Single Season Sitcoms of the 1990s

During the “Must See TV” 1990s, Americans enjoyed such immensely popular sitcoms as Friends, Seinfeld, Home Improvement and The Drew Carey Show. Shows that did not make the ratings cut numbered in the hundreds—the emergence of new networks and cable channels airing original programming resulted in a vast increase in short-lived sitcoms over the previous decade. Some of these “flops” were actually quite good and deserved a better fate.
The author revisits them—along with the “dramedies” of the day—with detailed entries providing production and broadcast information, along with critical analyses, and recollections by cast and crew members. A subsection highlights sitcoms that returned for an abbreviated second season. Dozens of cast and crew photographs are included.

Bob Leszczak has spent the last four decades as an on-air radio personality. A frequent TV and film extra, he is the former writer/producer of a weekly five-hour syndicated music trivia program called “Solid Gold Scrapbook.” He lives in Manchester, New Jersey.

Bob Leszczak
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 295
Bibliographic Info: 73 photos, appendices, index
Copyright Date: 2018
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7077-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3198-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments  xi
Preface  1
Single Season Sitcoms of the 1990s
Action 5
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. 6
Against the Law 8
Algo’s Factory 8
Aliens in the Family 9
All American Girl 9
All New Dennis the Menace (animated) 11
Ally 12
Alright Already 13
The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys 13
American Dreamer 13
Apartment 2F 14
The Army Show 14
Arresting Behavior 15
Arsenio 15
Ask Harriet 16
Austin Stories 18
Babes 19
Bailey Kipper’s P.O.V. 20
Bakersfield P.D. 20
Big Wave Dave’s 21
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures 22
Billy 23
Black Tie Affair 23
Bless This House 24
Blue Skies 24
Bonkers (animated) 26
The Bonnie Hunt Show 27
The Boys 27
The Boys Are Back 28
The Bradys 28
Breaker High 30
The Brian Benben Show 30
Bringing Up Jack 31
Brothers Flub (animated) 32
Brother’s Keeper 32
Buddies 34
The Building 35
Built to Last 35
Café Americain 36
Camp Wilder 37
Campus Cops 37
Can’t Hurry Love 38
Capitol Critters (animated) 38
Champs 39
Charlie Hoover 39
Chicago Sons 40
The Chimp Channel 41
City 41
Claude’s Crib 41
Cleghorne! 42
The Closer 42
Cold Feet 43
Common Law 43
Conrad Bloom 44
Costello 44
The Crew 45
Cupid 45
Cutters 46
Daddy Dearest 46
Daddy’s Girls 46
Damon 48
Danger Theatre 48
Delta 48
DiResta 49
Double Rush 50
Downtown (animated) 51
Drexell’s Class 51
Dudley 53
Dumb and Dumber (animated) 54
Dweebs 54
Encore Encore 54
Everything’s Relative 55
The Faculty 55
Family Album 56
Family Dog (animated) 56
A Family for Joe 57
Family Man 57
Family Rules 58
The Fanelli Boys 58
Ferris Bueller 59
First Time Out 60
Fish Police (animated) 60
The 5 Mrs. Buchanans 61
Flash Forward 61
Flesh ’n’ Blood 62
Flying Blind 63
Frannie’s Turn 63
Freaks and Geeks 64
George 64
George & Leo 64
The George Wendt Show 67
Get Smart 67
Going Places 68
Going to Extremes 69
The Golden Palace 70
Good & Evil 71
Good Company 72
Good Grief 73
The Good Life 74
Good News 75
Good Sports 75
Goode Behavior 76
Goof Troop (animated) 76
Great Scott! 77
The Gregory Hines Show 78
Grown Ups 78
Guys Like Us 78
Guys Next Door 79
Hardball 79
Harts of the West 80
Head Over Heels 82
The Heights 82
Here and Now 82
The High Life 83
High Society 85
Hiller and Diller 85
His & Hers 86
Hitz 87
Holding the Baby 88
Home Court 88
Home Fires 89
Home Free 90
Homeboys in Outer Space 90
House Rules 90
Hudson Street 90
If Not for You 92
Ink 93
It Had to Be You 94
The Jackie Thomas Show 97
Jenny 98
Joe’s Life 99
Johnny Bago 101
Julie 101
Katie Joplin 101
Kelly Kelly 102
The Last Frontier 103
Laurie Hill 103
A League of Their Own 103
Lenny 104
Life … and Stuff 104
Life with Roger 104
Life’s Work 105
Little Rosey (animated) 107
Living in Captivity 107
Local Heroes 107
Lost on Earth 108
The Louie Show 108
Love and Marriage 109
Love & Money 110
Lush Life 110
Madman of the People 111
Maggie 111
Maggie Winters 112
Man in the Family 113
Man of the People 113
