The Terrible Catsafterme

SEASON 1 – ABC

Theme music composed by George Aliceson Tipton, narrated by Rod Roddy

• 001. Episode #1.1 – 9/13/1977
  • We are introduced to the Tates and the Campbells, two families living in Dunn’s River, Connecticut. Chester (Robert Manden) and Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) are an affluent couple, with three children: Corinne (Diana Canova), Eunice (Jennifer Salt), and Billy (Jimmy Baio). Their cantankerous butler Benson (Robert Guillaume) can’t stand Chester, hasn’t spoken to Eunice in twelve years, but has a soft spot for Billy, who is concerned that he has a pimple before a big date. Jessica’s father, simply known as The Major (Arthur Peterson) still believes that World War II is going on…inside the Tate house. Mary Campbell (Cathryn Damon) is Jessica’s sister and has re-married to Burt (Richard Mulligan) following her ex-husband Johnny’s suicide. Mary has two sons who don’t get along with Burt, Danny (Ted Wass), who may be involved with the Italian mafia, and Jodie Dallas (Billy Crystal), who by all appearances is gay, much to Burt’s chagrin, although Danny will not accept it. It turns out that Burt has actually murdered Mary’s ex-husband because he was a criminal, which has caused him to become impotent. We also learn that  Chester is having an affair unbeknownst to his wife, who is also having an affair with tennis instructor Peter (Robert Urich), who in turn is having an affair with Corinne. Rod Roddy narrates each episode. 8/12/14

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SEASON 1 – NBC

Created by Paul Simms

Theme music composed by Mike Post

• 001. Pilot – 3/25/1995
  • Dave Nelson (Dave Foley) moves from his home in Wisconsin to New York City after accepting a job as news director at NewsRadio station WNYX from station owner Jimmy James (Stephen Root). As he meets station employees – reporter Lisa Miller (Maura Tierney), news co-anchors Bill McNeal (Phil Hartman) and Catherine Duke (Ella Joyce), news reporter Matthew Brock (Andy Dick), and secretary Beth (Vicki Lewis) – he realizes that no one has told the current station manager Ed Harlow (Kurt Fuller) that he is being fired. Jimmy tells everyone that Dave is the new sports announcer, and won’t reveal his true job until Dave is able to fire Ed. When Bill and Lisa – who also had hoped to become the news director – argue over who is going to interview Al Gore, Ed quits – but it is only temporary. Then after Ed hears Dave try and fumble through a sports newscast, Ed fires Dave. By this time, everyone but Ed knows that he is fired and all are anxious to tell him. Dave finally tells Ed, and he goes quietly, thinking that he is lined up to be news director at the competing WXYP…which Lisa reveals has gone out of business. 8/12/14

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SEASON 1 – Showtime

Created by Jenji Kohan

Theme song: “Little Boxes” written and sung by Malvina Reynolds

• 001. You Can’t Miss the Bear – 8/7/2005
  • Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise-Parker) is widow living in the town of Agrestic, a suburb of Los Angeles, California, with her two sons 15-year-old Silas (Hunter Parrish) and 10-year-old Shane (Alexander Gould). Although she appears to be a normal soccer mother involved with the school board, she is also dealing marijuana to inhabitants of the town, which she gets from her black female supplier Heylia James (Tonye Patona), who is assisted by her daughter Vaneeta (Indigo), son Keeyon (Tyrone Mitchell), and nephew Conrad Shepard (Romany Malco). One of Nancy’s most frequent customers is Doug Wilson (Kevin Nealon), an accountant and City Councilman for Agrestic, whose teenage son Josh (Justin Chatwin) is one of Nancy’s rival dealers. Silas is dating Quinn (Haley Hudson), the daughter of Nancy’s shallow friend Celia Hodes (Elizabeth Perkins). Quinn asks Nancy’s permission to have sex in the Botwin house, while Celia tries to get Nancy to use a Nanny-cam to prevent such a thing from happening. Nancy promises Celia that the kids will not have sex under her roof, but they end up having sex under a missing skylight that Shane has fallen through. Shane has bully problems, chief among them is Devon Ressler (Adam Taylor Gordon), who Shane ends up attacking with a paint gun. Nancy tries to convince Josh not to sell drugs to children, but when he won’t stop, she threatens to tell his father when she finds out that he is having gay sex with her neighbor Hiram Wells (John Kelly). Celia finds out that her husband Dean (Andy Milder) is having an affair with Helen Chin (Jina Song) when she views it on her Nanny-cam. With the craziness going on around her, plus the fact that her husband Judah dropped dead of a heart attack while jogging, Nancy visits the James house and breaks down crying in Conrad’s arms. Renee Victor is the Botwin maid Lupita. Allie Grant is Celia’s daughter Isabelle. Clayton Rohner appears as a soccer coach. Tressa DiFiglia is Maggie. 8/19/15

