Encore! Encore!

Last updated
Encore! Encore!
Genre Sitcom
Created by David Angell
Peter Casey
David Lee
Chuck Ranberg
Anne Flett-Giordano
Written by
Directed by
Starring
ComposerBruce Miller
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (2 unaired)
Production
Executive producersDavid Angell
Peter Casey
David Lee
Chuck Ranberg
Anne Flett-Giordano
ProducerMary Fukuto
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time2224 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseSeptember 22, 1998 (1998-09-22) 
January 27, 1999 (1999-01-27)

Encore! Encore! is an American sitcom television series created by David Angell, Peter Casey, David Lee, Chuck Ranberg and Anne Flett-Giordano, starring Nathan Lane as an opera singer. On the verge of becoming "The Fourth Tenor", Lane's character injures his vocal cords and must move in with his family, who run a vineyard in Northern California. The series premiered on NBC on September 22, 1998 and ended on January 27, 1999. [1]

Contents

Encore! Encore! struggled in the ratings from the start. After its fourth episode aired on October 27, 1998, NBC put the series on hiatus for almost two months. Thirteen episodes were ordered but the series was cancelled at midseason with two episodes left unaired. The final network episode aired on January 27, 1999. All 13 episodes later ran on Bravo.

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Pilot"David LeeStory by: David Angell & Peter Casey & David Lee & Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano
Teleplay by: Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano
September 22, 1998 (1998-09-22)
2"I Am Joe's Ego" Pamela Fryman Charlie HauckSeptember 29, 1998 (1998-09-29)
3"The French Connection" Michael Lembeck Story by: Valerie Curtin & Jon Sherman
Teleplay by: Jon Sherman
October 20, 1998 (1998-10-20)
4"Master Class"Ken LevineJon ShermanOctober 27, 1998 (1998-10-27)
5"Sour Grapes"Sheldon EppsBrown MandellDecember 16, 1998 (1998-12-16)
6"The Diary"Jeff MelmanChristina LynchDecember 23, 1998 (1998-12-23)
7"Mr. Joe's Wild Ride"Michael LembeckJon ShermanDecember 30, 1998 (1998-12-30)
8"I Know How Caged Bird Tastes"Jeff MelmanCharlie HauckJanuary 6, 1999 (1999-01-06)
9"Crime and Punishment"Michael LembeckChristina LynchJanuary 13, 1999 (1999-01-13)
10"To Soeur with Love"Jeff MelmanChuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-GiordanoJanuary 20, 1999 (1999-01-20)
11"The Doubt of the Benefit"Ken LevineJohn AugustineJanuary 27, 1999 (1999-01-27)
12"A Review to Remember"TBDDavid IsaacsUnaired
13"Soul Food"TBDCharlie HauckUnaired

Critical reception

A New York Observer review described the show as "the 'Moose Murders' of sitcoms -- it won't be here past Halloween, but the recollection of its awfulness will give you untold delight for years to come." [2] For The Washington Post , Tom Shales described Lane's character as "a nagging fussbudget who makes unreasonable demands on all those around him". [3] TeeVee.org writer Chris Rywalt observed that Lane spoke with "one of those upper-crust anti-accent accents" on the show and added: "Once the show gets beyond the accents, it collapses humorlessly." [4] In contrast, The New York Times gave a very positive review to the show's debut, saying it possessed the "most accomplished, high-powered cast on television." [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Seinfeld</i> American television sitcom (1989–1998)

Seinfeld is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of 180 episodes. Its ensemble cast stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and focuses on his personal life with three of his friends: best friend George Costanza, former girlfriend Elaine Benes, and neighbor from across the hall, Cosmo Kramer.

<i>The Munsters</i> American television series (1964–1966)

The Munsters is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monster Herman Munster, Yvonne De Carlo as his vampire wife Lily, Al Lewis as Grandpa the aged vampire Count Dracula, Beverley Owen as their niece Marilyn, and Butch Patrick as their werewolf-like son Eddie. The family pet, named "Spot", was a fire-breathing dragon.

<i>The Larry Sanders Show</i> American television sitcom (1992–1998)

The Larry Sanders Show is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. Created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein, the show ran for six seasons and 90 episodes on the HBO cable television network from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Kudrow</span> American actress (born 1963)

Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the American television sitcom Friends, which aired from 1994 to 2004. The series earned her Primetime Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, Satellite, American Comedy and TV Guide awards. Phoebe has since been named one of the greatest television characters of all time and is considered to be Kudrow's breakout role, spawning her successful film career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Danson</span> American actor (born 1947)

Edward BridgeDanson III is an American actor and comedian. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom Cheers, for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He was further Emmy-nominated for the legal drama Damages (2007–2010) and the NBC dramedy The Good Place (2016–2020). He was awarded a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Costanza</span> Fictional character

George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic relationships through his own fear of being dumped. He is also relatively lazy; during periods of unemployment he actively avoids getting a job, and while employed he often finds ingenious ways to conceal idleness from his bosses. He is friends with Jerry Seinfeld, Cosmo Kramer, and Elaine Benes. George and Jerry were junior high school friends and remained friends afterward. George appears in every episode except "The Pen".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Lane</span> American actor (born 1956)

Nathan Lane is an American actor. Since 1975, he has been on stage and screen in both comedic and dramatic roles. His awards include three Tony Awards, seven Drama Desk Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, three Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Lane received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2010, The New York Times hailed Lane as being "the greatest stage entertainer of the decade".

