothing if he became typecast in the "Mr. Brady" role. He frequently fought with producers to make changes in the show's scripts in order to remove what he felt were unbelievable scenes or dialogue. Despite his battles, he was allowed to direct several episodes, "The Winner" and "The Big Little Man" (1971), "How To Succeed In Business" and "Getting Greg's Goat" (1973).

Reed did not appear in a 1972 episode, "Goodbye Alice Hello," although his absence from this episode was never explained. By the final season, his arguments with the producers led to his absence from the series finale, "The Hair-Brained Scheme", (because he believed a key plot point was too implausible to be believed). In addition to "The Hair-Brained Scheme," Barry Williams' autobiography, Growing Up Brady, contains two of Reed's negative critiques of the episodes "The Impractical Joker" and "And Now a Word From Our Sponsor" (1971).

In the first season episode "Father Of The Year", Reed is clearly heard saying "What the hell's going on?" when his character enters the living room from the back door, instead of the front, when a TV news crew arrives to cover his Father Of The Year award. How this profanity escaped the ABC censors was never explained, an oddity considering the wholesome tone the show conveyed.

Other Mentions

On an episode of Whose Line is it Anyway?, in which Florence Henderson was a guest for one of the games, Wayne Brady was referred to as "The Lost Brady Son".

In 1979, in the first episode of Knots Landing, Karen Fairgate, played by Michele Lee, refers to her family as "the neighborhood Brady Bunch".

In circa 1984, "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied Men Without Hats' "The Safety Dance" with a song called "The Brady Bunch". The first person in the song has only one television and he says the second person can watch anything except for The Brady Bunch.

In the 1991 film Hot Shots, Topper Harley moves into the base and troops in training march sing the theme song to The Brady Bunch.


In 1992, Saturday Night Live did a send-up of the Bradys versus The Partridge Family, "Battle of the Bands". Susan Dey, hosting SNL that week, reprised the character of Laurie Partridge for this sketch. SNL cast member Melanie Hutsell led the battle as Jan Brady, a recurring character at that time.

In a 1992 episode of Tiny Toons, "Grandma's Dead" (11/10/92), Elmyra grieves over the loss of her pet hamster, Jan Brady, but all the neighbors get the idea that Elmyra's vacationing grandma has bought the farm.

In a 1993 episode of Full House, Joey mentions how he wanted a family like the Bradys (The Brady Bunch was one of the shows Full House was often compared to).

In Season 4 of Full House, Danny Tanner mentions that his family (combined with his then-current girlfriend Cindy and her son Rusty) would make a repilca of The Brady Bunch family if they dressed Joey up as Alice. This, however, would not be completely accurate because, if assuming Jesse is playing the "Greg" part, another boy would be needed.

In "Stranger in a Strange Land", an episode of Lost, Sawyer refers to Karl as "Bobby", which is not understood by Karl, who hadn't even heard of The Brady Bunch.

In an episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, the million dollar question was "What was Carol Brady's maiden name?" The contestant chose to walk rather than guess. The answer is Tyler. (In the first The Brady Bunch episode, she is referred to as Mrs. Martin - her previous married name. Then at the wedding, Mike greets her parents as Mr. and Mrs. Tyler - thereby referring to her maiden name).


Other Mentions continued

In the 1999 TV movie Come on Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story, there is a scene in which The Partridge Family cast takes their bus over to the set where The Brady Bunch cast is filming. A confrontation ensues, in which Florence Henderson and Shirley Jones exchange insults, comparing their TV families. (This scene never actually took place in real life, rather it was inspired by the "competition" factor between the shows that developed during the 90s, when Nickelodeon ran both The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family back-to-back on its Nick at Nite lineup).

In an episode of The Amanda Show, there was a skit parodying The Brady Bunch making them very violent, that was called "When Bradys Attack".

The next-to-last episode of The X-Files, "Sunshine Days", Scully, Reyes and Doggett deal with a telekinetic man who is obsessed with The Brady Bunch. In fact, those who look into his house through the windows "see" the interior of the Brady house and the Brady family.

Australian television show Fast Forward sent-up The Brady Bunch in Season 3 (1991), which had Jane Turner as Carol and Steve Blackburn as Mike.

In the March 13, 2006 episode of As the World Turns, Gwen and Will Munson reminisce about Will's family from years ago and sarcastically refer to it as being "the real Brady Bunch".

In an episode of Dead Ringers, there is a sketch based on the TV show Spooks having its split screens (or boxes as they were referred to) invaded by shows such as Hustle and 24 and finally The Brady Bunch who get a bomb dropped into their window.

Other Mentions continued

In an episode of Beavis and Butt-head called "Good Credit", Beavis and Butt-head are watching the The Brady Brunch intro. Another episode had the duo having a joint dream, fantasizing about the Brady girls and singing a parody of the The Brady Bunch theme song.

A series of Old Navy commercials from Summer 2002 had a parody of this show called The Rugby Bunch.

A The Brady Bunch grid parody is seen in the music video for "Holidae In" by Chingy featuring Ludacris and Snoop Dogg.

A verse in the song "Tiki God" on The Presidents of the United States of America's album II refers specifically to the events of the three-part season 4 opener "Hawaii Bound", "Pass the Tabu", and "The Tiki Caves".

In an episode of Teen Titans, supervillain Killer Moth is shown to live in a house in which the outside completely resembles the Brady house.

In a 1973 episode, "Adios, Johnny Bravo", musical agent, Tammi Cutler (Claudia Jennings) attempts to sign Greg Brady to a music contract[2]. It's reported that Greg (Barry Williams) had an off the air crush on Claudia who was the real life Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Year in 1970.[3]


Other Mentions continued

In the first episode of Season 2, Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher, Don Drysdale plays in a cameo appearance in which he gives Greg Brady pitching tips.

The music video for Eminem's breakout song, "My Name Is" parodies The Brady Bunch's opening credits grid, with all the boxes showing Eminem's face, and the words "The Shady Bunch" in the middle.

In 2006 the alternative band Sha-Pink performed a song entitled "Bobby Brady Pants" on their podcast, The Sha-Pink Oddcast. An animated video of "Bobby Brady Pants" premiered on YouTube in June of 2007.

The Humancalendar.com Web site (companion to the Humanclock Web site) cites[4] the Brady Bunch opening grid as its design inspiration.

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were often referred to as the Brady Bunch during the years in which they won Super Bowls in the NFL.

The Brady Bunch was Parodied on Family Guy [Episode #1- Death has a shadow]. Greg is accused of smoking, by his sister Jan, and is punished with four hours in a snake pit. Jan is then punished for being a tattle-tale, by spending time in the chamber of fire.