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SEASON 1 – ABC

Theme music by Dan Foliart & Howard Pearl

• 001. Life and Stuff – 10/18/1988
  • Dan (John Goodman) and Roseanne Connor (Roseanne Barr) head a working class family in Lanford, Illinois. They have three children Becky (Lecy Goranson), Darlene (Sara Gilbert), and D.J. (Sal Barone). Dan works independently in construction, while Roseanne works a factory job at Wellman Plastics, along with her sister Jackie Haris (Laurie Metcalf). The family bickers with one another while getting ready for the day, and Roseanne is frustrated that she has to exchange a backpack for Darlene and having a meeting with Darlene’s history teacher Miss Crane (Judy Prescott). She has trouble leaving work early, which her boss Booker Brooks (George Clooney) reluctantly allows. Miss Crane is concerned that Darlene is barking like a dog in class, but Roseanne thinks it is normal behavior. When she gets home she finds out that Dan did not get the job he was bidding on and spent the whole day helping a friend in the garage, causing them to get in a fight about the lack of help she gets around the house. The fight is interrupted when Darlene cuts her finger, and have they act as a team to get her bandaged up, they both calm down. Later while looking at the boat that Dan is building, they show their romantic side for each other. Natalie West is Roseanne’s co-worker Crystal Anderson. Charlayne Woodard is Vonda Green. Ron Perkins is Pete Wilkins. Evelina Fernandez is Juanita Herrera. Anne Faulkner is Sylvia Foster. 8/19/15

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SEASON 1 – NBC

Created by Greg Garcia. 

Theme song: “What Comes Around Goes Around” by Jeff Silbar and Dillon O’Brian

• 001. Pilot – 9/20/2005
  • In the county of Camden, Earl J. Hickey (Jason Lee) is a petty thief who marries a woman named Joy (Jaime Pressly) after a one-night stand. Joy has a baby of her own named Dodge (Louis T. Moyle) on the way, and then cheats with their black friend, who works at their hangout Ernie’s Crab Shack, Darnell “Crabman” Turner, with whom Joy leaves Earl for, and has another child, Earl Jr. (Trey Carlisle). Earl wins $100,000 on a scratch-off lottery ticket, but while cheering, he is hit by a car and loses the ticket. While in the hospital, Earl watches The Carson Daly Show in which Carson Daly (himself) tells guest Trace Adkins (himself) that he owes the success in his life to karma. Earl makes a list of 259 wrongs that he has committed in his life and decides to make as much retribution as he can. Earl moves into a motel with his brother Randy (Ethan Suplee), who begins an affair with the motel maid Catalina (Nadine Velazquez). While picking up trash in the parking lot, the wind blows his lotto ticket back to him. Randy helps Earl track down Kenny James (Gregg Binkley), a classmate Earl used to pick on mercilessly as a kid (Noah Crawford), through Kenny’s parents (Frank Collison, Laura Gardner). At first Earl tries to fix Kenny up with prostitute Patty (Dale Dickey), but when he finds out that Kenny is gay, he decides to forget about helping him. Karma intervenes again and causes Joy to return with sights set on half of his winnings. He resumes helping Kenny by taking him to a gay bar, which restores Kenny’s confidence. Earl crosses his first item off his list. Leo Fitzpatrick is Earl’s friend Sonny. 8/18/15

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