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Clueless | |
---|---|
Genre | Teen sitcom |
Created by | Amy Heckerling |
Starring | |
Narrated by | Rachel Blanchard |
Opening theme | "Ordinary Girl" performed by China Forbes |
Composer | David Kitay |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 62 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Camera setup | Film; Single-camera |
Running time | 23 minutes |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | September 20, 1996 – February 14, 1997 |
Network | UPN |
Release | September 23, 1997 – May 25, 1999 |
Clueless is an American television teen sitcom based on the 1995 film of the same name (which was inspired by Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma ). It premiered on ABC on September 20, 1996, as a part of the TGIF lineup during its first season. The series then spent its last two seasons on UPN, ending on May 25, 1999. Alicia Silverstone had a development deal with Columbia-TriStar at this time, and was unable to reprise her role from the film. [1] [2]
Clueless is a teen comedy that follows the adventures of Cher Horowitz, a California girl who attends Bronson Alcott High. Cher and her friends navigate the ups and downs of high school life as they face struggles with relationships, school, and social status. [3]
Though the television program is based on the film, director Amy Heckerling intended it to be a TV show for Fox. It eventually was picked up by Paramount as a film, which then led to the television series. [4] Rachel Blanchard played the role of Cher that was originated by Alicia Silverstone in the film. Stacey Dash (Dionne), Donald Faison (Murray), Elisa Donovan (Amber), Wallace Shawn (Mr. Hall), and Twink Caplan (Ms. Geist) all reprised their film roles for the television series. Sean Holland, who appeared as Lawrence in the film, portrayed the new character Sean Holiday in the TV series. The program aired on ABC from 1996 to 1997 and with a network change to UPN from 1997 to 1999. The theme song for the TV series, "Ordinary Girl," was written by Charlotte Caffey (of The Go-Go's) and Anna Waronker, and was performed by China Forbes.
There are several notable inconsistencies in both characters and storylines between the Clueless film and the subsequent television series.
In addition to Rachel Blanchard as Cher, two other major roles were recast for the television series. The role of Cher's father Mel, the part Dan Hedaya originated in the film, was portrayed by Michael Lerner and was again recast with Doug Sheehan by the beginning of the show's second season on the air. By this time, Mel had grown significantly more mellow and humane than the character Hedaya had originated.
David Lascher took over the role of Josh from Paul Rudd in the television series, and the idea of having the character serve as a romantic interest for Cher was almost nonexistent in the TV storylines, while it was a major part of the plot of the film version. By the time the show moved to UPN, Josh was written out of the series entirely. Mr. Hall and Ms. Geist shared the same fate, and were also written out of the show by the time it switched networks.
Julie Brown's character in the original film was Coach Millie Stoeger, but in the television series her character's name was changed to Millie Diemer. In addition, Sean Holland, who only had a very minor role in the film as Murray's friend Lawrence, was playing a new character named Sean Holiday. Regardless, Holland's character had significantly more exposure on the television series (and was considered one of its stars) than the character of Tai Frasier (who was also recast with Heather Gottlieb when Brittany Murphy opted not to reprise the role), who only appeared in three episodes of the show, despite being one of the main characters in the film. The character of Christian, played by Justin Walker, was not included in the television series at all. Amy Heckerling, who wrote and directed the film, also wrote and directed several episodes of the show's first season, but did not remain on board with the series subsequently.
Although they did not reprise their original roles of Josh, Travis and Tai, actors Paul Rudd, Breckin Meyer and Brittany Murphy all made guest appearances in one episode each on the series as new characters; Meyer portrayed Harrison in the episode "Do We with Bad Haircuts Not Feel?", Rudd portrayed Sonny in the episode "I Got You, Babe," and Murphy played Jasmine in the episode "Driving Me Crazy." Nicole Bilderback, who played Summer in the movie, returned for three episodes although her character's name was changed to Nicole.
The band Luscious Jackson, who performed the dance song "Here" for the Clueless movie soundtrack, also guest starred on the series in the episode "Sharing Cher" in order to perform their song "Naked Eye."
A few of the show's first-season episodes were broadcast out of order. The first episode to be broadcast was "As If a Girl's Reach Should Exceed Her Grasp" on September 20, 1996. The actual pilot episode, "Don't Stand So Close to Me," aired later on November 1, 1996.
After the series was canceled by ABC, the reruns of the episodes on their Friday night TGIF line-up proved to be ratings winners for ABC. However, it was too late for ABC to get the series back, and they prevented UPN from broadcasting the series until their contract ran out in late September. [5] [6] Clueless finished #46 in the ratings with 13.3 million viewers. Only Sabrina the Teenage Witch (a show on which Elisa Donovan, Donald Faison and David Lascher would eventually become regulars) had higher ratings for Friday. Reportedly, the star of Sabrina, Melissa Joan Hart, was considered for the part of Cher on the Clueless TV series.
