| Charlie Hoover | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Ian Gurvitz |
| Starring | Tim Matheson Lucy Webb Julie Hayden Michael Manasseri Leslie Engel Sam Kinison |
| Ending theme | Joey Carbone Dennis E. Belfield |
| Composers | Joey Carbone Robert Crew |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Ian Gurvitz Marc Gurvitz Lillah McCarthy |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | Ian Gurvitz Productions Brillstein-Grey Entertainment New World Television TriStar Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox |
| Release | November 9 – December 28, 1991 |
Charlie Hoover is an American sitcom which aired on Fox from November 9 to December 28, 1991, starring Tim Matheson in the lead role and Sam Kinison, Lucy Webb and Bill Maher. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Charlie Hoover (Tim Matheson) is a man who just reached middle age when one day the voice within his head materializes in the form of Hugh (Sam Kinison), a foot-high miniature alter ego. Hugh guides Charlie on the path to getting his life in order. [8] [9]
Kinison revealed he was working on a pilot for Fox called The Brave New World of Charlie Hoover early in 1991. Kinison had appeared on Fox's Married... with Children in a late 1989 episode. [10] Once the show was picked up, Kinison joked that he took the role to prove he could do family entertainment, and that he had been "falsely persecuted" that he couldn't. [9] [11] Kinison admitted he had to reform his hard-partying lifestyle for the routine of making the sitcom, and almost lost the show after failing to show up for a scheduled appearance on The Joan Rivers Show , which he originally blamed on eating "bad Chinese food", but later admitted was due to partying. [12]
Fox put the show on its Saturday night lineup in November 1991 as part of mid-fall schedule changes, including the cancellation of low-rated Ultimate Challenge. [4] It was among the lowest rated primetime shows of the 1991-92 United States season. [13] Though the show was cancelled after seven episodes, Fox was interested in having Kinison do a variety show, [14] but he died in a car crash in April 1992. [9]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Happy Birthday to Hugh" | Peter Baldwin | Ian Gurvitz | November 9, 1991 | |
On his depressing 40th birthday, Charlie meets his alter ego — a pint-sized loudmouth in a long coat — who helps him start to get it together, and helps him to get his promotion. | |||||
| 2 | "Happy Anniversary" | Jeff Melman | Adam Markowitz & Bill Freiberger | November 16, 1991 | |
To celebrate his anniversary right, Charlie takes Hugh's advice and sets up a romantic anniversary celebration; unfortunately it's the same night he must make a business dinner. | |||||
| 3 | "Two for the Road" | Jeff Melman | Art Everett & Nelson Costello | November 23, 1991 | |
Hugh is horrified when Charlie decides it may be time to get a vasectomy. | |||||
| 4 | "Mother-in-Law" | Rob Schiller | David Chambers | November 30, 1991 | |
With Hugh's help, Charlie learns how to deal with his mother-in-law. | |||||
| 5 | "Out of the Frying Pan" | Jeff Melman | Joe Toplyn | December 7, 1991 | |
Emily has a problem with her cooking teacher and Doris has a blind date. | |||||
| 6 | "Old Flame" | David Trainer | Stephen Paymer | December 21, 1991 | |
A co-worker chases Charlie in search of a fling, which is something Charlie also needs because two months earlier Helen left with the kids. | |||||
| 7 | "Roll One for Ed" | David Trainer | Scott Buck | December 28, 1991 | |
When a co-worker dies, Charlie travels to Atlantic City to complete the man's dream of taking $100 and gambling it away. | |||||