The Terrible Catsafterme

SEASON 1 – CBS

Theme song: “The Nanny Named Fran” written by Ann Hampton Callaway, performed by Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway. NOTE: The pilot lead-in utilized the song “If My Friends Could See Me Now” as performed by Gwen Verdon, which was subsequently dropped and replaced in syndicated releases of the pilot episode

• 001. Pilot – 11/3/1993
  • Outspoken Jewish woman Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) is employed as a bridal consultant in Flushing, New York until her boss and boyfriend Danny Imperiali (Jonathan Penner) breaks up with and fires her. Fran begins selling door-to-door cosmetics and stumbles onto the home of widowed British Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy). The butler Niles (Daniel Davis) mistakes Fran for a nanny applicant, and although she is exposed as having no credentials, Sheffield gives her a shot for the weekend since he is hosting a party, and his business partner C.C. Babcock (Lauren Lane), who is clearly interested in Maxwell beyond work, doesn’t want the kids around for it. Fran immediately moves into the mansion and tries to blend into the family by eating at the breakfast table with Sheffield and his three children, the timid Maggie (Nicholle Tom), the impudent Brighton (Benjamin Salisbury), and the youngest Grace (Madeline Zima), who is already in therapy. Her first act is to ignore the wishes of their father and C.C. by getting them prepared to attend the party. Sheffield is initially shocked when they show up, but their polished behavior quickly wins him over and he admits that the party went well. However when he catches Maggie kissing Eddie (James Marsden), one of the catering company’s workers, he blows his top, and ends up firing Fran when she tries to interfere. Maxwell later visits Fran at the home of her mother Sylvia (Renee Taylor) and asks Fran to come back with the stipulation that each of them try to understand the other’s viewpoints on things a little better. Rachel Chagall is Fran’s friend Val Toriello. Dee Dee Rescher is Dottie. 1/17/16

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SEASON 1 – NBC

Created by Hal Kanter

Opening theme song composed by Elmer Bernstein.

• 001. Mama’s Man – 9/17/1968
  • Julia Baker (Diahann Carroll) is an African-American widow whose husband Walter was killed during the Vietnam War, living in Los Angeles and trying to find a job to support herself and her six year old son Corey (Marc Copage). Julia leaves Corey alone at home to go for a job interview with a doctor’s office at AstroSpace Industries for a nursing position. Her interview is with Mr. Colton (Whit Bissell), who immediately rejects her on the basis of her color. Meanwhile at home, Corey, who has been told not to open the door for anyone, has let in the child living downstairs, Earl J. Waggedorn (Michael Link). When Julia returns home she finds a bloody knife on the floor and in a panic, follows the trail downstairs to the Waggedorn apartment where she meets Earl’s mother Marie (Betty Beaird). Earl has a minor cut from trying to cut an orange, but Marie is furious that Corey has been left alone. She soon settles down and offers to babysit Corey. Julia is called back by Dr. Morton Chegley (Lloyd Nolan), who is angry at Colton for dismissing Julia so quickly when the office is in such need of help. He doesn’t seem to care about her race, and calls her back for another interview. Lonely for a father, Corey attempts to fix Julia up with a TV repairman named Dick Privet (Lloyd Haynes), who he meets at the Waggedorn apartment, by unplugging the television. It turns out that Dick is married with a family, but Julia remains optimistic about their future now that she thinks she’ll be getting the job. Charles Lampkin is janitor Charley. William O’Connell is the messenger. Steve Pendleton is the other TV repairman.  1/17/16