UPN cancelled the show after the third season (1998–1999), reportedly because of sharply declining viewership. By the final season, the show had retained only 30% of its original 1996 viewing audience.
During the Season 1 episode "Mr. Wright", Melissa Joan Hart makes a cameo appearance playing Sabrina Spellman, her character on the ABC sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch (although she is not mentioned by name). At the end of the episode, Cher and Sabrina walk out of a building together, and Cher seems confused that Sabrina has apparently attended Bronson Alcott High School since September of that year. Cher had never seen Sabrina before, despite the fact that Cher knows everyone. Sabrina then says, "What, Cher, you think I just snapped my fingers and magically appeared? As if!" Once Cher's back is turned, Sabrina snaps her fingers and disappears, completely baffling Cher.
In a Halloween-themed episode spoofing the popular Scream films, Cher, Dionne and Amber try to catch a stalker. Later, Amber hints at a Moesha crossover after calling out Moesha's name when the girls are looking for Murray and Sean. Shar Jackson and Lamont Bentley also appeared in a later episode in the roles of their Moesha characters. The crossover was designed to promote Brandy's upcoming film I Still Know What You Did Last Summer .
The series originally premiered on ABC on September 20, 1996, as a part of the TGIF Friday Night lineup during its first season. It then spent its last two seasons on UPN on Tuesday nights ending on May 25, 1999.
Clueless entered off-network syndication in fall 2000 along with Sabrina the Teenage Witch , Moesha and 7th Heaven , all of which are owned by CBS Media Ventures. It was the only series out of the four that was not picked up for a second season of syndication. Reruns later aired on The N until September 2009.
In Canada, it airs weekdays at 2:30 pm on MuchMusic, following Sabrina reruns. In New Zealand, it aired on Saturday and Sundays at 5:30pm on defunct channel FOUR, following Sabrina reruns. In the UK it was previously aired on CITV, ITV (early morning broadcasts), Trouble and Paramount Comedy Channel. [7] Since 2019 the series has aired on Trace Vault. In Latin America, it was previously aired on Nickelodeon.
In Italy, it aired on Rai 2 under the name Ragazze a Beverly Hills (Girls in Beverly Hills) in 2003.
Boy Meets World is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September 1993 and May 2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews and his friends and family, as he progresses from childhood to adulthood. Episodes chronicle the everyday events of Cory's home and school life; his teacher and neighbor George Feeny delivers life lessons as Cory learns to cope with social and personal issues of adolescence. Cory has strong relationships with his older brother Eric, younger sister Morgan, and parents, Amy and Alan. Cory's friendship with Shawn Hunter and romantic interest in Topanga Lawrence serve as central focuses of episodes. Overarching themes include a focus on family and friendships as well as discovering one's identity. Further characters were introduced in later seasons; Jonathan Turner, Eli Williams, Jack Hunter, Angela Moore and Rachel McGuire.
Clueless is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert Lawrence.
Eve is an American television sitcom created by Meg DeLoatch that originally aired for three seasons on UPN from September 15, 2003, to May 11, 2006. Featuring an ensemble cast consisting of Eve, Jason George, Ali Landry, Natalie Desselle-Reid, Brian Hooks, and Sean Maguire, the show revolves around two sets of male and female friends attempting to navigate relationships with the opposite sex. The executive producers were Robert Greenblatt and David Janollari; the series was produced by The Greenblatt/Janollari Studio and Mega Diva Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television for UPN.
Family Matters is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC for eight seasons from September 22, 1989, to May 9, 1997, then moved to CBS for its ninth and final season from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of Perfect Strangers, the series was created by William Bickley and Michael Warren, and revolves around the Winslow family, an African-American middle class family living in Chicago, Illinois. Midway through the first season, the show introduced the Winslows' nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel, who was originally scripted to appear as a one-time character. However, he quickly became the show's breakout character, joining the main cast.
Step by Step is an American television sitcom created by William Bickley and Michael Warren that ran on ABC as part of its TGIF Friday night lineup from September 20, 1991, to August 15, 1997, then moved to CBS, where it aired from September 19, 1997, to June 26, 1998, with a total of 160 half-hour episodes spanning seven seasons. The series follows Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers who star as single parents Frank and Carol, respectively, each with three children, who wed and form a blended family.
