|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Jul 29, 2008 17:14:24 GMT -5
It is the time for counting down. Here is number 26: 26. ER Genre: Medical Drama. Created by: Michael Crichton. Executive Producer(s): Michael Crichton (1994-present), John Wells (1994-present), Christopher Chulack (1994-present), Jack Orman (1999-2003), Joe Sachs (2000-2008), Lydia Woodward (1994-2005), R. Scott Gemmill (1999-2007), David Zabel (2003-2008), Janine Sherman (2005-2008), Jonathan Kaplan (1999-2005), Robert Nathan (1994-1995), Carol Flint (1996-1999), Dee Johnson (2000-2005), Walon Green (1997-1998), Neal Baer (1996-2000), and Steven Spielberg (1994). Starring: Noah Wyle (Dr. John Carter 1994-2006), Anthony Edwards (Dr. Mark Greene 1994-2002), Eriq La Salle (Dr. Peter Benton 1994-2002), Julianna Margulies (Nurse Carol Hathaway 1994-2000), George Clooney (Dr. Doug Ross 1994-1999), Sherry Stringfield (Dr. Susan Lewis 1994-1996, 2001-2005), Laura Innes (Dr. Kerry Weaver 1995-2007), Ming-Na (Dr. Jing-Mei Chen 1995-2000), Alex Kingston (Dr. Elizabeth Corday 1997-2004), Paul McCrane (Dr. Robert "Rocket" Romano 1997-2003), Maria Bello (Dr. Anna Del Amico 1997-1998), Kellie Martin (Lucy Knight 1998-2000), Goran Visnjic (Dr. Luka Kovač 1999-present), Maura Tierney (Dr. Abby Lockhart 1999-present), Gloria Reuben (Jeanie Boulet, P.A. 1999-2008), Michael Michele (Dr. Cleo Finch 1999-2002), Erik Palladino (Dr. Dave Malucci 1999-2001), Sharif Atkins (Dr. Michael Gallant 2001-2006), Mekhi Phifer (Dr. Gregory Pratt 2002-present), Parminder Nagra (Dr. Neela Rasgotra 2003-present), Linda Cardellini (Nurse Samantha Taggart 2003-present), Scott Grimes (Dr. Archie Morris 2003-present), Shane West (Dr. Ray Barnett 2004-2007), and John Stamos (Dr. Tony Gates 2005-present). Country of Origin: United States. Number of Seasons: 14. Number of Episodes: 309. Running Time: 60 minutes. Original Channel: NBC. Original Run: September 19, 1994 – present. Spinoffs: None. Created by Michael Crichton, ER is NBC's second longest-running drama (after Law & Order), and, at 14 seasons, the longest-running American primetime medical drama of all time. It premiered on September 19 1994 and has been aired on Thursday nights at 10:00 for its entire run. On April 2, 2008, NBC announced that the series will return for its 15th and final season, which will run for 19 episodes before the show retires at the end of the February 2009 sweeps. The novel ER was originally slated to be a movie, directed by Steven Spielberg. However, during the early stages of pre-production, Spielberg asked Michael Crichton what his current project was. Crichton said he was working on a novel about dinosaurs and DNA. Spielberg subsequently dropped what he was doing to film this project, which became Jurassic Park. Afterwards, he returned to ER and helped develop the show, serving as a producer on season one and offering advice (he insisted on Julianna Margulies becoming a regular, for example). It was also through Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment that John Wells was contacted to be the show's executive producer. Due to a lack of time and money to build a set, the pilot episode of ER was filmed in the former Linda Vista Community Hospital in Los Angeles, an old facility that ceased operating as a medical center in 1990. A set modeled after Los Angeles County General Hospital's emergency room was built soon after at the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California, although the show makes extensive use of location shoots in Chicago, most notably the city's famous "L" train platforms. Michael Crichton wrote the script that became the pilot episode of the show in the early 1970s. It was based on some of his experiences working in an ER. By the time the pilot episode was shot and aired in 1994, it had been 20 years since it was written. On his commentary track, included on the first season DVD set, Crichton says that the script used to shoot the pilot was virtually unchanged from what he had written 20 years earlier. Dr. Lewis was written as a male character, and though producers decided Lewis should be a woman, that change didn't require an adjustment of her dialogue. The producers also decided Dr. Benton would be African-American, though he wasn't written that way. The original script had to be shortened by about 20 minutes in order to air in a two-hour block on network TV. ER is unique in that the series was filmed in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen from the start, even though it did not air in widescreen until the seventh season when it began appearing in the 1080i HD format where NBC was being broadcast digitally. Since the beginning of the seventh season, it has appeared in letterbox format when in standard definition. As a result, every DVD box set shows the widescreen versions of the episodes, even the first six seasons that were not originally broadcast in widescreen. The episodes also appear in 1080i widescreen when rerun on TNT HD, though the first six seasons still show in fullscreen on the normal TNT network. Only the live episode "Ambush" at the beginning of the fourth season, and the opening credits for the first six seasons, are in standard 4:3 aspect. ER has had many memorable episodes, and is particularly notable for broadcasting a live episode, "Ambush," in 1997, with the NBC camera crew disguised as a PBS crew making a documentary film in the hospital. The actors performed the show again three hours later so that the West Coast airing would be live as well. This episode received Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Directing and Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic), and won the Emmy for Outstanding Technical Direction/Camera/Video for a Series. Most episodes center on the ER, with almost all scenes at the hospital. There is, however, often at least one scene showing the goings-on of the ER staff outside the hospital. Also, there is a tradition to feature storylines each season completely outside of the ER. One early such instance involved a road trip near Las Vegas, Nevada (Drs. Ross and Greene). Season Eight included a storyline in Hawaii (Drs. Greene and Corday). More recently, the series has included storylines in Democratic Republic of Congo (Drs. Kovac and Carter) and Darfur, Sudan (Drs. Pratt and Carter, with Noah Wyle appearing as a guest in the season following his departure from the show). The original cast of relatively unknown actors consisted of Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Sherry Stringfield, Noah Wyle, and Eriq La Salle. Julianna Margulies guest starred in the pilot as Nurse Carol Hathaway and then became part of the regular cast. Since the first season, Goran Visnjic, Maura Tierney, Mekhi Phifer, Parminder Nagra, Linda Cardellini, Scott Grimes, John Stamos, Shane West, Laura Innes, Ming-Na, Alex Kingston, Sharif Atkins, Paul McCrane, Michael Michele, Erik Palladino, Kellie Martin, Gloria Reuben, and Maria Bello have been cast members on the show. Many actors, including the entire original cast, have left the show over the years. Some came back or reappeared in guest roles. Sherry Stringfield's first departure on the show was in 1996, when her character, Susan Lewis, moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in the Season 3 episode "Union Station." In 2001, Stringfield returned to the series, reprising her role of Dr. Lewis, in the Season 8 episode "Never Say Never." She departed again in the Season 12 premiere, "Canon City." This second departure was not depicted, but rather mentioned by character Kerry Weaver four episodes later in "Wake Up," when she explains that Susan had accepted a tenure-track position at a hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, after having been denied tenure at County. After playing Anna Del Amico for one season, Maria Bello was simply not a part of the ensemble cast when Season 5 began. Like Susan Lewis's second exit, her character's departure was mentioned but not depicted; in the season premiere, "Day for Knight," Carter explains to new medical student Lucy Knight that the locker she is inheriting used to belong to Anna Del Amico, who is working in a pediatric ER back in Philadelphia, where she has family and a boyfriend. George Clooney left the show in 1999, in the Season 5 episode "The Storm, Part 2," when his character, Doug Ross, quit before being fired by County for his involvement in a patient's death. Clooney made a brief reappearance in the Season 6 episode "Such Sweet Sorrow" when his character reunited with Carol Hathaway. Gloria Reuben departed early in Season 6, in the episode "The Peace of Wild Things," when her character, Jeanie Boulet, decided to become a stay-at-home mom and care for her newly adopted HIV-positive baby. She returned in season 14 for one episode with her HIV positive child. Kellie Martin, who played medical student Lucy Knight, left the series midway through Season 6 in the episode "All In The Family," when her character was killed by a patient suffering from undiagnosed schizophrenia; his psychotic break occurred before a backed-up psychiatry department could arrive in the ER for a consult. Julianna Margulies left the show at the end of Season 6, in the episode "Such Sweet Sorrow," when her character, Carol Hathaway, decided on the spur of the moment to go to Seattle, Washington, and reunite with Doug Ross, her true love and the father of her twin daughters. Erik Palladino departed early in Season 8, in the same episode that Sherry Stringfield returned ("Never Say Never") after his character, Dave Malucci, was fired for a mis-diagnosis resulting in avoidable death. Eriq La Salle's character, Peter Benton, departed in the Season 8 episode "I'll Be Home For Christmas". He took a job with a set schedule at another hospital in order to spend more time with his son, Reese, and his girlfriend, former fellow ER doctor Cleo Finch. His character returned two more times that season in episodes "It's All In Your Head" and "On The Beach." Michael Michele's character, Cleo Finch, departed in the Season 8 episode "I'll Be Home For Christmas" with her boyfriend, and fellow doctor, Peter Benton, after having previously taken a job at the same hospital with set schedules (in fact it was she who arranged the interview which resulted in Benton's job offer). Her character returned one more time that season in the episode "On The Beach." Anthony Edwards's character, Mark Greene, died of a brain tumor in Season 8's penultimate episode, "On the Beach." Unusually, Anthony Edwards was credited in the following episode "Lockdown." Paul McCrane's character, Robert Romano, whose arm had been severed just above the elbow by a helicopter's tail rotor in the Season 9 premiere "Chaos Theory," was killed in the Season 10 episode "Freefall" when a helicopter that was taking off from the hospital roof was buffeted by strong winds, causing it to crash on the roof and plummet over the side of the building; it fell into a crowded ambulance bay and landed squarely on Romano. Sharif Atkins left the series twice. The first time was in the Season 10 episode "Where There's Smoke," when his character, Michael Gallant, revealed that the Army was sending him to Iraq. He returned for two episodes in Season 11 and for four episodes in Season 12, where in the episode "The Gallant Hero and The Tragic Victor," he was killed by an improvised explosive device while serving a second tour in Iraq. Alex Kingston's character, Elizabeth Corday, left the series in the Season 11 episode "Fear" after getting in trouble for performing an illegal organ donation procedure; rather than being summarily fired, County offered her a demotion to a non-tenured position, but she turned it down and opted to return to England instead. In an interview with Britain's Radio Times magazine, Kingston spoke of being written off the show due to her age, a statement that sparked some controversy. She later withdrew that claim. Ming-Na left in Season 11 as an attending physician when her character, Jing-Mei Chen, quit the ER in the episode "Twas the Night" in order to take care of her ailing father, whom she later euthanized. This was the second time her character left County General; in Season 1, medical student "Deb" Chen recurred in an eight episode story arc which concluded (apparently not permanently) with her quitting medical school after deciding she was better suited to research than to applied medicine. Noah Wyle left in the Season 11 finale, "The Show Must Go On." His character, John Carter, after having been offered a tenured attending position at County, decided to reunite with his girlfriend Kem Likasu (portrayed by Thandie Newton). During Season 12, Wyle returned as Carter and made guest appearances in four episodes: "Quintessence of Dust," "Darfur," "No Place to Hide," and "There Are No Angels Here." He is reported to make further guest appearances in season 15. Laura Innes left midway through Season 13, in the episode "A House Divided," when a reluctant Luka Kovač was forced by budget cuts to fire her character, Kerry Weaver. After bracing for a battle to keep her position, and in spite of the fact that Kovač realized he must find a way to keep her on staff, Weaver ultimately decided to resign from County and accept a job offer from a television station in Miami, Florida. Shane West left at the end of the 13th season after his character, Ray Barnett lost both his legs and returned to Baton Rouge with his mother to recuperate. West's final appearance as a main cast member was in "The Honeymoon is Over." Goran Visnjic is expected to leave the main cast early in the 15th season. As the 14th season opened, his character, Luka Kovač was in his native Croatia to be with his father, who required surgery for cancer followed by an extended recuperation. His character remained active through dialogue and discussion of the status of his stay in Croatia, including a brief appearance in episode 5. When Kovac returned to the US, Visnjic appeared in episodes 8-10 before his character returned to Croatia for his now-deceased father's funeral. He returned again in episodes 14, 16 and 19 to complete his medical storyline, and is expected to make his final appearances early in Season 15 to wrap up the Kovac/Lockhart story. Maura Tierney will depart early in the 15th season, along with her TV husband Goran Visnjic. It is unclear if the two will depart in the same episode, or which will be her final episode. The show has had many noble guest appearances on the show over the years. These have included have included: Bradley Whitford in 1995, as the husband of a woman who dies at the hands of Dr. Mark Greene in a complicated emergency delivery and files a malpractice suit; Lucy Liu in 1995, as an Asian Immigrant whose son suffers from AIDS; (credited as "Lucy Alexis Liu"); Jorja Fox in 1996-1999, as Dr. Maggie Doyle, a gay resident who eventually tried to bring a sexual harassment lawsuit against Dr. Robert Romano; Sanford Meisner in 1995, as Joseph Klein, a terminally ill patient inadvertently given a reprieve by Dr. John Carter; Marg Helgenberger in 1996, as one of Dr. Doug Ross's many flings; George Eads in 1996, as a paramedic; Kirsten Dunst in 1996-1997, as a troubled teenager; Omar Epps in 1996-1997, as an intern who jumps in front of a train; Ewan McGregor in 1997, as a convenience store gunman; Mariska Hargitay in 1997, as Cynthia Hooper, a desk clerk that Dr. Mark Greene dates; John Cullum in 1997 and 2000, as Dr. Mark Greene's father; Rebecca De Mornay in 1999, as a breast cancer survivor; Emile Hirsch in 1999, as a teenage alcoholic; David Krumholtz in 2000 and 2002, as a schizophrenic who stabs Dr. Lucy Knight and Dr. John Carter, with Liza Weil playing his wife; Shia LaBeouf in 2000, as Darnel Smith, a child with muscular dystrophy; Lea Salonga in 2001, as Amparo, a lymphoma-stricken mother of a young boy who fell while putting up Christmas lights; Jared Padalecki in 2001, as Paul Harris, a car crash survivor; Conchata Ferrell in 2001, as Mrs. Jenkins, the mother of a girl injured in a talkshow brawl; Michael Gross in 2001-2004, as Dr. John Carter's father, John "Jack" Carter, Jr.; Zac Efron in 2002, as Bobby Neville, an injured teen; Ed Asner in 2003, as a thieving clinician; Thandie Newton in 2004, as Kem, Dr. John Carter's love interest from Africa and mother of his stillborn son; Cynthia Nixon in 2005, as a stroke victim; Kristen Johnston in 2005, as Eve Peyton, a zealous nurse manager; John Leguizamo in 2005, as Dr. Victor Clemente, a zealous but troubled attending physician; James Woods in 2006, as an ALS-stricken biochemistry professor; Stanley Tucci in 2007-2008, as Dr. Kevin Moretti, a brilliant ICU doctor turned troubled ER Chief; Reiko Aylesworth in 2007-2008, as Julia Dupree, the hospital chaplin; Kari Matchett in 2007-2008, as Skye Wexler, the Acting Chief of Emergency Medicine; Hal Holbrook in 2008, as Walter Perkins, a hospice patient who inspires Luka to make a difficult life decision; and Steve Buscemi in 2008, as Mr. Masterson, a patient who was secretly in witness protection. A few guest stars have won Emmys for their performances, such as Sally Field in 2001, as Maggie Wyczenski, Abby Lockhart's mother; and Ray Liotta in 2005, as Charlie Metcalf, a regret-ridden, dying alcoholic. And, some guest stars earned Emmy nominations for their performances. These include: Rosemary Clooney in 1995, as "Madame X", an Alzheimer's patient; Alan Alda in 2000, as Dr. Gabriel Lawrence, an Alzheimer's-stricken doctor and one-time teacher of Dr. Kerry Weaver; James Cromwell in 2001, as an ailing Roman Catholic Bishop who coaxes a confession from Dr. Luka Kovač, before dying; Mary McDonnell in 2002, as Eleanor Carter, the mother of Dr. John Carter; Don Cheadle in 2003, as Paul Nathan, a medical student with Parkinson's Disease; Bob Newhart in 2004, as Ben Hollander, an architecture model maker losing his sight; and Forest Whitaker in 2007, as Curtis Ames, a patient filing a lawsuit against Dr. Luka Kovač. ER won the George Foster Peabody Award in 1995. In addition, the series has earned 123 Emmy Award nominations, making it the most Emmy-nominated show in history, as well as 22 Emmy Awards (at least one every year up to and including 2005, except for 2004). It also won the People's Choice Award for "Favorite Television Dramatic Series" every year from 1995 to 2002. Over the years, it has been nominated for and/or won numerous other awards, including Screen Actors Guild Awards, Image Awards, GLAAD Media Awards, and Golden Globe Awards, among others. The show has been released on DVD. The first six DVD box sets of ER are unusual in the fact that they are all in anamorphic widescreen even though these episodes were broadcast in a standard 4:3 format. Only the live episode "Ambush" is not in the widescreen format. All "Previously on ER" segments are removed from each episode. The DVD's are boxes containing 4 discs (either 4 (seasons 1 and 2), with episodes on both sides of the disc, the fourth disc containing all special features) or 6 discs ((seasons 3-up), special features and episodes on one side of each disc only). The first six seasons of the series have also been released in Hong Kong and other markets. Other Region 2 markets have different release dates. In Germany, Season 9 was released on September 7, 2007. Similarly, Season 10 was released to the German market on December 7, 2007. Like I said, a true mark of a show’s greatness is its ability to last long after much of the original cast has left. Much like Law & Order from yesterday, ER has remain an NBC staple even though the entire original cast has left, with one of them going on to be a big movie star. You know who I’m talking about! The one and only Anthony Edwards! (Seriously, it’s George Clooney.) And, that is one of the reasons the show has lasted so long. After 14 seasons, a round of applause should go to the ever-changing cast and the person in charge of casting (who would have thought Uncle Jesse would fit in perfectly in the show) who have kept this medical juggernaut going. It has struck gold with practically every actor it has chosen to star on the show. For a long while, the soul of the series was Anthony Edwards’s Dr. Mark Greene. Though beset by numerous travail (his wife left him, he was beaten by a thug), Greene retained an inner decency that pervaded the show until one travail finally got him (he died of a brain tumor). George Clooney showed he had big-screen charm and charisma as smooth-operating pediatrician Doug Ross. Julianna Margulies has skillfully evoked Nurse Carol Hathaway’s slow emotional recovery after a suicide attempt. Eriq LaSalle resisted the temptation to turn prickly surgeon Peter Benton into a cuddly curmudgeon. Noah Wyle subtly transformed Dr. John Carter from a naïve medical student into a confident doctor. Gloria Rueben refused to allow HIV-positive P.A. Jeanie Boulet to be portrayed as a pitiful victim. Paul McCrane wonderfully played Dr. Robert Romano as such an asshole he became very popular with fans as the doctor they love to hate. Maura Tierney pretty much gives weekly acting seminars as Dr. Abby Lockhart. You know, I could go on forever; but I’m sure you get the idea. The show has elevated ensemble work to a science. However, it wasn’t just good acting that made ER great. ER took the medical drama and gave it a shot of adrenaline. Not for nothing did one of its resident directors, Mimi Leder, become an action filmmaker (“The Peacemaker,” “Deep Impact”). With stretchers crashing through doorways, blood spurting from wounds, and life-and-death crises from shootings to stabbings and everything in between unfolding, ER usually packs all the excitement of a summer-movie blockbuster. Yet, those aren’t the reasons fans have stayed with the show for so long. That would be because it has so much compassion and intelligence, the two most important qualities of a good doctor.
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Jul 29, 2008 18:10:58 GMT -5
25. Frasier Genre: Sitcom. Created by: David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee. Executive Producer(s): Kelsey Grammer, Peter Casey, David Lee, Christopher Lloyd, David Angell, Dan O'Shannon, Linda Morris, Vic Rauseo, Heide Perlman, Bob Daily, Sam Johnson, Lori Kirkland, Chris Marcil, Jon Sherman, Joe Keenan, Jeffrey Richman, Eric Zicklin, Rob Hanning, Jay Kogen, Steven Levitan, and Mark Reisman. Starring: Kelsey Grammer (Dr. Frasier Crane), David Hyde Pierce (Dr. Niles Crane), John Mahoney (Martin Crane), Jane Leeves (Daphne Moon), Peri Gilpin (Roz Doyle), Moose (Eddie 1993-2003), and Enzo (2003-2004). Country of Origin: United States. Number of Seasons: 11. Number of Episodes: 264. Running Time: 24 minutes. Original Channel: NBC. Original Run: September 16, 1993 – May 13, 2004. Spinoffs: Frasier is a spinoff of Cheers; the character Dr. Frasier Crane appeared on Cheers from 1984 to the end of the series in 1993 and then got his own show that lasted until 2004. The show was created by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee. It was based on the Cheers character Dr. Frasier Crane (Grammer). Dr. Crane returns to his hometown of Seattle, Washington, following the break up of his marriage and his life in Boston (which was covered in the series Cheers). His plans for his new life as a bachelor are complicated when he is obliged to take in his father, ex-police officer Martin Crane (Mahoney), who had to retire and is unable to live by himself owing to an injury caused by being shot in the line of duty. Frasier and Martin are joined by Daphne Moon (Leeves), Martin's eccentric, British, live-in physical therapist and caretaker, and Martin's dog Eddie (Moose). A frequent visitor to their apartment is Frasier's younger brother Niles (Pierce), a fellow psychiatrist who, like Frasier, is pompous, snobbish, and overly intellectual. Niles' infatuation with and eventual love for Daphne, feelings which he does not confess to her openly until the final episode of the seventh season, form a complex story arc that span the entire series. Frasier hosts a popular radio talk show on KACL 780AM (named to honor the show's creators, Angell, Casey, and Lee). His producer is Roz Doyle (Gilpin), a woman with an active romantic life who, while decidedly different from Frasier in taste and temperament, nevertheless becomes a very close friend over the course of the series. Numerous running jokes and themes develop throughout the series. Chief among them are the class and familial conflicts between Frasier, Niles and Martin. The two sons, who possess "fine" tastes, "intellectual" interests and rather high opinions of themselves, frequently clash with their more blue-collar, down-to-earth father. A running theme, particularly in the early seasons, is Frasier's and Martin's difficulty in reaching an accommodation with each other and in sharing an apartment. Despite being similar in personality, interests and sensibilities, the relationship between Frasier and Niles is no less turbulent. They have an intense sibling rivalry and their jealousy of each other and petty attempts at one-upmanship (which frequently result in chaos) drive many of the plots. Other storylines include Niles' growing love for Daphne (of which she remains unaware in the early seasons, despite its increasingly obvious nature) and the breakdown of his marriage to the never-seen Maris (a take-off from its parent series, Cheers, in which Norm's wife Vera was often talked about, and even heard, but never seen), Frasier's search for love in his own life, and the various attempts of the two brothers to gain acceptance into Seattle's cultural elite. Structurally, many episodes center around misunderstandings or elaborate lies which multiple characters are forced to "play along" with in order to conceal the truth. Frasier also featured many "once-a-year" plot devices, such as an appearance by Frederick, Lilith, or Bebe. Season finales sometimes took the form of a "two part" special that was concluded as the series premiere the following season. The regular cast members include: Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane. Grammer sang the song heard during the closing credits, "Tossed salad and scrambled eggs", by Bruce Miller and Daryl Phinessee. In the episode "Are You Being Served" it is revealed that Frasier and his brother Niles were named after two lab rats their mother was using in an experiment. David Hyde Pierce as Dr. Niles Crane. In Season 2's "The Show Where Sam Shows Up", one of the first things Sam Malone says when he first meets Niles is how he looks exactly like Frasier when he first knew him back in Boston. In his previous series, The Powers That Be, Hyde Pierce played a very similar character, a stuffy milquetoast with a mad passion for the maid. In an interview, Hyde Pierce explained that the original concept for the show did not include a brother for Frasier. A casting director for the show saw a photo of him and commented how much he resembled Kelsey Grammer. John Mahoney as Martin Crane. In a final-season interview, Mahoney said the first offer he received to play Martin Crane consisted of a phone call from Grammer in which he asked, "Will you be my Dad?" However, according to Peter Casey, Mahoney was first approached by Kerry McCluggage, then President of Paramount Television, who knew him from the time they both worked at Universal Studios. Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon. Leeves used a mixture of different Northern English accents to portray a stereotypical working class Briton. However, this contrasts with her natural accent which is south-eastern English, as Leeves hails from Essex. Peri Gilpin as Roz Doyle (named in honor of a producer of Wings, which shares show creators with Frasier). The choice of actress was narrowed down to Gilpin and Lisa Kudrow. Kudrow got the role, but was replaced before production began because her characterization was viewed as not being forceful enough to stand up to Frasier. "Moose" and Moose's son "Enzo" as Eddie, the Jack Russell Terrier. Eddie received more fan mail than any other cast member in Frasier. Recurring guest stars included: Dan Butler as Bob 'Bulldog' Briscoe, the obnoxious host of a radio sports show. Butler was made a series regular for seasons 4 and 5, and served as a recurring guest star in other seasons. Edward Hibbert as Gil Chesterton, food critic at the radio station. Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith Sternin, Frasier's ex-wife (also on Cheers). Trevor Einhorn as Frederick Crane, Frasier's son. The character was first played in Season 3 by child actor Luke Tarsitano. The following season, Einhorn took over for the rest of the series. The writers had Frasier say that he missed Frederick in the pilot episode so that the audience wouldn't view him as deserting his son. Tom McGowan as Kenny Daley, the station manager. Patrick Kerr as Noel Shempsky, a geeky station employee. Harriet Sansom Harris as Bebe Glazer, Frasier's amoral agent. Marsha Mason as Sherry Dempsey, Martin's lady friend. Saul Rubinek as Donny Douglas, Daphne's fiancé. Jane Adams as Mel Karnofsky, Niles' girlfriend and (for a few days) wife. Millicent Martin as Gertrude Moon, Daphne's mother. Brian Cox as Harry Moon, Daphne's barfly father. Anthony LaPaglia as Simon Moon, one of Daphne's brothers. Although not noticed by the average American viewer, aside from her mother, none of Daphne’s relatives nor her ex-boyfriend have Manchester accents, despite supposedly being from there. They mostly have Southern English (i.e. London) accents, while her brother Nigel's is Cockney. While three of Daphne's brothers appear in the series finale, none of the actors playing them are English. LaPaglia is from Australia, Richard E. Grant from Swaziland and Robbie Coltrane from Scotland. Brian Stokes Mitchell as Cam Winston, Frasier's upstairs neighbor and nemesis. Wendie Malick as Ronee Lawrence, Martin's girlfriend and eventual wife The series won 37 prime-time Emmys during its 11-year run, breaking the record long held by The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Grammer and Pierce each won four, including one each for the final season. The series holds the record for the most consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, winning five from 1994 to 1998. Grammer played Frasier for 20 years (1984-2004), tying the James Arness portrayal of Marshall Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke in terms of character longevity in prime-time American television. The record for all of television is held by Helen Wagner, for her portrayal of matriarch Nancy Hughes on the soap opera As the World Turns. Wagner has been playing the role since the show's first episode in 1956. Grammer was briefly the highest-paid television star in history, reaching a salary of $1.6 million per episode for the last two seasons; his record was surpassed by Ray Romano within a year. Grammer has been Emmy-nominated for playing Frasier Crane on Cheers and Frasier, as well as a 1992 crossover appearance on Wings, making him the only performer to be nominated for playing the same role on three different series. 2003 was the first year that Grammer didn't receive an Emmy nomination for this series. David Hyde Pierce's streak remains unbroken. In a retrospective review in The Radio Times Guide to Television Comedy, Mark Lewisohn called the show a "comedy masterpiece", saying that the writing was adult and sophisticated. Frasier was voted as the greatest sitcom of all time in the Channel 4 show The Ultimate Sitcom, broadcast on January 2, 2006. The season 4 episode "Head Game" only featured Frasier for the first few minutes, with the rest of the episode revolving around Niles. This role was written for Frasier, but Grammer was being treated for his addiction problems, so it was re-written for Niles instead. This is also the reason why Niles fills in for Frasier on his radio show, because the show is integral to the plot. During season 8, Jane Leeves' pregnancy was disguised by a storyline involving a severe over-eating disorder; later, her pregnancy leave was accounted for by having Daphne go to a health spa to cope with her weight problem. Daphne lost 9 lbs 12 oz (4.4 kg) at the spa, an inside joke referencing the birth weight of Leeves' daughter, Isabella. In conjunction with the final double bill of Frasier in Season 11, an extra special episode/program entitled "Analyzing the Laughter" was aired. The plotline was that Frasier meets with an analyst for a review of his life (effectively the past 11 seasons of Frasier plus brief look at Frasier in Cheers). He discusses his background, his relationships with his family and friends and the major events that have transpired in his life over the past year. The show is simply a collection of flashbacks of past classic scenes from the history of the series, and so is more a thinly disguised walk down memory lane for avid fans' nostalgia. This special was shown two days in advance in the US to the airing of the double-bill finale, but on the same night in the UK for the same respective double-bill finale. The show is set in Seattle, Washington, but only one episode, "The 1000th Show", was filmed there. The remainder was filmed on Stage 25 (location), Paramount Studios, and at various locations in and around Los Angeles. No building or apartment in Seattle really has the view from Frasier's residence. It was created so the Space Needle would appear more prominently. According to the Season 1 DVD bonus features, the photograph used on the set was taken from atop a cliff, possibly the ledge at Kerry Park, a frequent photography location. Only once was there an exterior shot facing Frasier's apartment building, in Season 4 episode "The Impossible Dream." The radio station callers' lines were spoken by anonymous voice-over actors while filming the show in front of a live audience. This gave the cast something to which they could react. During post-production, the lines were replaced by celebrities, who literally phoned in their parts without having to come into the studio. The end credits of season finales would show headshots of all the celebrities who had "called in" that season. Because it is a spinoff of Cheers, there have been many connections between both shows: Every regular cast member of Cheers appeared in at least one episode, except for Kirstie Alley (Rebecca Howe) and Nicholas Colasanto (Coach). Alley refused to appear in a show which showed psychiatry in a positive light, while Colasanto died in 1985. Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth) was the lone character of Cheers, other than Grammer, to become a consistent recurring character on Frasier. Kelsey Grammer has said that "The Show Where Diane Comes Back" is one of his favorite episodes. On Cheers, Shelley Long did not like the Frasier character and lobbied hard to get Grammer removed from the show. The producers disagreed, noting that the audience liked him. When Long's character, Diane Chambers, appeared on this show, Grammer said it was an opportunity for them to make peace. Apart from this episode, Long played Diane Chambers in two other episodes. The first was a brief surprise cameo in a 1994 episode, and once again in the 2001 season premiere, both times as figments of Frasier's imagination. John Mahoney appeared in an episode of Cheers, as Si Phlembeck, an over-the-hill advertising executive hired by Rebecca to write a jingle for the bar. Grammer and Mahoney shared a few lines. The plot of an episode of Frasier is somewhat similar to the Cheers episode. In the eighth season Cheers episode "Two Girls for Every Boyd", Frasier tells Sam Malone (Ted Danson) that his father, a research scientist, had died. In the Season 2 episode "The One Where Sam Shows Up", when Sam meets Martin, he brings up the discrepancies. Frasier explains it away by saying he had just had a fight with his father on the phone and he was very angry with him at the time. In "The One Where Woody Shows Up", Woody Boyd upon meeting Martin says he remembers hearing about him - probably from Sam talking about his experiences in Seattle when he returned to Boston. Robert Prosky played the father of Cheers regular Rebecca. He appeared in Season 4 as a J.D. Salinger-like writer who strikes up a friendship with Martin. Peri Gilpin was in a Cheers episode titled "Woody Gets an Election", playing a reporter who interviews Woody when he runs for office. Niles' wife Maris is never seen (at least her face) or heard from. The same device was used for Vera, Norm Petersen's wife in Cheers. This method is used again when Martin meets the woman he has been watching from across the street via his telescope, and for Senator Adler when he arrived at Frasier's apartment. After Cheers had finished filming, the bar was taken down and the sets for this show were built over it. The producers made certain there were no stools in the coffee shop to distance it visually from the Cheers bar. Frasier's mother, who in Frasier is always remembered as a sensitive, intelligent woman and a wonderful mother, appears in an episode of "Cheers" (played by Nancy Marchand) when she threatens to kill Diane Chambers with a gun she has with her if the relationship with Frasier is not ended immediately. She was portrayed in a 2001 episode (on Martin's old cine movies) by Rita Wilson, who reprised the role during Frasier's imaginary experiences with the important women in his life. In this case, she was once again portrayed as threatening toward Diane (and Lilith), citing her reasons as concern for Frasier's happiness. In the eighth season The Simpsons episode "Brother from Another Series", David Hyde Pierce guest stars as Cecil Terwilliger, brother of Sideshow Bob, a recurring over-cultured villain voiced by Kelsey Grammer. The episode also alludes to Niles' wife, Maris Crane (when Bart jumps on Cecil's back and shouts "Guess who!", Cecil guesses "Maris?") and makes use of subtitle slides Frasier employs. Sideshow Bob and his brother Cecil Terwilliger reappeared in an episode of The Simpsons, entitled "Funeral For A Fiend", with Grammer and Hyde Pierce reprising their respective roles and John Mahoney as their father. The cast (minus Kelsey Grammer) performed a "mock-audition" of Star Trek: Voyager during the Star Trek 30 Years and Beyond primetime special on October 6, 1996, alongside Kate Mulgrew as Voyager character Captain Janeway. Grammer had previously played Captain Morgan Bateson in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect", but had to bow out after being admitted to rehabilitation in 1996. (Grammer was originally to play the role of the ship's captain.) The primetime special was hosted by Ted Danson, who played Sam Malone on Cheers. Mulgrew also has a connection to Cheers, having played Sam's love interest in three episodes. Though not appearing in the skit, fellow Frasier semi-regulars Bebe Neuwirth, Patrick Kerr (Noel Shempsky), and Dan Butler (Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe) have also guested on various Star Trek series over the years. In addition, multiple noteworthy Star Trek alumni, including Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner, have made guest appearances during the series' eleven-year run. Many Frasier episodes also include references to Star Trek. The character of Frasier appears in an episode of Wings (which is set in Nantucket, and has had other Cheers regulars as guest stars). CBS Home Entertainment has released seasons 1-11 on Region 1 DVD. A 44-disc package containing the entire 11 seasons has also been released. The first four seasons have been released on VHS along with a series of 'Best Of' tapes. These tapes consist of four episodes taken from seasons 1-4. No more video releases have been announced. One Frasier CD has been released featuring a number of songs taken from the show: Tossed Salads & Scrambled Eggs. No matter that The George Wendt Show, The Tortellis, and Ink all tanked. Never mind that psychiatrist Frasier Crane had told his beloved Cheers chums that his parents were both research scientists, that his father was dead, and that he was an only child. When Frasier debuted on NBC in 1993, all was forgiven. Critics and viewers immediately accepted the show’s premise and characters as if they were old friends. And, the show’s creators made a brilliant move to assure its success: instead of doing the usual “two total opposites fighting between each other” foil that had been done to death for decades before Frasier, the show’s creators gave the prissy Frasier an even prissier foil in the person of younger brother and Jungian to Frasier’s Freudian Dr. Niles Crane. They were very similar yet still didn’t get a long and had a fraternal rivalry that echoed the interplay between Frasier and his two main loves on Cheers: Diane and Lilith. It worked because, in all three cases, an overeducated, pompous bore became startlingly human by comparison; and there is that old scientific rule: opposites attract; similars repel. And, lets be honest, whenever two people who are very much alike get together, there can be a lot of friction between the two. That said, actors Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce took brotherly love to heights never seen before in sitcom land. With every muttered bon mot and withering glare, you can see these guys as adolescents, trying to top each other at the science fair. And, their attempts to outdo each other as they rise in Seattle’s social elite were quite hilarious. The show was also unique for being so smart, with its scripts being the medium’s most literate. And the rest of the cast was a glory: from John Mahoney’s gruff dad Martin, to Peri Gilpin’s seen-it-all Roz, and Jane Leeves’s properly sultry Daphne. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Niles’s long hidden infatuation of the woman (he once said of her to Frasier, “Oh, why couldn’t you have just hired some beefy, Eastern European scrubwoman who reeked of ammonia instead of Venus herself!?”) that eventually led to a wonderful romance between the two. And, there was that dog Eddie, who was such a natural that he ended up becoming the most popular character on the show, receiving more fan mail than the human cast members. But, in the end, it was Grammer and Pierce who made Frasier one for the ages, reminding us that elitism has its roots in insecurity and that wine lists are useless unless you can browbeat somebody, preferably family, with them.
