Double Trouble (U.S. TV series)

Last updated
Double Trouble
SagalTwins M2.jpg
Publicity shot of the Sagal twins
Genre Sitcom
Created byDavid W. Duclon
Robert Illes
James Stein
Directed by John Bowab
Jim Drake
Ellen Falcon
Marlene Laird
John Pasquin
Starring Jean Sagal
Liz Sagal
Composer(s) Ray Colcord
Mark Snow
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes23
Production
Executive producer(s)Judith Allison
Janis Hirsch
Robert Illes
Bernie Orenstein
Bill Richmond
Saul Turteltaub
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time2224 minutes
Production company(s) Embassy Television
Distributor Sony Pictures Television
Release
Original network NBC
Original releaseApril 4, 1984 (1984-04-04) – March 30, 1985 (1985-03-30)

Double Trouble is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from April 4, 1984 to March 30, 1985. The series stars identical twins Jean and Liz Sagal as Kate and Allison Foster, two teenagers living under the watchful eye of their widowed father. The show was considered an updating of the "twins in mischief" concept seen in films like The Parent Trap or the Patty Duke Show of the 1960s. The Sagal sisters acknowledged that Norman Lear, the Sagal family's godfather, [1] was the one who held influence over the show's concept. [2]

A sitcom, clipping for situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new characters in each sketch, and stand-up comedy, where a comedian tells jokes and stories to an audience. Sitcoms originated in radio, but today are found mostly on television as one of its dominant narrative forms. This form can also include mockumentaries.

NBC American television and radio network

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial terrestrial television network that is a flagship property of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The network is headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, with additional major offices near Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. The network is one of the Big Three television networks. NBC is sometimes referred to as the "Peacock Network", in reference to its stylized peacock logo, introduced in 1956 to promote the company's innovations in early color broadcasting. It became the network's official emblem in 1979.

Jean Sagal is an American television actress and director. In the 1980s, she co-starred with her twin sister Liz Sagal in the television series Double Trouble that ran from 1984–85. She has since appeared on such shows as Picket Fences, Knots Landing, Quantum Leap and 21 Jump Street. She has directed episodes of Two and a Half Men, Mad TV, So Little Time and Just Shoot Me. Sagal and her twin sister also served for a time as the "Doublemint Twins" in the ad campaign by Doublemint gum.

Contents

Synopsis

Double Trouble premiered in April 1984. The series was set in New York City, NY, and generally revolved around the twins' high school or their father's dance studio (thus giving the girls a chance to show off their real-life dancing skills). Most of the show's comedy was generated from the fact that one twin was serious while the other more laid-back and happy-go-lucky.

Beginning as a mid-season replacement, the show also starred Donnelly Rhodes as the girls' father, Art Foster. The show did not generate high enough ratings in its initial debut to be included in NBC's fall schedule; however, it was brought back for a second go-'round as a mid-season replacement in December 1984. After some retooling, the setting of the show was relocated to New York City. Rhodes was replaced by Barbara Barrie as the twins' aunt. The second season ran for fifteen episodes. The series was not renewed after the second season, but it was seen in reruns on NBC until August 21, 1985, and for several years on USA Network in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Donnelly Rhodes Canadian character actor

Donnelly Rhodes Henry was a Canadian character actor with many American television and film credits, probably best known to American audiences as the hapless escaped convict Dutch Leitner on the ABC soap opera spoof Soap and as Phillip Chancellor II on The Young and the Restless. Rhodes was well known to Canadian audiences as Sgt Nick Raitt in the CBC TV series Sidestreet (1975–1978) and as Grant "Doc" Roberts in another CBC TV series called Danger Bay (1985–1990). He also starred as Doctor Cottle ("Doc") on the Sci Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica (2004).

Barbara Barrie Actress, author

Barbara Barrie is an American actress of film, stage and television. She is also an accomplished author.

USA Network U.S. cable television channel

USA Network is an American pay television channel that is owned by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports cable television channels, before being relaunched as USA Network on 1980. Once a minor player in basic-tier pay television, USA has steadily gained popularity due to its original programming; it is one of the 4 major subscription-television networks with TBS, TNT and FX it also broadcasts syndicated reruns of current and former "network television" series and theatrically-released feature films, as well as limited sports programming and WWE.

Cast

Elizabeth Sagal is an American actress, screenwriter and film editor.

Patricia Richardson American actress

Patricia Castle Richardson is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Jill Taylor on the sitcom Home Improvement, for which she was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and two times for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical.