The Hughleys is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 22, 1998 to April 28, 2000 and on UPN from September 11, 2000 to May 20, 2002. It starred comedian D. L. Hughley as the main character, Darryl Hughley, and Elise Neal as Yvonne, his hard-working wife, who move their family from the inner city to suburban Los Angeles.
Donald Adeosun Faison is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his leading role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC/NBC comedy-drama Scrubs (2001–2010), and a supporting role as Murray in both the film Clueless (1995) and the subsequent television series of the same name. He also starred as Phil Chase in the TV Land sitcom The Exes (2011–2015). Faison has also co-starred in the films Waiting to Exhale (1995), Remember the Titans (2000), Uptown Girls (2003), Something New (2006), Next Day Air (2009), Skyline (2010), and Kick-Ass 2 (2013).
Walter Emanuel Jones, also known as Tre Emanuel, is an American actor, martial artist, singer and dancer, known for playing the role of Zack Taylor, the original Black Ranger on the hit television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
TGIF was an American prime time television programming block that has aired on ABC at various points since the late 1980s. The name comes from the initials of the popular phrase "Thank God It's Friday"; however, the stars of the lineup touted the initialism as meaning "Thank Goodness It's Funny." In its various incarnations, the block mainly featured situation comedies aimed at a family audience, and served as a lead-in to the long-running newsmagazine 20/20.
Perfect Strangers is an American sitcom that ran for eight seasons, from March 25, 1986, to August 6, 1993, on the ABC television network. Created by Dale McRaven, the series chronicles the rocky coexistence of midwestern American Larry Appleton and his distant cousin from eastern Mediterranean Europe, Balki Bartokomous.
Sabrina: The Animated Series is an American animated television series based on the Archie Comics series Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Produced by Savage Studios Ltd. and Hartbreak Films in association with DIC Productions, L.P., the series is an animated spin-off of the 1996–2003 live-action series Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch is an American fantasy sitcom series based on the Archie Comics character Sabrina Spellman which shares the title of the 1971 comic book series Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Created by Nell Scovell and developed by Jonathan Schmock, the series premiered on September 27, 1996, on ABC to over 17 million viewers in its "T.G.I.F." lineup.
Lisa Adaline Donovan, known professionally as Elisa Donovan, is an American actress. She played the role of Amber Mariens in the 1995 teen comedy film Clueless, and reprised her role in the TV series of the same name (1996-1999). Donovan went on to play the role of Morgan Cavanaugh in the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch (2000–2003).
David Scott Lascher is an American actor best known for his roles as Vinnie on Blossom, Josh on Clueless, Josh on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Kyle Conners on Beverly Hills, 90210, and Ted McGriff on the Nickelodeon show Hey Dude.
You Wish is an American fantasy sitcom television series created by Michael Jacobs, that ran from September 26, 1997, to June 19, 1998. It started as part of ABC's TGIF programming on Friday nights for the fall of 1997, along with Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Boy Meets World, and Teen Angel.
Brian K. Roberts is an American television director. He is credited with directing over 350 programs for US television and over 200 episodes of Canadian television and films. He also directed few episodes of PBS/TVO Kids's "Odd Squad" season 2.
A teen situation comedy, or teen sitcom, is a subgenre of comedic television program targeted towards young people. In general, these type of programs focus primarily on characters between 10 and 18 years of age and routinely feature characters involved in humorous situations, and often focus on the characters' family and social lives. The primary plot of each episode often involves the protagonist(s) the program centers on, while secondary plotlines often focus on the character(s') parents, siblings or friends, although the secondary characters may sometimes also or instead be involved in the episode's main plot.
Jonathan William Scott Hofstedt is an American actor. Known professionally as Jon Huertas, he is best known for his role as witch hunter Brad Alcerro in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Sergeant Antonio 'Poke' Espera in HBO's Generation Kill, Joe Negroni in the film Why Do Fools Fall in Love, homicide detective Javier Esposito in Castle and Miguel Rivas in This Is Us.
In 1995, Viacom and Chris-Craft Industries' United Television launched United Paramount Network (UPN) with Star Trek: Voyager as its flagship series, fulfilling Barry Diller's plan for a Paramount network from 25 years earlier. In 1999, Viacom bought out United Television's interests, and handed responsibility for the start-up network to the newly acquired CBS unit, which Viacom bought in 1999 – an ironic confluence of events as Paramount had once invested in CBS, and Viacom had once been the syndication arm of CBS as well. During this period the studio acquired some 30 television stations to support the UPN network as well acquiring and merging in the assets of Republic Pictures, Spelling Television and Viacom Television, almost doubling the size of the studio's television library.