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Jul 29, 2008 18:14:19 GMT -5
Tomorrow, numbers 24 and 23. Here are the hints:
I am not a number — I am a free man!, and what billows out of a fired weapon.
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Jul 30, 2008 20:42:53 GMT -5
Countdown time, people. Here's number 24: 24. The Prisoner Genre: Science fiction, Allegory Created by: Patrick McGoohan and George Markstein. Executive Producer(s): Patrick McGoohan. Starring: Patrick McGoohan (Number Six), George Markstein (Man behind desk in title sequence), John Castle (Number Twelve), Hilary Dwyer (Number Seventy-Three), John Maxim (Number Eighty Six), Mark Eden (Number 100), Annette Andre (Camilla Wells), Angelo Muscat (The Butler), Peter Swanwick (Supervisor), Earl Cameron (Supervisor), Christopher Benjamin (Labour Exchange Manager), Michael Miller (Man in Buggy), Alexis Kanner (Chief's voice), Fenella Fielding (Loud Speaker Announcer), Kenneth Griffith (Schnipps), Georgina Cookson (Blonde Lady), Harold Berens (Boxing M.C.), John Cazabon (Man in Cave), Bee Duffell (2nd Psychiatrist), Larry Taylor (Gypsy Man), Grace Arnold (Maid), Denis Shaw (Shopkeeper), Max Faulkner (First Horseman), Gerry Crampton (1st Guardian 2 episodes), Peter Brace (1st Guardian 2 episodes), Jack Cooper (1st Guardian 2 episodes), Michael Danvers-Walker (First New Man), Patsy Smart (Night Maid), Bill Cummings (Henchman), Lucy Griffiths (Lady in Corridor), George Leech (4th Guardian), Frederick Piper (Ex-Admiral), Sheila Allen (Number Fourteen), Michael Bilton (M.C. Councillor), Peter Bowles (A), James Bree (Villiers), Dennis Chinnery (Gunther), George Coulouris (Man With The Stick), Paul Eddington (Cobb), Jon Laurimore (Ernst), Charles Lloyd Pack (Artist), Justine Lord (Sonia), Victor Maddern (Bandmaster), Aubrey Morris (Town Crier), George Pravda (Doctor), Keith Pyott (Waiter), Donald Sinden (The Colonel), Nigel Stock (The Colonel, Number Six, Seltzman), Kevin Stoney (Colonel J.), Wanda Ventham (Computer Attendant), and George Baker, David Bauer, Patrick Cargill, Georgina Cookson, Guy Doleman, Clifford Evans, Colin Gordon, Kenneth Griffith, Leo McKern, Mary Morris, Derren Nesbitt, Eric Portman, Robert Rietty (voice), Anton Rodgers, John Sharpe, and Peter Wyngarde all played the character Number Two in at least one episode. Country of Origin: United Kingdom. Number of Seasons: 1. Number of Episodes: 17. Running Time: 50 minutes. Original Channel: ITV (U.K.), CBS (U.S.A.). Original Run: October 1, 1967 ¨C February 4, 1968 Spinoffs: None on TV, but the show has inspired several novels and comic books. The show was, in part, inspired by Patrick McGoohan's reaction to the surreal appearance of the Welsh resort Hotel Portmeirion, where location filming for three episodes of the first Danger Man TV series had taken place. In a 1977 interview, McGoohan stated that "I thought it was an extraordinary place, architecturally and atmosphere-wise, and should be used for something and that was two years before the concept came to me." Another factor behind the series was the response of George Markstein to McGoohan's complaining that the revival of Danger Man, on which Markstein was script editor, was becoming stale and uninteresting to him. Markstein remembered that during World War II some people were incarcerated in a resort-like prison. He suggested that the hero of Danger Man, John Drake, could suddenly resign, and find himself kidnapped and sent to such a location. Drake would have to identify his captors, without giving them any information, and escape. McGoohan: "It was a place that is trying to destroy the individual by every means possible; trying to break his spirit, so that he accepts that he is ¡í6 and will live there happily as ¡í6 for ever after. And this is the one rebel that they can't break." Many critics and TV historians agree that another inspiration was an episode of Danger Man, entitled "Colony Three," first aired in 1964. In this episode, McGoohan's character, John Drake, infiltrates a spy school in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. The place is based in the middle of nowhere and is made up of many British nationals who, by will or by force, are made to help train potential spies. The instructors themselves are virtual prisoners who have little or no hope of ever leaving, and some have settled in quite willingly. Drake manages to leave eventually (having made arrangements for extraction before entering). McGoohan grafted this onto the material he had developed in the intervening years and pitched it to Lew Grade of ITC Entertainment. (McGoohan invariably denies The Prisoner and John Drake are the same character. Producer Ralph Smart who created and owned the John Drake character has never received credit or payment.): I'd made 54 of those [sic¡ªthere were thirty-nine half-hour episodes and forty-seven hour long segments of Danger Man] and I thought that was an adequate amount. So I went to the gentleman, Lew Grade, who was the financier, and said that I'd like to cease making Secret Agent and do something else. So he didn't like that idea. He'd prefer that I'd gone on forever doing it. But anyway, I said I was going to quit. So I prepared it and went in to see Lew Grade. I had photographs of the Village¡ So I talked for ten minutes and he stopped me and said, 'I don't understand one word you're talking about, but how much is it going to be?'¡ I told him how much and he says, 'When can you start?' I said 'Monday, on scripts.' And he says, 'The money'll be in your company's account on Monday morning.' Grade bought the show and it was produced for broadcast on ITV and overseas. For the script writers McGoohan wrote a forty-page document on the setting, a "¡history of the Village, the sort of telephones they used, the sewerage system, what they ate, the transport, the boundaries, a description of the Village, every aspect of it¡" He also wrote and directed several episodes, often under various pseudonyms. Specifically, he wrote "Free for All" as Paddy Fitz (Paddy being the Irish diminutive for Patrick and Fitzgerald being his mother's maiden name) and directed "Many Happy Returns" and "A Change of Mind" as Joseph Serf. He wrote and directed the last two episodes, "Once Upon a Time" and "Fall Out," and directed the aforementioned "Free for All" under his own name, though he had considered putting "Archibald Schwartz" on the script of "Once Upon a Time." The premise of the show follows Number Six. Number Six, played by McGoohan, is apparently a former secret agent of the British government during the Cold War. He is never identified by name and the exact nature of his job is never explicitly indicated, though numerous episodes provide clues. After resigning his position, he is kidnapped and held prisoner in a small, isolated, eccentric seaside resort town known only as the Village. The authorities (whose identity and allegiance are never made clear) in control of the Village call him Number Six and attempt to find out, "by hook or by crook," why he resigned. In "Arrival", Number Two states that he believes Number Six's resignation was a matter of principle, but that he was charged with performing "a double check." Throughout the series, Number Six attempts to escape while defying all attempts to break his will. He also tries to discover for which "side" his captors work and the identity of the mysterious "Number One," who presumably runs the Village. Number Six typically wears a black jacket with white piping trim, a dark blue mock-turtleneck shirt, tan slacks, dark blue boating shoes with white soles, and forsakes his "6" ID badge. There were at least two dark jackets, with slight differences in the white piping. Little is known about Number Six's background other than that he fought in a war and was born on March 19, 1928 (which is also McGoohan's birthday). The flashback setup in "Once Upon a Time" suggests that Number Six was a bomber crewman, most likely with RAF Bomber Command. His seated position relative to the pilot (portrayed in illusion by Number Two) indicates that he was a bombardier/navigator. In the episode Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling the prisoner, in another man's body, reveals that he was at one point engaged to the daughter of one of his superiors. It is not known whether the proposed marriage ever took place but fans have speculated that it did not due to the lack of "The Lover" in the Seven Ages Of Man sequence in ¡°Once Upon a Time.¡± He refuses to cooperate, despite constant efforts by Number Two to get information from him. Number Six initially spends his energy seeking ways to escape, and later in the series turns his attention to finding out more about the Village and its unseen rulers. His attempts are easily rebuffed; however, their efforts to extract information necessitate increasingly drastic measures through the course of the series. The later episodes feature fewer escape bids and more psychological themes such as the nature of power and authority, and their relationship with liberty. His cunning and defiance only increase while in captivity: in "Hammer Into Anvil" he reduces Number Two to a mad, paranoid wreck through deception. As the Number Twos become more coercive and desperate, Number Six's behaviour becomes progressively sharp, uncompromising, and eccentric. Patrick McGoohan has been quoted as saying he chose '6' because it is the only number that becomes another number when turned upside down. Number Six always assumed that someone designated "Number One" was in charge of the Village, but only twice do any of the Village's visible authorities directly acknowledge the existence of such a person. In the final scene of "Once Upon a Time", Number Six, having trounced Number Two, is asked by the Supervisor, "What do you desire?" When Six answers, "Number One," the Supervisor responds, "I'll take you." At the end of "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling," the character of the Colonel implores of Number Two, "You must contact Number One and tell him I did my duty." It is unclear if the Colonel is simply assuming that Number Two's superior is Number One or if he has actually met Number One. The Colonel is certainly not part of the Village's usual operating staff and does not have a number himself. Perhaps significantly, Number Six does not appear to hear his statement. In the final episode, Number One initially appears as a hooded figure. When confronted by The Prisoner, he is wearing a mask of an ape, but when this mask is removed, the face of Number Six himself is revealed. Number One then climbs up a ladder and seals a hatch behind him, laughing madly all the while. A clear, direct statement regarding Number One is never forthcoming even when it is the subject of discussion in the series, with Number Two in "The Chimes of Big Ben" declaring, "It doesn't matter who Number One is." In "Free For All", when The Prisoner and Number Two are discussing the consequences of being elected Number Two, the older man states, "Number One will no longer be a mystery to you, if you know what I mean." Both statements may be conceding the existence of an actual Number One, or may simply refer to Number Six's desire to meet Number One. It is also possible that Number One is, like The General, not a human being. In their official functions, Number Two and the Village operations staff even avoid referring to Number One by title. Some have interpreted this as indicating that there actually is no "Number One" in the personal sense, much like the non-existent Big Brother in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. It is evident, however, that there is someone who certainly seems to give direct orders to Number Two, because in several episodes, Number Two appears intimidated by telephone calls from a person addressed only as "Sir." According to co-creator George Markstein, "Number One is the villain in charge." In a 1970s television interview with British television presenter Mike Smith, Patrick McGoohan stated: "The reason that it was confusing, and that [the viewers] were disappointed, I think, was that they expected the ending to be similar to a 'Bond' thing, with this mystery man, the head man or whatever they call him in Bond; and of course it wasn't about that at all. It was about the most evil human "being", human "essence"; and that is ourselves, because within each of us, that is the most dangerous thing on Earth, is what is within us. And so therefore that's what I made No. 1: One's 'self', an image of himself that he was trying to beat." McGoohan planted clues to this throughout the series, including the Prisoner's residence in London bearing the numeral "1" on the door, and that the phrasing of No. 2's response to the Prisoner's question, "Who is No. 1?" can be taken either as a non-response - "You are No. 6." - or as an answer - "You are, No. 6." The Village is openly administered by an official designated as "Number Two". The person assigned to the position is changed on a regular basis. There are two Number Twos with repeat appearances: Leo McKern appeared in three episodes, and Colin Gordon in two. With the exception of "Fall Out", this was the result of the actors performing their roles in two consecutive episodes filmed back to back. Colin Gordon was filmed in "The General" followed immediately with "A. B. and C." McKern was featured in the series' second transmitted episode, "The Chimes of Big Ben," and then featured in the next production episode to be filmed "Once Upon a Time." Three actors who portray Number Twos also appear in other episodes, possibly as different characters, Georgina Cookson (A. B. and C. as party guest and Many Happy Returns as Mrs Butterworth/No. 2), Kenneth Griffith (The Girl Who Was Death as Schnipps/No. 2 and Fall Out as The Judge) and Patrick Cargill (Many Happy Returns as Thorpe, and Hammer Into Anvil as No. 2), although this is ambiguous, particularly in the case of Kenneth Griffith's character. The various Number Twos seem to make use of several symbols of their authority. One of the most striking is the Seal, a large golden medallion, somewhat in the style of a mayoral chain, with the penny-farthing logo and the official title "Chief Administrator". This is only seen in one episode, "It's Your Funeral". The two more visible signs are a multicolored scarf and a colorful umbrella stick (used as a cane). Most, though not all, of the Number Twos seem to use these symbolic objects. Throughout the series, the various Number Twos try to break Number Six with their will. A variety of interrogation, intimidation, drugs, and mind control techniques are used by sequential Number Twos. Number Six's importance usually prevents the use of brutal methods, routinely employed on other prisoners, against him (this policy was ignored by the female Number Two at the end of "Free For All"). The first episode, "Arrival", established that the people holding the position of Number Two were rotated on a regular basis. Some fans have interpreted the removal of a Number Two exclusively as a punishment for failure, but there were only two individuals who actually fit this categorization. The episode "Free for All" initially suggests that Number Twos are "democratically elected by the people." However, this was ultimately revealed to have been part of the attempt used by the Number Two(s) of that episode to break Number Six. One of these Number Twos was recalled to the Village as the final Number Two (as played by McKern). This Number Two appears to be known at the highest levels of government, since in the final episode, "Fall Out", McKern's character arrives at the Palace of Westminster and is immediately admitted; presumably this is intended to signify his entry (or return) into the administrative or political 'mainstream'. It has also been noted that the character uses the Peers' Entrance, and thus might be a Member of House of Lords, with a title either inherited through birth or received from the Crown. An alternative interpretation is that the Palace of Westminster is a symbol of openness and democracy, in contrast to the themes of secrecy, totalitarianism and the suppression of the individual. The series features striking and often surreal storylines, and themes include hypnosis, hallucinogenic drug experiences, identity theft, mind control, dream manipulation, and various forms of social indoctrination. In a 1977 interview McGoohan said: "I thought the concept of the thing would sustain for only seven, but then Lew Grade wanted to make his sale to CBS, I believe (first ran it in the States) and he said he couldn't make a deal unless he had more, and he wanted 26, and I couldn't conceive of 26 stories, because it would be spreading it very thin, but we did manage, over a week-end, with my writers, to cook up ten more outlines, and eventually we did 17, but it should be seven¡" There is debate as to whether the series ended by mutual agreement or cancellation. According to The Prisoner: The Official Companion to the Classic TV Series by Robert Fairclough, the series was indeed cancelled, forcing McGoohan to write the concluding episode "Fall Out" in only a few days. In the 1977 interview McGoohan contradicts this: "¡it got very close to the last episode and I hadn't written it yet. And I had to sit down this terrible day and write the last episode¡" The opening main series title sequence (seen in all but two episodes, but it has several extra shots scattered throughout in the opening installment, "Arrival") begins with a visual of a clouded sky and the sound of thunder, the latter becoming that of a jet plane engine. As the theme music begins, the view pans down to reveal an angry man, the future Number Six , driving in his Lotus Seven, registration number KAR 120C, past the Houses of Parliament in London, into an underground car park. He is then seen striding forcefully down a corridor which seems to end in the office of a superior. The man mounts a fierce (but inaudible) argument before this superior, delivers an envelope marked "Private ¡ª Personal ¡ª By Hand" (presumably his resignation), and smashes his fist onto the desk, knocking a teacup out of its saucer and spilling its contents (coffee or tea) onto the desk. He then drives home. A hearse follows him, registration number TLH 858. Returning to his flat at No. 1 Buckingham Place, London, SW1E, he quickly packs his possessions, including photographs of a tropical white sand beach (possibly a clue to his intended destination). The hearse pulls up and a tall pallbearer approaches the front door. A white gas then floods the room through the keyhole, which renders our hero unconscious. He awakens in what appears to be his apartment, but is in fact a recreation of his home in the Village, where the decor and the residents' clothes are of brightly colored and peculiarly nautical style. The following dialogue exchange runs over the opening titles (that is, the title of the episode, guest star lists, and credits for line producer, writer, and director) of most episodes. It is not heard in "Arrival", as it is a condensation of much of what that first episode establishes, "Living In Harmony" or "Fall Out" as none of the standard opening is present, or "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling", for no known reason. The questioner is Number Six and the respondent is Number Two, the Village chairperson, a role occupied by a different man or woman in almost every episode (as indicated by the reference to the "new Number Two"): "Where am I?" "In the Village." "What do you want?" "Information." "Whose side are you on?" "That would be telling¡. We want information. Information! INFORMATION!" "You won't get it." "By hook or by crook, we will." "Who are you?" "The new Number Two." (This occasionally varies ¡ª see below.) "Who is Number One?" "You are Number Six." "I am not a number ¡ª I am a free man!" (Laughter from Number Two.) In most cases, the voice of Number Two in the above exchange is provided by the actor playing the character in that particular episode. In a few episodes, Number Two is not shown at all in order to not spoil the surprise as to the true identity of the character (such as the episodes "Many Happy Returns" and "The Girl Who Was Death") -- in these episodes a different voice (specifically that of Robert Rietty) is used without the image of the actor playing the role being shown. In "Checkmate", while Peter Wyngarde plays Number Two and is seen here, his first several lines of this are actually spoken by Colin Gordon, presumably lifted from one of his two episodes in the role. In a couple of intros, Number Two says simply, "I am Number Two". This was used on "A. B. and C.", originally intended to be screened after "The General", which featured Colin Gordon as the character for the second time ¡ª therefore, he was not the new Number Two. It is worth noting that in one episode, the opening response from Number Two has an odd pause in his delivery. Number Six questions, "Who is Number One?" Number Two replies with an inset pause, "You are¡Number Six." At the close of each episode (except, arguably significantly, for the finale), the face of The Prisoner rises up from a bird's-eye view of the Village (both clearly still photographs), advancing toward the camera until it all but fills the screen, but is stopped at the last second by clanging bars that slam shut, serving as the episode's tag, just before the closing credits. (According to The Prisoner: The Complete Scripts Volume 1, this sequence is all that remains of a rejected, early realization of the series' opening credits.) The closing credits appear over a slowly assembling drawing of the penny-farthing bicycle, the logo of the Village. After the bicycle is fully assembled, footage of Rover, the large white balloon-like device that chases and pacifies or kills would-be escapees (see below), rising through water and bursting above the surface is shown, and Rover then bounces into the distance. In the originally planned version of the closing credits, seen in the alternate version of "The Chimes of Big Ben," Rover is not shown. Instead, the image of the bicycle frame fades out to leave only the wheels. The wheels then begin to spin faster and faster transforming into the Earth (little wheel) and the Universe (big wheel). The camera then zooms in towards the Earth which explodes into the word "POP". (This is an acronym for "Protect Other People" which is referenced in the episode "Once Upon a Time," and also in the show's occasional use of the song "Pop Goes the Weasel" in the soundtrack.) In the transmission prints, there is no consistency as to when the cut to replace these graphics with the clip of Rover occurs. In a couple of episodes, the last piece of the bicycle has yet to appear, and in another, its entire framework has faded away from the wheels. The finale, "Fall Out", presents a further variation, i.e., the complete bicycle maintains its visual presence during the closing strains of the theme, instead of being replaced by either the cosmic animation or the live-action footage of the balloon. The prisoner Number Six is imprisoned on is an island known as The Village. The location of The Village is unknown. In "Many Happy Returns", its location is estimated to be somewhere near the "coast of Morocco, southwest of Portugal and Spain." Number Six (after a brief escape) works out the locus with old colleagues using navigation notes and maps and, upon searching this area from an airplane, finds it ¡ª which suggests this estimate may be correct. On the other hand, definite subterfuge by his captors, including substitution of the airplane pilot, strains credibility of anything beyond placement of the Village on a small island within the craft's range from Gibraltar. Then, again, given the demonstrated capabilities of Number Six's adversaries, even this locus may not necessarily be accurate (e.g., arguably the Prisoner might have been placed in enforced sleep and carried to an exact duplicate location). In another episode, "The Chimes of Big Ben," Lithuania, on the Baltic coast "30 miles from the Polish border," is stated although again the denouement leaves this a deception. In the unbroadcast version of the episode "The Chimes of Big Ben", Number Six constructs a device that allows him to work out the Village's location; this scene was cut presumably to remove the reference to navigation by stars which would have allowed an estimation of the Village's region, at the least. This episode is not considered part of the series canon. The final episode, "Fall Out", while it never reveals the Village's exact location, strongly suggests that it is within a single tank of fuel's driving distance of London, and shows a sign for a road which is in Kent. Neither does the finale give a suggestion of ferry travel, not to mention the Channel Tunnel from France was still decades away from completion. The Village has a logo in the form of a canopied penny-farthing bicycle which appears on almost everything, including the daily newspaper called the Tally Ho. The place is under the control of Number Two (see below). "Work units" or "credits" serve as currency in its shops, and are kept track of with a hole-punched credit card. Throughout the Village, music plays in the background, nearly all of it alternating between rousing marching band music and lullabies, periodically interrupted by public announcements. The media and signage consistently incorporate sailing and resort themes. The exact size of the environs of the Village is never established on screen. Besides the townsite, which is known to include a hospital building, there are forested, mountainous and coastal areas. The Village is large enough that one episode ("Living in Harmony") established that an entire Old West town was built somewhere in the vicinity. In "Arrival" (and other episodes) Number Six views the Village from the air, yet is apparently unable to spot any surrounding towns or cities. In other episodes (depending upon the camera angle), buildings can clearly be seen on the far side of the bay. Nevertheless, all maps of the Village seen in the series display little beyond the central townsite. Scenes of the Village were filmed in the grounds of Clough Williams-Ellis' Italianate Hotel Portmeirion, a resort near Penrhyndeudraeth in North Wales. Principal location shooting took place over four weeks in September 1966, with a return visit for additional, second unit-style shots for later episodes in March 1967. Sections of the resort (such as Number 6's residence interior with exterior) were replicated at MGM Borehamwood Studios in England. Later episodes were shot almost entirely on the sets on MGM's sound stages and backlot and locations within easy reach of the studio at Borehamwood, (e.g., in "It's Your Funeral", "A Change of Mind", "Living in Harmony", and "The Girl Who Was Death"), and by reusing Portmeirion footage from earlier episodes the production company was able to save a great deal of money that further principal photography at Portmeirion would have cost. An underground control centre monitors closed-circuit television cameras located throughout the Village. Regular observers continually spy on Villagers and foil Number Six's escape attempts with the aid of Rover, a large white balloon-like device that chases and pacifies or kills (suffocates) would-be escapees. Rover was originally intended to be a robotic machine, resembling a Dalek from Doctor Who, but when the prototype was found to be unusable during the first few days of location shooting, the crew (this is usually attributed to Patrick McGoohan himself) noticed a weather balloon in the sky and used this out of inspiration. One book on the series, The Official Prisoner Companion by Matthew White and Jaffer Ali (Warner Books, 1988), reported that research had cast some doubt on this story. It had been proven, they wrote, that there had never been an appropriate installation located anywhere that could have launched weather balloons to be seen over Portmeirion (official production history having filming beginning with the big location shoot there, although some London-based scenes for the opening credit sequence had been filmed the week before). The authors further stated that at the time of their writing, twenty years after the event (1966), no direct evidence proving that the original Rover had ever been built was known to exist. However, in the mid 1990s, TV historian Steven Ricks located home-movie footage taken in 1966 which showed that the original version of Rover had existed, and had been taken to Portmeirion; the device seen there did broadly fit the descriptions, being a domed shell (with a flashing blue light on top) fitted over a go-kart chassis and completely hiding the driver. This footage has been included as an extra in the 2001 Australian DVD release of the series by Umbrella Entertainment. This original Rover is shown in front of the Portmeirion Hotel, apparently being prepared for use in the scenes following Number Six and Number Two's Alouette helicopter (registration F-RMKZ) ride in "Arrival", which were originally scripted to be filmed in this part of the Village. Its failure, a combination of the driver being unable to see, fumes from the engine, and the inability of the small-diameter wheels to cope with the rough terrain of Portmeirion's steep cobbled streets, led to the filming of this scene being re-scheduled for a later date, by which time Guy Doleman had left Portmeirion and his part as Number Two (in the scene as finally shot in Portmeirion's Piazza) was played by an extra, his face concealed by a megaphone, with close-ups of Doleman filmed in the studios at Borehamwood. Despite White and Ali's claims, at the time of filming RAF Llanbedr, about six miles south west of Portmeirion, was still active and used weather balloons for meteorological monitoring. Said McGoohan in 1977: ¡the first day of shooting, Rover was supposed to go down off the beach into the water, do a couple of signals and a couple of wheelspins and come back up. But it went down into the water and stayed down, permanently. And then we had to shoot. We had Rover in every scene that day. So we had no Rover and Rover didn't look as though he was going to be resurrected at all. So we're standing there. My Production Manager, Bernard Williams (wonderful fellow), standing beside me, and he says, 'What're we gonna do?' And he went like that and he looked up and there was this balloon in the sky. And he says, 'What's that?' And I said, 'I dunno. What is it?' He says, 'I think it's a meteorological balloon.' And he looked at me. And I said, 'How many can ya get within two hours?', ya see. So he says, 'I'll see.' And he went off and he called the meteorological station nearby. And I did some other shots to cover while he was away and he came back with a hundred of 'em. He took an ambulance so that he could get there and back fast because it was quite a ways to the nearest big town. And he came back with them and there were these funny balloons, all sizes, and that's how Rover came to be. And sometimes we filled it with a little water, sometimes with oxygen, sometimes with helium, depending on what we wanted him to do. And in the end, we could make him do anything: lie down, beg, anything¡ Really. We used about six thousand of them¡ Rover is last seen in Fall Out. Whilst the rocket is being launched, Rover drops down a hole to an underground 'cave' like area, where it shrinks to a small size and becomes still as if it is deactivating itself now that it is no longer needed in the village. However, this scene was not in the script and was inserted to give Rover its finale. Citizens use the phrase "Be seeing you" as a farewell, accompanied by a waving gesture consisting of thumb and forefinger forming a circle over the eye, then tipped forward in a salute. This may be a reminder that in the Village you are under constant surveillance; anyone may be a Warder, a stooge working for Number Two, although a simpler theory of the salute could be that the fingers are formed into the shape of a number six. Moreover, the hand gesture resembles the show's revolving penny-farthing bicycle logo. In Danger Man and Secret Agent, John Drake uses that expression often. Most (but not all) guards wear the same style of resort clothing and numbered badges as the prisoners, and mingle seamlessly among the general population. Thus, it is nearly impossible for prisoners to determine which Villagers can be trusted and which ones cannot. After the show ended, McGoohan said of the show: I think progress is the biggest enemy on earth, apart from oneself¡ I think we're gonna take good care of this planet shortly¡ there's never been a weapon created yet on the face of the Earth that hadn't been used¡ ¡We're run by the Pentagon, we're run by Madison Avenue, we're run by television, and as long as we accept those things and don't revolt we'll have to go along with the stream to the eventual avalanche¡ As long as we go out and buy stuff, we're at their mercy. We're at the mercy of the advertiser and of course there are certain things that we need, but a lot of the stuff that is bought is not needed¡ ¡We all live in a little Village¡ Your village may be different from other people's villages but we are all prisoners." ¡ª 1977 interview. A number of other actors played Number Two in one-off appearances, while several actors including Alexis Kanner, Christopher Benjamin, Georgina Cookson, Kenneth Griffith and Patrick Cargill, and appeared in more than one episode, playing different characters each time. McGoohan was the only actor credited in the opening sequence, with Muscat the only actor considered a "co-star" of the series. Kenneth Griffith appeared in "The Girl Who Was Death" and "Fall Out." While Griffith played Number Two in "The Girl Who Was Death," his character in "Fall Out" may be the same character after the assignment of Number Two was passed to someone else (or, given events here, abandoned). There is also the theory that Cargill played the same character in his two episodes; the Number Two that Cargill plays in "Hammer Into Anvil" may or may not be the same character of Thorpe, the aide to Number Six's superior, from "Many Happy Returns." Stuntman Frank Maher also appears in every episode as McGoohan's stunt double. In particular he can been seen at the start of almost every episode in part of the running across the beach scene and he also appears extensively in the episode "The Schizoid Man," as that story required the appearance a doppelganger to the Number Six character. He also appears in "Living In Harmony" in the role of 'Third Gunman.' Unproduced storylines and scripts for the series are known to exist, several of which were published in a two-volume collection of Prisoner scripts edited by Robert Fairclough and published by Reynolds and Hearn in 2005 and 2006. "The Outsider" by Moris Farhi (complete script included in Volume 1) "Ticket to Eternity" by Eric Mival (synopsis included in Volume 1) "Friend or Foe" by Mival (synopsis included in Volume 1) "Don't Get Yourself Killed" by Gerald Kelsey (complete script included in Volume 2) According to author James Follett, a prot¨¦g¨¦ of Prisoner co-creator George Markstein, Markstein had mapped out an explanation for the Village. In George Markstein's mind, a young Number Six had once submitted a proposal for how to deal with retired secret agents who posed a security risk. Six's idea was to create a comfortable retirement centre where former agents could live out their final years, enduring firm but unobtrusive surveillance. Years later, Six discovered that his idea had been put into practice, and not as a benign means of retirement, but as an interrogation centre and a prison camp. Outraged, Six staged his own resignation, knowing he would be brought to the Village, hoping he could learn everything he could of how his idea had been implemented and expanded upon and find a way to destroy it. However, due to the range of nationalities and agents present in the Village, Six realized he was not sure whose Village he was in ¨C the one brought about by his own people, or by the other side. Presumably, Markstein intended this revelation to follow Once Upon A Time. However, Markstein's falling out with McGoohan resulted in Markstein's departure, and his original intent was discarded. According to Markstein: "The Prisoner was going to leave the Village and he was going to have adventures in many parts of the world, but ultimately he would always be a prisoner. By that I don't mean he would always go back to the Village. He would always be a prisoner of his circumstances; his situation, his secret, his background¡ and 'they' would always be there to ensure that his captivity continues." At the conclusion of its repeat presentation of the series in 1984, Channel 4 presented a 45 minute documentary entitled Six into One: The Prisoner File. Although its central premise was to establish a reason why Number 6 resigned, the presentation anchored around a new Number 2 communicating with staff (and Number 1), reviewing scenes from Danger Man, particularly the episodes incorporating a location shoot in Portmeirion (deputizing for an Italian location) and 'Colony Three' (a finishing school for foreign spies ready to adopt their new identities within the West). The premise of Colony Three was that John Drake, in being substituted for a Public Servant who expected to be transferred to the 'Village', was a key support worker for the spy network. Other volunteer workers were employed in other contexts, including electricians, librarians etc. John Drake traveled with two others, Randall Glyn Owen and Janet Catherine Woodville. Janet, we discover, intended to find out about her brother, who had previously volunteered to work in the Village but who had since disappeared. Within a social gathering, we discover noted British Defector Lord Denby (Edward Underdown) accompanied by Lady Denby (Cicely Paget-Bowman) who ostensibly defected to the USSR. Although viewers learned that the Village serviced different competing Spy Agencies (including the CIA, KGB, MI5), and whereas employees working in the Village entered the Village, their only departure was to the graveyard. Shortly after entering the facility, Janet discovers her brother's grave in the Village Graveyard. John Drake, working in the Citizens Advice Office, acquired a dossier in agents passing through the Office, was subjected to interrogation by Peter Arne (a co director of the facility), and in fear of being discovered, managed to generate a message to his emergency handlers. By this time, Randall (who volunteered on the basis of helping the Communist brothers ¡ª and who was disappointed at working as an electrician) had made one attempt to escape the facility into a desolate mountainous terrain, was located by John Drake just as a helicopter gunship was ready to kill the escaping Randall, and upon returning home, had discovered John Drake's secret radio transmitter and reported this to Colony Three Senior Managers Donovan Niall MacGinnis and Richardson Peter Arne. Novel interrogation techniques were applied within the facility, Richardson being the key interrogator. Subsequently, Donovan and Richardson receive transfer orders for John Drake's immediate transfer out of the facility (they assumed he was sent in to spy on the facility), and was recalled to report to his handler. Rather than raise the risk that he would report the operation to other spy agencies (either the CIA, KGB, MI6, or Mossad), Richardson was ordered to accompany John Drake out of the facility with orders to kill him. Upon his departure, Janet passed a note to John Drake asking for his help in escaping from the facility, was noted by Richardson. Drake passed the note onto Richardson, and this was destroyed. John Drake survived the assassination attempt, returned home, and passed on his dossier on agents which had been sent to the West using legitimate identities. However, John Drake was vehement that the identity of Janet, who entered the Colony to locate her brother, could not be located and that no action could be taken to rescue her. The docudrama also reviewed scenes from the series, incorporated interviews with cast members (including McGoohan), addressed the political environment giving rise to the series, and McGoohan's heavy workload. Whilst fitting in a commitment to Ice Station Zebra, McGoohan returned to continue with The Prisoner, and, according to this program, discovered key production staff had left. It is further claimed here that he then learned that ITC had reduced its commitment to 17 episodes (Lew Grade demanding an early conclusion), and continued with the show unabated. Another documentary was the American production, The Prisoner Video Companion. This was a 48-minute collection of clips, including a few from both versions of Danger Man, with voice-over narration discussing the origins of this series, but mostly possible interpretations, meaning, symbolism, etc., with a format clearly modeled on the 1988 book, The Official Prisoner Companion by Matthew White and Jaffer Ali, Warner Books. It was released in 1990 by MPI Home Video, then the licensed label for both/all three series in the USA. The copyright notice (the only credit) is ascribed to Maljack Productions, apparently the real company behind the name MPI. The documentary was subsequently released to DVD in the early 2000s as a bonus feature with A&E's release of the Prisoner series. MPI also issued a "best of" video (The Best of The Prisoner) containing excerpts from the series. Although not technically a documentary, American public television station KTEH, located in San Jose, California, re-ran the series in the early 1990s accompanied by insightful commentary from television critic Scott Apel. Apel gave several minutes of analysis both before and after each episode. He also re-ordered the sequence from the original airing order to make the storyline more coherent. Clips of some of Apel's commentaries may be found on YouTube. In 2007 as part of its official 40th Anniversary DVD set, Network produced "Don't knock yourself out", a feature length documentary featuring interviews with around 25 cast and crew members. The documentary received its own separate DVD release in November 2007 accompanied by a featurette called "Make sure it fits" regarding Eric Mival's music editing for the series. The 40th anniversary DVD set also included several crew commentaries. Ace Books in the United States published three original novels based upon the television series. The first of these, titled initially The Prisoner by Thomas M. Disch (later republished as I Am Not a Number!), was issued in 1969 (some editions carry a 1967 copyright date but this refers to the series, not the book). Considered non-canonical, it details the recapture of the Prisoner after he had been brainwashed to forget his original experience in the Village, and his struggles to remember what was taken from him and to escape again from the Village (or another Village). Disch is often erroneously credited as the creator of the TV series, as he is the writer of the first novel based upon the show. Also in 1969-70 Ace published two additional original novels based upon the series. These books, believed by some to be set after the events of "Fall Out," are notable for stating explicitly that Number Six is John Drake from Danger Man. The two books are also not considered canonical: The Prisoner: Number Two by David McDaniel (also published as Who is Number Two?) and The Prisoner: A Day in the Life by Hank Stine. All three novels have been reprinted numerous times over the years; most recently the Disch and Stine books were republished in 2002. Additionally, all three books were republished in omnibus form. The reference work The Whole Story: 3000 Years of Sequels & Sequences 2nd edition by John E. Simkin erroneously lists an additional volume by McDaniel entitled Prisoner 3 being released in 1981, but no such book was ever published. In the 1980s, Roger Langley of the Prisoner Appreciation Society wrote three novellas based upon the series: Charmed Life, Think Tank, and When in Rome. These books were made available through the fan club, and at the Prisoner Shop in Portmeirion and are long out of print. In 2004, Powys Media announced plans for a new series of novels based upon the series. In March 2005, the first volume, The Prisoner's Dilemma, was released. The second novel in the series, Miss Freedom, by Andrew Cartmel, was released on February 15, 2008 as a special, signed and numbered, limited advance edition. The list of released and forthcoming novels includes: The Prisoner's Dilemma by Jonathan Blum and Rupert Booth; introduction by J. Michael Straczynski, Miss Freedom by Andrew Cartmel, The Other by Lance Parkin, The Last Waltz by John Kenneth Muir, Number Two Is Missing by Ben Aaronovitch, and Endgame by William Latham. The premise of the television series fascinated comic book artist Jack Kirby, who created a four-issue homage in 1969 in Fantastic Four #84-87, in which the superhero team finds itself in Doctor Doom's Latveria, a city like the Village in many respects. In the early 1970s, Marvel Comics considered launching a comic book based on The Prisoner, to be written by Steve Englehart and drawn by Gil Kane. When Jack Kirby returned to Marvel in the mid-70s after a run at DC Comics, the property was transferred to him. A test issue was put together but never completed (all 17 pages were scripted and penciled by Kirby, but only parts were lettered and inked, by Mike Royer). Original artwork from this comic still exists and occasionally turns up for auction. Some of it has been published in the comic book fanzine Jack Kirby Collector. The surviving artwork suggests that the first issue, at least, would have been an adaptation of "Arrival." Shattered Visage is a four-issue comic book mini-series based on The Prisoner. Illustrated by Mister X creator Dean Motter and co-written with Mark Askwith, this sequel series was later collected as a 208 page graphic novel in trade paperback format, with the addition of a new prologue. The trade paperback remains in print and available. In the early 1980s, Edu-Ware produced two computer games based upon the series for the Apple II computer. The first, titled simply, The Prisoner, was released in 1980, followed by a remake, Prisoner 2 in 1982. The first game in Cyan's "Myst" series featured a location called "Stoneship," that resembles the Stone Boat at Portmeirion. Steve Jackson Games' popular role-playing game system GURPS released a (now out of print) world book for The Prisoner. It included maps, episode synopses, details of the Village and its inhabitants, and much other material. For instance, it has suggestions for game scenarios with the premise interpretation for outer space, heroic fantasy, horror and even complete inversion into something akin to Hogan's Heroes. A movie version of The Prisoner has been in development hell for many years at Universal Pictures. At one point Simon West was attached as director with Patrick McGoohan on board as an executive producer, script consultant, and possible cameo appearance. Many A-list actors have been rumoured to play Number Six, with Russell Crowe believed to be the favourite. Patrick McGoohan also mentioned in a 1997 interview with French TV that he would like to see Mel Gibson play the lead role. It was announced in late 2005 that Granada would revive the series for Sky One in 2007. Christopher Eccleston has been linked with the role, but these rumours were strongly denied by Eccleston's agent in the May 30, 2006 issue of Radio Times, and Eccleston subsequently joined the cast of NBC Drama Heroes, although not as a regular. According to the June 3 ¨C June 9 issue of the magazine, the new series re-make will be titled Number Six and not The Prisoner. American cable network AMC is co-producing. As of August 2006, Universal Pictures is near a deal for Christopher Nolan to direct a feature version of TV series. Janet and David Peoples are set to write the script. Scott Stuber, Mary Parent, Barry Mendel and Emma Thomas will produce. In December 2006, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the American cable TV channel AMC is co-producing The Prisoner with Sky One, and that it will run at least six to eight episodes, beginning in January 2008 (both in the UK and USA). AMC plans to re-air the original series at about the same time. In May 2007 it was reported that Sky One had pulled out of the re-make due to a disagreement with their co-producer AMC. Granada want the production to continue, with a new broadcaster to co-finance the production with AMC. Until a new broadcaster is found it can be assumed that production cannot continue, therefore the project is presumed to be at least temporarily shelved. In August 2007, Richard Woolfe, head of Sky One, stated: "The Prisoner is not happening. It's a very quintessentially British drama and there were too many creative differences trying to share it with an American partner. I didn't want to be responsible for taking something that is quintessentially British and adapting it in a way that I didn't feel was reflective of the way people would remember it and the way people would want it to be. So we called time on that." In October 2007, British broadcaster ITV stepped in to replace Sky One as co-producer with AMC. In a report, the network was in the final stages of securing production rights and hoped to begin casting soon after. The remake will be a six-part series, and will be "a pacy, radical reinvention of the original show." On 25 April 2008, ITV announced that a new series of The Prisoner will go into production. American actor James Caviezel has been linked to the part of Number Six but a spokesperson dismissed this as "pure speculation", however it was confirmed in June 2008 that Caviezel will play Number 6 and Sir Ian McKellen will be Number 2 in all six episodes. Also set to star are Ruth Wilson as Number 313, Lennie James as Number 147 and Jamie Campbell Bower as Number11-12. Hayley Atwell is also cast. The final episode, "Fall Out", received a Hugo Award nomination for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1969, but lost out to 2001: A Space Odyssey. In 2002, the series won the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award. Lost, The X-Files, 24, and pretty much every other paranoid show-puzzle in the last few decades all wouldn¡¯t exist if it wasn¡¯t for The Prisoner. The show told the enigmatic story of Number Six (McGoohan) and his attempt to escape a charming little gulag by the seaside. The British series (seen first by Americans on CBS) imagined a deceptively beautiful totalitarian community, "The Village," in which people's memories were erased, no one could be trusted and the premises were patrolled by the most sinister big white balloons you ever saw. It sounds a little silly, but you have to remember, this show aired in the late 1960s, when practically everyone was on drugs and The Cold War was going on. Paranoia ran rampant as hallucinogenic drugs, which didn¡¯t help with the paranoia. So, pretty much any innocuous object, like big white balloons, could be seen as menacing, especially if you used them properly. Besides, the balloons worked, one of the reasons The Prisoner was so great (seriously, if you can make balloons scary, then you¡¯ve done your job as a talent TV maker). Another reason would be how it really captured its time. Like I said, it was made during the late 1960s, and the show was filled psychedelic imagery and was resonant with cold-war suspicions. It was infused with the drug-induced ¡°Don¡¯t Trust The Man¡± paranoia of the 1960s as Number Six constantly question his prisoners. And, it brilliantly never revealed whom Number Six¡¯s prisoners were. Hell, his prisoners could have been his own government. The 17-episode series offered closure of a sort, though fans argue over its details and its resolution to this day. Whatever your theory, this most Kafkaesque of TV series was, well, captivating.