Anne-Marie Johnson Currently playing wife of Taye Diggs on Murder in the First 2014

Anne-Marie Johnson is an American actress and impressionist, who has starred in film and on television. She is known for her roles as Nadine Hudson Thomas on What's Happening Now!!, Aileen Lewis on Double Trouble, Althea Tibbs on In the Heat of the Night, and as a cast member on In Living Color during its final season.

Episodes

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 8April 4, 1984 (1984-04-04)May 30, 1984 (1984-05-30)
2 15December 1, 1984 (1984-12-01)March 30, 1985 (1985-03-30)

Season 1 (1984)

No. in
series
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
11"One Drives, the Other Doesn't"Marlena LairdTeleplay by: Saul Turteltaub & Bernie Orenstein
Story by: Robert Illes, James Stein, Saul Turteltaub & Bernie Orenstein
April 4, 1984 (1984-04-04)226151
22"Lust" Jim Drake Jill Gordon & Susan Jane LindnerApril 11, 1984 (1984-04-11)TBA
33"First Day" John Bowab Deidre Fay & Stuart WolpertApril 18, 1984 (1984-04-18)TBA
44"Bad Chemistry"John BowabKimberly HillApril 25, 1984 (1984-04-25)TBA
55"Dueling Feet"Marlena LairdEmily PotterMay 2, 1984 (1984-05-02)TBA
66"Separate Birthdays"Marlena LairdTeleplay by: Saul Turteltaub & Bernie Orenstein
Story by: David Chambers, Saul Turteltaub & Bernie Orenstein
May 16, 1984 (1984-05-16)TBA
77"Hearthache"TBATBAMay 23, 1984 (1984-05-23)TBA
88"Bombshell"Jim DrakeRobert Illes, James Stein & Janis HirschMay 30, 1984 (1984-05-30)TBA

Season 2 (1984–85)

No. in
series
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
91"If We Can Make It Here..." Jim Drake Don Reo December 1, 1984 (1984-12-01)
102"Do You Believe in Magic?"Jim DrakeJanis HirschDecember 8, 1984 (1984-12-08)
113"Dream Girls" John Pasquin Lissa LevinDecember 15, 1984 (1984-12-15)
124"O Come All Ye Faithful"John PasquinJanis HirschDecember 22, 1984 (1984-12-22)
135"Man for Margo"John PasquinBill RichmondJanuary 5, 1985 (1985-01-05)
146"The Boy Next Door"Ellen Chaset FalconLissa LevinJanuary 12, 1985 (1985-01-12)
157"Memories"Don ReoJudith D. AllisonJanuary 19, 1985 (1985-01-19)
168"Two Girls for Every Boy"Ellen Chaset FalconLissa LevinJanuary 26, 1985 (1985-01-26)
179"The Write Stuff"Linda DayJanis HirschFebruary 2, 1985 (1985-02-02)
1810"Commercial Break"Ellen Chaset FalconBill RichmondFebruary 9, 1985 (1985-02-09)
1911"Old Movies"Ellen Chaset FalconDon ReoFebruary 16, 1985 (1985-02-16)
2012"September Song"Ellen Chaset FalconPerry Grant & Dick BensfieldFebruary 23, 1985 (1985-02-23)
2113"Funny Girl"Judi EltermanJanis HirschMarch 2, 1985 (1985-03-02)
2214"The Day of the Rose"Ellen Chaset FalconTBAMarch 23, 1985 (1985-03-23)
2315"Where's Poppa?"Ellen Chaset FalconDon Reo & Judith D. AllisonMarch 30, 1985 (1985-03-30)

U.S. television ratings

SeasonEpisodesStart DateEnd DateNielsen RankNielsen RatingTied With
1983-848March 4, 1984May 30, 19847113.1 [3] N/A
1984-8513December 1, 1984March 30, 19854313.8 [4] "The Dukes of Hazzard", "TJ Hooker"

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References

  1. http://richestnetworth.org/katey-sagal-net-worth/
  2. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19840425&id=cz4aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aCQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5549,8671982&hl=en
  3. "1983-84 Ratings History -- The Networks Are Awash in a Bubble Bath of Soaps".
  4. {{cite web|url= http://www.tvratingsguide.com/2017/09/1983-84-ratings-history-networks-are.html%7Ctitle=1984-85 Season Nielsens -- NBC Breaks its 8-Year Curse and Shoves Into 2nd Place as ABC and CBS Continue to Bank on Soap Prominence|}
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