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SEASON 1 – NBC

Created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry

Theme music composed by Irving Szathmary 

• 001. Mr. Big – 9/18/1965
  • Agent 86 Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) is called away from an orchestra concert in Washington D.C. to report to the headquarters of CONTROL, a secret U.S. counter-intelligence agency, for his assignment from the Chief (Edward Platt). He is told to meet Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) at the airport and then to retrieve the stolen Inthermo, a weapon that can convert heat waves into a destructive power, that had been invented by Professor Hugo Dante (Vito Scotti). Mr. Big, agent of KAOS, the international organization of evil, has stolen it and is demanding one million dollars or he will begin to destroy large U.S. cities. Smart leaves with his dog K-13 (otherwise known as Fang, played by Red) and meets up with 99. The pair head to Dante’s lab and encounter his assistant Zelinka (Janine Gray), and a rubber banana that leads them to a novelty store where Mr. Big attempts to evaporate Smart with the Inthermo. Smart notes a fake garbage scow outside the window of the building, on which they find Mr. Big (Michael Dunn), a dwarf, and the Inthermo pointed at the Statue of Liberty. Dante is also on board and informs Smart and 99 that he rigged the Inthermo to detonate when it is fired. The ship, along with Mr. Big, are blown up, while Smart and 99 escape in a lifeboat. NOTE: This pilot episode is the only one that was filmed in black and white. 1/13/14 Read the rest of this entry »

SEASON 1 – TV Land

Created by Mark Reisman

Theme music by Gabriel Mann

• 001. Pilot – 11/30/2011
  • New York City divorce attorney Holly Franklin (Kristen Johnston) has rented an apartment she owns right across the hall from her current apartment to two of her former divorced clients, womanizing sports agent Phil Chase (Donald Faison) and lazy online seller Haskell Lutz (Wayne Knight), and now offers the third bedroom in the apartment to recent divorcee, dentist Stuart Gardner (David Alan Basche). Although Stuart tries to fit in, his overly friendly nature grates on Phil’s nerves, especially when Stuart lets in his stalker Sandy (Edi Patterson), until he finally confronts Stuart and pushes him to move out. However, when Phil runs into his friend Bree Miller (Golden Brooks) whom he’d like to date, he realizes he will need Stuart because Bree has a friend named Jill (Beth Lacke) with her and Bree will only go out if Phil gets her a date as well. Stuart and Alicia try their best, but since both of them are recent divorcees, they end up just crying together. Stuart runs out on the date to go talk to his ex-wife Lorna. Phil knows that Lorna is now dating someone else, so he reluctantly ends his date with Bree to go stop Stuart. He is too late before he sees his ex kissing another man, but it touches Stuart that his new friends tried to rescue him and spare his feelings. Stuart knows that he’s really moving on when he refers to Lorna as his ‘ex-wife.’ Kelly Stables is Holly’s short assistant Eden. Rebecca Larsen is Alicia. 1/15/16

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SEASON 1 – CBS

Created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas

Theme music: “Hey Beautiful” by The Solids

• 001. Pilot – 9/19/2005
  • In the year 2030, Ted Mosby (voiced by Bob Saget) relates to his son (David Henrie) and daughter (Lyndsy Fonseca) tales of his youth which promises to culminate in how he met their mother. Via flashback, he begins his tale with his younger self (Josh Radnor) finding out that his best friends Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segal), with whom he shares a New York apartment, and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan) are getting engaged. The proposal goes well despite the fact that the cork from the bottle of champagne hits in her the eye and she winds up with a patch. But for Ted, the proposal causes a panic that he isn’t dating anyone, so his other best friend Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) takes him out to look for women. He immediately meets a viable candidate in TV reporter Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders). They hit it off, bonding at the restaurant over a joke about a blue French horn, but when she is called away for work, his friends chastise him for not kissing her goodnight. His friends accompany him to her apartment and wait with cab driver Ranjit (Marshall Manesh), and he seems to be doing well with her again, until he lets it slip that he is falling in love with her on their first date. She is taken aback and Ted leaves, again without a kiss. 2030 Ted reveals to his kids that this was how he met their ‘Aunt’ Robin. Joe Nieves is Carl MacLaren, the bartender at MacLaren’s Pub. Monique Edwards is Robin’s producer. 1/11/14

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