Married People 113
The Marshall Chronicles 114
The Martin Short Show 115
Maximum Bob 116
Maybe This Time 117
Me and the Boys 118
Meego 119
The Mighty Jungle 121
The Mike ­O’Malley Show 121
Minor Adjustments 121
Misery Loves Company 124
Mission Hill (animated) 124
Mr. Rhodes 124
Molloy 125
Monty 126
Moon Over Miami 126
Morton & Hayes 126
Muddling Through 127
Muscle 127
My Brother and Me 128
My Guys 128
My ­So-Called Life 129
My Talk Show 129
My Wildest Dreams 129
New Addams Family 130
New Attitude 130
Normal Life 130
Odd Man Out 131
The Office 131
Oh, Grow Up 131
On Our Own 134
On the Air 135
Out All Night 136
Out of the Blue 137
Over the Top 137
Pacific Station 138
Parenthood 139
Partners 140
Party Girl 140
Pauly 141
Payne 141
Pearl 142
Phenom 142
Pig Sty 144
Piggsburg Pigs! (animated) 146
Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain (animated) 146
Platypus Man 146
Police Academy: The Series 147
Power Play 147
The Preston Episodes 148
Pride & Joy 148
Princesses 149
P.S. I Luv U 149
Public Morals 150
Pursuit of Happiness 150
Rachel Gunn, R.N. 151
Reunited 152
Rhythm & Blues 152
Room for Romance 154
The Royal Family 154
Running the Halls 155
Saved by the Bell: The College Years 155
Scorch 156
The Second Half 157
The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer 157
The Secret Lives of Men 157
704 Hauser 158
Shaky Ground 158
Shasta McNasty 159
The Show 159
Sibs 160
Simon 160
The Simple Life 161
The Sinbad Show 162
Singer & Sons 162
Social Studies 163
Someone Like Me 163
Something Wilder 164
Sons and Daughters 166
South Central 166
Sports Monster 169
Spy Game 169
Stand by Your Man 169
Stark Raving Mad 170
Stat 170
Station Zero (animated) 171
Strange Luck 171
Style and Substance 172
Sugar and Spice 172
Sunday Dinner 173
Super Adventure Team 174
Super Dave’s Vegas Spectacular 174
Sydney 174
Tall Hopes 175
Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills 175
Teech 176
Teen Angel 177
Temporarily Yours 177
Tequila & Bonetti 177
Thanks 178
That’s Life 179
Thea 180
Tom 181
The Tom Show 181
The Tony Danza Show 182
Too Something 182
Top of the Heap 183
Townies 184
The Trouble with Larry 185
Two of a Kind 186
Uncle Buck 187
Union Square 190
Vinnie & Bobby 192
Walter & Emily 193
What a Dummy 194
A Whole New Ballgame 194
Wild Oats 195
Wish Kid (animated) 196
Wish You Were Here 196
Women of the House 196
Woops! 197
Work with Me 198
Working Girl 199
Working It Out 200
You Take the Kids 200
You Wish 201
You’re the One 201
Appendix A: Shows with a Short and/or Vastly Different Second Season
Almost Perfect 203
Baby Talk 204
Bagdad Café 204
Beggars and Choosers 206
Between Brothers 207
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures (animated) 208
Bob 208
Boston Common 212
Brooklyn Bridge 213
Brotherly Love 214
The Critic (animated) 215
Davis Rules 215
Dilbert (animated) 216
Down Home 216
Down the Shore 217
Eerie, Indiana 218
Fired Up 219
Fudge 220
The George Carlin Show 220
Get a Life 222
Getting By 223
Getting Personal 224
Good Advice 224
Grand 225
Grapevine (1992 and 2000) 226
Hi, Honey, I’m Home 228
Hope & Gloria 229
It’s Like, You Know… 231
The Jeff Foxworthy Show 232
Kirk 233
Ladies’ Man 234
Lateline 235
Love Boat—The Next Wave 237
Men Behaving Badly 239
The Mommies 241
Mother Goose and Grimm (animated) 241
Movie Stars 242
Muppets Tonight 242
Ned and Stacey 243
Ned’s Newt (animated) 246
Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher 246
The Powers That Be 247
Room for Two 248
Salute Your Shorts 249
Sherman Oaks 249
Something So Right 250
Soul Man 251
Sparks 252
Thunder Alley 253
The Torkelsons 253
True Colors 254
USA High 255
Where I Live 256
Working 256
Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane 257
Appendix B: Not So Many Happy Returns   258
Index   261

• “Fans of ill-fated 1990s shows such as Freaks and Geeks are in for a treat—McFarland devotes an entire volume to sitcoms that lasted no more than one season. While there’s plenty of memorable fare there are plenty of lesser known broadcasts, too.”—Library Journal
• “This is a great book—and more than another ‘just the facts ma’am’ reference book…this book is pure gold…jam-packed with tons of useful information. I loved this book. No TV reference library is complete without it”—Lee Goldberg, author and producer.