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Jul 30, 2008 21:30:50 GMT -5
23. Gunsmoke Genre: Western. Created by: John Meston. Executive Producer(s): Philip Leacock, John Mantley, and James Arness. Starring: James Arness (Marshall Matt Dillon), Milburn Stone (Dr. Galen “Doc” Adams), Amanda Blake (Kitty Russell 1955-1974), Dennis Weaver (Chester Goode 1955-1964), Ken Curtis (Festus Haggen 1964-1975), Burt Reynolds (Quint Asper 1962-1965), Buck Taylor (Newly O’Brien 1967-1975), and Glenn Strange (Sam Noonan 1961-1973). Country of Origin: United States. Number of Seasons: 20. Number of Episodes: 635. Running Time: 30 minutes (1955–1961), 60 minutes (1961–1975). Original Channel: CBS. Original Run: September 10, 1955 – March 31, 1975. Spinoffs: The show was a televised adaptation of the Gunsmoke radio program, and there were a few TV movies made: “Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge” (1987), “Gunsmoke: The Last Apache” (1990), “Gunsmoke: To the Last Man” (1992), “Gunsmoke: The Long Ride” (1993), and “Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice” (1994). In the late 1940s, CBS chairman William S. Paley, a big fan of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe radio serial, asked his programming chief, Hubell Robinson, to develop a hardboiled Western series. Robinson contacted his West Coast CBS Vice-President, Harry Ackerman, who had created the Philip Marlowe series, to take on the task. Ackerman and his scriptwriters, Mort Fine and David Friedkin, created an audition script called "Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye". Two auditions were created in 1949. The first was very much like a hardboiled detective series and starred Rye Billsbury as Dillon; the second starred Straight Arrow actor Howard Culver in a more Western, lighter version of the same script. CBS liked the Culver version better, and Ackerman was given the green light to proceed. But there was a complication. Culver's contract as the star of Straight Arrow would not allow him to do another Western series. So the project was shelved until three years later, when Norman MacDonnell and John Meston discovered it while looking to create an adult Western series of their own. MacDonnell and Meston wanted to create a radio Western for adults, in contrast to the prevailing juvenile fare such as The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid. Gunsmoke was set in Dodge City, Kansas during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s. The radio series first aired on April 26, 1952 ("Billy the Kid," written by Walter Newman) and ran until June 18, 1961 on CBS. It starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon; Howard McNear as the ghoulish, brittle and then, as the series progressed, kind-hearted Doc Charles Adams; Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell; and Parley Baer as Dillon's assistant (but not officially his deputy, even though he introduced Chester as such in the December 13, 1952 episode "Post Martin"), Chester Proudfoot. (On the television series, Doc's first name was changed to Galen, and Chester's last name was changed to Goode.) Chester's character had no surname until "Proudfoot" was ad libbed by Baer during an early rehearsal, while Doc Adams was named after cartoonist Charles Addams. In a 1953 interview with Time, MacDonnell declared: "Kitty is just someone Matt has to visit every once in a while. We never say it, but Kitty is a prostitute, plain and simple." William Conrad was actually one of the last actors who auditioned for the role of Marshal Dillon. He was already one of radio's busiest actors and had a powerful and distinctive baritone voice. Though Meston championed him, MacDonnell thought that Conrad might be overexposed. During his audition, however, Conrad won over MacDonnell after reading just a few lines. "Miss Kitty" did not appear on the radio series until the May 10, 1952 episode "Jaliscoe", but Georgia Ellis appeared in the very first episode "Billy the Kid" (April 26, 1952) as "Francie Richards", the wife of a killed outlaw and a former girlfriend of Matt Dillon. In the January 31, 1953 episode "Cavalcade", Doc Adams' backstory is revealed: his real name is Calvin Moore, educated in Boston, and he practiced as a doctor for a year in Richmond, Virginia where he fell in love with a beautiful young woman who was also being courted by a wealthy young man named Roger Beauregard. Beauregard forced Doc into fighting a duel with him, resulting in Beauregard's being shot and killed, but even though it was a fair duel, because Doc was a Yankee and an outsider he was forced to flee. The young girl fled after him and they were married in St. Louis, but two months later she died of typhus. Doc wandered throughout the territories until he settled in Dodge City seventeen years later under the name of "Charles Adams." The show was distinct from other radio westerns, as the dialogue was often slow and halting, and due to the outstanding sound effects, listeners had a nearly palpable sense of the prairie terrain where the show was set. The effects were subtle but multilayered, giving the show a spacious feel. The listener heard extraneous dialogue in the background, just above the muted shouts of kids playing in an alley. He heard noises from the next block, too, where the inevitable dog was barking. Dillon as portrayed by Conrad was a lonely, isolated man, toughened by a hard life. Meston relished the upending of cherished Western fiction clichés and thought that few Westerns gave any inkling of how brutal was the Old West. Dunning writes that Meston was especially disgusted by the archetypal Western hero and set out "to destroy" that type of "character he loathed." In Meston's view, "Dillon was almost as scarred as the homicidal psychopaths who drifted into Dodge from all directions." Dillon played his hand and often lost. He arrived too late to prevent a lynching. He amputated a dying man's leg and lost the patient anyway. He saved a girl from brutal rapists then found himself unable to offer her what she needed to stop her from moving into... life as a prostitute. Some listeners, such as vintage radio authority Dunning, have argued that the radio version of Gunsmoke was far more realistic than the TV series. Episodes were aimed at adults and featured some of the most explicit content of their time, including violent crimes, scalpings, massacres, and opium addicts. Many episodes ended on a somber note, and villains often got away with their crimes. Nonetheless, thanks to the subtle scripts and outstanding ensemble cast, over the years the program evolved into a warm, often humorous celebration of human nature. Not long after the show began, there was talk of adapting it to television. Privately, MacDonnell had a guarded interest in taking the show to television, but publicly, he declared that "our show is perfect for radio," and he feared that, Gunsmoke confined by a picture could not possibly be as authentic or attentive to detail. In the end, CBS simply took it away from MacDonnell and began preparing for the television version of Gunsmoke. Conrad and the others were given auditions, but they were little more than token efforts, especially in Conrad's case, due to his obesity. However, Meston was kept on as the main writer. In the early years, a majority of the TV episodes were adapted from the radio scripts, often using identical scenes and dialogue. That radio fans considered the TV show a sham and its players impostors should surprise no one. That the TV show was not a sham is due in no small part to the continued strength of Meston's scripts. MacDonnell and Meston continued the radio version of Gunsmoke until 1961, making it one of the most enduring vintage radio dramas. The Gunsmoke radio theme song and later TV theme was titled "Old Trails", also known as "Boothill." The theme was written by Rex Koury & Glenn Spencer. The original radio version was conducted by Rex Koury. The TV version was thought to have been first conducted by CBS West Coast Music Director, Lud Gluskin. The television series ran from September 10, 1955 to March 31, 1975 on CBS for 635 episodes. Until 2005, it was the longest run of any scripted series with continuing characters in American primetime television. Conrad was the first choice to play Marshal Dillon on TV, having established the role, but his increasing obesity led to more photogenic actors being considered. Losing the role embittered Conrad for years, though he later starred in another CBS television series, Cannon (1971–1975). Denver Pyle was also considered for the role, as was Raymond Burr who was ultimately seen as too heavyset for the part. According to a James Arness interview, John Wayne was offered the role, but wouldn't do it; Wayne was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, and at that time, working in television was seen as a huge step down in prestige for a star actor. In the end, the primary roles were all recast, with James Arness taking on the lead role of Marshal Matt Dillon upon the recommendation of John Wayne, who also introduced the first episode of the series; Dennis Weaver playing Chester Goode; Milburn Stone being cast as Dr. Galen "Doc" Adams; and Amanda Blake taking on the role of Miss Kitty Russell, owner of the Long Branch Saloon. MacDonnell became the associate producer of the TV show and later the producer. Meston was named head writer. Arness, in his role on Gunsmoke, achieved what no other actor at the time had ever matched: he played the same character on the same scripted series for 20 years - at the time the longest uninterrupted period a primetime actor had played the same role in the same show. In 1963, singer/character actor Ken Curtis did a guest role as a shady ladies' man. After Weaver left the series to venture out as the lead in his own TV series, Kentucky Jones, Curtis was added to the show's lineup. He played the stubbornly illiterate Festus Haggen, a character who came to town (in an episode titled "Us Haggens") to avenge the death of his twin brother, Fergus Haggen, and another brother, Jeff Haggen, and who decided to stay in Dodge when the deed was done. Initially existing on the fringes of Dodge society, Festus Haggen was slowly phased in as a reliable sidekick to Matt Dillon and was eventually made a deputy. Interestingly, his twin was never again mentioned on the show. In the episode "Alias Festus Haggen," he is mistaken for a robber and killer whom he has to expose to free himself (both parts played by Curtis). In a comic relief episode ("Mad Dog"), another case of mistaken identity forces Festus to fight three sons of a man killed by his cousin. Other actors who played Dillon's deputies for two and a half to three-year stints included Roger Ewing (1966–1968) as Thad Greenwood and Burt Reynolds (1962–1965) as Indian/white Quint Asper. Buck Taylor, who played gunsmith Newly O'Brien from 1967–1975, also served as one of Dillon's deputies. While Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty clearly had a close personal relationship, the two never married. In a July 2, 2002 Associated Press interview with Bob Thomas, Arness explained, "If they were man and wife, it would make a lot of difference. The people upstairs decided it was better to leave the show as it was, which I totally agreed with." The nearest that Matt and Kitty had to a romantic encounter was in a comic episode ("Quiet Day in Dodge"), where Matt, tired from a long day of settling disputes, was about to have dinner with Miss Kitty. However, she was distracted and found poor Matt sound asleep. Kitty ended up storming out of the room, furious. In another episode ("Hostage!", Season 18, Episode 13, December 11, 1972) Kitty was gravely injured. Matt spent hours at Kitty's side in Doc's office, holding her hand before she stirred and he knew he would not lose her. The Marshal took off his badge to pursue the bad guy as a personal vendetta. When Kitty awoke and Doc told her of Matt's mission she feared for his safety. As Doc reassured her, "The sun hasn't come up on the day that Matt can't take care of himself," Kitty answered, "I couldn't live without him." In an episode featuring Johnny Whitaker as a boy with a prostitute mother, her madam questions Dillon as to why the law overlooks Miss Kitty's enterprise. It appears that bordellos could exist "at the law's discretion" (meaning the Marshal's). There were differences between the characters on the radio and TV versions of Gunsmoke. The radio series Doc was acerbic, somewhat mercenary and borderline alcoholic, at least in the program's early years. The television Doc, though still crusty, was in many ways softer and warmer. Miss Kitty, who in the radio series likely engaged in prostitution, was viewed more as "the proprietor of a saloon" on the television series, and except for a few early scripts taken from the radio series, viewers only saw Miss Kitty as a kindhearted businesswoman. From 1955 to 1961, Gunsmoke was a half-hour show (re-titled Marshal Dillon in syndication). It then went to an hour-long format. The series was entitled "GUN LAW" in the UK. Gunsmoke was TV's No. 1 ranked show from 1957 to 1961 before slipping into a decline after expanding to an hour. In 1967, the show's 12th season, CBS planned to cancel the series, but widespread viewer reaction (including a mention in Congress and pressure from the wife of the head of programming at CBS) prevented its demise. The show continued on in a different time slot: early evening on Mondays instead of Saturday nights, canceling the popular Gilligan's Island in the process. This seemingly minor change led to a spike in ratings that saw the series once again reach the top 10 in the Nielsen ratings until the 1973–1974 television season. In 1975, the show was finally canceled after a long twenty-year run. Gunsmoke was the show that ushered in the age of the adult Western, and although over 30 Westerns came and went during its 20-year tenure, Gunsmoke outlasted all of its imitators and was the only Western still airing when it was canceled. Arness and Stone had remained with the show for its entire run (although Stone missed seven episodes in 1971 due to illness and was temporarily replaced by Pat Hingle, who played "Doctor Chapman" while Doc Adams ostensibly left Dodge to further his medical studies on the East Coast). The entire cast was stunned by the cancellation, as they were unaware CBS had been considering it. According to Arness, "We didn't do a final, wrap-up show. We finished the 20th year, we all expected to go on for another season, or two or three. The (network) never told anybody they were thinking of canceling." The cast and crew heard the news in typical Hollywood fashion: they read it in the trade papers. In 1987, many of the original cast reunited for the TV movie, “Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge,” filmed in Alberta, Canada. Ken Curtis declined returning, citing a contract dispute, saying, "As Dillon's right hand man, I felt the offer should approximate Miss Blake's." Instead, Buck Taylor became Dodge's new marshal, though the retired Matt Dillon was the hero. A huge ratings success, it led to four more TV films being made in the U.S. After Amanda Blake's death, the writers built on the 1973 two-part episodic romance of "Matt's Love Story", (which was noted for the marshal's first overnight visit to a female's lodgings). In the episode, Matt loses his memory and his heart during a brief liaison with "Mike" Michael Learned of The Waltons. In preserving the ethics of the era and the heretofore flawless hero's character, the healed Dillon returns to Dodge City. Movie number two, “Gunsmoke: The Last Apache” (1990), had Learned reprising the role of "Mike Yardley" to divulge that Matt and "Mike" conceived a daughter who is now a young woman named Beth. Other films (which all featured daughter Beth) included “Gunsmoke: To the Last Man” (1992), “Gunsmoke: The Long Ride” (1993), and “Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice” (1994). As of April 2008, two American series that have been poised to beat Gunsmoke's 20-year record are the animated sitcom The Simpsons, now in its 19th season, and the police procedural/courtroom drama Law & Order, now in its 18th year. The half hour Simpsons has been renewed for 2008-2009 and will in fact tie Gunsmoke for 20 seasons in September 2008. Gunsmoke, which ran a full hour through most of its run, still beats the comedy's total air time; Law & Order is also expected to be a possible 20-year survivor that could surpass Gunsmoke as the longest running American drama on television. Internationally, a number of British primetime dramas and comedies have beaten Gunsmoke, and Law & Order, including Last of the Summer Wine (34 years), Taggart (23 years), Casualty (21 years) and the longest running primetime scripted show, Doctor Who (30 seasons over 45 years). In syndication, the entire 20-year run of Gunsmoke is separated into three packages by CBS Paramount Television: 1955–1961 half-hour episodes: These episodes are sometimes seen in their original format and sometimes in the Marshal Dillon format. General syndication ended in the 1980s, but they do air occasionally on cable TV. Local stations (and, later, TV Land) would show the re-titled Marshal Dillon version of the series, while the series under the original Gunsmoke title was seen in the 1980s and early 1990s on CBN Cable and The Family Channel. 1961–1966 one-hour black-and-white episodes: These episodes have not been widely seen in regular syndication since the 1980s, although they did air on the Encore Westerns Channel on a three-year contract that ended circa 2006. 1966–1975 one-hour color episodes: These are the most widely syndicated episodes of the entire series' run and are still aired on many stations, including a popular run on TV Land. Certain episodes are available on DVD in two volumes. Twelve episodes from 1955 to 1964 were selected for the Gunsmoke: Volume I box set, and another twelve episodes from 1964 to 1975 were selected for the Gunsmoke: Volume II box set. Both are available on Region 1 DVD. Paramount Home Entertainment released Season 1 on DVD in Region 1 on July 17, 2007. Season 2: Volume 1, which features the first 20 episodes of season 2 was released on January 8, 2008. Season 2: Volume 2, which features the last 19 episodes of season 2 is to be released May 27, 2008. First, I should point out: yes, the radio show was better than the TV show as it had more realism and humanity to it. But, that isn’t to say that the televised version wasn’t good. For 20 years (1955-1975), Gunsmoke towered above other TV westerns in much the same way that its star, the 6 foot 7 inch James Arness, dwarfed everyone around him. And, Gunsmoke’s legend still stands tall. The show, which had begun as a radio program, holds the longevity record for prime time TV shows at 20 seasons (though either The Simpsons and/or Law And Order is poised to take that record from it). Much of the appeal of Gunsmoke was due to the chemistry that existed among the cast members. Arness' Marshal Matt Dillon was a man’s man to rival John Wayne (who, in fact, had originally been offered and turned down the role of Dillon) and was the glue that held Dodge City, Kansas circa 1873, together. After him came the venerable, irascible physician Doc Adams (Stone); bighearted, limp-along deputy Chester Goode (Weaver); and, following Weaver’s departure in 1964, his perpetually unshaven replacement, Festus Haggen (Curtis). A young Burt Reynolds was also around for three seasons as the half-Indian blacksmith Quint Asper. And, to offset all that testosterone was Amanda Blake as keeper of the Long Branch Saloon Miss Kitty. In fact, Kitty was the show’s most intriguing character. She was a strong, capable businesswoman, a pre-feminist role model who seemed to have more common sense than most of the men around her. She also carried a whiff of sin. Although her on-screen behavior was almost always as proper as a schoolmarm’s, many viewers suspected that this tough redhead, who resembled nothing so much as a well-heeled madam, knew a thing or two about the world’s oldest profession. It didn’t help matters that in the earlier radio version of the show, Kitty was implicitly a prostitute. And, she coyly danced with Dillon in a platonic two-step for the length of the show’s run. But, above all, Gunsmoke was a highly moral, but not naïve, show, on that dealt with timeless issues (love, greed, violence, power, inequity) in a primitive, Old West setting. Crisply directed, Gunsmoke showed a showdown between good and evil (sometimes fought with guns, sometimes not) pitting Dillon or some other Dodge City resident against criminals, scoundrels, or low-life connivers. And, each week good winning out over greed and brutality, but, like Dillon in the opening shootout, good was always only a split-second ahead on the draw. And, the cowboy archetypes the show depicted somehow transcended cliché, the legacy of what was perhaps the quintessential TV western still resonates like the echo of a pistol shot on a quiet, dusty street.
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Jul 30, 2008 21:32:36 GMT -5
Tomorrow, numbers 22 and 21, plus a recap of the previous shows from 100-21. Here are the hints:
It's your show (in name only), and a show about a blue collar mom with a loud mouth.
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Jul 31, 2008 20:10:47 GMT -5
Okay, people, gather around. It's countdown time. Here's number 22: 22. Your Show Of Shows Genre: Sketch Comedy, Variety Show. Created by: Sylvester L. Weaver Jr. Executive Producer(s): Max Liebman. Starring: Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Howard Morris, Carl Reiner, James Starbuck, Tom Avera, Nanette Fabray, Bill Hayes, Judy Johnson (vocalist), Nellie Fisher (dancer), Dick DeFreitas, Aariana Knowles, Jerry Ross (dancer), Earl Redding (vocalist), Mata and Hari (dancer), Charles Sanford (orchestra leader), The Bob Hamilton Trio (dancers), Jack Russell (vocalist), Bambi Linn (dancer), Rod Alexander (dancer), The Billy Williams Quartet (vocalists), and Marguerite Piazza (vocalist). Country of Origin: United States. Number of Seasons: 4. Number of Episodes: 139. Running Time: 90 minutes. Original Channel: NBC. Original Run: February 25, 1993 – June 5, 2004. Spinoffs: None. Your Show of Shows was a live 90-minute sketch comedy television series appearing weekly in the United States on NBC, from 1950 until June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Nanette Fabray, Bill Hayes, Judy Johnson, The Hamilton Trio and the soprano Marguerite Piazza. José Ferrer made several guest appearances on the show. Writers for the show included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, Larry Gelbart, Mel Tolkin, and Carl Reiner who, though a cast member, always sat in with the writers. A common misconception is that Woody Allen wrote for Your Show of Shows; he in fact wrote for its successor program, Caesar's Hour, which ran from 1954 to 1957. Carl Reiner has stated that the time he spent on Your Show of Shows was the inspiration for The Dick Van Dyke Show; Your Show of Shows also inspired the 1982 film “My Favorite Year,” produced by Mel Brooks, and the play Laughter on the 23rd Floor written by Neil Simon. Most of the kinescopes of the show were discarded by NBC, and so few copies of the show survive. A 1973 theatrical film titled Ten from Your Show of Shows featured ten sketches from the show edited together. Reruns of surviving kinescopes aired on Comedy Central in the early 1990s. Sketches from the show which are from Sid Caesar's personal collection are available on The Sid Caesar Collection DVD set. Neil Simon. Mel Brooks. Woody Allen. Carl Reiner. Larry Gelbart. All writing on a show that starred Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. It was the greatest collection of talent on TV until the first years of Saturday Night Live. Well, that’s it for this entry! Let’s move on! What!? You want MORE!? Fine!? Well, the name Caesar was an appropriate one. As de facto emperor of the early 1950s NBC variety series Your Show Of Shows, Sid Caesar presided over what is arguably the most influential early comedy on TV. He was backed by a writing team that was the comedy equivalent of the 1927 New York Yankees that worked at a grueling pace and was fueled, Caesar once said, by “a diet of electricity and hate” and by their desire to impress the notoriously demanding star (when Caesar didn’t like an idea, he’d pretend to machine-gun it in midair, complete with sound effects; and he was scarily strong, once knocked out a horse with one punch (that’s where Brooks got the idea for that scene in “Blazing Saddles”) and usually punched holes in the walls when the strain became too much). Nevertheless, all that hard work paid off as the variety show indirectly launched a generation of movie (Allen and Brooks went on to make some of the funniest movies ever made), TV (Reiner went on to create The Dick Van Dyke Show based on his time at Your Show Of Shows, and Gelbart is famously known for his work on M*A*S*H), and theater (Simon went on to become one of the most famous playwrights of the late 20th century) comedy brilliance. But, the main attractions here were Caesar and costar Imogene Coca, who paired up on outstanding live skits and parodies. Coca was a versatile rubber-faced performer, who could play aristocrats as well as hoboes. And, Caesar was fast-talking, dynamic, and amazing at improvising; whether forgetting the names of guests, wearing the wrong costume, or rewriting a skit mid-performance, the master of live TV seamlessly translated gaffes into guffaws. It was a tremendous weekly output for a relative handful of performers, but they amazingly did it and achieved immortality by giving birth to sketch comedy as we know it. Twenty-five years before Saturday Night Live, Your Show Of Shows was doing it first: presenting a fast-paced, 90-minute mishmash of live skits (the husband-and-wife Hickenloopers, storyteller Somerset Winterset), film parodies (From Here To Obscurity), and guest star routines. However, as another Caesar learned, all fame is fleeting. The three principals (Caesar, Coca, and producer Max Liebman) wanted to work independently. In 1954, Your Show Of Shows left the air. The emperor’s reign was at an end, but it was a glorious empire while it lasted. There! Are you happy, now!?
