![]() | This article uses a non-standard episode table. |
Herbie, the Love Bug | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Based on | Characters by Gordon Buford |
Written by | Arthur Alsberg Don Nelson Don Tait |
Directed by | Charles S. Dubin Vincent McEveety Bill Bixby |
Starring | Dean Jones Patricia Harty Richard Paul Claudia Wells Douglas Emerson Nicky Katt Larry Linville |
Music by | Frank De Vol Tom Worrall |
Opening theme | "Herbie, My Best Friend" sung by Dean Jones |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 5 |
Production | |
Executive producer | William Robert Yates |
Producer | Kevin Corcoran |
Cinematography | Jack A. Whitman Jr. Jack Swain |
Editors | Gordon Brenner Marsh Hendry Ron Honthaner |
Running time | 48 minutes |
Production company | Walt Disney Productions |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | March 17 – April 14, 1982 |
Herbie, the Love Bug is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from March 17 to April 14, 1982. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on a series of films about Herbie, a sentient pearl white 1963 Volkswagen Beetle.
The show was a five-episode mid-season replacement series. [1] It was the last production to feature the starring car until 1997's television film The Love Bug . The show's theme song "Herbie, My Best Friend" was performed by its star, Dean Jones. [2]
Dean Jones, who had appeared in two of the films ( The Love Bug and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo ), reprises his role of Jim Douglas, Herbie's original owner, now a retired race car driver who works as an instructor at the Famous Driving School with his partner Bo Phillips (Richard Paul). He and Herbie stumble upon a bank robbery in progress. They manage to thwart the crime and rescue a young divorcée named Susan MacLane (Patricia Harty), who works at the bank and is a mother of three: Julie (Claudia Wells), Robbie (Douglas Emerson) and Matthew (Nicky Katt). Jim and Susan soon begin to fall in love, much to the consternation of her ex-boyfriend Randy Bigelow (Larry Linville). Randy's attempts to break them up are in vain; Jim and Susan get married in "Herbie the Best Man" episode that aired on April 7.
Nº | Episode title | Directed by | Written by | Airdate | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Herbie the Matchmaker" | Charles S. Dubin | Arthur Alsberg, Don Nelson | March 17, 1982 | |
Herbie and his owner, Jim Douglas, stumble on an attempted bank robbery and rescue a hostage. | |||||
2 | "Herbie to the Rescue" | Vincent McEveety | Arthur Alsberg, Don Nelson | March 24, 1982 | |
Jim's driving school is closed down when Herbie interferes with a motor vehicle inspection. | |||||
3 | "My House is Your House" | Bill Bixby | Don Tait | March 31, 1982 | |
Jim's ex-girlfriend, Diane Darcy (Andrea Howard), surprisingly shows up at his bachelor party. | |||||
4 | "Herbie the Best Man" | Vincent McEveety | Arthur Alsberg, Don Nelson | April 7, 1982 | |
Randy Bigelow kidnaps Herbie and substitutes a look-alike in a desperate attempt to break up Jim and Susan's wedding. | |||||
5 | "Calling Dr. Herbie" | Bill Bixby | Arthur Alsberg, Don Nelson | April 14, 1982 | |
Jim and Susan decide to sell her car to buy a family station wagon. |
The series has not become available on DVD, Blu-ray, or Disney+.[ citation needed ]
The series premiered on Brazilian television on January 10, 1993, on TV Globo, on Sunday mornings and then at various times, being the only country to broadcast the program on a Latin American open TV network.