<i>Cosby</i> (TV series) American television series

Cosby is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 16, 1996, to April 28, 2000. The program starred Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad, who had previously worked together in the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). Madeline Kahn portrayed their neighborly friend, Pauline, until her death in 1999. The show was adapted from the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Baranski</span> American actress (born 1952)

Christine Jane Baranski is an American actress. She received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Maryann Thorpe in the sitcom Cybill (1995–1998). Baranski is also known for her roles as Diane Lockhart in the legal drama series The Good Wife (2009–2016) and its spin-off series The Good Fight (2017–2022), and as Agnes van Rhijn in the period drama series The Gilded Age (2022–present), both roles which earned her Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Saturday Night Live (SNL) is an American late-night live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The show's premiere was hosted by George Carlin on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC's Saturday Night. The show's comedy sketches, which often parody contemporary American culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, with featured performances by a musical guest. An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that is usually based on political events and ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!", properly beginning the show.

<i>The Golden Palace</i> American TV sitcom

The Golden Palace is an American sitcom television series produced as a sequel to The Golden Girls, a continuation without Bea Arthur that aired on CBS from September 18, 1992, to May 7, 1993. It starred Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty, Cheech Marin, and Don Cheadle. Billy L. Sullivan also co-starred for the first half of its run. Not as popular as its predecessor, the series aired for a single 24-episode season and was canceled by CBS.

<i>Veronicas Closet</i> American television sitcom

Veronica's Closet is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. It aired on NBC for three seasons, from September 25, 1997 to December 7, 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black sitcom</span> Sitcom starring a predominant African American cast

A Black sitcom is a sitcom that principally features Black people in its cast. Prominent Black sitcoms to date typically come from the United States with African American casts, forming a branch of African American comedy. Although sitcoms with primarily Black characters have been present since the earliest days of network television, this genre rose to prominence in the 1990s, mostly then on upstart networks outside the Big Three.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Feuerstein</span> American actor (born 1971)

Mark Feuerstein is an American actor. He had an early, recurring role on the NBC sitcom Caroline in the City, playing the title character's boyfriend, and later gained notice in a guest appearance on an episode of Season 2 of Sex and the City. Following Caroline in the City, he went on to star on three NBC sitcoms—Fired Up, Conrad Bloom, and Good Morning, Miami!. He also made appearances on Ally McBeal (2000), Once and Again (2000–2001), The West Wing (2001–2005), Nurse Jackie (2015), Prison Break (2017), and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017).

<i>Head over Heels</i> (American TV series) 1997 American TV series

Head over Heels is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin that aired on United Paramount Network (UPN) from August 26 to October 28, 1997. It is set in the eponymous video dating agency based in Miami Beach, Florida, run by brothers Jack and Warren Baldwin. The remainder of the cast consists of their employees, played by Eva LaRue, Patrick Bristow, and Cindy Ambuehl. Connie Stevens was initially cast as the Baldwins' mother, but never appeared in the show after the pilot was rewritten. Andrew Gottlieb was a co-producer, and Vince Cheung and Ben Montanio were consulting producers.

Cold Feet is an American comedy-drama television series produced by Kerry Ehrin Productions and Granada Entertainment USA for NBC. Based on the British TV series of the same name, the series follows three Seattle couples, each at different stages of their romantic relationships. It premiered on September 24, 1999 to mixed reviews and was canceled on October 29, 1999, one month later because of falling ratings. Eight episodes were produced, of which four aired.

Howard Gewirtz is an American television producer and writer, whose credits include Taxi, The Larry Sanders Show, Just Shoot Me, Wings, Oliver Beene, Everybody Hates Chris, Gary and Mike and The Simpsons.

Grub Street Productions was an American production company founded in 1989 by three writers and producers: David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee - who met while working on Cheers and left that show to form it. It was affiliated with Paramount Television.

"Khonani" is the eighteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 76th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-producer Vali Chandrasekaran and directed by Beth McCarthy Miller. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 22, 2010, following shortly after the episode "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" on the same night. Guest stars in this episode include Kapil Bawa and Subhas Ramsaywack.

Pilot is the pilot episode of the television series Sports Night, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Thomas Schlamme, which premiered on ABC in the United States on September 22, 1998. The pilot introduces viewers to a varied group of personalities working on a fictional late-night American sports show called Sports Night, on the CSC network.

References

  1. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present . Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 364. ISBN   0-345-45542-8.
  2. Rutenberg, Jim (2003-09-21). "Hunting for a Sitcom Hit Among the Misses". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  3. Shales, Tom (September 22, 1998). "'Sports Night': A Homer in Its First At-Bat". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 19, 1999. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  4. Rywalt, Chris (November 6, 1998). "Fall '98: Accent! Accent!". TeeVee.org. Archived from the original on June 28, 2001. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  5. James, Caryn (1998-09-22). "One Family's Regal Airs, Another's Upward Mobility". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-09-18.