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Jul 31, 2008 21:02:41 GMT -5
21. Roseanne Genre: Sitcom. Created by: Matt Williams. Executive Producer(s): Matt Williams (1988-1989), Marcy Carsey (1988-1997), Tom Werner (1988-1997), Allan Katz (1989-1990), Roseanne (1990-1997), Tom Arnold (1990-1994), Jay Daniel (1990-1994), Eric Gilliland (1992-1996), Rob Ulin (1992-1995), Bob Myer (1990-1996), Chuck Lorre (1990-1992), Daniel Palladino (1995-1997), Jeff Harris (1989-1990), Bruce Helford (1992-1993), Stacie Lipp (1996-1997), Nancy Steen (1996-1997), and Allan Stephan (1996-1997). Starring: Roseanne Barr (Roseanne Conner), John Goodman (Dan Conner), Laurie Metcalf (Jackie Harris), Sara Gilbert (Darlene Conner), Lecy Goranson (Becky Conner 1988-1992, 1995-1996), Sarah Chalke (1993-1995, 1996-1997), Michael Fishman (D.J. Conner), and Natalie West (Crystal Anderson 1988-1992). Country of Origin: United States. Number of Seasons: 9. Number of Episodes: 222. Running Time: 22 minutes. Original Channel: ABC. Original Run: October 18, 1988 – May 20, 1997. Spinoffs: None. Created by Matt Williams, the show portrayed a working-class family struggling to get by on a limited income in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois. Many critics considered the show notable as one of the first sitcoms to portray an American family in which economics necessitated two parents working jobs outside the home. For many years, Roseanne tackled taboo subjects or joked about issues that most other popular shows at the time avoided, such as poverty, alcoholism, drug use, sex, menstruation, pregnancy, masturbation, obesity, race, class identity, domestic violence and homosexuality. The show was also significant for its portrayal of feminist ideals including a female-dominated household, an overweight female lead whose likeability didn't rely on her appearance, relationships between female characters that were cooperative rather than competitive, and females openly expressing themselves without negative consequences. Roseanne was hugely successful from its beginning, spending its first six seasons among the Nielsen Ratings' top five highest-rated shows. The show's success inspired television networks to offer a rash of sitcom deals to stand-up comedians, a practice that continued for years afterwards. During its seventh season, the show's ratings dropped, but it still managed to remain among the Nielsen Ratings' top ten highest-rated shows. It was only during the show's ninth and final season, when the show's storyline drifted away from its original premise, that Roseanne dropped below the Nielsen Ratings' top thirty highest-rated shows. The main characters on the show included: Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr): Modeled after Barr's stand-up comic (and presumed real-life) persona, she is a loud, caustic, and dominant woman with a wry sense of humor. She frequently meddles and tries to control the lives of her husband, daughters, son, sister, and friends. The series features a running joke where Roseanne is constantly hungry. Despite her dominating nature, Roseanne's love for her family and friends is plainly evident. Roseanne is absent from only one of the 222 episodes in the series. Dan Conner (John Goodman): Roseanne's genial, easygoing "teddy-bear" husband. He holds a variety of blue-collar jobs throughout the series. Though he appears to be dominated by Roseanne, Dan asserts his will in the matters that concern him most, particularly his daughters' romantic lives. He is openly admired by many of the show's characters for his devotion to his wife and children. Among his children, Dan bonds most strongly with his tomboy daughter Darlene. His relationship with Roseanne's sister Jackie is outwardly contentious but secretly close. Jackie Harris (Laurie Metcalf): Roseanne's somewhat wacky younger sister. Jackie has a lackluster social life and her romantic relationships are frequently unstable, as is her career. She is fairly dependent on Roseanne, spending most of her time in the Conner household. Roseanne often asserts control over Jackie's life, a frequent cause of conflict between the two. As an auxiliary member of the nuclear Conner family, however, Jackie is often in a position to serve as confidant for individual family members, making her a catalyst for major change or resolution within the series. Jackie has a contentious relationship with her parents, particularly her mother, Beverly. Becky Conner (Lecy Goranson and Sarah Chalke): Roseanne and Dan's eldest child. She does well academically and socially in school. The high value she places on her feminine appearance and social acceptance puts her in stark contrast with her sister Darlene, with whom she frequently fights. In the first four seasons of the series, Becky appears to be on a path toward high lifetime achievement. This path is drastically diverted when she skips college to elope with Mark and later ends up living with him in a trailer park. During the show's fifth season actress Lecy Goranson left to attend Vassar College. At first, her character Becky was merely absent from the show, explained in the story when she marries and moves away to live with her husband Mark. During the sixth season, however, the show's producers recast Becky with actress Sarah Chalke. This change is addressed in the show which becomes a running gag for the remainder of the series as both Goranson and Chalke continue to alternate in the role of Becky, depending on Goranson's availability. Examples of this gag include: At the end of Chalke's first episode, the Conner family watches the television show Bewitched and several characters complain about the recasting of the show's main character Darrin Stevens, with Chalke asserting that she prefers the second actor to play Darrin. In the season six episode "Suck Up or Shut Up," when Luke and Laura from General Hospital are with Roseanne in the diner, they are explaining all the mishaps they have had (as the result of being in a soap). Roseanne responds with "Well our daughter Becky was gone for a year and when she came back we barely recognized her!!" When Goranson returns to the role in the eighth season premiere, Roseanne and Darlene ask Becky, "Where the hell have you been?" and comment that "it feels like you've been gone for three years." Becky responds, "Why does everyone keep saying that?" The eighth season premiere concludes with Goranson and Chalke dancing as if they were each other's reflection in a black-and-white parody of the closing credits from the television series The Patty Duke Show, a series in which actress Patty Duke plays two identical cousins. The song to which the two Beckys dance, "Nearly Identical Beckys", is set to the tune of the theme music from The Patty Duke Show'. At the end of the segment, William Schallert, who plays Patty's father on the series, appears with Dan. This parody was excised from the eighth season DVD box set. Beginning with the eighth season, the show's opening credits sequence, which displays morphing images of the main characters over the years, features images of both Goranson and Chalke in the role of Becky. When Roseanne announces that the Conner family is planning a vacation to Walt Disney World, Becky (played that week by Chalke) tells Roseanne how excited she is to be going to Disney World. Roseanne responds, "Aren't you glad you were here this week?" In an episode that pretends to glimpse into the future, John Goodman portrays an adult version of D.J. who has suffered a mental breakdown. He repeatedly mutters "They say she's the same, but she isn't the same." At the end of the episode, a montage sequence of the two actresses playing Becky reveals the meaning of D.J.'s mantra. Because cast and crew believed that the eighth season of Roseanne would be its last, Goranson had signed back on only for that season. When the show was renewed for a ninth season, Chalke replaced Goranson full-time. Darlene Conner: Roseanne and Dan's wily and sarcastic middle child. Among the Connor children, she is the most similar to Roseanne, dishing out clever one-liners and displaying a knack for manipulating those around her. The similarity also means that, unlike the other characters on the show, Darlene does not readily submit to Roseanne's will. Darlene starts the series as a tomboy character who loves to play basketball, but during the show's third and fourth seasons starts dress in the grunge fashion. She dates, eventually marries, and has a daughter with David, the younger brother of Becky's husband, Mark. D.J. Conner: Roseanne and Dan's youngest child (until the birth of Jerry in the eighth season). D.J. is treated by the others as the "baby" of the family, and as such his concerns and opinions are often discounted or ignored. Thus left to his own devices, D.J. develops some unusual behaviors, such as building a cache of dismembered dolls. These behaviors are singled out for ridicule by his older sisters, particularly Darlene who inflicts a playful degree of violence upon him. D.J. has an especially close relationship with Roseanne. The initials D.J. stand for David Jacob (rather than the presumed Dan Jr.), a fact which is only mentioned in two episodes of the series. Roseanne featured a large cast of recurring characters. The following appeared in 10 or more episodes of the series, ordered below by number of appearances: David Healy (played by Johnny Galecki in 91 episodes) - Darlene's boyfriend and eventual husband. Crystal Anderson (played by Natalie West in 84 episodes) - Roseanne and Jackie's old high-school friend, later marries Dan's father. Mark Healy (played by Glenn Quinn in 75 episodes) - Becky's boyfriend and eventual husband, David's older brother. Bev Harris (played by Estelle Parsons in 58 episodes) - Roseanne and Jackie's mother. Leon Carp (played by Martin Mull in 46 episodes) - Roseanne's manager at Rodbell's, later co-owner of Lanford Lunch Box. Fred (played by Michael O'Keefe in 35 episodes) - Jackie's husband, Dan's employee at Lanford City Garage. Nancy Bartlett (played by Sandra Bernhard in 33 episodes) - Roseanne's friend, Arnie's wife, co-owner of Lanford Lunch Box. Arnie Thomas (played by Tom Arnold in 22 episodes) - Dan's friend, Nancy's husband. Chuck Mitchell (played by James Pickens Jr. in 19 episodes) - Dan's friend, Anne-Marie's husband. Bonnie Watkins (played by Bonnie Bramlett in 18 episodes) - Roseanne's co-worker at Rodbell's. Anne-Marie Mitchell (played by Adilah Barnes in 15 episodes) - Roseanne's friend, Chuck's wife. Booker Brooks (played by George Clooney in 11 episodes) - Roseanne's foreman at Wellman Plastics, briefly dates Jackie. Bob (played by John McConnell in 11 episodes) - Dan's employee at Lanford City Garage. Nana Mary (played by Shelley Winters in 10 episodes) - Roseanne and Jackie's grandmother, Bev's mother. Roseanne was a half-hour program that aired weekly between September and May of each year from 1988 to 1997. Each September to May run is regarded as a separate season comprising of 23 to 26 weekly episodes. Though the storylines of most episodes were self-contained, story arcs occasionally spanned several episodes or an entire season: Season 1: As the season (and series) opens, Roseanne is a line-worker at Wellman Plastics along with her sister Jackie and friend Crystal. Jackie has a brief relationship with Booker, the foreman at Wellman. Dan finds sporadic work as a construction contractor and faces a strained relationship with his irresponsible father Ed (played by Ned Beatty). Roseanne's parents, Bev and Al, consider moving to Lanford, but eventually decide against it. Tomboy Darlene struggles with her femininity as she enters puberty and gets her first period. Becky faces dating problems with her first boyfriend Chip. In the season finale, Roseanne stands up to a new foreman (played by Fred Thompson), when she leads Jackie, Crystal, and other co-workers as they quit Wellman Plastics. Season 2: Now that they've quit Wellman Plastics, Roseanne and Jackie must find new jobs. Jackie decides to become a police officer. Roseanne cycles through a variety of menial jobs including telemarketer, secretary for Dan's boss, bartender, cashier at a fast food restaurant, and finally, sweeping floors at a beauty parlor. At home, Dan's poker buddy Arnie makes a startling debut when he plants a passionate kiss on Roseanne. The Conners celebrate an outrageous Halloween that becomes an annual feature of the series. Later, at Thanksgiving dinner, Dan takes wary notice of a growing romance between his father and Crystal. Jackie gets serious with new boyfriend Gary (Brian Kerwin). Becky repeatedly rebels against Roseanne and Dan's parental authority. Old biker buddy Ziggy (Jay O. Sanders) appears to remind Roseanne and Dan of their own rebellious past. Darlene first proves her talent for writing when she wins recognition for her poetry. Roseanne's own writing talents are given a boost when her family fixes up a basement room to serve as a writer's den. Other notable guest stars during the season include Stephen Dorff (as Becky's boyfriend Jimmy), Stephen Root (as Roseanne's lawyer Peter), and Bert Parks (as a judge). Season 3: The season opens with the Conner women confronting the issue of pregnancy: Roseanne takes a pregnancy test that turns up negative. Roseanne takes on a job as waitress in the restaurant at Rodbell's Department Store where we first meet both Leon and Bonnie. Jackie gets injured while on the job as a cop, which results in a breakup with her boyfriend Gary. Becky begins dating Mark, a boy her parents later forbid her to see, prompting Becky to temporarily move in with Jackie. Dan is floored to learn that his father Ed and Crystal plan to marry, and that Crystal is pregnant with Ed's baby. Roseanne locks horns with snooty new neighbor Kathy (played by Meagen Fay). Nana Mary makes her first appearance at a family barbecue. In the season finale, Ziggy reappears with a proposition to open a motorcycle repair shop with Dan and Roseanne, which they do, after which Ziggy decides to leave because he doesn't want to feel responsible if the business fails. Other notable guest stars during the season include Leonardo DiCaprio (as Darlene's classmate), Brad Garrett (as Doug), Judy Gold (as Amy), Alyson Hannigan (as Becky's friend Jan), and Tobey Maguire (as Jeff). Season 4: The season starts with Becky surprising Roseanne by asking for birth control. Dan and Roseanne get started with their new motorcycle repair shop business, Lanford Custom Cycles, while Roseanne continues to work at Rodbell's Department Store. Jackie, after a brief stint working at a perfume counter, decides to become a truck driver. Nancy is first introduced as Arnie's fiancée, but not before Jackie discovers that after a night of heavy drinking, she's slept with the newly engaged Arnie. Darlene undergoes a personality shift into a sullen gothic teen. Booker makes a surprise appearance at a Halloween costume party. Roseanne's neighbor Kathy moves away. Roseanne gets breast reduction surgery. Roseanne and Dan accompany Arnie and Nancy to their wedding in Las Vegas. At the end of the season, Lanford Custom Cycles fails, Rodbell's Luncheonette closes, and Nancy is left alone after Arnie is "abducted by extraterrestrials." Notable guest stars during the season include Bob Hope (as himself), Wayne Newton (as himself), David Crosby (as Duke), Neil Patrick Harris (as Dr. Doogie Howser), and Rick Dees (as Ken). Season 5: After the bike shop closes, Mark decides to move to Minnesota. Becky decides to go with him, and they elope. Jackie and Roseanne each get a check for $10,000 from Bev. They, along with Nancy, decide to open a diner, but can only get the money they need after Bev agrees to become a partner as well. Nancy comes out as a lesbian. The Tildens, a single father and his two daughters around Becky and Darlene's ages move in next door. Jackie dates Fisher, who is much younger than she is, until Roseanne discovers he is physically abusive. Dan confronts him, beats him up, and is arrested. Roseanne and Jackie's father dies. Roseanne's rich cousin Ronnie visits and convinces Darlene to get her GED and apply to art school. David applies as well. Darlene asks her parents if David can move in, because his mother is moving away and they want to stay together. Roseanne and Dan initially refuse, but when Roseanne sees David's mother being verbally abusive, she decides to let him stay. Dan is offered a deal to rehab and sell a house by Roger, who runs off before the deal is complete; but Jackie decides to buy the house, saving Dan from financial ruin. Darlene gets an acceptance letter from art school, David gets a rejection. At the end of the season, Roseanne is scared Darlene will run away to school although Darlene has already decided not to go. Realizing she was wrong, Roseanne convinces Darlene to not give up on her goals just to stay with David. Notable guest stars during the season include Wings Hauser (as Ty Tilden), Danielle Harris (as Molly Tilden), Loretta Lynn (as herself), Morgan Fairchild (as Nancy's girlfriend Marla), Bill Maher (as Bob), Ed Begley, Jr. (as Principal Alexander), Blake Clark (as Vic), Red Buttons (as Bev's lover Jake), Sally Kirkland (as Mark and David's mother Barbara), Tim Curry (as Nancy's lover Roger), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as D.J.'s friend George), Joan Collins (as Roseanne's cousin Ronnie), Matt Roth (as Jackie's boyfriend Fisher), and Steve Jones (as a threatening diner patron). Season 6: Under pressure from Roseanne to leave the Lanford Lunch Box, Bev sells her share in the restaurant to Leon. David proposes marriage to Darlene, but she refuses. Dan and Roseanne discover and smoke an old stash of marijuana. Roseanne's past as a victim of abuse arises when she reacts violently to DJ after he steals and wrecks her car. Becky returns home and moves into a trailer park. Mark goes to trade school only to later drop out. Jackie gets pregnant as a result of a one-night stand. Jackie later develops a relationship with her baby's father, Fred. Roseanne and Dan discover that David has secretly moved in with Darlene at school. Roseanne visits a gay bar with Nancy where she receives a surprise kiss from Nancy's girlfriend. Jackie gives birth to a boy, which she names Andy. Dan confronts his mother's history of mental illness. The season concludes with Fred and Jackie's marriage. Notable guest stars during the season include Mariel Hemingway (as Nancy's girlfriend Sharon), Vicki Lawrence (as Dan's old flame Phyllis), Florence Henderson (as neighbor Flo), Ahmet Zappa (as Mark's roommate Roy), and Fabio (as himself). Season 7: Season seven began with Roseanne's unexpected pregnancy and went on to tackle such issues as abortion, alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual dysfunction and racial prejudice. "The Sitcom Mom's Welcome Wagon" also aired this season. Notable guest stars during the season include Sharon Stone (as a trailer park resident), Ellen DeGeneres (as Jackie and Fred's psychologist Dr. Whitman), Danny Masterson (as Darlene's boyfriend Jimmy), and Traci Lords (as Landford Lunch Box waitress Stacy). Season 8: Season eight addressed Roseanne's baby shower (and the subsequent arrival of her son Jerry Garcia Conner), DJ's Thanksgiving pageant, Darlene's wedding, and Dan's heart attack. As ratings had begun to drop at the end of the seventh season, the show's producers wanted to end the series after the eighth season. The show was, however, again renewed for one final season. One of the final episodes of the eighth season (in which Dan had the heart attack) was originally intended to be the series finale, but after the show was picked up for one last season, writers introduced a plot revolving around Dan not following the hospital's orders after the heart attack. This led to Roseanne and Dan having their worst fight in the show's history, with a second part to the heart attack episode being the first episode of the ninth season. Notable guest stars during the season include Fred Willard (as Leon's husband Scott), Ed McMahon (as himself), Pat Harrington, Jr. (as himself), Jenna Elfman (as hitchhiker Garland), Shecky Greene (as Bar Mitzvah guest Uncle Sol), Norm Crosby (as minister at Leon and Scott's wedding Reverend Crosley), June Lockhart (as TV mom Ruth Martin), the cast of Stomp (as Lanford Lunch Box patrons), Eric Dane (as a Disney World bellhop), and Tony Curtis (as ballroom-dance instructor Hal). Season 9: The ninth and final season of the show marks a complete departure from the rest of the series as it takes on a more surreal tone. The Conners win the state lottery jackpot of $108 million, Roseanne battles terrorists, Dan ponders the meaning of life, Jackie meets her prince, D.J. finds love, and Darlene gives birth. Most surreal of all is the season's final episode, in which Roseanne reveals an alternative scenario for the series in which many of its events never actually take place and are instead part of a book she is writing. In this scenario, Dan's heart attack has killed him, the Conner family has not won the lottery, Becky has married David instead of Mark, Darlene has married Mark instead of David, and Jackie has come out as a lesbian instead of Roseanne's mother. Notable guest stars during the season include Ed Asner (as Lou Grant), Robin Leach (as himself), Hugh Hefner (as himself), Jerry Springer (as himself), Jim Varney (as Jackie's boyfriend Prince Carlos), Tammy Faye Bakker (as Roseanne's make-up consultant), Todd Oldham (as himself), Dina Merrill (as Doris), Joanna Lumley (as Patsy Stone), Jennifer Saunders (as Edina Monsoon), Steven Seagal (as himself), Arianna Huffington (as Estree), Marlo Thomas (as Tina), Tony Robbins (as himself), James Brolin (as Roseanne's business partner/love interest Edgar Wellman, Jr.), Bob Hope (as himself), and Debbie Reynolds (as Dan's mother Audrey). Roseanne consistently ranked in the Nielsen top shows listing for eight of its nine seasons. It reached its pinnacle in its second season with a #1 ranking (tying with The Cosby Show), and only fell out of the top 20 in its final season. The entire Roseanne series is available on DVD in the Region 1 (North America) NTSC format from Anchor Bay Entertainment (briefly named Starz Home Entertainment resulting in some DVD packaging bearing this name). The first season was issued with shorter, syndicated versions of the episodes because Anchor Bay was unable to attain permission to release the original broadcasts. In the company's eighth and ninth season DVDs, some scenes have been altered to avoid disputes over music rights, including substituting some closing credit scenes with a black screen. Anchor Bay also released a special "Halloween Edition" DVD in August 2006, featuring uncut Halloween-themed episodes, with commentary by Roseanne Barr. Anchor Bay has been releasing the Region 2 (Europe) PAL format DVDs of the show at a slower pace. So far, Anchor Bay has released Region 2 DVDs only for the show's first four seasons. Anchor Bay announced that season 5 will be released in Autumn/Winter of 2008. In June 2006, Magna Pacific began to release the show on DVD in Region 4 (Australia, Central America, and South America) PAL format. Similar to the Anchor Bay releases, Magna Pacific has only released the show's first five seasons. Release dates for the subsequent seasons have not been announced. Unlike the Anchor Bay releases, Magna Pacific's first season DVDs include the full-length original broadcast episodes. Commencing her career as Roseanne Cherrie, then Barr, then Arnold, then just Roseanne, and then back to Barr, a stand-up comic with a sardonic attitude and a mocking reference to her true-life housewifely self as a “domestic goddess,” the nightclub performer went the way of many comedians and was offered her own show. However, pretty quickly, it became that this Roseanne wasn’t going to be shaped and molded by network suits and veteran comedy writers; and you could definitely tell that by the show’s premise. The concept behind Roseanne was so simple it was radical: a sitcom about a blue-collar family in the Midwest, with money troubles and unvarnished family issues, headed by a strong-willed woman who said what was on her mind. Roseanne and her TV family turned the show into a kitchen-sink sitcom whose grunginess hadn’t been seen on television since The Honeymooners and imbued it with a nascent feminism that grew stronger with each season. The show dealt with subjects that were rarely handled in family comedies: domestic abuse, mental illness, alcoholism, homosexuality, and plain old-fashioned money dramas. Barr benefited from great supporting actors, including John Goodman as her long-suffering, job-hopping husband Dan; Laurie Metcalf as her mooncalf sister Jackie; and one of TV's most believable casts of kids, Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman, and Lecy Goranson and Sarah Chalke, who each swapped the role of Becky back and forth. Viewers responded to her lower-middle class manifestos of pride because they were enlivened by a tough, blunt humor. And, since the star ran through writers and producers the way Cher does wigs, she must ultimately be given credit for the show’s unique combination of realism and idealism. But, she must also shoulder the blame when the show often got as much attention for its problems as its successes (the star's backstage temper, her butchering of the National Anthem, and the lottery-winning storyline of the last season that threw reality out of the window and degenerated the show into self-indulgent foolishness). But that's fine: like many ambitious works, and its star, Roseanne never offered a dull moment.
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Jul 31, 2008 21:05:05 GMT -5
Okay, here are the shows from 100 to 21:
100. Saved By The Bell 99. The Real World 98. Rowan And Martin’s Laugh-In 97. The Beverly Hillbillies 96. The Venture Bros. 95. The Brady Bunch 94. Dynasty 93. Hollywood Squares 92. Bonanza 91. Batman 90. Happy Days 89. Taxi 88. Family Ties 87. The Office (U.S.) 86. Bewitched 85. WKRP In Cincinnati 84. Oz 83. The Odd Couple 82. Survivor 81. Gilligan’s Island 80. Freaks And Geeks 79. The Abbott And Costello Show 78. Beverly Hills 90210 77. My So-Called Life 76. Pee-Wee’s Playhouse 75. Everybody Loves Raymond 74. Deadwood 73. Lost 72. The Gong Show 71. The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show 70. The Office (U.K.) 69. The Incredible Hulk 68. King Of The Hill 67. General Hospital 66. Friends 65. Angel 64. Arrested Development 63. Battlestar Galactica 62. Mystery Science Theater 3000 61. Homicide: Life On The Street 60. Batman: The Animated Series 59. Good Times 58. Wiseguy 57. The Jeffersons 56. Twin Peaks 55. SCTV 54. ABC’s Wide World Of Sports 53. The Wonder Years 52. NYPD Blue 51. The Sopranos 50. The Price Is Right 49. Star Trek: The Next Generation 48. St. Elsewhere 47. Sanford And Son 46. Moonlighting 45. Magnum, P.I. 44. The Dick Van Dyke Show 43. Cowboy Bebop 42. Futurama 41. V 40. The Carol Burnett Show 39. The Bob Newhart Show 38. Monty Python’s Flying Circus 37. Married…With Children 36. Six Feet Under 35. South Park 34. Miami Vice 33. The Shield 32. Buffy The Vampire Slayer 31. 60 Minutes 30. Jeopardy! 29. The Cosby Show 28. Law & Order 27. The Late Show With David Letterman 26. ER 25. Frasier 24. The Prisoner 23. Gunsmoke 22. Your Show Of Shows 21. Roseanne
Tomorrow, numbers 20 and 19. The Top Twenty Begins!!!! Here are the hints:
it's been on for three decades and practically every year people say that it's not funny anymore, and it shares its name with a Southern city.
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Aug 1, 2008 22:17:31 GMT -5
Sorry for the delay. I wasn't busy doing something else; it took me this long write up this entry!!!! SO, YOU BETTER FUCKING LIKE IT, GODDAMMIT!!!! Anyway, here's number 20: 20. Saturday Night Live Genre: Sketch comedy, Variety show. Created by: Lorne Michaels, Dick Ebersol, and Herb Schlosser. Executive Producer(s): Lorne Michaels (1975-1980, 1985-present), Jean Doumanian (1976-1981), Dick Ebersol (1975-1985), Alton Christensen (1998), David Tecson (1998), and Kelli Bixler (2005-2006). Starring: Dan Aykroyd (1975¨C1979), John Belushi (1975¨C1979), Chevy Chase (1975¨C1976), George Coe (October 11, 1975¨COctober 25, 1975, thereafter, through the first season, Coe was an occasional uncredited featured player), Jane Curtin (1975¨C1980), Garrett Morris (1975¨C1980), Laraine Newman (1975¨C1980), Michael O'Donoghue (October 11, 1975¨COctober 25, 1975, thereafter and through 1978, O'Donoghue was a frequent featured player, usually credited. He also made uncredited appearances in 1981), Gilda Radner (1975¨C1980), Tom Davis (1975¨C1980 featured player), Al Franken (1975¨C1980; 1987¨C1995 featured player), Bill Murray (1977¨C1980), Don Novello (1978¨C1980; 1985¨C1986 featured player), Peter Aykroyd (1979¨C1980 featured player), Jim Downey (1979¨C1980 featured player), Paul Shaffer (1979¨C1980 featured player), Tom Schiller (1979¨C1980 featured player), Alan Zweibel (1979¨C1980 featured player), Brian Doyle-Murray (1979¨C1980; 1981¨C1982 featured player), Harry Shearer (1979¨C1980; 1984¨C1985), Denny Dillon (1980¨C1981), Gilbert Gottfried (1980¨C1981), Yvonne Hudson (1980¨C1981 featured player), Matthew Laurance (1980¨C1981 featured player), Gail Matthius (1980¨C1981), Laurie Metcalf (1980¨C1981 featured player), Emily Prager (1980¨C1981 featured player), Ann Risley (1980¨C1981), Charles Rocket (1980¨C1981), Patrick Weathers (1980¨C1981 featured player), Tony Rosato (1980¨C1982), Robin Duke (1980¨C1984), Tim Kazurinsky (1980¨C1984), Eddie Murphy (1980¨C1984), Joe Piscopo (1980¨C1984), Christine Ebersole (1981¨C1982), Mary Gross (1981¨C1985), Brad Hall (1982¨C1984), Gary Kroeger (1982¨C1985), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (1982¨C1985), Jim Belushi (1983¨C1985), Billy Crystal (1984¨C1985), Christopher Guest (1984¨C1985), Rich Hall (1984¨C1985), Martin Short (1984¨C1985), Pamela Stephenson (1984¨C1985), Joan Cusack (1985¨C1986), Robert Downey Jr. (1985-1986), Anthony Michael Hall (1985¨C1986), Randy Quaid (1985¨C1986), Terry Sweeney (1985¨C1986), Danitra Vance (1985¨C1986), Dan Vitale (1985¨C1986 featured player), Damon Wayans (1985¨C1986 featured player), Nora Dunn (1985¨C1990), Jon Lovitz (1985¨C1990), A. Whitney Brown (1985¨C1991 featured player), Dennis Miller (1985¨C1991), Jan Hooks (1986¨C1991), Victoria Jackson (1986¨C1992), Dana Carvey (1986¨C1993), Phil Hartman (1986¨C1994), Kevin Nealon (1986¨C1995), Ben Stiller (1988¨C1989 featured player), Mike Myers (1988¨C1995), Chris Rock (1990¨C1993), Rob Schneider (1990¨C1994), Julia Sweeney (1990¨C1994), Chris Farley (1990¨C1995), Adam Sandler (1990¨C1995), David Spade (1990¨C1996), Tim Meadows (1991¨C2000), Beth Cahill (1991¨C1992 featured player), Siobhan Fallon (1991¨C1992), Robert Smigel (1991¨C1993 featured player), Melanie Hutsell (1991¨C1994), Ellen Cleghorne (1991¨C1995), Sarah Silverman (1993¨C1994 featured player), Michael McKean (1993¨C1995), Jay Mohr (1993¨C1995 featured player), Norm Macdonald (1993¨C1998), Morwenna Banks (1994¨C1995), Chris Elliott (1994¨C1995), Janeane Garofalo (1994¨C1995), Laura Kightlinger (1994¨C1995), Mark McKinney (1994¨C1997), Molly Shannon (1994¨C2001), David Koechner (1995¨C1996), Nancy Walls (1995¨C1996), Fred Wolf (1995¨C1997 featured player), Jim Breuer (1995¨C1998), Cheri Oteri (1995¨C2000), Colin Quinn (1995¨C2000), Will Ferrell (1995¨C2002), Darrell Hammond (1995¨Cpresent), Chris Kattan (1996¨C2003), Ana Gasteyer (1996¨C2002), Tracy Morgan (1996¨C2003), Jimmy Fallon (1998¨C2004), Chris Parnell (1998¨C2006), Horatio Sanz (1998¨C2006), Rachel Dratch (1999¨C2006), Maya Rudolph (1999¨C2007), Jerry Minor (2000¨C2001 featured player), Tina Fey (2000¨C2006), Dean Edwards (2001¨C2003 featured player), Jeff Richards (2001¨C2004), Seth Meyers (2001¨Cpresent), Amy Poehler (2001¨Cpresent), Fred Armisen (2002¨Cpresent), Will Forte (2002¨Cpresent), Finesse Mitchell (2003¨C2006), Kenan Thompson (2003¨Cpresent), Rob Riggle (2004¨C2005 featured player), Jason Sudeikis (2004¨Cpresent), Bill Hader (2005¨Cpresent), Andy Samberg (2005¨Cpresent), Kristen Wiig (2005¨Cpresent), and Casey Wilson (2007¨Cpresent featured player). Country of Origin: United States. Number of Seasons: 34. Number of Episodes: 636 as of May 17, 2008. Running Time: 90 minutes. Original Channel: NBC. Original Run: October 11, 1975 ¨C present Spinoffs: Several films have been based on characters from the show: ¡°The Blues Brothers¡± (1980), ¡°Wayne¡¯s World¡± (1992), ¡°Wayne¡¯s World 2¡± (1993), ¡°Coneheads¡± (1993), ¡°It¡¯s Pat¡± (1994), ¡°Stuart Saves His Family¡± (1995), ¡°A Night At The Roxbury¡± (1998), ¡°Blues Brothers 2000¡± (1998), ¡°Superstar¡± (1999), and ¡°The Ladies Man¡± (2000). However, it has had only one TV spinoff: TV Funhouse, based on the Robert Smigel cartoons of the same name, that aired on Comedy Central for one season (2000-2001). Since SNL has a long history, I will break it down into the respective eras it is usually broken down in: The Early Years, 1975-1980: In 1974, NBC Tonight Show host Johnny Carson requested that the weekend broadcasts of "Best of Carson" come to an end (back then The Tonight Show was a 90-minute program), so that Carson could take two weeknights off and NBC would thus air those repeats on those nights rather than feed them to affiliates for broadcast on either Saturdays or Sundays. Given Carson's undisputed status as the dean of late-night television, NBC heard his request as an ultimatum, fearing he might use the issue as grounds to defect to either ABC or CBS. To fill the gap, the network drew up some ideas and brought in Dick Ebersol, a prot¨¦g¨¦ of legendary ABC Sports president Roone Arledge, to develop a 90-minute late-night variety show. Ebersol's first order of business was hiring a young Canadian producer named Lorne Michaels to be the show-runner. Television production in New York was already in decline in the mid-1970s (The Tonight Show had departed for Los Angeles two years prior), so NBC decided to base the show at their studios in Rockefeller Center to offset the overhead of maintaining those facilities. Michaels was given studio 8H, a converted radio studio that prior to that point was most famous for having hosted Arturo Toscanini and his orchestra in the 1950s, but was being used largely for network election coverage by the mid-1970s. When the first show aired on October 11, 1975, with George Carlin as its host, it was called NBC's Saturday Night, because ABC featured a program at the same time titled Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. After ABC cancelled the Cosell program in 1976, the NBC program changed its name to Saturday Night Live on March 26, 1977 (and subsequently picked up Bill Murray from Cosell's show in 1977, as well). The lead in announcement for the first show introduced the cast as the "Not for ready, prime time players" instead of their actual name as "Not ready for prime time players." The original concept was for a comedy-variety show featuring young comedians, live musical performances, short films by Albert Brooks, and segments by Jim Henson featuring atypically adult and abstract characters from the Muppets world. Rather than have one permanent host Michaels elected to have a different guest host each week (Albert Brooks was originally booked to be a permanent host, and claims it was his idea to have a different host each week). The first episode featured two musical guests (Billy Preston and Janis Ian), and the second episode, hosted by Paul Simon on October 18, was almost entirely a musical variety show with various different acts. The Not Ready For Prime-Time Players did not appear in this episode at all, other than as the bees with Simon telling them they were cancelled and Chase in the opening and "Weekend Update." Over the course of the first season, sketch comedy would begin to dominate the show and SNL would more closely resemble its current format. The original (1975¨C1980) repertory company was called the ¡°Not Ready for Prime-Time Players.¡± The first cast members were Second City alumni Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Gilda Radner and National Lampoon "Lemmings" alumnus Chevy Chase (whose trademark became his usual falls and opening spiel that cued the show's opening), Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, and Garrett Morris. The original head writer was Michael O'Donoghue, a writer at National Lampoon who had worked alongside several cast members while directing The National Lampoon Radio Hour. The original theme music was written by future Academy Award¨Cwinning composer Howard Shore, who, along with his "All Nurse Band," was the original band leader on the show. Paul Shaffer who would go on to lead David Letterman's band on Late Night and then The Late Show, was also band leader in the early years. Michaels fought and cajoled network executives to accept his vision for the show, which was far removed from standard variety-show conventions (one executive, visiting a dress rehearsal, noticed that the band was in blue jeans and asked when their tuxedos would arrive). Before the show began Michaels had remarked that he knew what the ¡°ingredients [of SNL] would be, but not the proportions,¡± and that the show would have to ¡°find itself¡± on-air. Indeed, the Not Ready for Primetime Players were hardly featured in the premiere, but quickly became the focus of the show, with the guest host and musical act playing a secondary role. Albert Brooks and the Muppets were also dropped after the first season and the beginning of the second season, respectively, but short films by writer Tom Schiller continued to be shown under the title ¡°Schiller's Reel,¡± as well as Walter Williams' popular budget claymation segment "Mr. Bill." Perhaps due to his recurring news parody sketch "Weekend Update" (which survives to this day, albeit with new anchors), Chevy Chase was the first breakout star of SNL, garnering magazine covers, in-depth interviews, and even some speculation that he would succeed Johnny Carson if Carson ever left The Tonight Show (eventually, Chase did host his own talk show, but it failed miserably and was cancelled after less than two months). Though Chase had never been friendly with most of the cast (a rivalry with John Belushi went all the way back to their work on The National Lampoon Radio Hour, and by the time he left for greener pastures early in the second season he couldn't even get along with Lorne Michaels), Chase returned to host the show several times over the next two decades, and relations were often strained, with the cast (whatever their own personal conflicts) usually uniting in opposition or disgust towards him, even hiding en masse so that they would not have to share an elevator with him. Perhaps the low points were 1978, when he got into a brawl with Bill Murray mere moments before broadcast, and 1985, when he horrified many of the cast by suggesting a sketch where openly gay performer Terry Sweeney develops AIDS and then show the audience how much weight he loses each week. In 1997, he was banned from ever hosting again. Despite this, Chase would occasionally make cameos following his ban from the show, most recently in the October 6, 2007 show hosted by Seth Rogen in which he returned to the old Weekend Update desk. Bill Murray's first appearance on Saturday Night Live was on January 15, 1977, after Chase left to pursue a movie career. Murray had a shaky start, forgetting his lines and seeming awkward on camera. Many fans of Chevy Chase saw him as a replacement for him, and had been sending hate mail as well. By the end of his first season, he began to develop a following with a sleazy, know-it-all persona. Many of his characterizations, such as Nick the Lounge Singer and Todd DiLamuca (originally Todd DiLabounta but the real DiLabounta threatened to sue), were instant classics. By its second season, SNL developed into something of a television phenomenon. It was, in many ways, the first show of its kind to appeal to a younger audience, making it very attractive to advertisers. Recurring characters and catch-phrases (see below) soon entered the popular vernacular. It was also one of America's only mainstream national TV shows that consistently featured topical political satire. In 1976, Ron Nessen, press secretary for President Gerald Ford, hosted the show. Ford himself appeared in a pretaped opening sequence. The show had been very critical of Ford and promised to give him a break that night. On October 30, 1976, Weekend Update played the 1974 broadcast of Ford pardoning President Richard Nixon¡ªmany backstage felt that decision was instrumental in helping Jimmy Carter win the '76 election, especially among younger voters. Two notable ¡°featured players¡± on the show included writer Al Franken and (for the 1979¨C80 season) Harry Shearer, who later acted in several films (including This is Spinal Tap) and television series, including The Simpsons. The show also featured frequent guest appearances by comedians Steve Martin and Andy Kaufman. Aykroyd and Belushi departed after the 1978¨C1979 season and subsequently found worldwide fame in the movie version of the Blues Brothers sketch. Belushi famously died of drug-related causes in 1982. Aykroyd had major roles in several hit comedies and even earned an Academy Award nomination. The final season with the remnants of the "Not Ready" crew was underwhelming by most standards. Drugs were a major problem backstage by the last season. According to Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live, by Doug Hill & Jeff Weingrad, various members of the cast and crew were using cocaine, and this affected the program in myriad ways. A burly bodyguard was stationed directly outside the studio gates to warn Michaels if the cops were on the way. Laraine Newman had developed serious eating disorders as well as a cocaine addiction¡ªshe spent so much time in her dressing room playing Solitaire that for Christmas that year Gilda gave her a deck of playing cards with a picture of Laraine on the face of the card. Garrett Morris, who felt degraded from years of small roles and what he saw as racist sketches (at one point the writers were going to have him do a fake ad for "Tar Baby" toothpaste, which would make blacks' teeth stop glowing in the dark; only when black crew members walked off the set in protest did Michaels drop the idea), began free-basing cocaine and became unreliable. During rehearsals for the Kirk Douglas show, Morris ran screaming onto the set, saying that someone had put an "invisible robot" on his shoulder who watched him everywhere he went. He pleaded with them to get the robot off him. Radner, meanwhile, was resented by many because she and Michaels had spent much of the year working on a Broadway play, and album, Gilda Live. She had recently broken off a relationship with Bill Murray, and they could barely speak to one another. Murray resented that the other male cast members had left him stranded and essentially forced him to play every male lead on the show. Exhausted, Gilda had few starring roles in the 1979¨C80 season. Indeed, the most energetic and diverse performer in that last year was Jane Curtin, who was thrilled to see the "Bully Boys" as she called them (Aykroyd and Belushi) depart and who debuted a number of hilarious new characters and impressions while she had the chance. Other major contributors included Harry Shearer as well as writers Al Franken and Tom Davis (longtime writing partners who had given themselves meatier roles as the heavyweights departed) and Don Novello, a writer whose "Father Guido Sarducci" character was especially popular and appeared repeatedly during the fifth season. By May 1980 the show was finishing up its fifth season, and Lorne Michaels was ready for a break. Knowing that most of the cast and many of the writers would be departing, he attempted to persuade the network to put the show on hiatus for six months to re-cast. Unfortunately NBC refused this attempt to let the show survive in reruns for half a year (a decision that would come back to haunt them the next season). Michaels' contract was up for renewal, and he felt somewhat slighted by NBC in negotiations. Michaels had always had a tense relationship with NBC President Fred Silverman, and it was not helped by SNL's numerous on-air taunts about NBC's abysmal prime time performance during Silverman's tenure. In fact, SNL was one of the few truly popular shows on the network during this period, but Michaels and his representatives felt renewing his contract was a secondary priority to NBC executives behind Johnny Carson's, which was