Day by Day (American TV series)

Last updated
Day by Day
Daybydaytitle.jpg
Day by Day title screen
Genre Sitcom
Created by
Starring
Theme music composer
Opening theme"Day by Day" performed by Clydine Jackson
Composer Robert Kraft
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes33
Production
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time2224 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseFebruary 29, 1988 (1988-02-29) 
June 4, 1989 (1989-06-04)
Related
Family Ties

Day by Day is an American sitcom television series created by Andy Borowitz and Gary David Goldberg, which aired on NBC from February 29, 1988, to June 4, 1989. It stars Douglas Sheehan, Linda Kelsey, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Courtney Thorne-Smith, and Thora Birch in her television debut role.

Contents

Synopsis

The show centers on Brian and Kate Harper, a married couple with two successful careers (Brian as a stockbroker, Kate as a lawyer) and a teenage son named Ross. After the couple had a second child, their daughter, Emily, they decided to quit their jobs because they had missed all the best times of Ross growing up and decided not to make the same mistake with Emily.

With that thought in mind, they decided to open a daycare center in their home. The episodes mixed stories about the daycare center with those about Ross and his friends. At first, Ross wasn't too enthusiastic about the idea of his father and mother being at home all the time, because he loved his independence and girl-chasing. He was more than a bit put out with all the bonding his dad wanted to do now.

Louis-Dreyfus played Eileen Swift, their materialistic next-door neighbor who was also once a business associate of Brian's. She didn't much like the idea of the Harpers running a day care center, and often tried to persuade them both to return to their former careers, always to no avail. Eileen, who was single and childless, was prone to make some very sarcastic quips about the children's activities, but Brian and Kate didn't let it bother them.

Thorne-Smith played the baby's nanny Kristin, who also worked in the daycare center. Kristin was perhaps the reason that Ross relented about his parents running the day care center; he had a crush on her.

Day by Day was connected to another NBC series, Family Ties . The family patriarch, Brian Harper (played by Sheehan) was a college roommate of Steven Keaton (Michael Gross). A total of 33 episodes were produced.

"A Very Brady Episode"

The episode titled "A Very Brady Episode" aired on February 5, 1989, and reunited six cast members from The Brady Bunch Ann B. Davis, Florence Henderson, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, Maureen McCormick, and Robert Reed.

In this episode, Ross is lectured by Brian and Kate about his poor study habits. Ross's explanation that he was watching a Brady Bunch marathon only angers his parents more, and he is warned to shape up. Ross bemoans his predicament, noting Mike Brady would never yell at him because he had flagging grades.

Ross falls asleep, and finds himself in the opening credits of The Brady Bunch., where he dreams that he is the Bradys' long-lost son, Chuck. After he gets his hair permed at Mike's suggestion, he visits with the various family members (except Greg, Jan, and Cindy), who reprise some of the scenes in the Bradys' most famous episodes ("Chuck" and Marcia running against each other for class president, "Chuck" being bullied by Buddy Hinton episode, etc.)

After "Chuck" gets some advice about his poor grades from Mike, the family begins to repeat their dialogue. "Chuck" wonders what's amiss, and Carol explains what he's seeing is a rerun. Everything becomes chaotic and Ross wakes up, vowing to improve his study habits.

Christopher Daniel Barnes, who played Ross on the series, would later portray Greg Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel.

Cast

Episodes

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
1 13February 29, 1988 (1988-02-29)May 29, 1988 (1988-05-29)
2 20October 30, 1988 (1988-10-30)June 4, 1989 (1989-06-04)

Season 1 (1988)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateRating/share
(households)
11"Birthday Presence" Will Mackenzie Andy Borowitz February 29, 1988 (1988-02-29)18.6/28 [1]
22"How to Succeed in Day Care" Will Mackenzie Philip LaZebnik March 3, 1988 (1988-03-03)28.1/43 [1]
33"One Big Happy Family" Will Mackenzie Janis Hirsch March 6, 1988 (1988-03-06)17.3/26 [1]
44"That Saturday Feeling" Will Mackenzie Jeffrey Sachs March 13, 1988 (1988-03-13)14.4/21 [2]
55"Community Service" Will Mackenzie Matt EmberMarch 20, 1988 (1988-03-20)15.4/23 [3]
66"Birth Wait" Will Mackenzie Andy Borowitz & Janis Hirsch March 27, 1988 (1988-03-27)13.7/21 [4]
77"What I Did for Love" Will Mackenzie Andy Borowitz April 3, 1988 (1988-04-03)9.7/17 [5]
88"Great Expectations" Will Mackenzie Janis Hirsch April 10, 1988 (1988-04-10)15.0/23 [6]
99"How Now, Dow Jones" Will Mackenzie Andy Borowitz April 17, 1988 (1988-04-17)13.5/22 [7]
1010"Life at a Glance" Will Mackenzie Andy Borowitz April 24, 1988 (1988-04-24)13.7/22 [8]
1111"The Age of Dinosaurs" Will Mackenzie Philip LaZebnik May 1, 1988 (1988-05-01)11.7/18 [9]
1212"Do You Think I'm Sexy?" Will Mackenzie Peter Schneider & Ben CardinaleMay 15, 1988 (1988-05-15)12.0/20 [10]
1313"The Field Trip" Will Mackenzie Janis Hirsch May 29, 1988 (1988-05-29)7.7/17 [11]

