All's Fair

Last updated
All's Fair
Richard Crenna Bernadette Peters Alls Fair 1977.JPG
Crenna and Peters
Created byBob Schiller
Bob Weiskopf
Rod Parker
Developed by Norman Lear
Starring Richard Crenna
Bernadette Peters
Michael Keaton
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes24 (list of episodes)
Production
Production locations Metromedia Square, Los Angeles, California
Running timeapprox. 0:30
(per episode)
Production company T.A.T. Communications Company
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseSeptember 20, 1976 (1976-09-20) –
April 30, 1977 (1977-04-30)

All's Fair is an American television sitcom from Norman Lear that aired one season on CBS from 1976 to 1977. The series co-starred Richard Crenna as a conservative political columnist and Bernadette Peters as a liberal photographer, and their romantic mismatch because of age and political opinions. The program also featured Michael Keaton in an early role as Lanny Wolf. Peters was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role.

Contents

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]

Crew

Episodes

L-R: Michael Keaton, Judith Kahan, Richard Crenna, and Bernadette Peters (1977) All's Fair 1977.jpg
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		Tape date
1"Strange Bedfellows"Hal CooperBob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf and Rod ParkerSeptember 20, 1976 (1976-09-20)TBATBA
2"Jealousy"Bob ClaverAlbert E. LewinSeptember 27, 1976 (1976-09-27)TBATBA
3"A Perfect Evening"Bob ClaverGy WaldronOctober 4, 1976 (1976-10-04)TBATBA
4"Living Together"Bob ClaverSybil AdelmanOctober 18, 1976 (1976-10-18)TBATBA
5"Discovery Day"Bob ClaverMichael Loman, Bob Schiller, & Bob WeiskopfOctober 25, 1976 (1976-10-25)TBATBA
6"Election Eve"Bob ClaverBud WiserNovember 1, 1976 (1976-11-01)TBATBA
7"The Gang Leader"Bob ClaverKaren Bachar (s),
Dixie Brown Grossman,
Ron Friedman		November 8, 1976 (1976-11-08)112November 1, 1976
8"Happy Anniversary: Part 1"Bob ClaverMichael LomanNovember 15, 1976 (1976-11-15)109October 12, 1976
9"Happy Anniversary: Part 2"Bob ClaverUnknownNovember 22, 1976 (1976-11-22)TBATBA
10"The Weekend"UnknownBob Van ScoykNovember 29, 1976 (1976-11-29)TBATBA
11"The Leak"Bob Claver Don Hinkley, Peter GallayDecember 13, 1976 (1976-12-13)TBATBA
12"True Confessions"Bob ClaverSylvie Adelman (s),
Bob Van Scoyk (s/t),
Bud Wiser (s/t)		December 20, 1976 (1976-12-20)114December 7, 1976
13"Love and Marriage: Part 1"Bob ClaverBob Van ScoykJanuary 3, 1977 (1977-01-03)TBATBA
14"Love and Marriage: Part 2"J.D. LobueBud WiserJanuary 17, 1977 (1977-01-17)113November 10, 1976
15"Lucy's Job Offer"Bob ClaverHoward OstroffFebruary 7, 1977 (1977-02-07)116December 21, 1976
16"President Requests: Part 1"Bob ClaverTom WhedonFebruary 14, 1977 (1977-02-14)115December 14, 1976
17"President Requests: Part 2"Bob ClaverRod ParkerFebruary 21, 1977 (1977-02-21)116December 14, 1976
18"In Name Only"Bob ClaverMichael Elias and Bob Van ScoykFebruary 28, 1977 (1977-02-28)TBATBA
19"Save the Yak"Bob ClaverHoward OstroffMarch 7, 1977 (1977-03-07)TBATBA
20"Remembrance"Bob ClaverTom WhedonMarch 14, 1977 (1977-03-14)TBATBA
21"The Dick and Vanessa Show"Bob ClaverTom WhedonMarch 28, 1977 (1977-03-28)TBATBA
22"The Jailbirds: Part 1"UnknownUnknownApril 23, 1977 (1977-04-23)TBATBA
23"The Jailbirds: Part 2"Bob ClaverRod ParkerApril 30, 1977 (1977-04-30)TBATBA
24"Charley's Father"Bob ClaverRon FriedmanMay 30, 1977 (1977-05-30)TBATBA

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

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 O'Connor, John J. "TV View. Competition Makes Networks Go Rigid", The New York Times, September 26, 1976, page D29
  2. 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
  3. ↑ " 'All's Fair'" Nostalgia Central
  4. ↑ 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
  5. ↑ Sipos, Thomas M. "Ben Stein -- Portrait Of A Hollywood Republican" hollywoodinvestigator.com, September 28, 2003
  6. ↑ Winfrey, Lee. " 'All's Fair' Hot New Show" Boca Raton News, Knight News Wire (news.google.com), September 20, 1976
  7. ↑ Freeman, Don. "All's Fair' has Lear Touch" Beaver County Times (Copley News Service), news.google.com, October 7, 1976
  8. ↑ "Bernadette Peters Golden Globe Wins and Nominations" Archived 2012-09-02 at the Wayback Machine , Goldenglobes.org, accessed April 15, 2012
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