also up for renewal. Michaels subsequently took his name off the show and left at the end of the fifth season along with the rest of the original cast and the writing staff, most of whom followed suit due to loyalty towards Michaels. (Among these was Franken, whom Michaels had originally hand-picked as his successor; however, Franken had earlier in the season written and delivered a monologue on the show called "Limo for a Lame-O" that directly insulted Silverman, who had not been warned about the sketch and thereafter despised Franken.) Harry Shearer, who had zero allegiance to Michaels, informed the incoming Executive Producer, Jean Doumanian, he would stay as long as she let him completely overhaul the program. Doumanian refused, so Shearer also bid farewell (he would return briefly in 1984¨C1985). The remaining "Not Ready For Primetime Players" appeared together for the last time on May 24, 1980 for the final episode of the fifth season. The episode, hosted by long-time loyal host Buck Henry, gave a heartfelt goodbye from all the members of the cast, and Henry himself who, after hosting 10 times in five years, has yet to return to the show again, except for an appearance in the September 24, 1989 15th Anniversary special. At the end of the episode, the entire cast, writers, and Henry stood onstage for the goodnights. After a short farewell speech, Buck Henry signed off saying, "Goodnight...and goodbye..." The band began playing the traditional closing music as Henry led the cast and crew off the stage, and through the studio exit. The camera panned upward above the door to reveal the flashing "On-Air" light shut off for the final time that season, signaling what was indeed the end of an era. Years Of Uneasy Transition, 1980-1985: For much of the decade SNL was in turmoil and many critics wrote the show off as a pale imitation of its former glory. Jean Doumanian took over the show for the 1980 season, hiring a completely new cast and new writers, but it was plagued by problems from the start, and was deemed "disastrously unfunny" by both critics and much of the viewing audience. Lorne Michaels had originally wanted to make Al Franken his successor as executive producer after he left, and all was in place to do such until the May 10, 1980 broadcast. During a "Weekend Update" segment, Franken delivered a harsh criticism of then-NBC President Fred Silverman. The commentary angered Silverman so much that any chance of Franken becoming an executive under Silverman's watch were all but gone. Jean Doumanian was a talent scout for SNL in the early days and was one of the few members of the staff who remained after the 1979 season. In the summer of 1980, Doumanian accepted the job as the new executive producer, against the advice of close friends. Many were convinced that the show could no longer succeed without the original cast and writers. They warned Doumanian to be prepared for harsh treatment from the network. It wasn't long before their cynical predictions became a reality. NBC started by cutting Doumanian's budget from $1,000,000 per episode (Lorne's budget during his last season) to about $350,000 per episode. Further, Doumanian had only two months to discover and prepare a new cast and crew; she claims she received virtually none of the support that was promised to her by either the network or her staff. Writers from that season recall that petitions were already being passed around by other writers and crew members to get Doumanian off the show. Doumanian herself would later discover that many members of the NBC staff, people she assumed devoted to her, were not on her side. Doumanian would not let writers work together if they had not been hired as a team, which resulted in the shoddy and unfinished sketches that permeated that year. From the start, the inner politics of the network were heated, so the season was off to a rocky start before it had ever really begun. Doumanian focused on keeping the NBC brass out of the creative process instead of worrying about the writers and performers who were in it. On an autumn morning in 1980, talent coordinator Neil Levy received a telephone call from 19-year old Eddie Murphy, who had begged the producer to "give him a shot" on the show, but was rejected since the show had a full cast. Murphy pleaded with Levy that he had several siblings banking on him getting a spot on the show. Levy finally auditioned him, and recommended him to Doumanian. She refused, citing that actor Robert Townsend had been selected as the cast's "token black guy," and that the budget would not support more actors. Doumanian changed her mind after seeing Murphy's audition, and advocated for Murphy with the network. NBC agreed only because Townsend had not yet signed a contract, and Murphy was cast as a featured player. Other talent that Doumanian overlooked while forming the new cast were Richard Karn, Dana Carvey, Dom Irrera, Cassandra Peterson, and future hosts Jim Carrey, John Goodman, and Paul Reubens. The first episode, renamed Saturday Night Live '80 in the opening credits, appeared on November 15, 1980, featuring an all-new cast: Charles Rocket (who was groomed to be the new break-out star), Denny Dillon, Gilbert Gottfried, Gail Matthius, Joe Piscopo, and Ann Risley rounded out the new "Not Ready For Prime Time Players." Woody Allen (who reportedly hated SNL) suggested to Jean Doumanian that she hire one of his friends, Ann Risley. Some observers believed that while Ann Risley was a fine serious actress, she was not inherently funny (perhaps as a demonstration of Woody Allen's hatred for the show). Elliott Gould had agreed to host the first episode, assuming he would be working with the old cast. He was astonished when he reported to the studio and discovered that it was a different group of performers. Contributing to the (later) sense that the season was doomed, in the first sketch, the cast shared a bed with Gould and introduced themselves: Charles Rocket proclaimed himself to be cross between Chevy Chase and Bill Murray, and Gilbert Gottfried (pre-signature high pitched "squeaky" voice) referred to himself as a cross between John Belushi, "...and that guy from last year who did Rod Serling, and no one can remember his name..." (referring to Harry Shearer). This self-serving comparison to the original cast alienated much of the audience. The rest of the show remained very inconsistent in terms of acting and writing. At the end of the show, Gould stood on stage and quickly introduced himself to the cast one more time by first name and declared "We're gonna be around forever, so we might as well..." However, Elliott Gould has not hosted the show since. The next episode, hosted by Malcolm McDowell, is considered by some[who?] to be the worst in the show's history. Skits during Doumanian's tenure seemed half-finished and improvised on-air. Examples from the McDowell episode included "Leather Weather," featuring Rocket in S&M gear sprawled across a weather map, and "Jack the Stripper," an overlong and disorganized sketch about Prince Charles supposedly being a flasher. Before this episode aired Jean Doumanian had nearly lost her job by insisting on the inclusion of a sketch portraying a nun who was not a virgin. Before Doumanian backed down, NBC head Fred Silverman told the standards department to repeat one of Lorne Michaels' shows, if necessary. The McDowell episode was also notable in that Eddie Murphy made his non-speaking network television debut in a sketch called "In Search of the Negro Republican". An outside actor was hired to play the black lead, and Murphy was supposedly so embarrassed by this that he vowed to take a more active role on the show. Murphy had his first speaking role two weeks later as Raheem Abdul Muhummad on "Weekend Update". He made such a positive impression that he would be called on for more in later episodes, and was made a full cast member by the season's seventh episode. The critical high point of the 1980©¤1981 season probably came with the Karen Black episode on January 17. It displayed the most consistent writing and performing of the season. Murphy was soon raised to the status of full cast member, and Piscopo had established himself as a reliable performer with such bits as the eccentric New Jersey-an "Paulie Herman," and his well-regarded Frank Sinatra impression. On February 21, 1981, the show featured a parody of the "Who Shot J.R. Ewing" craze from the hit TV show Dallas. In a cliffhanger titled "Who Shot C.R.?" cast member Charles Rocket was "shot" in the last sketch of the episode, after a running gag in which other members of the cast shared their grievances about Rocket with one another. Onstage for the goodnights, Dallas star and that week's host, Charlene Tilton, asked Rocket (who was still in character and sitting in a wheelchair) his thoughts on being shot. "Oh man, it's the first time I've been shot in my life," he replied. "I'd like to know who the fuck did it." The cast, along with some of the audience, reacted with laughter and applause. This was not the first nor the last time the expletive would be uttered live on SNL, but given the circumstances of the season as a whole, it was the last straw. Rocket's epithet, unbeknownst to him, would cost him his job. Almost the entire cast and crew lost their jobs on the show. At the time, Rocket reportedly justified his action, pointing out that musical guest Prince had performed "Partyup" earlier on that very same broadcast; the song featured the line "Fightin' war is such a fuckin' bore." Despite his release, Rocket appeared in the next episode anyway, his performance clearly affected. Bill Murray hosted the next week (it is thought Doumanian and Rocket were retained for the week to ensure Murray wouldn't bolt). Murray's show marked the very first time a former cast member hosted alongside new cast members. Although an uneven show at best, it was one the closest it ever came to resembling the energy of the original show. As a consequence of the season so far, and Rocket's behavior the week before, NBC fired Jean Doumanian after this episode, closing the book on what is now widely regarded as the worst period in the show's history. Many nights NBC aired the sketch comedy show SCTV in place of SNL, and it had been overtaken in the ratings by ABC's derivative Fridays, which at the time was garnering more critical acclaim as well. These factors gave the impression that NBC might cancel the show. SNL was given one more chance when Dick Ebersol was hired to replace Doumanian. He was the young apprentice the network hired away from ABC to develop SNL in late 1974; he was responsible for hiring Lorne Michaels that year, and now was given the task of saving the once-acclaimed show from cancellation. In his first week, Ebersol fired Gottfried, Risley, and Rocket, replacing them with Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky, and Tony Rosato. He would eventually eliminate the rest of the 1980 cast (except for Murphy and Piscopo) at the end of the season (he had wanted to fire Dillon as soon as he took over, but could not afford a replacement for her). Ebersol originally wanted to bring in John Candy and Catherine O'Hara from SCTV; Candy turned down the offer and Rosato joined instead. O'Hara initially accepted, but she changed her mind after Michael O'Donoghue, SNL's original head writer, who had been brought in to rejuvenate the show, screamed at the cast about the season's poor writing and performances. Robin Duke was added to the cast when O'Hara suggested her instead. Emily Prager and Laurie Metcalf joined as featured players, but they were not retained after their first appearance. Ebersol¡¯s first show aired April 11, with host Chevy Chase and an appearance by Al Franken asking viewers to "put SNL to sleep." Ebersol, wanting to establish a connection to the original cast, allowed Franken's mock-serious routine on the air. Ebersol had promised Franken and Tom Davis that in addition to appearing on the April 11 show, they could host the next week, with musical guest The Grateful Dead. During the following week, with a writer's strike looming, Franken and Davis wrote material and mailed it to themselves so that their postmark could be used to prove they did not violate the strike. After seeing copies of the material, Ebersol (never a fan of Franken & Davis') caved to the writer's strike and called off the rest of the season, promising the duo they could host the season premiere that fall. As the summer ended, Ebersol, confident in his new cast, decided he no longer needed a link to the original cast. Franken claims Ebersol never returned his calls, and Franken and Davis never hosted SNL. By the fall of 1981, Joe Piscopo and Eddie Murphy were the only performers from Doumanian's cast to appear on SNL for the 1981-1982 season. Murphy was rarely featured previously, but became a break-out star under Ebersol, and his soaring popularity helped restore the show's ratings. He created memorable characters, including the empty-headed former child movie star Buckwheat and an irascible, life-size version of the Gumby toy character, complete with life-size star ego. Murphy also performed an uncanny impression of Stevie Wonder (Wonder sportingly hosted in 1983 and appeared in a fake ad for the "Kannon AE-1" camera, which is "so simple, even Stevie Wonder can use it.") Piscopo was also popular, renowned for his Frank Sinatra impersonation, as well as his characters Paulie Herman and (with Robin Duke) Doug & Wendy Whiner. Other new cast members for the 1981 season included Christine Ebersole, Mary Gross, and 1979 featured player Brian Doyle-Murray, who ran the Weekend Update desk for one season. Also returning were Second City veterans Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky and Tony Rosato, who had debuted April 11. In the spring of 1982, Ebersol traveled to The Second City in Chicago to scout for more talent. Tired of recently losing key players to NBC (such as Cheers George Wendt and Hill Street Blues' Betty Thomas), the Second City top brass directed Ebersol around the corner to the Practical Theatre Company, where he hired Gary Kroeger, Brad Hall, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (who later married Hall) to join in the fall. Second City alum Jim Belushi arrived three shows into the 1983-84 season due to stage commitments in Chicago. Ebersol ran a very different show than Michaels had in the 1970s. Many of the sketches were built less on "smart" and "revolutionary" comedy that was abundant in the early days and followed a much more "straightforward" approach. This shift alienated some fans and even some writers and cast members. Ebersol was eager to attract the younger viewers that advertisers craved. He dictated that no sketch should run longer than five minutes, so as not to lose the attention of teenagers. Many writers felt that Ebersol was simplifying the humor of the show by demanding more appearances of recurring characters for cheap laughs, among other things, leading to somewhat inconsistent writing. Unlike Michaels, Ebersol never had been a writer, and unlike Doumanian, he never claimed to be. He determined which sketches made it to air, and often made his decisions based not on creative content but budget or ease of production. Cast and writers often wondered if "Dick" (as nearly all of them called him) actually knew which sketches were funny and which were not. Despite these oppositions, there was little argument that Ebersol possessed a keen sense of business politics, which eventually helped revive a show that would have otherwise died at the hands of an inexperienced producer. Having come from the ranks of the "the suits" himself, Ebersol was adept at dealing with the network. Later in his tenure, Ebersol was generally handling much of the business aspects and day-to-day production affairs, leaving producer Bob Tischler in charge of most of the creative facets of the show. Unlike Lorne Michaels, Dick Ebersol had no difficulty firing people. Among the first casualties after the 1981 season were Rosato (who later said that the firing was the best thing to ever happen to him, because the SNL environment helped encourage his drug addiction) and Ebersole, who got the axe because of her frequent complaints that the women on the show had little airtime and what they did receive cast them in sexist and humiliating light. Michael O'Donoghue was fired in the middle of the 1981-1982 season after repeated arguments with Ebersol over the creative direction of the show, and because of his abusive treatment of the cast. On air, SNL was mostly a two-man show from 1981-1984, with Murphy and Piscopo playing a bulk of the lead characters. This was not unprecedented--Chevy Chase had become the breakout star of the first season, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi became the dominant forces upon Chase's departure, and Bill Murray would play nearly every male lead during the 1979-1980 season. But Ebersol made it clear from the beginning that his strategy was to showcase Murphy and Piscopo as much as possible. All other cast members played mainly supporting roles and were treated with very little patience by the producers. Writers often noticed that Ebersol would criticize their scripts for not featuring enough of Murphy and Piscopo, even though they were already the leads in most of the sketches. With the release of the film ¡°48 Hours,¡± Murphy's star began to eclipse that of Piscopo. Murphy's co-star in the film, Nick Nolte, was scheduled to host the show, but canceled at the last minute due to a hangover after a night of partying at Studio 54. Ebersol offered Murphy the chance to host, a move that Piscopo would perceive as a major slight (by now the rest of the cast were so used to playing Murphy's supporting company they hardly complained). Piscopo would later claim Ebersol used Murphy's success to divide the two erstwhile friends and play them against one another. Others countered that Piscopo was simply being a prima dona; said one writer, "Eddie Murphy's fame went to Joe Piscopo's head." In February 1984, Eddie Murphy left the show. His appearances for the remainder of the season consisted of sketches he had pre-taped in September 1983. Duke, Piscopo, Hall and Kazurinsky were not invited to return after the 1983-1984 season. Piscopo was offered a chance to guest host during 1984-1985, but declined. Upon the departures of Murphy and Piscopo, Ebersol, having lost his key players, began rebuilding the cast for the 1984 season, enlisting what is in retrospect known as the "All-Star" cast. Along with veteran players Jim Belushi, Gross, Kroeger, and Louis-Dreyfus, Ebersol added somewhat, for the first time in the show's history, well-known names to the repertory. This new cast included Soap star Billy Crystal; Martin Short, who had made a name for himself as Ed Grimley (a character he would bring to SNL that year) on Canada's SCTV; Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer (who was also a cast member in 1979) from The Credibility Gap and This Is Spinal Tap; Not the Nine O'Clock News and ¡°Superman III¡±'s Pamela Stephenson; and Rich Hall from HBO's Not Necessarily The News. The newcomers helped put together a memorable year of hit sketches and widely accepted recurring characters. As Louis-Dreyfus noted in a November 2005 retrospective, the newcomers, particularly Crystal, Short, and Guest, all but took over the show, relegating her and most of the rest of the cast to supporting roles. Short has noted that his one year at SNL brought him more fame than his entire stint on SCTV, but it was Crystal who became the show's break-out star. Crystal had been scheduled to appear in the first SNL in 1975, but walked when his airtime was whittled away during rehearsal. Already known to some for his stand-up comedy and his role as Jodie Dallas in Soap, Crystal became the show's latest sensation, bringing the catch-phrases "It is better to look good than to feel good" and "You look mahvelous!" (both uttered by his "Fernando" character) into popular culture. Harry Shearer would depart after the January 12, 1985 broadcast, citing "creative differences." Shearer would later remark, "I was creative...and they were different..." Shearer would go on to greater fame as a cast member of The Simpsons in which he voiced several characters including Mr. Burns and Principal Skinner. At the end of the season, Ebersol requested to completely revamp the show to include mostly prerecorded segments. Short, Guest, and Hall had tired of the show's demanding production schedule and showed little interest in returning for another season, leaving Crystal the only "A-cast" member available for 1985-86. Like Michaels at the end of the 1980 season, Ebersol made taking the show off the air for several months to re-cast and rebuild a condition of his return. Another idea was to institute a permanent rotation of hosts (Billy Crystal, Joe Piscopo and David Letterman) for "a hip Ed Sullivan Show." After briefly canceling the show, NBC decided to continue production only if they could get Lorne Michaels to produce again. Ebersol and Tischler, along with their writing staff and most of the cast, left the show after this season (those who wished to stay-such as Billy Crystal were eventually not re-hired for 1985), which closed the book on an inconsistent, yet memorable era in SNL history. Dick Ebersol left the show after the 1984-85 season, when the network refused his request to shut the program down entirely for six months and shift much of the material onto tape, not live broadcast. Once again, NBC briefly considered cancelling the show, but programming head Brandon Tartikoff (who was something of an SNL fan) decided to continue the show and re-hire erstwhile producer Lorne Michaels. The Prodigal Son Returns, 1985-1990: In some ways the job Michaels returned to was more challenging than the one he took on in 1975. For starters, Michaels' "golden boy" reputation was somewhat tarnished. His most recent effort, the previous season's The New Show confused critics and was ignored by audiences. Also, the 1984-1985 season had been a critical and ratings hit, generating memorable characters and stand-out performers. However, Michaels would not be the only member of the old guard to return: original writers Al Franken and Tom Davis would return as producers, and Jim Downey would be head writer. Fans and critics welcomed Michaels and many of the original producers and writers back, calling it a return to the show's roots. Michaels opted to follow Ebersol's lead from the previous season, hiring a mixture of established and younger actors for his ensemble. He hired Academy Award nominee Randy Quaid, best known for his work in The Last Detail and National Lampoon's Vacation, as well as Joan Cusack and Robert Downey Jr. Milestones included the first black female regular, Danitra Vance (a young woman named Yvonne Hudson had been a featured player in 1980 and appeared in uncredited bit parts from 1978 to 1980), Terry Sweeney, the first openly gay cast member, and Anthony Michael Hall, yet another fresh face from Hollywood, who appeared with Quaid in Vacation and starred in The Breakfast Club earlier that year. At 17, he was the youngest cast member ever. Rounding out the cast were unknowns: stand-up comedians Dennis Miller and Damon Wayans and improv comedians Nora Dunn and Jon Lovitz. Don Novello, another member of the old guard, would also return as his popular Father Guido Sarducci character. Miller, who performed in relatively few sketches (and even fewer as the years went by), became known for bringing his stand-up wit to "Weekend Update," becoming the most memorable anchor since Chevy Chase back in 1975. With the exceptions of Miller, Lovitz, and Dunn, the new cast failed to connect with audiences. Michaels' gamble on a young, "brat pack" approach may have made the show seem more hip, but many of the regulars were better actors than comedians. Michaels angered most of his cast by ending the season with a sketch in which the cast (playing themselves) get caught in a fire, and Michaels chooses to rescue only Lovitz (who had connected with audiences due in part to his popular characters the Master Thespian and the Pathological Liar with the catchphrase "that's the ticket!"). The writing staff, composed of newcomers and veterans from the first five seasons had failed to collaborate with the new talent as they had during Michaels' first tenure. At the end of the 1985-1986 season NBC briefly canceled SNL, but eventually opted to give Michaels six episodes in the fall to turn things around. Of the entire cast, only Dunn, Lovitz, and Miller returned when the 1986-1987 season rolled around. For his next crop of regulars, Michaels returned to his original tactic of assembling a strong ensemble of relative unknowns, led by Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, and Kevin Nealon. Although the new lineup contained some of the best actresses since the show's early seasons, there were reportedly some dramatic behind-the-scenes ego battles, and tensions eventually forced out Nora Dunn. Victoria Jackson has been highly critical of Hooks and especially Dunn, who was romantically involved with Michaels at the time. The first show of the 1986-1987 season opened with Madonna, host of the previous season opener, telling the audience that the entire 1985-1986 season had been a "horrible dream," just as Dallas had done a few weeks earlier (marking the second time J.R. Ewing and company were parodied during a tumultuous time on SNL). Audiences were thrilled, NBC gave SNL only thirteen shows to turn it around, but the show rebounded almost immediately. Michaels pulled out all the stops that season, producing some of the best shows ever (in particular, shows 4-6 with Sam Kinison / Lou Reed; Robin Williams / Paul Simon; Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Martin Short/ Randy Newman). With the new cast, SNL began to revive and gain renewed popularity thanks to Michaels' inspired casting decisions, vastly improved writing and increasingly on-target political satire and pop culture parodies. Sadly, one of the best seasons, 1987-1988, was cut short by a writers' strike. Gilda Radner had been penciled in to host the season finale that spring, but by 1989 her cancer had returned and she died within the year. The urbane, smooth-voiced Phil Hartman became one of the show's longest-serving cast members. Hartman had originally worked as a graphic designer; among his credits is the band logo for Poco and the cover of the hit 1975 album America's Greatest Hits. Turning to theatre, he became a member of The Groundlings, where he met Paul Reubens, which led to him co-writing Reubens' cult 1985 film Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and appearing on his popular Saturday morning show Pee-Wee's Playhouse. When he left SNL in 1994, he and Kevin Nealon were the longest-serving cast members in the show's history (eight seasons), surpassed only by Tim Meadows and Darrell Hammond (in his thirteenth season). The shows throughout the 1986-1990 period featured some of the best-loved recurring sketches and characters in SNL history, including pathological liar Tommy Flanagan (Lovitz), the Sweeney Sisters (Dunn and Hooks as a low-rent vocal duo), and the speech-impaired trio of Frankenstein (Hartman), Tonto (Lovitz), and Tarzan (Nealon), as well as Toonces the Driving Cat (a sketch featuring a Victoria Jackson character who owns a cat that can drive a car), Lovitz's otherworldly Mephistopheles (complete with Halloween devil costume and plastic trident) and the Schwarzenegger-like Austrian body-builders Hans and Franz (Carvey and Nealon). Carvey also gained renown for his scowling, ultra-conservative "Church Lady" character, and even more so for his brilliant impersonation of U.S. Vice-President and eventual President George H. W. Bush. Bolstered by strong scripts penned by the writing team, Carvey's Bush impression was a notable advance on earlier ventures in this vein, and helped set a new benchmark for this aspect of the show's political satire. SNL's strongest period of political parody before this was the 1976-1979 era, when Dan Aykroyd appeared frequently as both former U.S. President Richard Nixon (alongside John Belushi as Henry Kissinger), and then current President Jimmy Carter. While Aykroyd's impersonations marked successful efforts to bring well-known political figures to life on the show, the only other well-remembered political impersonation from SNL's 1970s period (or any other period before the 1986-1987 season) was Chevy Chase's slapstick parody of President Gerald Ford. Chase's impersonation of Ford was popular with audiences, but made no attempt to create an accurate impression of Ford's character or essay any in-depth political satire; his sketches simply lampooned Ford's renowned clumsiness and consisted of Chase falling down a lot. Carvey's Bush impersonation was SNL's most sophisticated yet, and together with Hartman's hilarious send-up of President Ronald Reagan, they allowed for the most fruitful and successful period of political parody on SNL. Aykroyd himself often returned in guest appearances on the show throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s to impersonate Republican primary candidate Bob Dole, while Jon Lovitz appeared frequently in late '80s episodes as Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. Carvey's appearances as President Bush grew so popular that the former President himself made a cameo appearance in 1994 when Carvey hosted the show, lightheartedly taking Dana to task. A major cast development came in 1988-1989, with the mid-season recruitment of young Canadian comic Mike Myers, who, like many cast members ever since 1975, had been recruited from the Second City stage show. A versatile and inventive comedian with a gift for accents and a lifelong love of Monty Python and British comedy, he introduced several classic characters during this era, including "Lothar of the Hill People" and ultra-pretentious German arts show host "Dieter". He also formed a strong partnership with Carvey, which revisited the magic of the classic Aykroyd-Belushi pairing. Beginning almost upon his arrival on the show, Myers, together with Carvey, created and performed one of SNL's most popular and successful recurring sketches ever, Wayne's World. The sketch would go on to inspire two successful spin-off movies in 1992 and 1993, which in turn led to a plethora of screen comedies inspired by or based on SNL sketches throughout the 1990s. In Spring, 1990 proved to be a rocky finale for one of the show's most underrated cast members. Nora Dunn boycotted a show hosted by extremely controversial comedian Andrew Dice Clay. NBC fired her and a series of ugly charges and counter-charges were lobbied between Lorne Michaels and Dunn. Many felt that Dunn cared more about garnering publicity than standing up for women's rights, but others took her side and viewed Clay's appearance as an all-time low. After the 1989-1990 season, Jon Lovitz left the show with the intent of focusing on a film career. These departures marked the first incidents of turnover on the show in nearly half a decade. While Lovitz's departure happened relatively quietly and without controversy, the Dunn/Clay incident seemed to be a sad harbinger for the turmoil which would mark much of the 1990s. Good Times And Bad Times, 1990-1995: The 1990-1991 season introduced a number of players who quickly became stars on the show: Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Julia Sweeney. Noted stand-up comedian Chris Rock also appeared on the show for 3 seasons. Memorable characters and sketches introduced by the new cast members from this period included Sweeney's ¡°Pat¡±, Sandler's ¡°Opera Man¡± and ¡°Canteen Boy¡±, Farley's "Matt Foley", Schneider's annoying office geek ¡°The Richmeister¡±, Rock's black perspective talk show host ¡°Nat X¡±, and Spade's caustic commentary piece ¡°Hollywood Minute¡±. The popularity of these new cast members helped to offset the departure of several popular long-time players over the first two seasons of this era, including Jan Hooks and Weekend Update anchor Dennis Miller after the 1990-1991 season, and Victoria Jackson after the 1991-1992 season. The remaining cast members of the 1986-1990 heyday (Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, and Kevin Nealon), maintained a strong presence on the show and remained immensely popular with audiences well into this era. Nealon succeeded Miller as the Weekend Update anchor after the latter's departure. For the remainder of his tenure, Nealon found himself playing the straight man during Update and other sketches, particularly against the newer castmates' characters, such as Adam Sandler's "Operaman" and "Cajun Man" and Chris Farley's "Bennett Brauer". (Nealon even co-hosted Weekend Update on an episode with the original anchorman, Chevy Chase). His participation in that role increased after Carvey, Hartman, and Myers left the show. Myers introduced many popular new characters during this period, including Coffee Talk's Linda Richman, the British bathtub-dwelling pre-adolescent Simon (somewhat inspired by Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings), and British theatre critic Kenneth Reese-Evans. Meanwhile, Hartman, who had impersonated President Ronald Reagan on the show throughout the latter half of the 1980s and into the 1990s, began appearing regularly with his impression of Democratic candidate and soon-to-be U.S. President Bill Clinton. Carvey's impersonations of U.S. President George H.W. Bush remained an audience favorite, and Carvey also developed a popular impression of independent presidential candidate Ross Perot. In the period leading up to the 1992 U.S. Presidential Election, Hartman and Carvey dominated the show with these impressions, creating mock debates. Most importantly, the Myers and Carvey characters Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar from the Wayne's World sketch would become household names during the early '90s following the release of the successful spin off film. Of the new cast members of the show, Chris Farley and Adam Sandler became the most popular of the group. Farley's high-energy performances and surprising grace belied his large build (Farley was inspired by John Belushi, who also did cartwheels and other acrobatics for a big man), but he was also not afraid to trade on his size for laughs; in one sketch he played, shirtless, opposite the trim and muscular Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze, as they auditioned for a position with the Chippendales male dance troupe. Another favorite Farley character was the manic, thrice-divorced motivational speaker Matt Foley, whose schtick consisted mainly of yelling at and whining to his clients about having to live ¡°in a van down by the river¡± and hurling himself around the room, demolishing everything in sight. Sandler was a talented self-taught musician and a former stage comic whose stand-up career had started after he accepted a dare from his brother to do an open mike spot at a local comedy club. He won many fans with the humorous self-penned songs he performed on "Weekend Update" (e.g. ¡°Red-Hooded Sweatshirt¡± and ¡°Sex-Phone Lady¡±), as well as his popular ¡°Opera Man¡± and Canteen Boy characters. Sandler and Farley also did a song called "Lunch Lady Land", with Farley dancing while dressed up as a lunch lady. After the 1993-1994 season, there was a very noticeable change in tone. While many of the show's longtime writers continue to be very defensive in their remarks about the 1993-1994 season (as evidenced in their comments on the primetime special (Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation), critics and longtime fans have been less generous. Having already lost star cast member Dana Carvey, who left midway through the previous season, SNL's 1993-1994 post-season saw more departures. Julia Sweeney left due to frustration and burnout. Perhaps the most devastating blow to the show would be the loss of Phil Hartman, who left on friendly terms but later described his departure as "jumping off of a sinking ship." Hartman's final moment on the show was at the end of a musical number with the entire cast singing a parody of the "So Long, Farewell" song from The Sound of Music. After all of the cast left the stage, Farley, in his Matt Foley character, was left sitting on the stage, with Phil walking on stage and codling next to Farley sing goodbye and waving at the audience. In the eyes of many viewers, the quality of the series began to deteriorate noticeably. The 1994-1995 season quickly became the worst-received season since 1980-1981 (or to a lesser extent, 1985-1986) and had cast turnover and dissension which bordered on self-parody. Ratings declined precipitously, as sharp turnaround from the beginning of the decade when the show was attracting some of its highest ratings since the vaunted 1970s cast. The vicious attacks of the critics stunned Lorne Michaels, who many saw as having gone from challenging the network establishment to becoming an entrenched member of it. To recover from all the major losses the show was facing, Michaels hired a number of new cast members, beginning midway through the 1993-1994 season. Similar to his decision in the mid-'80s to bring in established actors Randy Quaid, Joan Cusack and Robert Downey, Jr., Michaels added Michael McKean, and later Chris Elliott, to the cast. Unsurprisingly, neither McKean nor Elliott ever appeared to be comfortable on the show, and left at the end of the 1994-1995 season. Later acquisitions were sketch veteran Mark McKinney of the recently-wrapped, Michaels-produced Canadian sketch comedy show Kids in the Hall, and stand-up comic Janeane Garofalo, the latter of whom joined at the beginning of the 1994-1995 season, and the former joining in January, shortly before the departure of Mike Myers. However, the day that Garofalo arrived on the set, Adam Sandler started yelling at her because of remarks she'd made against him in her standup routine. Fellow female cast members (Ellen Cleghorne and Laura Kightlinger) banded against her immediately. Friends remark that Garofalo sank into a deep depression, and she continued her criticism of the show in the press, a tactic that did not improve her relationships at SNL. Shut out by all sides and uncomfortable with the writing, Garofalo left in mid-season, replaced by Molly Shannon. Myers also left in mid-season, and Nealon would do the same after season's end. Farley and Sandler were reportedly difficult to deal with backstage, and when their on-screen performances began to be hammy and inconsistent, NBC fired them at the end of the season. Longtime featured player Jay Mohr left after NBC refused to upgrade him to contract player. Al Franken, who had worked on the show as a writer and featured player on and off since 1977 quit at season's end as well, reportedly still unhappy about the decision at the beginning of the season to replace Nealon as anchor on Weekend Update with Norm Macdonald, and not himself. British actress Morwenna Banks joined the cast for the last 4 episodes of the season as a full cast member, but did not return the next season. From the beginning of the 1994-1995 season, MacDonald earned mild controversy in the role of Weekend Update anchor. While he alienated many of the segment's fans by frequently flubbing his lines and abandoning all attempts to seem like an actual news anchor (a tradition which had been consistent since the sketch's birth in 1975), MacDonald's weekly appearances did often provide the only laughs in an otherwise dismal time period for the show. The sketches at the time were considered sophomoric, shrill, and bitterly unfunny. The end of the 1994-1995 season on SNL saw the show in a state of flux. Falling ratings and skeptical critics sent a wakeup call to Lorne Michaels, and the show had the highest turnover rate going into the next season. The 1994-1995 season had a total of 14 cast members; only five remained for the 1995-1996 season: Molly Shannon, Mark McKinney, Norm Macdonald, David Spade (who agreed to stay only for a year so that he could be a bridge between the old and new casts) and Tim Meadows.
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Aug 1, 2008 22:18:04 GMT -5
Things Turnaround, Again, 1995-2000: The 1995-1996 season is a milestone for SNL, marking the last season for David Spade, but also the debuts of a strong batch of new recruits: Jim Breuer, Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond, David Koechner, Cheri Oteri, Nancy Walls, Chris Kattan and Colin Quinn. Ferrell, Hammond, Oteri, Kattan and Molly Shannon, who had been a feature player since midway through the preceding season, become mainstays of the show for the rest of the decade and beyond. Ex-Groundling Ana Gasteyer joined in 1996-1997, bringing an excellent singing voice and considerable musical skills to the cast, as well as creating some memorable characters was Margeret Jo McCullen, co-host of tedious public radio cooking show “The Delicious Dish”, ultra-square middle school music teacher “Bobbi Moughan-Culp”, her hatchet-faced impersonation of home-economics guru Martha Stewart; and, in one of the most popular segments of the late 1990s, her often-scathing impression of Céline Dion hosting a talk show. Darrell Hammond proved to be a great find, being the most gifted impressionist in the show's history. He built up a repertoire of popular impersonations, including Bill Clinton and Tim Russert, taking the show's political satire to new heights. Will Ferrell was undoubtedly the keystone of this new cast. He performed superbly in all his partnerships, with Oteri, Shannon, Gasteyer and Kattan, as well as creating some devastatingly funny solo characters. One of his most popular impressions was his bellowing, belligerent parody of former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. Like Carvey's Bush, Macdonald's Bob Dole, and later, Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton, Ferrell's Reno continued the tradition of having the real-life target of the satire appear on the show to confront their satirist. Ferrell stepped out as the star of the cast during the last show of the 1995-1996 season, where he appeared alongside guest Jim Carrey in nearly every sketch. This period featured many classic recurring sketches and characters, with radio and TV parodies featured prominently. They included the NPR parody “The Delicious Dish” (Shannon and Gasteyer), “The Ladies Man” (Tim Meadows), the geeky Spartan Cheerleaders (Ferrell and Oteri), Ferrell and Gasteyer's starchy, husband-and-wife music teacher duo Marty Culp and Bobbi Mohan-Culp, Kattan's campy “Mango”, the brain-dead, disco-loving “Roxbury Guys” (Ferrell and Kattan), Shannon and Kattan's delightful “Goth Talk”, Celebrity Jeopardy! (Ferrell, Macdonald and Hammond), and Molly Shannon's star-struck, accident-prone Catholic schoolgirl, Mary Katherine Gallagher. This ensemble remained substantially unchanged for the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 seasons, although the later series introduced new cast members: Jimmy Fallon, Chris Parnell, and Horatio Sanz. The only surprise departure was Norm Macdonald who left the series in March 1998 and was replaced by Colin Quinn as Update anchor. It was reported that Macdonald was fired on the order of Don Ohlmeyer, who claimed the actor was “unpopular and unfunny” but it was widely thought that Macdonald had been fired because the executive, a close friend of O.J. Simpson, a regular Weekend Update target, had taken offense at Macdonald's persistent attacks on Simpson. The 1999-2000 season was preceded by a live primetime broadcast commemorating the show's 25-year history. Over three hours in length, the Emmy-winning special included appearances by not only current and former cast members, but also from a wide variety of past guest hosts and musical acts. Pre-recorded segments were interspliced into the live broadcast; some of these did not make it to air and were shown on later 1999-2000 season episodes. Chris Rock performed the monologue. The featured musical acts were Elvis Costello featuring the Beastie Boys, Al Green and the Eurythmics. Former SNL band leader G.E. Smith played with the current house band during the special. According to the IMDb, each and every living host and musical guest was invited to the show, except for O.J. Simpson. 1999-2000 was the last season for Colin Quinn, Cheri Oteri, and Tim Meadows, but it also marked the arrival of two strong new female cast members, Rachel Dratch and Maya Rudolph (daughter of the late singer Minnie Riperton).