Season 2 (1988–89)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
Rating/share
(households)
141"My World and Welcome to It" Sam Weisman Janis Hirsch October 30, 1988 (1988-10-30)22.7 [12] 14.4/21 [12]
152"Won't You Be My Neighbor" Matthew Diamond Philip LaZebnik November 6, 1988 (1988-11-06)18.8 [13] 12.1/17 [13]
163"Trading Places"Matthew DiamondJanis HirschNovember 27, 1988 (1988-11-27)21.9 [14] 13.6/19 [14]
174"Girl Wars" Asaad Kelada Bruce Rasmussen December 4, 1988 (1988-12-04)26.7 [15] 16.3/24 [15]
185"Harper and Son"Matthew DiamondMatt EmberDecember 11, 1988 (1988-12-11)22.5 [16] 13.7/21 [16]
196"Merry Kristin"Matthew DiamondSusan Borowitz & Katie FordDecember 18, 1988 (1988-12-18)17.5 [17] 11.8/18 [17]
207"You Gotta Be a Football Hero"Matthew DiamondBen CardinaleJanuary 1, 1989 (1989-01-01)18.8 [18] 11.0/17 [18]
218"Smart Women, Nice Refreshments"Sam WeismanBruce RasmussenJanuary 8, 1989 (1989-01-08)22.8 [19] 14.0/20 [19]
229"Out for a Stretch"Matthew Diamond Andy Borowitz January 15, 1989 (1989-01-15)16.8 [20] 10.4/15 [20]
2310"The Music Man"Matthew DiamondSusan StraussJanuary 29, 1989 (1989-01-29)21.6 [21] 13.1/19 [21]
2411"A Very Brady Episode"Asaad KeladaAndy BorowitzFebruary 5, 1989 (1989-02-05)24.6 [22] 14.5/20 [22]
2512"My Momma Done Tol' Me"Matthew DiamondPhilip LaZebnikFebruary 12, 1989 (1989-02-12)19.1 [23] 11.8/17 [23]
2613"Fraternity"Matthew DiamondMatt EmberFebruary 19, 1989 (1989-02-19)18.6 [24] 11.5/17 [24]
2714"Tears of a Clown" Art Dielhenn Bruce RasmussenFebruary 26, 1989 (1989-02-26)18.3 [25] 11.5/17 [25]
2815"Harmless Helper"Carol ScottPhilip LaZebnik & Bruce RasmussenMarch 5, 1989 (1989-03-05)26.4 [26] 16.0/24 [26]
2916"Three Men and a Babe"Matthew DiamondPhilip LaZebnikMarch 12, 1989 (1989-03-12)18.1 [27] 11.4/17 [27]
3017"Foul Play"Matthew DiamondJodi LampertMarch 23, 1989 (1989-03-23)29.8 [28] 20.0/33 [28]
3118"The Reunion"Will MackenzieAndy BorowitzApril 2, 1989 (1989-04-02)18.4 [29] 11.6/18 [29]
3219"The Lost Weekend"Carol ScottStory by: Matt Ember
Teleplay by: Bruce Rasmussen & Philip LaZebnik
April 16, 1989 (1989-04-16)15.7 [30] 9.9/16 [30]
3320"Father Knows Best"Tony MordenteLloyd GarverJune 4, 1989 (1989-06-04)12.4 [31] 8.7/16 [31]

Syndication

After the show's initial run, reruns were shown on the Lifetime Television network and TV Land for several years.

Home media

One episode of the series has been released to DVD in the November 5, 2013, "Family Ties: The Complete Series" DVD boxset release. The episode included is "Trading Places", which featured a crossover between Family Ties and Day by Day, wherein Steven Keaton dropped Andy off for daycare with the Harpers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . March 9, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306024044.
  2. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . March 16, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306030149.
  3. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . March 23, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306010273.
  4. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . March 30, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   305993024.
  5. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . April 6, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306060935.
  6. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . April 13, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306023207.
  7. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . April 20, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306035713.
  8. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . April 27, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306042628.
  9. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . May 4, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306041364.
  10. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . May 18, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306048097.
  11. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . June 2, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306055072.
  12. 1 2 "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . November 2, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306129406.
  13. 1 2 "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . November 9, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306136856.
  14. 1 2 "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . November 30, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306106502.
  15. 1 2 "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . December 7, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306146398.
  16. 1 2 "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . December 14, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306143538.
  17. 1 2 "A very 'Brady' ratings hit". Life. USA Today . December 21, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306159082.
  18. 1 2 "'Carpenter': No. 1 hit for CBS". Life. USA Today . January 5, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306157966.
  19. 1 2 "NBC, laughing all the way". Life. USA Today . January 11, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306165080.
  20. 1 2 "NBC clinches season's ratings title". Life. USA Today . January 18, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306171627.
  21. 1 2 "Midseason entries boost NBC". Life. USA Today . February 1, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306144802.
  22. 1 2 "Comedies sweep up for NBC". Life. USA Today . February 8, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306179902.
  23. 1 2 "CBS gallops to a tie with NBC". Life. USA Today . February 15, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306163263.
  24. 1 2 "NBC's back alone on top". Life. USA Today . February 22, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306175741.
  25. 1 2 "CBS up despite Grammy drop". Life. USA Today . March 1, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306152931.
  26. 1 2 "Hit-and-miss program changes". Life. USA Today . March 8, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306184202.
  27. 1 2 "NBC, in front with 'Left Behind'". Life. USA Today . March 15, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306172200.
  28. 1 2 "A 'Brewster' boost for ABC". Life. USA Today . March 29, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306173300.
  29. 1 2 "ABC's roller-coaster week". Life. USA Today . April 5, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306171172.
  30. 1 2 "CBS squeaks by into second". Life. USA Today . April 19, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306176608.
  31. 1 2 "Network specials sputter". Life. USA Today . June 7, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest   306209444.