All's Fair
| All's Fair | |
|---|---|
 Crenna and Peters | |
| Created by | Norman Lear |
| Starring |
Richard Crenna Bernadette Peters Michael Keaton |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 24 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time |
approx. 0:30 (per episode) |
| Production company(s) | TAT Communications Company |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 20, 1976 – April 30, 1977 |
All's Fair is an American television situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1976 to 1977. The show co-stars Richard Crenna as a conservative political columnist, Bernadette Peters as a liberal photographer and concerns their romantic mismatch because of age and political opinions and is also a very early role of Michael Keaton as Lanny Wolf. Peters was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role. Although the show received some good reviews, it lasted only one season.
Plot
In Washington, D.C., an older (49) conservative columnist Richard C. Barrington (Richard Crenna) and a young (23) liberal photographer Charlotte (Charley) Drake (Bernadette Peters) become romantically involved. The complications of their politics and the age difference provide the story lines. They are "separated by politics, generation gap, manners and living styles".[1]
Barrington is a gourmet cook who lives in a luxurious Washington townhouse, and Drake is a vegetarian. Barrington has a girl friend, a literary agent (Salome Jens), when he first meets Drake.[2] The style of the show is "almost constant hysteria, the rapid pacing set to the sounds of argumentative shouting."[1]
Cast and crew
- Cast
Source: Nostalgia Central[3]
- Richard C. Barrington – Richard Crenna
- Charlotte (Charley) Drake – Bernadette Peters
- Lucy Daniels, Al's girlfriend and a reporter – Lee Chamberlin
- Allen Brooks, Richard's assistant – J.A. Preston
- Ginger Livingston, Charley's roommate – Judith Kahan
- Senator Wayne Joplin, a liberal Senator and friend of Richard – Jack Dodson
- Lanny Wolf (1976), aide to President Carter – Michael Keaton
- Crew
- Norman Lear – Production Supervisor
- Michael Elias – Producer
- Rod Parker – Executive Producer
- Bob Claver – Director
- Hal Cooper – Director
- Bob Schiller – Writer and Producer
- Bob Weiskopf – Writer and Producer
- Ben Stein – Consultant and writer[4][5]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Strange Bedfellows" | September 20, 1976 |
| 2 | "Jealousy" | September 27, 1976 |
| 3 | "A Perfect Evening" | October 4, 1976 |
| 4 | "Living Together" | October 18, 1976 |
| 5 | "Discovery Day" | October 25, 1976 |
| 6 | "Election Eve" | November 1, 1976 |
| 7 | "The Gang Leader" | November 8, 1976 |
| 8 | "Happy Anniversary: Part 1" | November 15, 1976 |
| 9 | "Happy Anniversary: Part 2" | November 22, 1976 |
| 10 | "The Weekend" | November 29, 1976 |
| 11 | "The Leak" | December 13, 1976 |
| 12 | "True Confessions" | December 20, 1976 |
| 13 | "Love and Marriage: Part 1" | January 3, 1977 |
| 14 | "Love and Marriage: Part 2" | January 17, 1977 |
| 15 | "Lucy's Job Offer" | February 7, 1977 |
| 16 | "President Requests: Part 1" | February 14, 1977 |
| 17 | "President Requests: Part 2" | February 21, 1977 |
| 18 | "In Name Only" | February 28, 1977 |
| 19 | "Save the Yak" | March 7, 1977 |
| 20 | "Remembrance" | March 14, 1977 |
| 21 | "The Dick and Vanessa Show" | March 28, 1977 |
| 22 | "The Jailbirds: Part 1" | April 23, 1977 |
| 23 | "The Jailbirds: Part 2" | April 30, 1977 |
| 24 | "Charley's Father" | May 30, 1977 |
Reception
The reviewer for Knight News Wire wrote that the show "looks like the best new comedy series of the year...The show looks sound in both writing and acting ... the characters spend a lot of time shouting. Lear seems to have decided ... that high-decibel dialogue is necessary to hold the attention of a large audience."[6]
The critic for The New York Times wrote that "The casting is first-rate and the finger-snapping pace of the show leaves just about everything looking easy and undemanding.[2]
The reviewer for Copley News Service wrote that he did not believe in the relationship (between Crenna and Peters). However, he wrote that "it works. It works because Crenna is an expert farceur and Peters is, well, cute and full of the old ginger. It works because the dialogue has crackle and wit. ... Peters has spunk and spirit and a bawdy and snappishly delightful wit ... a well-paced, intelligently conceived and altogether trenchant comedy and I don't see how it can miss."[7]
Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe, 1977, Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical - Bernadette Peters (nominated)[8]
References
- 1 2 O'Connor, John J. "TV View. Competition Makes Networks Go Rigid", The New York Times, September 26, 1976, page D29
- 1 2 O'Connor, John J. "TV: An Odd, Late Season That Is Full of Gaps: Few New Shows Promising, but Most Follow Formula Old Sitcom Series Return in Slightly Altered Guise", The New York Times , September 20, 1976, p. 46
- ↑ " 'All's Fair'" Nostalgia Central
- ↑ Stein, Ben and Burton, Al. "Chapter 22" 26 Steps to Succeed in Hollywood (2006), books.google.com, Hay House. Inc., ISBN 978-1-4019-0700-6, p.68
- ↑ Sipos, Thomas M. "Ben Stein -- Portrait Of A Hollywood Republican" hollywoodinvestigator.com, September 28, 2003
- ↑ Winfrey, Lee. " 'All's Fair' Hot New Show" Boca Raton News, Knight News Wire (news.google.com), September 20, 1976
- ↑ Freeman, Don. "All's Fair' has Lear Touch" Beaver County Times (Copley News Service), news.google.com, October 7, 1976
- ↑ "Bernadette Peters Golden Globe Wins and Nominations", Goldenglobes.org, accessed April 15, 2012
External links
- All's Fair at the Internet Movie Database
- List of All's Fair episodes at TV.com
- All's Fair at epguides.com
- TV Guide information page