The Revolving Door Era, 2000-2005: The 2000-2001 season of Saturday Night Live began yet another transitional phase. Old faces like Colin Quinn, Tim Meadows and Cheri Oteri were gone. Molly Shannon left mid-season (she stayed as long as she did-six and a half years, to ensure that she would leave as the longest-running female cast member on SNL[citation needed], although her record still comes very close to Victoria Jackson's and would be topped by Rachel Dratch and later Maya Rudolph). Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell still dominated the show, but more and more time was given to newer cast members such as Horatio Sanz (who was groomed to be a new Chris Farley or John Belushi) and Jimmy Fallon. Fallon was the latest example in the marked difference in modern SNL compared to the early years, in that he was marketed as a personality, and his gift at impressions was slowly but surely sidelined so that he could play variations of Jimmy Fallon in most of his sketches. Although Fallon was quite popular, many believed that he and Sanz were far too derivative of Farley and Sandler, from Sanz's constant bumbling right down to Fallon playing the guitar and singing during Weekend Update. Both men were also criticized for their "breaking up" during many sketches-laughing through their lines and needling other cast members into doing the same. This became more and more common, in spite of the fact that Lorne Michaels swore his show would never become so insular or amateurish (one of the things he despised about The Carol Burnett Show). In 1999, Tina Fey became the show's first female head writer. SNL had always had female writers but they often had little to no voice over the pacing of the show, sometimes not even their own sketches. With Colin Quinn's highly uneven "Weekend Update" tenure over, Lorne Michaels scrambled to find a different sort of format for the aging concept. He gambled on having Fey co-anchor with Jimmy Fallon, the first co-anchorship since Christine Ebersole and Brian Doyle-Murray in the early 1980s. Fallon's frat boy antics and Tina's droll, knowing smirks were warmly welcomed by fans. Tina quickly moved from writer to featured player and within a year was a contract player. The 2000 season was also noted for its well-received spoofing of that year's presidential campaign, with adroit critiques of all the primary nominees, but especially Al Gore and George W. Bush. The two candidates even appeared (separately) on a prime time special with the cast in fall 2000. Darrell Hammond's portrayal of Gore parodied the candidate's varying personas at the three presidential debates so well that Gore and his advisers watched the sketches to get a grip on his public perception. Ferrell's Bush impression-full of smirks, tics, and aw-shucks contempt-rocketed him to superstardom and in the process coined the term "strategery" in a sketch mocking Bush's propensity for mispronunciations. The first season premiere after the September 11, 2001 attacks opened with then New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and police officers, signifying that the New York-based series was both deeply affected by the terrorist attack and also reluctant to harshly criticize the president. As a result, the political commentary was scaled back. As time passed, the show gave more attention to political humor, but earlier attempts were seen by critics as tame, evidence that the show had over the decades gone from counterculture to safe and mainstream. Robert Smigel's cartoons, however, retained their bite and became heavily featured on the show. In 2001, supporting player Chris Parnell was fired. Less than six months later, he was rehired, marking the first time since Jim Belushi's dismissal in 1983 that SNL had ever fired and then rehired any cast member. The 2001-2002 season also marked the arrival of improvisational mastermind Amy Poehler, who was well-liked by fans due to her wide range and impressions and high spirits in spite of a lack of strong material. Tracy Morgan left in 2003 to become one of many SNL alumni to have a flop sitcom (The Tracy Morgan Show). More changes occurred when Ferrell left in 2002 and Kattan in 2003, followed by Jimmy Fallon in 2004. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler co-anchored Weekend Update, the first time that two women were given the job. During 2000-2005, the show began a frequent process of cast turnover. In the past, the show had been known for large amount of cast members being added at the same time, but in the early 2000s, the show tended to add and subtract a couple of cast members each season. Some criticize this method, arguing that it results in a lack of chemistry, as you have cast members at various points in their SNL careers acting together, as compared to a group of new cast members growing up together. On the other hand, adding new cast members each season ensured that there was always someone new to see. An embarrassing event in the career of pop singer Ashlee Simpson occurred live on October 23, 2004. Simpson's second performance of the evening opened with the sound of her pre-recorded voice heard singing the song she had already performed earlier. Despite a quick fadeout, it was obvious that what was heard was not the live voice of the singer. A flustered Simpson did an improvised dance and then left the stage. The New York Times summarized the incident in the words, "Ailing Singer Needed Lip-Sync, Father Says," and said that it "exposed the pop singer Ashlee Simpson's use of prerecorded vocals on live television." Simpson's father said that her use of a prerecorded track was necessitated that evening by hoarseness caused by acid reflux disease. The incident subsequently inspired several SNL skits. When questioned by reporters, Lorne Michaels initially denied, then acknowledged, that this was not the first time so-called "backing tracks" had ever been used on SNL. In October, 2005, Simpson returned as a musical guest, performing without incident.
The Show Today, 2005-present: Saturday Night Live promised changes for the 2005-2006 season, one of which was broadcasting in high-definition. Lorne Michaels added three new featured players: Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig, plus Jason Sudeikis, who was added for the last three episodes of the previous season. Hader became popular for his impersonation of Vincent Price in various Variety Vault sketches. Samberg gained notoriety for creating multiple SNL Digital Shorts, the most popular being "Lazy Sunday". Wiig, who first appeared when Jason Lee hosted, gained popularity with impersonations of Felicity Huffman and Megan Mullally, and creating memorable characters such as the Female A-Hole and Target Lady. Highlights from this season included: Lazy Sunday; a cameo from SNL alum Chris Kattan during Antonio Banderas' episode (Kattan lampooned Banderas during his tenure); and the long-awaited hosting gigs of frequent SNL return hosts Tom Hanks and Steve Martin. Leaving after the 2006 season were Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey, who had committed to working on her new sitcom 30 Rock, as well as Horatio Sanz, Finesse Mitchell, and Chris Parnell.
Cast: The current cast of SNL is Fred Armisen (2002–present), Will Forte (2002–present), Bill Hader (2005–present), Darrell Hammond (1995–present), Seth Meyers (2001–present), Amy Poehler (2001-present), Andy Samberg (2005–present), Jason Sudeikis (2005–present), Kenan Thompson (2003–present), Kristen Wiig (2005–present), and Casey Wilson (2008–present; featured player). Amy Poehler confirmed that she'll return for the succeeding season, but leave by November. Although Saturday Night Live has a rapid turnover of supporting players, some performers have had long tenures with the show: Darrell Hammond (14 seasons), Al Franken (11½ seasons), Tim Meadows (9½ seasons), Kevin Nealon (9 seasons), Phil Hartman (8 seasons), Seth Meyers (8 seasons), Horatio Sanz (8 seasons), Chris Kattan (7½ seasons), Chris Parnell (7½ seasons), Amy Poehler (7½ seasons), Maya Rudolph (7½ seasons), Fred Armisen (7 seasons), Rachel Dratch (7 seasons), Will Ferrell (7 seasons), Will Forte (7 seasons), and Tracy Morgan (7 seasons). All cast members on Saturday Night Live are expected to write as well as perform. Those who do not write tend to receive fewer parts and less camera time. Three groups serve as “farm clubs” for the cast and writing staff: The improvisational comedy troupes The Groundlings and The Second City, and the publication Harvard Lampoon. Recently the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre has become a noted "club" as well. Each of the three brings a different perspective: performers from the Groundlings often end up creating the vivid recurring characters which are one hallmark of the show; writer-performers from Second City are known for “aesthetic perfectionism”; they tinker obsessively with the wording and inflections of a punch line or the behavioral details of a character; and writers from the Lampoon emphasize the conceptual premise of a sketch, taking a boyhood fantasy to an extreme, for example. Some cast members are related to former staff of the show. The most prominent example is Jim Belushi, younger brother of cast member John Belushi. Before that, Bill Murray's older brother Brian Doyle-Murray was a writer and cast member. When Dan Aykroyd left the show in 1979, he was replaced by a series of short-lived featured players, one of whom was his brother Peter Aykroyd. Long-time writer and sometime performer Jim Downey is former cast member Robert Downey, Jr.'s uncle. Other family connections exist that do not share the same name. For instance, cast member Gilda Radner was briefly married to G.E. Smith, who later became the show's bandleader. Michael O'Donoghue was married to SNL band pianist Cheryl Hardwick. Cast members Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall were an item during their tenure, and were married in 1987. Cast member and writer Tina Fey is married to musical director Jeff Richmond. Although cast members Brad Hall, Rich Hall and Anthony Michael Hall share the same last name, they are not related. Although SNL is well-known as the launchpad for many successful careers, a few cast members (and active crew members) have died prematurely. This has given rise to a superstition known as the "Saturday Night Live Curse". Two cast members have died due to drug overdoses, in parallel situations. Both Chris Farley, deceased December 18, 1997, and John Belushi, deceased March 5, 1982, overdosed from a "speedball," an injection of cocaine and heroin. Farley's death occurred nearly two months after he came back to host SNL, which turned out to be his last television appearance. Belushi's death lead to the conviction of "friend" Cathy Smith for administering the fatal injection. Nearly four years prior to Belushi's death, SNL aired a short sketch titled Don't Look Back In Anger featuring an elderly John Belushi as the last living of the "not ready for prime time" cast members. Cast member Gilda Radner, deceased May 20, 1989, succumbed to ovarian cancer after a long struggle. Radner was scheduled to host the last episode of season 13 (1987-1988), a first for a female former cast member, but the show was cancelled due to a writer's strike. Her condition worsened until a year later, when Steve Martin hosted the last episode of the 1988-1989 season (Season 14). Shortly before the episode, news came of Radner's death, and Martin's visibly shaken monologue now introduced a sketch called "Dancing in the Dark" that he performed with Radner on an episode he hosted in 1978, followed by a musical tribute to Radner performed by her former husband G.E. Smith and the SNL Band. Repertory player Danitra Vance, deceased August 21, 1994, died due to breast cancer. Michael O'Donoghue, deceased November 8, 1994, died of a cerebral hemorrhage; the cast member and writer long suffered from severe chronic migraine headaches. Bill Murray honored his memory in an appearance on the season 20 (1994-1995) episode (hosted by Sarah Jessica Parker with musical guest R.E.M.) by replaying O'Donoghue's sketch, "Mr. Mike's Least Loved Bedtime Stories: The Soiled Kimono" from December 1977. Long-time performer Phil Hartman, deceased May 28, 1998, was shot and killed while sleeping by his wife, Brynn. Before committing the act, she consumed a combination of alcohol, cocaine and the prescription drug Zoloft. She later shot herself. Doumanian-era performer Charles Rocket was found dead by local police in his Canterbury, Connecticut backyard on October 7, 2005. The death was ruled a suicide; Rocket had allegedly taken his own life by cutting his neck with a pair of box-cutters. Julia Sweeney was diagnosed with cervical cancer in the mid-1990s, but has survived and transformed her experiences into a one-woman show, God Said, Ha!, developed at L.A.'s alternative comedy show, "Un-Cabaret". Miramax released the film version of the show in 1998, produced by Quentin Tarantino. The film version of the play earned the Golden Space Needle Award, while Sweeney's recording earned her a Grammy nomination for best comedy album. It was released on DVD in 2003. SNL received some negative publicity in 1999 when it was leaked that, henceforth, actors joining the show would have to agree in their five-to-six year contract that, upon request, they would act in up to three movies by SNL Films, for fees of US$75,000, US$150,000, and then US$300,000; and also that, upon request, they would leave SNL and act in an NBC sitcom for up to an additional six years. This appeared to be a reaction to former cast members such as Adam Sandler and Mike Myers going on to movie stardom. Some agents and managers characterized these long-term contracts as involuntary servitude, saying that almost any young, undiscovered comic would immediately agree to any given set of exploitative contractual restrictions for the opportunity to launch a career via the show. NBC publicly defended the new contracts, saying that SNL was doing a service to young comics by launching so many careers. Jay Mohr reported in Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live (ISBN 1-4013-0006-5), that his starting salary of his 5 year deal was US$5,500 per episode (in 1994) plus $1,500 for his writing credit. The following year's salary was $6,500 per episode, up to $12,500 for a 5th year tenured player. Don Pardo has served as the announcer for the series since it began (except for season 7, when Mel Brandt and Bill Hanrahan filled that role). Pardo, who was 57 when the show debuted and who retired from NBC in 2004 at age 86, still flies in from his home in Tucson, Arizona, to introduce the show as of 2008. The Saturday Night Live Band (most often referred to as The Live Band) is the house band of Saturday Night Live (SNL). It has consistently featured some of the finest studio musicians available in New York, including Paul Shaffer, G.E. Smith, Lou Marini (1975-1983), David Sanborn (1975), Michael Brecker, Ray Chew (1980-1983), Alan Rubin (1975-1983), Georg Wadenius (1979-1985), Steve Ferrone (1985), David Johansen (performing as Buster Poindexter) and Tom Malone, who served as leader of the band from 1981 to 1985. The band is currently under the leadership of Tower of Power alum Lenny Pickett and keyboardists Leon Pendarvis and Katreese Barnes.
Hosts and Musical Guests: George Carlin was first to host the show; Candice Bergen was the first female to host the show a few weeks later and again hosted only six weeks after that. There have been several notable hosts who have hosted on numerous occasions. These include: Steve Martin (14 episodes), Alec Baldwin (13 episodes), John Goodman (12 episodes), Buck Henry (10 episodes), Chevy Chase (9 episodes), Tom Hanks (8 episodes), Christopher Walken (7 episodes), Elliott Gould (6 episodes), Danny DeVito (6 episodes), Candice Bergen (5 episodes), Bill Murray (5 episodes), and Drew Barrymore (5 episodes). There have also been several notable musical guests who have been musical guests on SNL five times or more. These include: Paul Simon (9 episodes also hosted or co-hosted four shows; co-hosted with Catherine Oxenberg on May 10, 1986, during the 11th season; solely hosted the second show on October 18, 1975 where he performed with Art Garfunkel and Phoebe Snow, on November 20, 1976, where he was one of two musical guests and on December 19, 1987.), Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (7 episodes), Randy Newman (6 episodes), Beck (6 episodes), Sting (5 episodes), Foo Fighters (5 episodes, lead singer Dave Grohl has actually appeared nine times; he was the drummer for Nirvana in their two performances, as well as for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Tenacious D for one performance each.) And, several people have pulled a double duty as both musical guests and host during the same SNL episode. These include: Lily Tomlin (She is actually the first to host and be in the musical act, but the show was listed without a musical act. So she is not given musical act credit. She is also the first to host and appear in the musical act twice, first on November 22, 1975 and then on January 22, 1983. Though again the show was listed without a musical guest so she was not given credit.), Desi Arnaz (the first performer to appear simultaneously as host and musical guest), Paul Simon, Ricky Nelson, Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones (the only band to host and be musical guests on SNL (even though Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Ronnie Wood were the only band members to appear in sketches - Bill Wyman did not), Frank Zappa, Olivia Newton-John, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Quincy Jones (Jones's hosting stint had ten musical guests on one night, an SNL record.), Sting (Sting also hosted in early 1997. He was not the credited musical guest but he did perform a few numbers), MC Hammer, Garth Brooks (He is one of only three performers to simultaneously act as host and musical guest more than once. Garth appeared in the second such episode as himself as host, and his alter ego Chris Gaines as musical guest.), Deion Sanders (Bon Jovi was the credited musical guest, but Deion Sanders performed "It's On" and "Must be the Money"), Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears (At 18, she was the youngest person in SNL History to act as a host and musical guest the same time on May 13, 2000.), Justin Timberlake (the third to be host and musical guest more than once), Janet Jackson, Queen Latifah, Ludacris, Jon Bon Jovi (Jon Bon Jovi hosted, with Bon Jovi performing twice, and Foo Fighters performing once. It should be noted that although Bon Jovi performed it was the Foo Fighters not Bon Jovi that was the credited musical guest.) In addition, Christina Aguilera, who had previously appeared as a musical guest twice on April 8, 2000 and March 15, 2003, hosted on February 21, 2004, singing early in that broadcast. Maroon 5 was the musical guest for the episode, with two song performances. Also, several cast members have hosted the show. These include: Chevy Chase (First former cast member to host and first to host more than five times. He is the first Weekend Update anchor to come back to host. As of 1997, he is banned from ever hosting again due to his harsh treatment of cast members.), Bill Murray (Second former cast member to host five or more time times. He is the second former Weekend Update anchor to come back to host SNL. Only cast member to host during Jean Doumanian's tenure as producer.), Eddie Murphy (the only performer to host while still a cast member. Also, he was the first of only four hosts who joined the cast when Lorne Michaels was not producing SNL.), Don Novello (Hosted both times as his character Father Guido Sarducci.), Billy Crystal (the first performer to join the cast after he had hosted. He co-hosted with Ed Koch, Don Novello, Betty Thomas and Edwin Newman on May 12, 1984. Also, he is one of only four hosts who joined the cast when Lorne Michaels was not producing SNL.), Michael McKean (the second performer to join the cast after hosting a show, and also the oldest individual to join the cast), Martin Short (co-hosted with Chevy Chase and Steve Martin on December 6, 1986. He is one of only four cast members hosts who joined the cast when Lorne Michaels was not producing SNL), Paul Shaffer (the only former leader of the SNL Band to host), Dana Carvey, Damon Wayans (the first cast member to come back to host SNL after being fired from the show, and the first cast member from In Living Color to host), Phil Hartman, Chris Rock, Robert Downey, Jr., Mike Myers, Chris Farley (Made his last appearance on TV with the episode he hosted.), Jon Lovitz, Ben Stiller, David Spade, Norm MacDonald (the third former Weekend Update anchor to come back to host SNL and the only WU anchor to host after being fired from being an anchor on WU (he wasn't fired from the cast), Dan Aykroyd (was the fourth former Weekend Update anchor to come back to host SNL), Will Ferrell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (First female cast member to host and first woman cast member from the Ebersol era), Molly Shannon (Second female cast member to host, but first from the Michaels era), and Tina Fey (Fifth former Weekend Update anchor to come back to host SNL, third female cast member overall to host, second female cast member from Lorne Michaels era to host, first female anchor to host.
Films based on SNL sketches: The early days of SNL spawned several movies, including the successful “The Blues Brothers.” However it was the success of “Wayne's World,” that encouraged Lorne Michaels to produce more film spinoffs, based on several popular sketch characters. Michaels revived 1970s characters for “Coneheads” (1993), followed by “It's Pat” (1994); “Stuart Saves His Family” (1995, with the Stuart Smalley character); “A Night at the Roxbury” (1998, with the Butabi Brothers characters); “Superstar” (1999, with the Mary Katherine Gallagher character); and “The Ladies Man” (2000). Some did moderately well, though others did not, notably “It's Pat!”, which did so badly at the box office the studio which made the film, Touchstone, pulled it only one week after releasing it, and Stuart Saves His Family, with the latter losing US$15 million despite good reviews. In addition, “Office Space” (1999) originated from a series of Mike Judge animated short films that aired on SNL after appearing on several other programs.
The Studio: Since the show's inception, SNL has aired from Studio 8H, located on floors 8 and 9 of GE Building (30 Rockefeller Plaza, or "30 Rock"). Due to the studio originally being a radio soundstage for Arturo Toscanini and his NBC Symphony Orchestra, the layout of the studio floor and the audience positioning causes some audience members to have an obstructed view of many of the sketches. According to NBC, the 8H studio has an almost perfect sound acoustic. The offices of SNL writers, producers, and other staff can be found on the 17th floor of "30 Rock." During the summer 2005 shooting hiatus, crews began renovations on Studio 8H. With its thirty-first season premiere in October 2005, the show began broadcasting in high definition, appearing letterboxed on conventional television screens. Three of the first four shows of the 1976-77 season were shot at the former NBC Studios in Brooklyn, due to NBC News using Studio 8H for Presidential election coverage.
Production Process The following is a summary of the process used to produce the show. It is based in part on interviews with former SNL head writer and performer Tina Fey in 2000 and 2004:
Monday: The day begins with a topical meeting, identifying the biggest story for the show's opening. This is followed by a free-form pitch meeting with Lorne Michaels and the show's host for the week. The official name is "The Host Meeting" but all the writers and cast members call it "The Pitch Meeting." Throughout the week the host has a lot of influence on which sketches get aired. Following the meeting, writers begin to draft the two scripts each must produce.
Tuesday: Starting in the afternoon, anywhere from 30 to 45 scripts are written, most of which will not be broadcast. Once a writer's scripts are complete, he or she will often help other writers on their scripts.
Wednesday: All scripts get a read-through. After the read-through, the head writer(s) and the producers meet with the host to decide which sketches to work on for the rest of the week, with Lorne Michaels and the host having the final say.
Thursday: The surviving sketches are reviewed, word-by-word, by the writing staff as a whole or in two groups in the case of co-head writers. Some sketches which survived the cut because of their premise, but are in need of work, are rewritten completely. Others are changed in smaller ways. The Weekend Update crew starts coming together, starting with the news items written by writers dedicated all week to the segment. The crew comes in for rehearsal, and the music act is rehearsed as well as some of the larger, more important sketches. The host and musical guest and usually some cast members shoot two to four promos to play for NBC.
Friday: The show is blocked. The writer of each sketch acts as producer, working with the show's set designers and costumers.
Saturday: With the show still far from finalized, the day begins with a run-through, with props, in front of Lorne Michaels. After the run-through, the cast and crew find out which of the sketches are in the dress rehearsal, and which are cut. The writer/producer deals with any changes. This is followed by a dress rehearsal performed in front of the studio audience, which lasts from 8 p.m. - 10 p.m. (or sometimes later) and contains approximately twenty minutes of material which will be deleted from the final broadcast. Lorne Michaels uses firsthand observation of the audience reaction during the dress rehearsal and input from the host and head writer to determine the final round of changes, re-ordering sketches as necessary. The live show then begins at 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time, but some markets will delay airing. The status of the show during the week is maintained on a bulletin board. Sketches and other segments are given labels which are put on index cards and put on the board in the order of their performance. The order is based on content as well as production limitations such as camera placement and performer availability. Segments which have been cut are kept to the side of the board. As the broadcast approaches, often the writer/producer discovers the fate of his or her segment only by consulting the bulletin board. A 60 Minutes report taped in October 2004 depicted the intense writing frenzy that goes on during the week leading up to a show, with crowded meetings and long hours. The report particularly noted the involvement of the guest hosts in developing and selecting the sketches in which they will appear. Similarly, there has been an A&E episode of Biography which covered the production process, as well as an episode of "TV Tales" in 2002 on E! Entertainment Television.
When It's Not Live:
Reruns: SNL reruns are aired out of its original broadcast sequence, usually determined by which episodes have not yet been repeated, but had high ratings or acclaim for its live broadcast. Shows usually air twice during a particular season, but often the highest rated shows of the season have a second encore show towards the end of the off-season, or episodes will be repeated a second or third time to coincide with a new event connected with the person who hosted. For example, the Natalie Portman episode aired in March 2006 to promote V for Vendetta was repeated August 5, 2006, prior to the film's DVD release August 8. Similarly, Jeff Gordon's episode reran following NBC's coverage of the Pepsi 400. Encore showings are not always identical to the original broadcast. Successful sketches aired later in the show during the original broadcast may be reedited to appear earlier, and segments that did not work well during the live broadcast may be replaced by the dress rehearsal version, or entirely new sketches. A Peter Sarsgaard sketch from his January 21, 2006 appearance, involving Rachel Dratch's fake newscast, met with technical difficulties during the live broadcast when the in-sketch TV stopped working and a stagehand was seen fixing it. It was replaced with a dress rehearsal version in rerun. This has happened many times over the years, including Kathleen Turner's monologue in 1989. A sketch involving "butt pregnancy" during the first broadcast of the November 12, 2005, Jason Lee episode was replaced with a musical sketch about cafeteria food during the repeat. In the earlier years of the show's history, reruns occasionally replaced weaker sketches with segments from other episodes, usually from episodes that did not have an encore showing at all. Perhaps one of the most notable substitutions was the replacement of Sinéad O'Connor's October 3, 1992 live performance during which she destroyed a photograph of Pope John Paul II, with the dress rehearsal performance from earlier that evening. The show is never live in the western half of the USA. There was a short experiment in which it did air live on the west coast in 2001 after live XFL football games. NBC airs a recording of the live show for the Mountain and Pacific time zones. NBC and Broadway Video share the copyright to every episode of the show made thus far. From 1990 until 2004, Comedy Central and its predecessor Ha! re-aired reruns of the series, after which E! Entertainment Television signed a deal to reruns. Abbreviated thirty and sixty minute versions of the first five seasons aired as The Best of Saturday Night Live in syndication beginning in the 1980s and later on Nick at Nite in 1988, VH1, Comedy Central and E! Entertainment Television.
Compilations: From time-to-time, SNL airs compilation shows. Such shows will feature hand-selected best sketches from the previous season; of a particular cast member or multiple-time host; or centered on a particular theme (eg. Halloween, Christmas). Political sketches are typically culled for a special in presidential election years; the 2000 special was notable for having self-deprecating (though separate) appearances by candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore.
Delays: The show was forced by the network to run on a seven-second delay when Andrew Dice Clay and Richard Pryor hosted. The episode scheduled for October 25, 1986, hosted by Rosanna Arquette, was not aired until November 8 due to NBC broadcasting Game 6 of the 1986 World Series; the game entered extra innings, causing that night's broadcast of SNL to be canceled. The show was recorded for the studio audience starting at 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time, and broadcast two weeks later with an "apology" by New York Mets pitcher Ron Darling. The episode scheduled for February 10, 2001, hosted by Jennifer Lopez, aired 45 minutes late due to an XFL game. Lopez and the cast were not told they were airing on a delay. During Eddie Murphy's last season, he negotiated to record a number of extra sketches in September 1983 that featured him and were broadcast in episodes for which he was not available. His last live show was with host Edwin Newman on February 25, 1984. When Sam Kinison delivered a comic monologue in 1986, NBC removed his plea for the legalization of marijuana from the West Coast broadcast and all subsequent airings. A portion of Martin Lawrence's 1994 monologue concerning feminine hygiene has been removed from all repeats, replaced with a voice-over and intertitles stating that the excised portion "...was a frank and lively presentation, and nearly cost us all our jobs." In a November 21, 1992 Wayne's World sketch, the characters Wayne and Garth (respectively portrayed by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey) made fun of Chelsea Clinton (the then 13-year old daughter of President-Elect Bill Clinton), implying that Chelsea was incapable of causing males to "Schwing!" (essentially meaning she was unattractive). This joke was subsequently edited out of all repeats and syndication rebroadcasts of this sketch.
On DVD: Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season was released on DVD by Universal Studios on December 5, 2006. Upon the set’s release, some criticism of its authenticity as complete and uncut arose from reviewers and fans. This was due to the existence of original live copies, which in comparison to the "complete" episodes reveal edits and omissions which are common among the rerun versions of the shows in the set. The complete second season was released in the US on DVD on December 4, 2007, and the third season on May 13, 2008. In addition to the full season releases, there have been multiple releases both on VHS and DVD of former cast members, guest hosts, documentaries, musical performances and themed compilations of sketches as well as a release of the show's 25 year anniversary.
There was a time when no one under 25 would have been caught dead in front of the TV set come 11: 30 EST Saturday night. Wouldn’t any self-respecting party animal be out carousing!? That all changed in 1975, when NBC asked a 30-year-old producer named Lorne Michaels to create a show for the sex, drugs, and rock and roll generation. Suddenly, the living-room couch became the place to be. For its first couple of years, Saturday Night Live was a genuine comedic rebellion. Slamming late-night programming from snooze to alarm setting, Michaels pulled together a rogues gallery of comics (mostly from Chicago’s Second City and L.A.’s Groundlings groups) and lined up weekly rock acts and celebrity hosts. Soon, the Not Ready For Primetime Players were off and running. Nothing was sacred: Chevy Chase as a stumbling, bumbling President Ford; Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin as coneheaded aliens that “came from France,” Gilda Radner as sweet but a little ditzy Weekend Update pundit Emily Litella (“What’s all this fuss about violins on TV?” she once asked when she was suppose to be talking about VIOLENCE on TV), Bill Murray as Nick the Lounge Singer (“Star Wars/Nothing but Star Wars/If they should bar wars/Please let these Star Wars…STAY!!!!”); Garret Morris as the Weekend Update "News For the Hard of Hearing" translator, who simply repeated each line while shouting (and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the hilarious skit in which he played a prisoner auditioning for a prison musical by singing “I’m gonna get me a shotgun and kill all the whiteys I see!”) and John Belushi as…well, take your pick: Joe Cocker, a journeyman samurai, or a cranky bee. After those first five years, Michaels left the show (but later returned five years later). However, Saturday Night Live has continued to go strong, even though it had many highs and lows. With success, SNL went from playing CBGB to stadiums. And, over the years, the names have changed: Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, and Tina Fey. And, as mentioned, it has had some highs (the first five years, 1980-1984, the late 1980s, 1990-1993, the late 1990s) and some lows (1980-1981, 1985-1986, 1994-1995). But, SNL is an important part of TV. Today, it isn’t really a TV show anymore so much as a graduate school of American comedy, and it's been as significant for the kind of artists it didn't know what to do with (Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Sarah Silverman) as for the stars it effortlessly launched (Ferrell and Sandler). And, yes, I know some people today would say it sucks. But, there are some who wouldn’t. I mean, people are gonna disagree about how good the show is as it has had to adapt with the times in order to assure its longevity. And every now and then it proves it can still matter, as when Rudolph Giuliani joined producer Lorne Michaels for the show's pitch-perfect return after 9/11. (Michaels: "Can we be funny?" Giuliani: "Why start now?") Though its wild youth is long gone, it is still Saturday Night Live, and you’re not!
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Aug 1, 2008 23:10:18 GMT -5
19. Dallas Genre: Soap Opera. Created by: David Jacobs. Executive Producer(s): Leonard Katzman (1978-1991), Philip Capice (1978-1982), Lee Rich (1978-1980), Larry Hagman (1988-1991), Ken Horton (1990), and Joel J. Feigenbaum (1981). Starring: Larry Hagman (John Ross “J.R.” Ewing, Jr.), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Shepard Ewing 1978-1989), Barbara Bel Geddes (Eleanor “Miss Ellie” Southworth Ewing Farlow 1978-1984, 1985-1990), Donna Reed (Eleanor “Miss Ellie” Southworth Ewing Farlow 1984-1985), Jim Davis (John Ross “Jock” Ewing Sr. 1978-1981), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing 1978-1985, 1986-1991), Victoria Principal (Pamela Barnes Ewing 1978-1988), Steve Kanaly (Raymond “Ray” Krebbs 1978-1988), Susan Howard (Donna Culver Krebbs 1979-1987), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow 1981-1991), George Kennedy (Caster McKay (1988-1991), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Cathy Podewell (Cally Harper Ewing 1988-1991), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade 1983-1988), Morgan Fairchild (Jenna Wade 1978), Francine Tacker (Jenna Wade 1980), Dack Rambo (Jack Ewing 1985-1987), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ann Ewing Cooper 1978-1985, 1988-1990), and Sheree J. Wilson (April Stevens Ewing 1986-1991). Country of Origin: United States. Number of Seasons: 14. Number of Episodes: 357. Running Time: 45 minutes. Original Channel: CBS. Original Run: April 2–30, 1978, as miniseries; September 23, 1978–May 3, 1991 as weekly program Spinoffs: Knots Landing (1979-1993), which followed the life of middle child Gary Ewing, his family, and the people who live in an L.A. suburb called Knots Landing. Creator David Jacobs actually came up with the idea for Knots Landing before Dallas and later remolded Knots Landing into a spinoff. The show was created by David Jacobs. The series was a hybrid of Romeo and Juliet (Bobby Ewing and Pamela Barnes as star-crossed lovers whose families were sworn enemies) and Bonanza (an affluent western patriarch with three sons). However, this premise would end up taking a back seat to the show's central character: John Ross "J.R." Ewing Jr., a greedy, scheming oil baron played by Fort Worth native Larry Hagman throughout the show's entire run. Produced by Leonard Katzman, the "Dallas" television series was one of the first to be distributed globally. "Dallas" was eventually translated and dubbed into 67 languages in over 90 countries, a record that to this day still stands for an American television series. Dallas originally aired on Saturday nights when it debuted as a regular series. Within a month, the show was moved to Sunday nights, where it would stay until halfway through the season, when it took a Friday-night slot. Dallas remained on Fridays until the show ended in 1991, alternating between 10 p.m. and 9 p.m. airings. The "Who Done It?" episode of "Dallas" that revealed "Who shot J.R.?", the famous 1980 cliffhanger, received the highest domestic ratings at that point with over 90 million American viewers tuning in for the answer. The last episode of M*A*S*H in 1983 finally beat the ratings; however, internationally "Dallas" still holds the record for the highest rated episode with nearly 360 million viewers tuning in to see who shot J.R. A spin-off series, Knots Landing, ran from 1979 to 1993. Jacobs originally created and came up with an idea for the series Knots Landing, but CBS wanted a glitzy "saga-like" show. Jacobs therefore created Dallas, a series about a wealthy family in the oil business. When Dallas proved to be a hit, CBS reconsidered Jacobs' original idea and turned Knots Landing into a spin-off of Dallas in late 1979. The Dallas miniseries that started in April 1978 was shot entirely on location in Dallas, Texas. Later, most interiors for the show were shot at the MGM studios in Hollywood. Exteriors were shot at the Southfork Ranch in Parker, Texas, and other parts of Dallas, until 1989, when rising production costs led to all production being located in California. The show was known for its wealth, sex, intrigue, and power struggles. When the series began, the founder of Ewing Oil and patriarch of the Ewing family was Jock (veteran movie actor Jim Davis), an oil tycoon who had allegedly schemed his one-time partner, Digger Barnes (David Wayne, later replaced by Keenan Wynn) out of his share of the company and also his only love, Miss Eleanor "Ellie" Southworth (veteran stage/movie actress Barbara Bel Geddes). As the series advanced, the Jock-Digger story grew to encompass Jock's brother, as a nephew and niece sought their claim to the Ewing riches. Together, Jock and Miss Ellie raised three sons, J.R. (played by I Dream of Jeannie star Larry Hagman), Gary (David Ackroyd/Ted Shackelford) and Bobby (Patrick Duffy). J.R., the eldest Ewing son, who was totally unscrupulous and unhappily married to a former Miss Texas, Sue Ellen Shepard Ewing (Linda Gray), was frequently at-odds with his youngest brother, Bobby, who had the morals and integrity that his eldest brother lacked. After the Ewing family's illegitimate son and ranch foreman, Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly) had a short fling with an attractive young woman, Pamela Barnes (Victoria Principal), who was Digger Barnes' daughter and Cliff's (Ken Kercheval) sister, Bobby married her; Ray was dejected by this. After the new marriage, J.R. continued to jeopardize the new family's relationship to his advantage as president of Ewing Oil. The series capitalized on ending each season with ratings-grabbing cliffhangers. Some notable cliffhangers included the landmark "who shot J R?" episode, a floating female corpse in the pool, a blazing mansion fire, Bobby mistakenly being shot while sitting in J.R.'s office, and the kidnapping of Miss Ellie by her half-crazed sister-in-law. Usually, no long lasting damage was done to any essential cast member, unless they wanted to leave the series. Bobby was killed off in a season-long dream sequence. The concluding Dallas episodes in 1991 leading up to "Conundrum" (the finale) saw J.R. seemingly being undone by a combination of his enemies and liquor. By the time the series ended, most of the family had either died or departed: John Ross "Jock" Ewing Sr. (Jim Davis) was the first to go, with the actor's passing in 1981. Both of Bobby Ewing’s loves, Pam and April, left the show. Pam Ewing was severely injured in a car accident in the 1986-1987 season finale and left Bobby and Christopher due to her apparent inability to let them see her in such a physically disfigured fashion. Nevertheless, while Victoria Principal never returned again to the series as Pam during its final four years before cancellation, Margaret Michaels, a Principal look-alike, played the character in the season premiere of 1988-1989. Donna and Ray divorced in 1987, the former moving to Washington, D.C. Ray then subsequently left Dallas with his new wife, Jenna, bound for Europe by the fall of 1988. Lucy Ewing returned to Southfork in spring 1988, but then left again two years later for Europe as well. Sue Ellen Ewing left Dallas in 1989 to move to London with her new film-director boyfriend and then-husband. Dallas was notable for its cliffhangers. Throughout the series' run, every season ended with some sort of cliffhanging ending designed to drive ratings up for the season premiere the following year. Miniseries cliffhanger: Although this really wasn't a cliffhanger, the end of the fifth episode of this pilot miniseries saw J.R. go up to the loft of the barn to talk to Pam, who had gone up there to escape the wild time at the barbecue that was going on during the episode. J.R., intoxicated, tries to convince her to tell Bobby not to leave the ranch. However, she doesn't want to be bothered, and, in trying to escape J.R., she falls from the loft, landing square on her stomach. Resolution: Pam, who was pregnant with Bobby's child at the time, lost the baby and was told that she would never be able to carry a baby to full term. Season One cliffhanger: Sue Ellen's drinking problem has landed her in a sanitarium, where she is pregnant with a child she believes is Cliff Barnes' (although this would later be proven false). She escapes from the sanitarium, gets drunk, and then gets into a severe car accident, putting her life and the baby's life in danger. The doctors deliver the baby, named John Ross Ewing III (after his father and grandfather), but he is very small on delivery and isn't out of the woods yet. Neither is his mother, who, as the episode ends, is clinging to life. A very distraught J.R. is watching his wife at the end of the episode in tears, saying that she's "just gotta live." Resolution: After a two-part season premiere in which the child was kidnapped, John Ross is returned to the hospital and Sue Ellen recovers, although the doubt surrounding her newborn son's paternity lingers for a while afterward (Lab tests finally put the paternity question to rest). Season Two cliffhanger: To cap off a season where J.R. has angered nearly everyone in the state of Texas, someone comes into his office late at night and shoots him twice. Resolution: As a result of the shooting, J.R. is temporarily paralyzed from the waist down and faces a long recovery. An investigation into the crime is conducted, and eventually Sue Ellen (who was the prime suspect) confronts Kristin, her sister, about the shooting...and the mystery is solved. Sue Ellen realized that that night she stormed into Kristin's apartment with gun in hand and very drunk. Kristin calmly gives her another drink knowing full well that she could barely stand. After putting her unconscious in her car she takes the gun and shoots J.R. with it, later planting it in the house to frame Sue Ellen. However, Kristin is pregnant with J.R.'s baby, so he refuses to have her prosecuted, fearing another scandal. It is later revealed that after leaving Dallas, Kristin almost immediately miscarries J.R.'s child. Wishing to be able to blackmail J.R. at a later date, Kristin quickly becomes pregnant again with boyfriend Jeff Farraday (Art Hindle), and later gives birth to a boy, Christopher, who she claims is J.R.'s child. Season Three cliffhanger: On his way to a late night business meeting with Bobby, Cliff notices a female body in the pool. He goes into the pool to see who it is (we are never told in this part who it is, although the viewer is led to believe it's Pam), then looks up to find J.R. standing on the balcony over the pool, right near a broken area where the person fell. Cliff, thinking J.R. did it, said, "She's dead. You bastard." Resolution: The body was revealed to be that of Kristin Shepard, who earlier that year was revealed to have shot J.R. Her cause of death was ruled to be a combination of drowning and a PCP overdose. In the months that follow, Kristin's boyfriend Jeff Farraday, desperate for money to repay various drug dealers and other lowlifes, "sells" the infant Christopher Shepard to Bobby and Pam, and he is raised as Christopher Ewing. Season Four cliffhanger: Cliff Barnes had been having a rotten year. His relationship with Sue Ellen (which had been rekindled that year) came to an end when Sue Ellen and J.R. decided to remarry after divorcing the previous season. To top it off, thanks to J.R., Cliff nearly drove his mother's tool company into bankruptcy, causing him to lose his job. He ends up attempting suicide, and while he lays in a hospital bed, comatose, Sue Ellen tells J.R. that if Cliff dies they will not remarry. Resolution: Cliff emerges from his coma in the second episode of the season, and Sue Ellen and J.R. remarry later on, with Cliff humiliating himself during the ceremony. Season Five cliffhanger: A drunk Sue Ellen and Ray Krebbs' cousin Mickey Trotter are involved in a car accident just outside Southfork. Sue Ellen emerges unhurt, but Mickey is paralyzed and in a coma. After finding out that the driver of the other car was J.R.'s rival Walt Driscoll, out to kill J.R., Ray comes over to Southfork to confront J.R., blaming him for what happened. J.R. asks, "Are you drunk?" Ray replies, "No, I'm stone cold sober, and now I'm going to kill you." J.R., trying to stop Ray, throws a candle holder at him but misses him completely. In the process, another candle holder with lit candles falls and ignites a fire while Ray and J.R. brawl. J.R. knocks Ray out and tries to get upstairs to Sue Ellen and John Ross, who are asleep-or, in Sue Ellen's case, passed out drunk- and unaware of the fire creeping up to the second floor. Unfortunately, a falling beam knocks him down as Southfork burns around him. Resolution: J.R. was able to get to John Ross and they jumped out of his bedroom window together into the pool. Bobby saved Sue Ellen. Mickey Trotter awoke, but was despondent over his paralysis and relapsed into another coma, during which Ray pulled the plug on him. Ray was found guilty of manslaughter, but was given a suspended sentence by a compassionate judge. Season Six cliffhanger: Just like in season three, J.R. was crossing people left and right. And just like in season three, one night someone broke into his office at Ewing Oil and shot the man in J.R.'s office (who was sitting with his back to the assassin) three times. However, Bobby, sitting in the chair, takes the bullets and falls to the floor. Resolution: After rumours that the target was J.R., Bobby was revealed to be the target. It turned out that the obsessive Katherine decided if she couldn't have him no one will. Bobby survives, and she is eventually caught. Season Seven cliffhanger: Bobby reveals that he wants to remarry Pam (by this time the couple had been divorced for some time) and they agree to do so. After spending the night at Pam's house, Bobby is about to leave for Southfork to relay the news to his fiancée Jenna Wade, but is hit by a car trying to save Pam from being struck (by an escaped Katherine, who apparently died in the accident) and immediately goes into convulsions. He is rushed to the hospital, where after saying his final goodbyes to everyone, sheds one tear and dies. Resolution: Katherine, rumoured dead, returned at the beginning of season ten. Season Eight cliffhanger: As stated before, Pam wakes up to find someone in her shower. She opens the door to find Bobby, alive and well. Resolution: It was all just a dream. Season Nine cliffhanger: Pam, on her way home from the doctor's office after finding out she can conceive a baby, crashes into the fuel tank of a semi-truck, engulfing her car in a fiery explosion. Resolution: Pam survives and later leaves Bobby. Season Ten cliffhanger: After a long year which ended in a messy breakup between J.R. and Sue Ellen, the two and Sue Ellen's beau Nicholas Pearce have a confrontation in J.R.'s high rise hotel suite. J.R. and Nick fight, and during the course of the fight Pearce goes over the balcony, and falls to his death. J.R. turns and is shot three times by Sue Ellen, who believes J.R. has murdered Nick. Resolution: J.R. recovers (in true Dallas fashion, he had been shot three times in chest, but not seriously wounded), and they mutually agree not to press charges against each other. Season Eleven cliffhanger: Sue Ellen, tired of being mentally beaten down by J.R., gives him a preview of what could happen if she got her revenge on him, showing him her biographical movie that would make him "the laughing stock of Texas", and threatening to release it if he ever displeases her again. She then, triumphantly, walks out his life forever (or until the reunion movie, at least). Resolution: J.R tried to find and destroy the movie in the beginning of the 13th season, but after that no mention was made of the movie ever again. Season Twelve cliffhanger: After committing himself to a sanitarium in order to get a voting majority in Weststar Oil, J.R.'s plan backfires when Cally Harper, his latest scorned woman, and his illegitimate son James Beaumont coerce him into signing a property waiver, and ends with James tearing up J.R.'s release papers, forcing him to stay in the asylum. Resolution: After being placed in solitary confinement in the sanitarium and being diagnosed with paranoia, J.R. ends up leaving the sanitarium after bargaining with Cally. Season Thirteen cliffhanger: After being shown what life would be like without him and being egged on by the devil to kill himself, J.R. fires a gun in his room. Bobby enters looks down, exclaims "Oh my God!", and we are led to believe that J.R. Ewing has committed suicide. Resolution: This was not resolved (as this was the series finale), but it was later revealed in the first reunion movie that J.R. shot the mirror (where the devil was appearing to him) and left Southfork that night for a stay in Europe, where he remained for five years. Dallas is also known for a number of famous episodes: "A House Divided" and "Who Done It?" — The 1979-1980 season ended with the show's anti-hero, J.R. Ewing, being shot (in the episode A House Divided). Viewers had to wait all summer (and most of the fall due to a Hollywood actors' strike) to learn J.R. would survive, and which of his many enemies was responsible. "Who Done It?" aired on November 21, 1980, with the revelation that Sue Ellen's sister Kristin shot him in a fit of anger. It was one of the highest-rated episodes of a TV show ever aired. A session of the Turkish parliament was even suspended to allow legislators a chance to get home in time to view the episode. The great success of this stunt helped usher in the practice of ending a television season with a big cliffhanger. "The Fourth Son" — Steve Kanaly, who played the role of ranch foreman Ray Krebbs, was growing frustrated with the direction of his character and was heavily considering leaving Dallas altogether. In 1980, while playing racquetball with Larry Hagman, Kanaly was convinced in a conversation that if any of the actors on the set resembled a son of Jock Ewing it would be him. Hagman dreamt up a storyline that Ray Krebbs would be the illegitimate son of Jock. With some convincing, Hagman then persuaded Leonard Katzman that the idea would work. However, previous episodes portrayed Kanaly having an affair with Jock's granddaughter, Lucy Ewing, so Katzman let the on-screen affair die-off and be forgotten before they utilized the storyline. It was originally slated to develop in the episode, "Dove Hunt", with Jock revealing the surprise in confidence to J.R., but this idea was nixed. Instead, the storyline unfolded on December 12, 1980. Ray's supposed father, Amos Krebbs (William Windom), who left him as a small boy, would show up on Ray's doorstep (with Ray wanting nothing to do with him). Amos Krebbs would later meet Jock and produce a diary belonging to his wife, Margaret Krebbs, Ray's mother, in which she admitted having an affair with Jock during the end of World War II. Margaret writes of Ray's first birthday and wishing his father (Jock) could be there. This was a landmark episode because it elevated Ray's status with the entire Ewing clan and also served as a basis for future storylines where Ray, J.R., and Bobby would unite as brothers and fight as Ewings. "Swan Song" — In the 1984-85 season ending cliffhanger, Jenna Wade, Bobby Ewing's fiancee is released from prison. (She was in it earlier in the season for a false accusation of murder against her ex-husband.) J.R.'s wife Sue Ellen has started drinking again, and thinks that she has seen her ex-lover Dusty Farlow. Bobby Ewing is unsure if he wants to marry Jenna, because he has started to have feelings for his ex-wife Pam. Lucy Ewing decides to marry her ex-husband Mitch Cooper, and the wedding is held at Southfork. Jenna can see at the wedding that Bobby is acting different, and she figures out that he is in love with Pam. After the wedding Bobby goes and proposes to Pam. She accepts. The next day, when Bobby is leaving to go tell Jenna that it's over, he gets hit by a car driven by his ex-sister-in-law Katherine Wentworth. He is then taken to the hospital and dies. "Blast From The Past" — One of the show's stars, Patrick Duffy, left the program in the spring of 1985. His character, Bobby, was plowed down by a car and died, on camera, on May 17, 1985. With ratings falling, and Duffy's career at a standstill, he agreed to return to the show for the 86-87 season. With Duffy in tow, the producers ended the 1985-1986 season (on May 16, 1986) with an episode in which a series of spectacular events take place (including an explosion in J.R.'s office), culminating in a scene where Pam wakes up in bed, to be greeted by Duffy emerging from a shower. In the closing credits for that episode, there was the bizarre credit of "Starring Patrick Duffy as ? ", leaving doubt as to exactly whom Duffy was portraying. Fans had to wait until September 26 to learn how the writers would explain his return. Most were disappointed with the solution, a pure deus ex machina: Pam had dreamt the entire previous season (1985-1986), including Bobby's death (an example of retroactive continuity, or a retcon). This caused previous plot lines to be severed: Ray and Donna had adopted a deaf boy in Spring 1986, but had become estranged when the Fall season opened. In Spring 1985, Pam's half sister Katherine had died while knocking-off Bobby with her car. In the Fall, she was presumably still alive but forgotten. Bobby's replacement, cousin Jack Ewing, was now redundant and had to be discarded. Pam's new beau, Mark Graison, vanished. Continuity conflicts arose elsewhere, as references to Bobby's death were made in the spin-off TV show, Knots Landing. After this, Dallas and Knots Landing effectively cut ties as they then took place in different universes. "Fall of The House of Ewing" — This cliffhanger marked the end of a contract player, as Victoria Principal had decided to leave the show after 10 seasons, and after having to be seen in almost every episode of the series, from her first in 1978 until 1987. The storyline had Pam returning to Southfork after phoning Bobby telling him after all their struggles to conceive a baby, she could finally be pregnant. Suddenly, an oil truck comes out of nowhere and a distracted Pam crashes into it, igniting a huge fireball. Pam survives the accident but is left with third degree burns. While in the hospital, she is suddenly whisked away, leaving no trace. Later in the season, she divorces (by mail) Bobby, giving him custody of their adopted son, Christopher. In subsequent seasons it is revealed that Pam was dying and chose to let her family believe that she had left, thus sparing them the trauma of watching her deteriorate. While the actual cliffhanger in this season is the car accident involving Pamela Ewing (and Principal's subsequent departure from the show), there is a fantastic scene prior to the accident where J.R. and son John Ross are ousted from the former Ewing building by Jeremy Wendell, who was instrumental in the government crackdown on Ewing Oil, and now owns the building. When Jeremy reaches for the painting of Jock on the wall and says, "You'll leave now, and take this eyesore with you,", an incredibly aggressive J.R. shouts, "Wendell! You touch that painting and I'll kill you where you stand." J.R. takes the painting off the wall himself, holds it up in front of John Ross and says, "John Ross, THIS is Ewing Oil." This scene is often listed among the favorites by 'Dallas' fans. Final episode: In this episode, titled "Conundrum" (originally aired on CBS, May 3, 1991), J.R. is contemplating committing suicide. Southfork was taken out of his control and given to Bobby by Miss Ellie, while Cliff Barnes now had control of Ewing Oil. Clayton had given J.R. voting rights at Weststar, but J.R. was tricked into believing he would become Chairman of Weststar by Carter McKay. J.R. had sold his half of Ewing Oil to Cliff to take over Weststar, but old foe Dusty Farlow revealed that he had sold his Weststar shares to McKay, thus making McKay the majority stockholder. McKay fired J.R. from Weststar after revealing that he had set him up (McKay had sent two Weststar directors to J.R. and convinced him to sell Ewing Oil to pave the way for a Weststar takeover that would never happen). John Ross, his own son, disowned him and moved to London to be with his mother. Now, drunk and despondent, J.R. walks around the pool with a bourbon bottle and a loaded gun, when suddenly another person comes into view...a spirit named Adam (portrayed by Joel Grey), whose "boss" has been watching J.R. and likes him. Adam proceeds to take him on a journey to show him what life would've been like for other people if he hadn't been born. Among what he shows him: Without J.R., Gary became the oldest Ewing son, and the youngest was Jason (who would have been born had J.R. never been around; Jason never appeared in the TV series as he didn't really exist). With Gary in charge of Ewing Oil upon Jock's retirement, the company went bankrupt. Stress from it killed Jock, and Miss Ellie died of a broken heart two years later, she never meets Clayton Farlow. Jason, a shady real estate developer swindled Gary and Bobby out of their shares in the company and Southfork, and proceeded to tear the compound down and build tract houses on it called Southfork Estates. Having never met Pam, Bobby continued his wild ways from before and ended up as a down-on-his-luck hustler who was behind on alimony payments to his wife Annie and kids J.R., Bobby, and Ellie. He also ends up behind on his gambling debts to Carter McKay, who owns casinos in Las Vegas. (McKay was fired by Jeremy Wendell at Westar.) Gary became a successful divorce lawyer who never married, and thus never had Lucy Ewing, J.R.'s niece. (He does eventually meet Valene Ewing, his wife in the real world, but nothing ever comes of it other than a date whose outcome was never discussed). Without having met J.R., Cally Harper never left her poor roots, and ends up as a battered wife who lives with her husband in a shack, where she kills him and (according to Adam) will be convicted and sentenced to life. Without J.R. in the way and forcing him to be a part of the Ewing/Barnes rivalry, Cliff Barnes was able to earn a law degree and enter politics, becoming Vice President of the United States and later Acting President due to a stroke suffered by the President. Since J.R. was never born (and thus, never shot), Kristin Shepard never met him (and, thus, never died), and became a successful con artist in Los Angeles. She poses as a hooker initially and then a police officer, which sees her accept a bribe from an embarrassed customer. Having never met J.R., Sue Ellen has become a successful soap opera star, with Nicholas Pearce (who was never killed off) as her loving husband. With J.R. out of the picture and Jock dying before he could find out, Ray Krebbs never knew of his Ewing blood ties. After an injury he suffered in a Ewing Oil-sponsored rodeo, Ray became a down on his luck ranchhand, forcing to work two or three jobs to support his family, who are loving and very supportive of him. He does have a son called Jock. After one final scene where Bobby settles his gambling debts with McKay, Adam eggs J.R. on to kill himself. J.R. won't do it, as he doesn't want Adam to be sent back to heaven with his job incomplete. It's at this point where Adam reveals that he's not an angel, but a minion of Satan. A startled J.R. wakes up, gun and bourbon still in hands, and the scene appears to be a dream...only Adam returns, appearing to J.R. in his mirror and continuing to egg him on. J.R. slowly raises the loaded gun to his head, unaware that Bobby has returned home. The gun goes off while Bobby is in the hallway, and he rushes to J.R.'s room. He looks at what has gone down, gasps, "Oh, my God," and the series ends on that note with the fate of J.R. never settled (although it eventually would be five years later, in the reunion movie, Dallas: J.R. Returns.). It was believed J.R. killed himself, although in later years it was revealed he had shot the mirror (although no glass was heard). The episode was watched by 33.3 million viewers (38% of all viewers in that time slot). The show has been released on DVD. Season 1 on DVD is the original mini-series. When the show went to formal production as regular weekly series, what is on DVD referred to as Season 2 was Season 1 of the weekly series. As of 2008, Warner Home Video will have released the first nine seasons of Dallas on DVD. The TV movies Dallas: The Early Years 1986, JR Returns 1996 and The War Of The Ewings 1998 are expected to either receive individual releases or be included as extras on future DVD releases, most likely Season 14. In 2007, British comedian Justin Lee Collins went about searching for all the stars of Dallas to bring them back together for a special reunion party. The show was broadcast at 9 p.m. Sunday, May 27, 2007, on UK television network Channel 4 as part of the Bring Back... series. After hunting down most of the main cast by any means necessary (e.g., climbing over security fences and ambushing hotels), Collins managed to interview them and gain more knowledge about some of the decisions made throughout the show's seasons. He held his own Oil Baron's Ball, where unfortunately none of the cast turned up. However, in a surprise move, the actor that played baby Christopher (Eric Farlow) turned up. A feature-length motion picture based on the Dallas story has been in development for a number of years, with Legally Blonde director Robert Luketic manning the attempt to get it made. Although stars as varied as John Travolta, Jennifer Lopez and Jessica Simpson have been mentioned as possible stars (in the roles of J.R. Ewing, Pamela Ewing and Lucy Ewing respectively), the film has never been greenlighted and is considered by many in the Hollywood establishment as a potential disaster, and it is currently viewed as unlikely that the film will be made, particularly given the current gas crisis (one that does not bode well for a "comedy" about the oil industry). The declining careers of all of the stars at one point attached to it would also seem indicative of its lack of commercial potential, along with the view of many in the entertainment industry that no actor besides Larry Hagman would realistically be accepted by mainstream audiences as the character of J.R. Ewing, even in a comedy or farce. Throughout the years, there have been a lot of guilty pleasures on TV. You know, they’re shows that look stupid and/or very over the top, but you still can’t help but love them, like Dynasty, Gilligan’s Island, Desperate Housewives, pretty much any reality show, etc. But of all the guilty pleasures, Dallas was the guiltiest, and the best. It helped that is had the perfect main character: the sleazy, conniving, womanizing oilman J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman). J.R. took America from the 1970s to the 1980s. Int 1978, when Dallas appeared, was in the midst of the Iran crisis, on the heels of gas crunches, energy crises and Jimmy Carter in a cardigan telling us to dial back our thermostats: an oil baron as a primetime villain made perfect sense. Then, in the summer of 1980, J.R. got shot. Millions had been plunged into one of the greatest national guessing games of all time by the cliffhanger season ender to the addictively popular prime time soap as the last thing the viewers saw was a freeze frame of J.R. lying unconscious in his Ewing Oil corporate office, shot by an unseen assailant (in case you’re wondering, it was J.R.’s sister-in-law Kristin Shepard (Mary Crosby) who pulled the trigger). During the summer of 1980, the country caught Who Shot J.R.? fever. Hell, people started wearing novelty campaign buttons that read “J.R. For President” over the devilishly grinning, cowboy-hatted face of J.R. But, at the same time Ronald Reagan was running for office, and America was about to begin its 1980s love affair with business and money, assuring that J.R. would still be a relevant villain. He was the ideal cultural touchstone fro that era: rich as hell, impervious to any kind of “national malaise,” and tirelessly lying, scheming, and philandering. And, he enjoyed his own evil, as much as his naked lust for money and power. He was the face of greed in the 1980s (well, at least until Gordon Gekko took that icon status from him). But current-events relevance and J.R. were just the icing on Dallas' petroleum-soaked cake: it was the perfect primetime soap because of its timeless mix of sex (Linda Gray, Victoria Principal, and Charlene Tilton, three of the sexiest women to grace the TV screen and all in one show!), money (obviously), intrigue (the show became known for its cliffhangers), family (the Ewings, one of TV’s first dysfunctional families), and lies (I would add something here, but it is too hard to pick one; and putting them all would take up too much of my time. And, yes, there were bad moments (the infamous cliffhanger in which Patrick Duffy’s Bobby Ewing seemingly came back from the dead but didn’t because the previous season without Bobby was just a dream Pam had). But, that shouldn’t ruin such a great show. Besides, how can you hate that smile Larry Hagman flashes? I can’t stay mad at that!
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Aug 1, 2008 23:12:49 GMT -5
Tomorrow, numbers 18 to 15. Here are the hints:
Another word for string or cord, To boldly go where no man has gone before, newlyweds (not the game show), and this show is brought to you by the letters J, C, and the number 8.
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Aug 2, 2008 14:29:51 GMT -5
18. The Wire Genre: Crime Drama. Created by: David Simon. Executive Producer(s): David Simon and Nina Kostroff Noble. Starring: Dominic West (Det. Jimmy McNulty), John Doman (Major, later Colonel and Commissioner, William Rawls), Idris Elba (Russell “Stringer” Bell 2002-2004), Frankie Faison (Deputy Commissioner, later Commissioner, Ervin Burrell), Larry Gilliard, Jr. (D’Angelo Barksdale 2002-2003), Wood Harris (Avon Barksdale), Deirdre Lovejoy (Rhonda Pearlman), Wendell Pierce (Det. Buck Moreland), Lance Reddick (Lt., later Major, Colonel, CID Commander, and Deputy Commissioner, Cedric Daniels), Andre Royo (Reginald “Bubbles” Cousins), Sonja Sohn (Det. Kima Greggs), Chris Bauer (Frank Sobotka 2003), Paul Ben Victor (Spiros “Vondas” Vondopoulos 2003, 2006-2008), Clarke Peters (Det. Lester Freamon), Amy Ryan (Officer Beatrice “Beadie” Russell 2003-2008), Aidan Gillen (Councilman, later Mayor, Tommy Carcetti 2004-2008), Jim True-Frost (Det. Roland “Prez” Pryzbylewski), Robert Wisdom (Major Howard “Bunny” Colvin 2003-2008), Reg E. Cathey (Norman Wilson 2006-2008), Clark Johnson (Augustus Haynes 2008), Tom McCarthy (Scott Templeton), Seth Gilliam (Sgt., later Lt., Ellis Carver), Domenick Lombardozzi (Sgt., later Defense Investigator, Thomas “Herc” Hauk), J. D. Williams (Preston “Bodie” Broadus 2002-2006), Michael Kenneth Williams (Omar Little), Corey Parker Robinson (Det. Leander Syndor), Chad L. Coleman (Dennis “Cutty” Wise 2004-2008), Jamie Hector (Marlo Stanfield 2004-2008), Glynn Turman (Mayor Clarence Royce), Gbenga Akinnagbe (Chris Partlow 2004-2008), Neal Huff (Michael Steintorf 2006-2008), Jermaine Crawford (Duquan “Dukie” Weems 2006-2008), Tristan Wilds (Michael Lee 2006-2008), Michael Kostroff (Maurice “Maury” Levy), Michelle Paress (Alma Gutierrez 2008), and Isiah Whitlock, Jr. (Sen. R. Clayton “Clay” Davis). Country of Origin: United States. Number of Seasons: 5. Number of Episodes: 60. Running Time: 55 minutes. Original Channel: HBO. Original Run: June 2, 2002 – March 9, 2008. Spinoffs: None. The Wire was created by David Simon. Simon has stated that he originally set out to create a police drama loosely based on the experiences of his writing partner Ed Burns, a former homicide detective. Burns, when working on protracted investigations of violent drug dealers using surveillance technology, had often faced frustration with the bureaucracy of the police department, which Simon equated with his own ordeals as a police reporter for The Baltimore Sun. Writing against the background of current events, including institutionalized corporate crime at Enron and institutional dysfunction in the Catholic Church, the show became "more of a treatise about institutions and individuals than a straight cop show." Simon chose to set the show in Baltimore because of his familiarity with the city. He approached the mayor to get approval to portray it bleakly and was welcomed to work there again. During his time as a writer and producer for the NBC program Homicide: Life on the Street, which was based on his non-fiction book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, Simon had come into conflict with network executives over the show's pessimism, and wanted to avoid a repeat of these arguments. He chose to take The Wire to HBO because of their existing working relationship from the 2000 miniseries The Corner. Owing to its reputation for exploring new areas, HBO was initially dubious about including a cop drama in its lineup, but eventually agreed to produce the pilot episode. Simon hoped that the show would change the opinions of some viewers but said that it was unlikely to have an impact on the issues it portrays. The casting of the show has been praised for avoiding big-name stars and providing character actors who appear natural in their roles. The looks of the cast as a whole have been described as defying TV expectations by presenting a true range of humanity on screen. The initial cast was put together through a process of auditions and readings. Lance Reddick received the role of Cedric Daniels after auditioning for several other parts. Michael K. Williams got the part of Omar Little after only a single audition. Several prominent real-life Baltimore figures, including former Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Rev. Frank M. Reid III, former police chief Ed Norris, and former mayor Kurt Schmoke have appeared in minor roles despite not being professional actors. "Little Melvin" Williams, a Baltimore drug lord arrested in the 1980s by an investigation that Ed Burns had been part of, has had a recurring role as a deacon since the third season. Jay Landsman, a longtime police officer who inspired the character of the same name, played Lieutenant Dennis Mello. Baltimore police commander Gary D'Addario served as the series technical advisor for the first two seasons and has a recurring role as prosecutor Gary DiPasquale. Simon shadowed D'Addario's shift when researching his book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and both D'Addario and Landsman are subjects of the book. The Wire employs a broad ensemble cast, supplemented by many recurring guest stars who populate the institutions featured in the show. The majority of the cast is African American, which accurately reflects the demographics of Baltimore. However, this is a rarity in American television drama. On February 3, 2008, with the airing of its 55th episode, The Wire became the second-longest running drama with a predominantly African American cast in the history of American prime-time television. Only Soul Food has aired more episodes. The show's creators are also willing to kill off major characters, so that viewers cannot assume that a given character will survive simply because of a starring role or popularity among fans. In response to a question on why a certain character had to die, David Simon said, "[W]e are not selling hope, or audience gratification, or cheap victories with this show. The Wire is making an argument about what institutions—bureaucracies, criminal enterprises, the cultures of addiction, raw capitalism even—do to individuals. It is not designed purely as an entertainment. It is, I'm afraid, a somewhat angry show." The major characters of the first season were divided between those on the side of the law and those involved in drug-related crime. The investigating detail was launched by the actions of Detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), whose insubordinate tendencies and personal problems played counterpoint to his ability. The detail was led by Lieutenant Cedric Daniels (Lance Reddick) who faced challenges balancing his career aspirations with his desire to produce a good case. Kima Greggs (Sonja Sohn) was a capable lead detective who faced jealousy from colleagues and worry about the dangers of her job from her domestic partner. Her investigative work was greatly helped by her confidential informant, a drug addict known as Bubbles (Andre Royo). Like Greggs, partners Thomas "Herc" Hauk (Domenick Lombardozzi) and Ellis Carver (Seth Gilliam) were reassigned to the detail from the narcotics unit. The duo's initially violent nature was eventually subdued as they proved useful in grunt work, and sometimes served as comic relief for the audience. Rounding out the temporary unit were detectives Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters) and Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski (Jim True-Frost). Though not initially important players in the operation, Freamon proved a quietly capable investigator with a knack for noticing tiny but important details, and Prez turned out to be a natural at following paper trails. These investigators were overseen by two commanding officers more concerned with politics and their own careers than the case, Major William Rawls (John Doman) and Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell (Frankie Faison). Assistant state's attorney Rhonda Pearlman (Deirdre Lovejoy) acted as the legal liaison between the detail and the courthouse and also had a casual relationship with McNulty. In the homicide division, Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce) was a gifted, dry-witted detective partnered with McNulty under Sergeant Jay Landsman (Delaney Williams), the jovial squad commander. Peter Gerety had a recurring role as Judge Phelan, the official who started the case moving. On the other side of the investigation was Avon Barksdale's drug empire. The driven, ruthless Barksdale (Wood Harris) was aided by business-minded Stringer Bell (Idris Elba). Avon's nephew D'Angelo Barksdale (Larry Gilliard Jr.) ran some of his uncle's territory, but also possessed a guilty conscience, while loyal Wee-Bey Brice (Hassan Johnson) was responsible for multiple homicides carried out on Avon's orders. Working under D'Angelo were Poot (Tray Chaney), Bodie (J.D. Williams), and Wallace (Michael B. Jordan), all street-level drug dealers. Wallace was an intelligent but naïve youth trapped in the drug trade, and Poot a randy young man happy to follow rather than lead. Omar Little (Michael K. Williams), a renowned Baltimore stick-up man robbing drug dealers for a living, was a frequent thorn in the side of the Barksdale clan. The second season introduced a new group of characters working in the Baltimore port area, including Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos (Paul Ben-Victor), Beadie Russell (Amy Ryan), and Frank Sobotka (Chris Bauer). Vondas was the underboss of a global smuggling operation, Russell an inexperienced Port Authority officer and single mother thrown in at the deep end of a multiple homicide investigation, and Sobotka a union leader who turned to crime in order to raise funds to save his union. Also joining the show in season 2 were Nick Sobotka (Pablo Schreiber), Frank's nephew; Ziggy Sobotka (James Ransone), Frank's troubled son; and "The Greek" (Bill Raymond), Vondas's mysterious boss. As the second season ended, the focus shifted away from the ports, leaving the new characters behind. The third season saw several previously recurring characters assuming larger starring roles, including Detective Leander Sydnor (Corey Parker Robinson), Bodie (J.D. Williams), Omar (Michael K. Williams), Proposition Joe (Robert F. Chew), and Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin (Robert Wisdom). Colvin commanded the Western district where the Barksdale organization operated, and nearing retirement, he came up with a radical new method of dealing with the drug problem. Proposition Joe, the East Side's cautious drug kingpin, became more cooperative with the Barksdale Organization. Sydnor, a rising young star in the police department in season 1, returned to the cast as part of the major crimes unit. Bodie had been seen gradually rising in the Barksdale organization since the first episode; he was born to their trade and showed a fierce aptitude for it. Omar had a vendetta against the Barksdale organization and gave them all of his lethal attention. New additions in the third season included Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen), an ambitious city councilman; Mayor Clarence Royce (Glynn Turman), the incumbent whom Carcetti planned to unseat; Marlo Stanfield (Jamie Hector), leader of an upstart gang seeking to challenge Avon's dominance; and Dennis "Cutty" Wise (Chad Coleman), a newly released convict uncertain of his future. In the fourth season, four young actors joined the cast: Jermaine Crawford as Duquan "Dukie" Weems; Maestro Harrell as Randy Wagstaff; Julito McCullum as Namond Brice; and Tristan Wilds as Michael Lee. The characters are friends from a West Baltimore middle school. Another newcomer was Norman Wilson (Reg E. Cathey), Carcetti's deputy campaign manager. The fifth season saw several actors join the starring cast. Gbenga Akinnagbe returns as the previously recurring Chris Partlow, chief enforcer of the now dominant Stanfield Organization. Neal Huff reprises his role as Mayoral chief of staff Michael Steintorf having previously appeared as a guest star at the end of the fourth season. Two other actors also join the starring cast having previously portrayed their corrupt characters as guest stars - Michael Kostroff as defense attorney Maurice Levy and Isiah Whitlock, Jr. as Senator Clay Davis. Crew member Clark Johnson appeared in front of the camera for the first time to play Augustus Haynes, the principled editor of the city desk of The Baltimore Sun. He is joined in the newsroom by two other new stars; Michelle Paress and Tom McCarthy play young reporters Alma Gutierrez and Scott Templeton. Alongside creator, head writer, show runner and executive producer David Simon, much of the creative team behind The Wire are alumni of Homicide and Emmy-winning miniseries The Corner. The Corner veteran, Robert F. Colesberry, was executive producer for the first two seasons and directed the season 2 finale before passing away due to complications from heart surgery in 2004. He is credited by the rest of the creative team as having a large creative role for a producer, and Simon credits him for achieving the show's realistic visual feel. He also had a small recurring role as Detective Ray Cole. Colesberry's wife Karen L. Thorson joined him on the production staff. A third producer on The Corner Nina Kostroff Noble also stayed with the production staff for The Wire rounding out the initial four-person team. Following Colesberry's death she became the show's second executive producer alongside Simon. Stories for the show are often co-written by Ed Burns, a former Baltimore homicide detective and public school teacher who has worked with Simon on other projects including The Corner. Burns also became a producer on The Wire in the show's fourth season. Other writers for The Wire include three acclaimed crime fiction writers from outside of Baltimore: George P. Pelecanos from Washington, Richard Price from the Bronx and Dennis Lehane from Boston. Reviewers drew comparisons between Price's works (particularly Clockers) and The Wire even before he joined. In addition to writing, Pelecanos served as a producer for the third season. Pelecanos has commented that he was attracted to the project because of the opportunity to work with Simon. Staff writer Rafael Alvarez penned several episodes' scripts, as well as the series guidebook The Wire: Truth Be Told. Alvarez is a colleague of Simon's from The Sun and a Baltimore native with working experience in the port area. Another city native and independent filmmaker, Joy Lusco Kecken, has also written for the show in each of its first three seasons. Baltimore Sun writer and political journalist William F. Zorzi joined the writing staff in the third season and brought a wealth of experience to the show's examination of Baltimore politics. Playwright and television writer/producer Eric Overmyer joined the crew of The Wire in the show's fourth season as a consulting producer and writer. He had also previously worked on Homicide. Overmyer was brought into the full-time production staff to replace Pelecanos who scaled back his involvement to concentrate on his next book and worked on the fourth season solely as a writer. Emmy-award winner, Homicide and The Corner writer and college friend of Simon David Mills also joined the writing staff in the fourth season. Directors include Homicide alumnus Clark Johnson, who directed several acclaimed episodes of The Shield; and Tim Van Patten, an Emmy winner who has worked on every season of The Sopranos. The directing has been praised for its uncomplicated and subtle style. Following the death of Colesberry director Joe Chappelle joined the production staff as a co-executive producer and continued to regularly direct episodes. When broadcast on HBO and on some international networks, the episodes are preceded by a recap of events that have a bearing upon the upcoming narrative, using clips from previous episodes. Each episode begins with a cold open that seldom contains a dramatic juncture. The screen then fades to black while the intro music fades in. The show's opening title sequence then plays; a series of shots, mainly close-ups, concerning the show's subject matter that changes from season to season, separated by fast jump cuts (a technique rarely used in the show itself). The opening credits are superimposed on the sequence, and consist only of actors' names without identifying which actors play which roles. At the end of the sequence, a quotation that will be spoken by a character during the episode is shown on-screen. Progressive story arcs often unfold in different locations at the same time. Episodes rarely end with a cliffhanger, and normally close with a fade to black and the closing music fading in. There were several themes that ran throughout the series. There included: Realism: The writers strive to create a realistic vision of an American city based on their own experiences. Central to this aim is the creation of truthful characters. Simon has stated that most of them are composites of real-life Baltimore figures. The show often casts non-professional actors in minor roles, distinguishing itself from other television series by showing the "faces and voices of the real city" it depicts. The writing also uses a lot of contemporary slang to enhance the immersive viewing experience. In distinguishing the police characters from other television detectives, Simon makes the point that even the best police of The Wire are motivated not by a desire to protect and serve, but by the intellectual vanity of believing they are smarter than the criminals they are chasing. Many officers portrayed on the show are incompetent, brutal, self-aggrandizing, or hamstrung by bureaucracy and politics. The criminals are not always motivated by profit or a desire to harm others; many are trapped in their existence and all have human qualities. Even so, The Wire does not minimize or gloss over the horrific effects of their actions. The show is realistic in depicting the processes of both police work and criminal activity. Many of the plot points were based on the experiences of Simon and Burns. There have even been reports of real-life criminals watching the show to learn how to counter police investigation techniques. The fifth season portrays a working newsroom and has been hailed as the most realistic portrayal of the media in film and television. In December 2006, The Washington Post carried an article with local African-American students saying that the show had "hit a nerve" with the African-American community, and that they themselves knew real-life counterparts of many of the characters. The article expressed great sadness at the toll drugs and violence are taking on the African-American community. Institutional dysfunction: Simon has identified the organizations featured in the show, the Baltimore Police Department, City Hall, the Baltimore Public School System, the Avon Barksdale drug trafficking operation, and the stevedores' union, as comparable institutions. All are dysfunctional in some way, and the characters are typically betrayed by the institutions that they accept in their lives. Simon described the show as "cynical about [its] institutions" while taking a humanistic approach toward its characters. A central theme developed throughout the show is the struggle between individual desires and subordination to the group's goals. Whether it is Officer Jimmy McNulty using all his cards to pursue a high-profile case despite resistance from his own department, or gang member D'Angelo Barksdale accepting 20 years in prison contrary to his strong desire to turn in his uncle Avon and take a plea, this type of conflict is pervasive in all aspects of the show. Surveillance: Central to the structure and plot of the show is the use of electronic surveillance and wiretap technologies by the police, hence the title The Wire. Salon.com described the title as a metaphor for the viewer's experience: the wiretaps provide the police with access to a secret world, just as the show does for the viewer. Simon has discussed the use of camera shots of surveillance equipment, or shots that appear to be taken from the equipment itself, to emphasize the volume of surveillance in modern life and the characters' need to sift through this information. Visual novel: Many important events occur off-camera and there is no artificial exposition in the form of voice-over or flashbacks, with the sole exception of one flashback at the end of the pilot episode. Thus, the viewer needs to follow every conversation closely in order to understand who's who and what's going on. Salon.com has described the show as novelistic in structure, with a greater depth of writing and plotting than other crime shows. Each season of The Wire consists of 10-13 full-hour episodes, which form a single narrative. Simon chose this structure with an eye towards long story arcs that draw a viewer in and then result in a more satisfying payoff. He uses the metaphor of a visual novel in several interviews, describing each episode as a chapter, and has also commented that this allows a fuller exploration of the show's themes in time not spent on plot development. Social commentary: Simon described the second season as "a meditation on the death of work and the betrayal of the American working class.… t is a deliberate argument that unencumbered capitalism is not a substitute for social policy; that on its own, without a social compact, raw capitalism is destined to serve the few at the expense of the many." He added that season 3 "reflects on the nature of reform and reformers, and whether there is any possibility that political processes, long calcified, can mitigate against the forces currently arrayed against individuals." The third season is also an allegory that draws explicit parallels between the War in Iraq and the national drug prohibition, which in Simon's view has failed in its aims and become a war against America's underclass. Writer Ed Burns, who worked as a public school teacher after retiring from the Baltimore police force, has called education the theme of the fourth season. Rather than focusing solely on the school system, the fourth season looks at schools as a porous part of the community that are affected by problems outside of their boundaries. Burns states that education comes from many sources other than schools and that children can be educated by other means, including contact with the drug dealers they work for. Burns and Simon see the theme as an opportunity to explore how individuals end up like the show's criminal characters, and to dramatize the theory that hard work is not always justly rewarded.
|
|
|
Post by Kermit The Hulk on Aug 2, 2008 14:30:40 GMT -5
Each season also followed a theme ran throughout its episodes. Here are the synopsis of each season:
Season 1: The first season, which began airing on June 2, 2002, introduces two major groups of characters: the Baltimore police department and a drug dealing organization run by the Barksdale family. The season follows the investigation of the latter over its 13 episodes. The investigation is triggered when detective Jimmy McNulty meets privately with judge Daniel Phelan following the acquittal of D'Angelo Barksdale for murder after a key witness changes her story. McNulty tells Phelan that she has probably been intimidated by members of a drug trafficking empire run by D'Angelo's uncle, Avon Barksdale, having recognized several faces at the trial, notably Avon's second-in-command, Stringer Bell. He also tells Phelan that nobody is investigating Barksdale's criminal activity, which includes a significant portion of the city's drug trade and several unsolved homicides. Phelan takes issue with this and complains to senior Police Department figures, embarrassing them into creating a detail dedicated to investigating Barksdale. However, owing to the department's dysfunctionality, the investigation is intended as a façade to appease the judge. An interdepartmental struggle between the more motivated officers on the detail and their superiors spans the whole season, with interference by the higher-ups often threatening to ruin the investigation. The detail's commander, Cedric Daniels, acts as mediator between the two opposing groups of police. Meanwhile, the organized and cautious Barksdale gang is explored through characters at various levels within it. The organization is antagonized by a stick-up crew led by Omar Little, and the feud leads to several deaths, bringing further police attention. Throughout, D'Angelo struggles with his conscience over his life of crime and the people it affects. The police have little success with street-level arrests or with securing informants beyond Wallace, a young low-level dealer and friend of D'Angelo. Eventually the investigation takes the direction of electronic surveillance, with wiretaps and pager clones to infiltrate the security measures taken by the Barksdale organization. This leads the investigation to areas the commanding officers had hoped to avoid, including political contributions. When an associate of Barksdale's is arrested by another team and offers to cooperate, the commanding officers order a sting operation to wrap up the case. Detective Kima Greggs is seriously hurt in the operation, triggering an overzealous response from the rest of the department. This causes the detail's targets to suspect that they are under investigation. Wallace is killed by his childhood friends Bodie and Poot, on orders from Stringer Bell, after leaving his "secure" placement with relatives and returning to Baltimore. D'Angelo Barksdale is eventually arrested with a large quantity of drugs, and learning of Wallace's murder, is ready to turn in his uncle and Stringer. However, D'Angelo's mother convinces him to rescind the deal and take the charges for his family. The detail manages to arrest Avon on a minor charge and gets one of his soldiers, Wee-Bey, to confess to most of the murders, some of which he did not commit. Stringer escapes prosecution and is left running the Barksdale empire. For the officers, the consequences of antagonizing their superiors are severe, with Daniels and McNulty both assigned to undesirable jobs.
Season 2: The second season, along with its ongoing examination of the drug problem and its effect on the urban poor, examines the plight of the blue-collar urban working class as exemplified by stevedores (longshoremen) in the city port, as some of them get caught up in smuggling drugs and other contraband inside the containers that their port ships.[8] In a season-long subplot, the Barksdale organization continues its drug trafficking despite Avon's imprisonment, with Stringer Bell assuming greater power. McNulty harbors a vendetta against his former commanders for reassigning him to the marine unit. When fourteen young unidentified women are found dead in the port area, he makes a point of proving that they were murdered in his commanders' jurisdiction. Meanwhile, police Major Stan Valchek gets into a feud with stevedore union leader Frank Sobotka over competing donations to their old neighborhood church. Valchek demands a detail to investigate Sobotka. Cedric Daniels, having impressed the major with his work on the Barksdale case, is assigned to lead the detail. As with the previous season, the targets of the investigations are explored and fully realized as characters. Life for the blue-collar men of the port is increasingly hard and work is scarce. As union leader, Sobotka has taken it on himself to reinvigorate the port by convincing politicians to support much-needed initiatives. Lacking the funds needed for this kind of influence, Sobotka has become involved with a smuggling ring. Around him, his son and nephew also turn to crime, as they have few other opportunities to earn money. It becomes clear to the Sobotka detail that the dead girls are related to their investigation, as they were in a container that was supposed to be smuggled through the port. They again use wiretaps to infiltrate the crime ring and slowly work their way up the chain towards The Greek, the mysterious man in charge. But Valchek, upset that their focus has moved beyond Sobotka, gets the FBI involved. The Greek has contacts inside the FBI and starts severing his ties to Baltimore when he learns about the investigation. After a dispute over stolen goods turns violent, Sobotka's son, Ziggy is charged with the murder of one of the Greek's underlings. Sobotka himself is arrested for smuggling; he agrees to work with the detail to help his son, finally seeing his actions as a mistake. However, the Greek learns about this through the FBI and scuppers the case against himself by having Sobotka killed. The investigation ends with the fourteen homicides solved but the perpetrator already dead. Several drug dealers and mid-level smuggling figures tied to the Greek are arrested, but he and his second-in-command escape uncharged and unidentified. The Major is pleased that Sobotka was arrested; the case is seen as a success by the commanding officers, but is viewed as a failure by the detail. Across town, the Barksdale organization continues its business under Stringer while Avon and D'Angelo Barksdale serve prison time. D'Angelo decides to cut ties to his family after his uncle organizes the deaths of several inmates and blames it on a corrupt guard to shave time from his sentence. Eventually Stringer covertly orders D'Angelo killed, faking it as a suicide. Avon is unaware of Stringer's duplicity and mourns the loss of his nephew. Stringer also struggles with the loss of his drug suppliers and bad quality product. He again goes behind Avon's back, giving up half of Avon's most prized territory to a rival named Proposition Joe in exchange for a share of his supply. Avon, unaware of the arrangement, assumes that Joe and other dealers are moving into his territory simply because the Barksdale organization has too few enforcers. He contracts a feared assassin named Brother Mouzone. Stringer deals with this by tricking his old adversary Omar into believing that Mouzone was responsible for the vicious killing of his partner in their feud in season one. Seeking revenge, Omar shoots Mouzone, but realizes Stringer had lied and calls 9-1-1. Mouzone recovers and leaves Baltimore, and Stringer is free to continue his business with Proposition Joe.
Season 3: In the third season, the action focused back on the street and the Barksdale organization but expanded the scope to include the political scene. In addition, a new subplot was introduced to examine the potential positive effects of legalizing the drug trade within the limited boundaries of three uninhabited city blocks, referred to as Hamsterdam. These were continuations of storylines hinted at earlier. The demolition of the towers that had served as the Barksdale organization's prime territory pushes their dealers back out onto the streets of Baltimore. Avon Barksdale is released from prison early, as promised for his role in unveiling the cause of the inmate deaths. Stringer Bell continues his reform of the organization by cooperating with other drug lords, sharing with one another territory, product, and profits. Stringer's proposal is met with a curt refusal from Marlo Stanfield, leader of a new, growing crew. Against Stringer's advice, Avon decides to take Marlo's territory by force, and the two gangs become embroiled in a bitter turf war with multiple deaths. Omar Little continues to rob the Barksdale organization wherever possible. Working with his new boyfriend and two women, he is once more a serious problem. In a heist gone wrong, one of Omar's crew is shot and a Barksdale enforcer is killed. The violence related to the drug trade makes it an obvious choice of investigation for Cedric Daniels' now-permanent Major Case Unit. Councilman Tommy Carcetti begins to prepare himself for a mayoral race. He manipulates a colleague into running against the mayor to split the black vote, secures a capable campaign manager, and starts making headlines for himself. Coming to the end of his career, Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin decides to achieve some real change in the neighborhoods he has long been responsible for. Seeing the spread of drug dealing into previously unscathed areas following the destruction of the towers, he assumes the task of containing the problem. Without the knowledge of central command, he sets up areas where drug trade would go unpunished and cracks down on any traffic elsewhere. His scheme achieves his aims and reduces crime in his district, but is eventually exposed to his superiors and city politicians, including Carcetti, who uses the scandal to make a grandstanding speech. With top brass outraged, Colvin is forced to cease his actions, accept a demotion, and retire from the department on a lower-grade pension. Dennis "Cutty" Wise, once a drug dealer's enforcer, is released from prison alongside Avon. His struggles to adapt to life as a free man show an attempt at personal reform. Cutty tries to work as a manual laborer and then flirts with his former life, going to work for Avon. Finding he no longer has the heart for murder, he eventually uses funding from Avon to set up a boxing gym for neighborhood youths. The Major Case Unit learns that Stringer has been buying real estate and developing it in order to fulfill his dream of being a successful legitimate businessman. However, his lack of experience in the field leads to failure, so he reluctantly refocuses on the drug trade. Believing that the bloody turf war with Marlo is poised to destroy everything the Barksdale crew had worked for, Stringer gives Major Colvin information on Avon's weapons stash. But Stringer is himself being betrayed by Avon: Brother Mouzone had returned to Baltimore and tracked down Omar to join forces. Mouzone tells Avon that his shooting must be avenged. Avon, remembering how Stringer disregarded his order which resulted in Stringer attempting to have Brother Mouzone killed, possibly still furious over D'Angelo's murder (Stringer having finally confessed the truth), and fearing Mouzone's wrath, informs Mouzone of Bell's upcoming visit to his construction site. There, Mouzone and Omar corner him and shoot him to death. Colvin tells McNulty about Avon's hideout, and armed with the information gleaned from selling the Barksdale crew pre-wiretapped disposable cell phones, the detail stages a raid, arresting Avon and most of his underlings. Barksdale's criminal empire lies in ruins, and Marlo's young crew simply moves into their territory. Thus the drug trade in West Baltimore continues with little change.
Season 4: On September 10, 2006, The Wire returned for a fourth season, expanding its scope again to include an examination of the school system. Other major plots include the mayoral race that continues the political storyline begun in season three, and a closer look at Marlo Stanfield's drug gang, which has grown to control most of western Baltimore's trafficking. The show introduces Dukie, Randy, Michael, and Namond, four boys from West Baltimore, as they enter the eighth grade. At the same school, Prez has begun a new career as a math teacher. Despite mentorship from the more seasoned faculty, Prez has difficulties maintaining order and keeping his students focused in the chaotic and sometimes violent classroom. Namond, and later Michael, work as drugrunners for Bodie, who has had middling success selling Proposition Joe's product independently. The cold-blooded Marlo has come to dominate the streets of the west side, using murder and intimidation to make up for his weak-quality drugs and lack of business acumen. His enforcers Chris Partlow and Snoop conceal their numerous victims in boarded-up row houses where the bodies will not be readily discovered. The disappearances of so many known criminals come to mystify both the major crimes unit investigating Marlo and the homicide unit assigned to solve the presumed murders. Marlo coerces Bodie into working under him, and attempts to bring Michael into the organization as well. McNulty has found peace working as a patrolman and living with Beadie Russell, and refuses promotions from Daniels, now a major commanding the Western District. Detectives Kima Greggs and Lester Freamon, as part of the major crimes unit, investigate Avon Barksdale's political donations and serve several key figures with subpoenas. Their work is shut down by Commissioner Ervin Burrell at Mayor Clarence Royce's request, and after being placed under stricter supervision within their unit, both Greggs and Freamon request and receive transfer to the homicide division. Meanwhile, the city's mayoral primary race enters its closing weeks. Royce initially has a seemingly insurmountable lead over challengers Tommy Carcetti and Tony Gray, with a big war chest and major endorsements. Royce's lead begins to fray, however, as his own political machinations turn against him and Carcetti starts to highlight the city's crime problem. This propels Carcetti to victory in the primary, and he easily wins the general election to become Baltimore's new mayor. Carcetti's desire to reduce crime leads him to restrict Burrell's duties and promote the more competent Daniels, whom he is considering later appointing Commissioner. Other familiar characters become involved in the same middle school where Prez works. Howard "Bunny" Colvin joins a research group attempting to study potential future criminals while they are still young. Dennis "Cutty" Wise continues to work with boys in his boxing gym, and accepts a job at the school rounding up truants. Bubbles takes a homeless teenager named Sherrod under his wing. He encourages the boy to attend class, which he fails to do. The two of them later find themselves assaulted and robbed constantly by a persistent drug addict. Prez has a few successes with his students, but some of them start to slip away. Disruptive Namond is removed from class and placed in the research group, where he gradually develops affection and respect for Colvin. Randy reveals to the assistant principal knowledge of a murder in a moment of desperation, leading to his being interrogated by police and thereafter labeled a "snitch" by his classmates. Michael is unresponsive to the adults around him, including Prez, Cutty, and Bodie, who all see promise in him. When Michael feels he must make his hated stepfather leave home in order to protect his little brother, he calls on Chris, the only authority figure whom he thinks he can trust. Dukie, who had been nurtured by Prez, is transferred to high school through social promotion, and thus will have to leave their relationship behind. Proposition Joe engineers a conflict between Omar Little and Marlo in order to convince Marlo to join the New Day Co-Op. After Omar robs Marlo, Marlo frames Omar for a murder and attempts to have him murdered in jail, but Omar manages to beat the charge with the help of Bunk. Omar learns Marlo set him up, and gets revenge on him and Proposition Joe by robbing the entire shipment of the Co-Op. Meanwhile, the co-op members, including Marlo, are furious at Joe for allowing the shipment to be stolen. Marlo demands satisfaction, and as a result, Joe sets up a meet between him and Spiros Vondas, who assuages Marlo's concerns. Having gotten a lead on Joe's connection to the Greeks, Marlo begins investigating them to learn more about their role in bringing narcotics into Baltimore. Freamon discovers the bodies Chris and Snoop had hidden. Bodie offers McNulty testimony against Marlo and his crew, but is shot dead on his corner by a young Stanfield soldier named O-Dog. Sherrod dies after ingesting a poisoned vial of heroin that, unbeknownst to him, Bubbles had prepared for their tormentor. Bubbles turns himself in to the police and tries to hang himself, but he survives and is taken to a detox facility. Michael has now joined the ranks of Marlo's killers and runs one of his corners, with Dukie leaving high school to work there. Randy's house is firebombed by school bullies for his cooperation with the police, leaving his caring foster mother hospitalized and sending him back to a group home. Namond is taken in by Colvin, who recognized the good in him. The major crimes unit from earlier seasons is largely reunited, and they resume their investigation of Marlo Stanfield.
Season 5: HBO announced on September 12, 2006 that it commissioned a fifth and final season consisting of 13 episodes, which was later reduced to ten. Season 5 focuses on the media and media consumption. The show depicts the newspaper The Baltimore Sun, and in fact elements of the plot are taken from accounts of real-life events (such as the Jayson Blair NY Times scandal) and people at the Sun. The theme, according to another interview with Simon, deals with "what stories get told and what don't and why it is that things stay the same." Issues such as the quest for profit, the decrease in the number of reporters, and the end of aspiration for news quality would all be addressed, alongside the theme of homelessness. In the same interview, Simon indicated that no other theme seemed substantial enough to warrant a sixth season, except possibly the large influx of Latinos into Baltimore. He noted, however, that since no writer on the show spoke Spanish or had any intimate knowledge of the city's Latino population, the field work would be too cumbersome. On April 30, 2007, production for season five officially began. Filming wrapped early in the morning of September 1, 2007 and the first episode aired on January 6, 2008. The series finale aired March 9, 2008. 15 months after the fourth season concludes, Mayor Carcetti’s cuts in the police budget to redress the education deficit force the investigation of Marlo Stanfield to shut down. Cedric Daniels secures a detail to refocus on the prosecution of Senator Davis for corruption. Detective McNulty returns to the Homicide unit and to drinking heavily and womanizing out of frustration. McNulty decides to divert resources back to the police department by faking evidence to make it appear that a serial killer is murdering homeless men. The Baltimore Sun newspaper also faces budget cuts and the underfunded newsroom struggles to adequately cover the city, omitting many important stories. Ambitious reporter Scott Templeton is secretly fabricating details of stories. Commissioner Burrell continues to falsify crime statistics until Deputy Commissioner Valchek leaks unmodified figures to Carcetti. Carcetti fires Burrell and positions Daniels to replace him. Templeton falsely implicates Daniels in Burrell's departure and Burrell passes the file on Daniels' history of unexplained assets to politician Nerese Campbell. Free from investigation, Stanfield plots to accumulate more power. He learns from Proposition Joe how to launder money and evade investigation. Once Joe is no longer useful to him, Stanfield has Joe killed and usurps his position with the Greeks and the New Day Co-Op. Stanfield lures his enemy Omar Little out of retirement by having Snoop and Chris Partlow murder Omar's mentor Butchie. Michael Lee continues working as a Stanfield enforcer despite openly questioning orders. Michael uses his earning to provide a home for his friend Dukie and younger brother Bug. Dukie tries to distance himself from the drug trade and take his life on a different path. Omar returns to Baltimore for revenge against Stanfield but is ambushed and is forced to leap from a window to escape. He injures his leg but continues to kill Stanfield organization members, steal and destroy their money and drugs, and spread the word that Stanfield is too cowardly to face him directly. Omar's mission has just begun when he is shot and killed by Kenard, a young boy who deals drugs on a Stanfield corner. Templeton claims to have been contacted by McNulty's fake serial killer. City Editor Gus Haynes becomes suspicious, but his superiors are enamored of Templeton. The story gains momentum and Carcetti spins the resulting attention on homelessness into a key issue in his imminent campaign for Governor and restores funding to the police department. Bubbles is recovering from his drug addiction while living in his sister's basement. He works selling the Sun newspaper and also volunteers at a food kitchen. Bubbles finds it hard to bear his grief over Sherrod's death, but after befriending Sun reporter Mike Fletcher, ultimately opens up to his Narcotics Anonymous group about the boy's death. Fletcher writes a profile of Bubbles. Disgraced police officer Thomas "Herc" Hauk now works as an investigator for Stanfield's attorney Maurice Levy. Herc leaks Stanfield's phone number to the police department. Bunk is disgusted with McNulty's serial killer scheme and tries to have Lester Freamon reason with McNulty. Freamon helps McNulty to perpetuate the lie and uses the funds for an illegal wiretap on Stanfield. Bunk distances himself from them and resumes working the vacant house murders. Bunk's efforts lead to a murder warrant against Partlow for killing Michael's stepfather. Freamon and Leander Sydnor gather enough evidence to arrest Stanfield and most of his top lieutenants, seizing a large quantity of drugs. Stanfield suspects that Michael is an informant, and orders Snoop to murder him. Michael realizes he is being set up and kills Snoop instead. Michael separates from his makeshift family for their protection. He persuades an Aunt in Howard County to take in Bug with money and a promise of more to come. With his support system gone Dukie lives with drug addicts. Michael begins a career as a stick-up man. McNulty is unable to end his elaborate lie and cannot enjoy Freamon's success. McNulty feels guilty about interfering with crime scenes and the wasted manpower expended on the fictitious homeless murders and tells Kima Greggs about his fabrications to prevent her wasting time on the case. Greggs tells Daniels about the scheme. Daniels and Rhonda Pearlman take this news to Carcetti, who orders a cover-up because of the issue's importance to his campaign. Davis is acquitted, but Freamon uses the threat of federal prosecution to blackmail him for information. Freamon learns that Levy is involved in selling copies of sealed indictments to drug lords and tells Pearlman. Levy is thrilled when Herc intimates that the source listed in the Stanfield arrest warrants could be an illegal wiretap. Pearlman approaches Levy to negotiate a deal and he manages to reduce his own corruption to a bargaining chip because of the wiretap. Levy ensures Stanfield's conditional release while his subordinates will have to accept long sentences. Pearlman insists that Stanfield must retire from drug trafficking and Stanfield sells the connection to The Greeks back to the Co-Op. Stanfield plans to become a businessman with his profits but cannot resist the lure of the corner. As the cover-up begins a copy cat killing occurs and McNulty is aghast at the consequences of his actions, but quickly identifies and arrests the culprit in a final act of police work. Pearlman tells McNulty and Freamon that they can no longer be allowed to do investigative work and warns of criminal charges if the scandal becomes public; both detectives opt to retire. Haynes exposes Templeton but the managing editors ignore the fabrications and demote anyone critical of their star reporter. Carcetti pressures Daniels to falsify crime statistics to aid his campaign. Daniels refuses and Campbell intervenes, threatening to expose his history. Daniels decides to step down quietly and promotes Ellis Carver to lieutenant before his departure. As McNulty faces the future without his career he gazes over the city and scenes from the past and the future flash by: Freamon enjoys retirement; Templeton wins a Pulitzer; Carcetti becomes Governor; Haynes is sidelined to the copy desk and replaced by Fletcher; Campbell appoints Valchek as commissioner; Dukie injects heroin; Michael becomes a stickup boy; Pearlman becomes a judge and Daniels a defense attorney; Bubbles is allowed upstairs where he enjoys a family dinner; Chris serves his life sentence alongside Wee-Bey; the drug trade continues; and the people of Baltimore go on with their lives.
The Wire is unusual in using primarily diegetic music; that is, all music must emanate from a source within the scene. For example, police bars play Irish music (in particular the song "Body of an American" by the Pogues is usually played when showing police wakes in the show), while the street gangs play rap in their cars. This rule is occasionally breached, notably for the season-ending montages and occasionally with a brief overlap of the closing theme and the final shot. The opening theme is "Way Down in the Hole", a gospel- and blues-inspired song originally written by Tom Waits for his 1987 album Franks Wild Years. Each season uses a different recording of it against a different opening sequence, with the theme being performed, in order, by The Blind Boys of Alabama, Waits himself, The Neville Brothers, "DoMaJe" and Steve Earle. Season four's version of "Way Down in the Hole" was arranged and recorded specifically for the show, and is performed by five Baltimore teenagers: Ivan Ashford, Markel Steele, Cameron Brown, Tariq Al-Sabir, and Avery Bargasse. Earle, who performed the fifth season's version, is also a member of the cast, playing the recovering drug addict Walon. The closing theme is "The Fall", composed by Blake Leyh, who is also the show's music supervisor. During season finales, a song is played before the closing scene in a montage showing the major characters' lives continuing in the aftermath of the narrative. The first season montage is played over "Step by Step" by Jesse Winchester, the second "Feel Alright" by Steve Earle, the third "Fast Train" written by Van Morrison and performed by Solomon Burke, the fourth "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" written by Dr. John and performed by Paul Weller, and the fifth uses an extended version of "Way Down In The Hole" by The Blind Boys of Alabama, the same version of the song used as the opening theme for the first season. While the songs reflect the mood of the sequence, their lyrics are usually only loosely tied to the visual shots. In the commentary track to episode 37, "Mission Accomplished", executive producer David Simon says: "I hate it when somebody purposely tries to have the lyrics match the visual. It brutalizes the visual in a way to have the lyrics dead on point. ... Yet at the same time it can’t be totally off point. It has to glance at what you're trying to say." Two soundtrack albums, called The Wire: "...and all the pieces matter" and Beyond Hamsterdam, were released on January 8, 2008 on Nonesuch Records. The former features music from all five seasons of the series and the latter includes local Baltimore artists exclusively. The first season received positive reviews from critics, some calling it superior to HBO's better-known "flagship" drama series such as The Sopranos and Six Feet Under. One reviewer felt that the show was partially a retread of themes from HBO and David Simon's earlier works but still valuable viewing and described the series as particularly resonant because it parallels the war on terror through the chronicling of the war on drugs. Another review postulated that the series might suffer because of its reliance on profanity and slowly drawn-out plot, but was largely positive about the show's characters and intrigue. Despite the critical acclaim, The Wire has received poor Nielsen Ratings, which Simon attributes to the complexity of the plot, a poor time slot, heavy use of esoteric slang, particularly among the gangster characters and a predominantly black cast. Critics felt the show was testing the attention span of its audience and felt that it was mistimed in the wake of the launch of the successful crime drama The Shield on FX. However, anticipation for a release of the first season on DVD was high at Entertainment Weekly. The Guardian described the second season as even more powerful than the first and praised it for deconstructing the show's central foundations with a willingness to explore new areas. One reviewer with the Boston Phoenix felt that the subculture of the docks failed to come to life as well as that of the housing projects. However, the review continued to praise the writers for creating a realistic world and populating it with an array of interesting characters. At the close of the third season, The Wire still struggled to maintain its ratings and the show faced possible cancellation. Creator David Simon blamed the show's low ratings in part on its competition against Desperate Housewives and worried that expectations for HBO dramas had changed following the success of The Sopranos. The critical response to the third season remained positive. Entertainment Weekly named The Wire the best show of 2004, describing it as "the smartest, deepest and most resonant drama on TV." They credited the complexity of the show for its poor ratings The Baltimore City Paper was so concerned that the show might be cancelled that it published a list of ten reasons to keep it on the air, including strong characterization, Omar Little, an unabashedly honest representation of real world problems, and its unique status as "broadcast literature." It also worried that the loss of the show would have a negative impact on Baltimore's economy. As the fourth season was poised to begin, almost two years after the previous season's end, Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that The Wire "has tackled the drug war in this country as it simultaneously explores race, poverty and 'the death of the American working class,' the failure of political systems to help the people they serve and the tyranny of lost hope. Few series in the history of television have explored the plight of inner-city African Americans and none—not one—has done it as well." Meanwhile, The New York Times called the fourth season of The Wire "its best season yet." Doug Elfman of the Chicago Sun-Times was more reserved in his praise, calling it the "most ambitious" show on television, but faulting it for its complexity and the slow development of the plotline. The Los Angeles Times took the rare step of devoting an editorial to the show, stating that "even in what is generally acknowledged to be something of a golden era for thoughtful and entertaining dramas—both on cable channels and on network TV—The Wire stands out." TIME Magazine especially praised the fourth season, stating that "no other TV show has ever loved a city so well, damned it so passionately, or sung it so searingly." The website Metacritic, which gathers reviews from published news sources and translates them into a percentage score, has assigned to The Wire's fourth season a weighted average score of 98%, the highest for any television show since Metacritic began tracking them in 2005. Several reviewers have called it the best show on television, including TIME, Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian, the Chicago Tribune, Slate, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Philadelphia Daily News. Charlie Brooker, a columnist for the British newspaper The Guardian has been particularly copious in his praise of the show, in both his column "Screen Burn" and his BBC Four television series Screenwipe, in which he often speaks highly of it, calling it possibly the greatest show of the last 20 years. In January 2008, Presidential hopeful Barack Obama was quoted in the Las Vegas Sun as saying that The Wire is the best show on television. In the May 4, 2008 issue of the Sunday New York Times Magazine, in a profile of Andrew Stanton, the Oscar-winning director and writer of Finding Nemo and A Bug's Life was quoted as saying that The Wire is one of his two favorite TV shows (the other being Battlestar Galactica) because, "There will never be a smarter show." HBO aired the first four seasons of the show in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006, respectively. New episodes were shown once a week, occasionally skipping one or two weeks in favor of other programming. Starting with the fourth season, subscribers to the HBO On Demand service were able to see each episode of the season six days earlier. American basic cable network BET also airs the show. BET adds commercial breaks, blurs some nudity, and mutes the word fuck and its derivatives. Much of the waterfront storyline from the second season is edited out from the BET broadcasts. In the United Kingdom, the show has been broadcast on FX. In a world first, British newspaper The Guardian made the first episode of the first season available to stream on its website for a brief period. In Ireland, season 5 of the show is currently broadcast on Monday nights on TG4 and season 1 is now being shown on Channel 6. In Australia, the fourth season is currently broadcast on the free-to-air Nine Network at varying times soon after midnight on Wednesdays as well as seasons 1 and 2 on the cable television channel FOX8. It also airs in France, under the title Sur écoute ("wiretapped") on the pay channel Jimmy. The Polish channel TVN shows the series under the name Prawo ulicy ("law of the street"). The Swedish public service network SVT has shown the first four seasons of the series. In Norway, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) aired the first season of the show in the autumn of 2007. In Israel, the show is broadcast on the Xtra Hot channel, under the name HaSmuya (הסמויה - The Covert Unit). The show airs in Canada, on The Movie Network, Movie Central and OMTV channels. In Finland the series is shown on Subtv and MTV3 channels under the name Langalla ("On the wire"). The show has been broadcast in Hungary on Duna TV since March 2007 under the name A drót ("the wire").
The Wire was on TV for five seasons, from 2002-2008; and throughout its runs people said the same damn thing over and over again: “The Wire is the best show on TV.” Hell, it was said by so many critics so many times that it almost became cliché. However, there was a very good reason they said it so often: they were right. The Wire was the smartest and most realistic show on TV and will probably hold that distinction for a long time. Through a sprawling, Balzac-ian network of cops, their targets, and the politicians and bureaucrats around them, The Wire tells the story of a declining industrial city (Baltimore, but it could be many others) and the people struggling amid (the cops), or profiting off of (lawyers, politicians, and criminals), its downfall. In The Wire's view, the world is not divided cop-vs.-robber or black-vs.-white so much as machine-vs.-individual; officer, teacher, drug soldier, or pol, people are screwed by institutions that discard them when they're used up and reward inertia over innovation. The best chance, The Wire suggests, is for free agents like its unlikely hero, the street bandit Omar, who robs drug dealers and answers to no one. However, the series wasn’t just a fantastically realistic cop show; I mean it was. It had intriguing plots (each season focused on one aspect of the city: the police and the criminals (Season 1), the docks and unions (Season 2), the politicians (Season 3), the public schools (Season 4), and the media (Season 5), great characters (I would list a few, but there are too many good ones to pick from), and well-written realistic episodes. But, the show was also funny and the opposite of nihilist, giving everyone from detectives to junkies dignity (hell, the most sympathetic character was the junkie who went clean Bubbles). Occasionally, it even offers a glimpse of something like hope, which is all the sweeter for being harder earned. All in all, David Simon’s unflinching take on Baltimore was epic in scope and journalistic in detail, using a police wiretap as a metaphor for the dizzyingly complex web that connects the drug-infested streets to the police, schools, and politicians. It’s a shame The Wire never got as much attention as HBO’s other top-notch dramas The Sopranos or Six Feet Under. In ways, it was a lot better and a lot more human than its peers.
|
|