Ivan the Terrible (TV series)

Last updated
Ivan the Terrible
Genre Sitcom
Created byHerbert Sargent
Starring Lou Jacobi
Christopher Hewett
Nana Visitor
Theme music composer Joe Raposo
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes5
Production
Executive producer Alan King
Producer Rupert Hitzig
Running time30 minutes
Production companyKing-Hitzig Productions
Original release
Network CBS
Release21 August (1976-08-21) 
18 September 1976 (1976-09-18)

Ivan the Terribleis an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS as a summer replacement series in 1976. [1]

The series parodied American attitudes toward the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. Set in Moscow, the sitcom starred Lou Jacobi as a Russian hotel waiter named Ivan Petrovsky and the day-to-day misadventures of Ivan's family plus their Cuban exchange student boarder; all of whom live in a cramped, one-bedroom apartment. (The one bedroom being occupied by the family's extremely vicious and feral Russian wolfhound, "Rasputin", who was frequently heard barking and growling, even though this is almost unheard of behavior for that breed of dog, but never seen.)

Also appearing in this series were Christopher Hewett, Phil Leeds, Alan Cauldwell, Despo Diamantidou, and, in her TV series debut, Nana Visitor (here billed under her birth name, Nana Tucker). Harvey Korman appeared as a Soviet bureaucrat in an uncredited cameo at the close of each episode.

Only five episodes of Ivan the Terrible were broadcast on CBS during the late summer of 1976. Alan King was the series' executive producer.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Brady Bunch</i> American sitcom

The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three girls. After its cancellation in 1974, the series debuted in syndication in September 1975. Though it was never a ratings hit or a critical success during its original run, the program has since become a popular syndicated staple, especially among children and teenage viewers.

<i>Last of the Summer Wine</i> British TV sitcom (1973–2010)

Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. Alan J. W. Bell produced and directed all episodes of the show from late 1981 to 2010. The BBC confirmed on 2 June 2010 that Last of the Summer Wine would no longer be produced and the 31st series would be its last. Subsequently, the final episode was broadcast on 29 August 2010. Since its original release, all 295 episodes, comprising thirty-one series—including the pilot and all films and specials—have been released on DVD. Repeats of the show are broadcast in the UK on BBC One, Gold, Yesterday, and Drama. It is also seen in more than 25 countries, including various PBS stations in the United States and on VisionTV in Canada. With the exception of programmes 'rebooted' after long hiatuses, Last of the Summer Wine is the longest-running TV comedy programme in Britain and the longest-running TV sitcom in the world.

<i>The Dick Van Dyke Show</i> American television sitcom (1961–1966)

The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961, to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Productions in association with the CBS Television Network, and was shot at Desilu Studios. Other producers included Bill Persky and Sam Denoff. The music for the show's theme song was written by Earle Hagen.

<i>All in the Family</i> American sitcom television series (1971–1979)

All in the Family is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. It was later produced as Archie Bunker's Place, a continuation series, which picked up where All in the Family ended and ran for four seasons through 1983.

<i>Two and a Half Men</i> American television sitcom (2003–2015)

Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn that originally aired on CBS from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015, with a total of twelve seasons consisting of 262 episodes. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, the series was about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper, his uptight brother, Alan, and Alan's mischievous son, Jake. As Alan's marriage falls apart and divorce appears imminent, he and Jake move into Charlie's beachfront Malibu house and complicate Charlie's freewheeling life.

<i>Maude</i> (TV series) American television series (1972–1978)

Maude is an American sitcom television series that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972, until April 22, 1978. The show was the first spin-off of All in the Family, on which Bea Arthur had made two appearances as Maude Findlay, Edith Bunker's favorite cousin. Like All in the Family, Maude was a sitcom with topical storylines created by producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin.

A television pilot in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distributor. A pilot is created to be a testing ground to gauge whether a series will be successful. It is, therefore, a test episode for the intended television series, an early step in the series development, much like pilot studies serve as precursors to the start of larger activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Stapleton</span> American actress (1923–2013)

Jean Stapleton was an American character actress of stage, television and film. Stapleton portrayed Edith Bunker, the perpetually optimistic and devoted wife of Archie Bunker, on the 1970s sitcom All in the Family, a role that earned her three Emmys and two Golden Globes for Best Actress in a comedy series. She also made occasional appearances on the All in the Family follow-up series Archie Bunker's Place, but asked to be written out of the show during the first season due to becoming tired of the role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nana Visitor</span> American actress (born 1957)

Nana Tucker, known professionally as Nana Visitor, is an American actress, best known for playing Kira Nerys in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Jean Ritter in the television series Wildfire.

<i>The Royle Family</i> British TV sitcom (1998–2012)

The Royle Family is a British sitcom produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series from 1998 to 2000, and specials from 2006 to 2012. It centres on the lives of a television-fixated Manchester family, the Royles, comprising family patriarch Jim Royle, his wife Barbara, their daughter Denise, their son Antony and Denise's fiancé David.

<i>The Carol Burnett Show</i> American variety/sketch comedy television show (1967–1978)

The Carol Burnett Show is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner. In 1975, frequent guest star Tim Conway became a regular cast member after Waggoner left the series. In 1977, Dick Van Dyke replaced Korman but it was agreed that he was not a match and he left after 10 episodes.

<i>The Jeffersons</i> American sitcom (1975–1985)

The Jeffersons is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The Jeffersons is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history.

<i>Green Acres</i> American television sitcom (1965–71)

Green Acres is an American television sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to Petticoat Junction, the series was first broadcast on CBS, from September 15, 1965, to April 27, 1971.

<i>Alice</i> (American TV series) American sitcom television series

Alice is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from August 31, 1976, to March 19, 1985. The series is based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start life over again, and finds a job working at a roadside diner in Phoenix, Arizona. Most of the episodes revolve around events at Mel's Diner, where Alice is employed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Keith</span> American actor (1921–1997)

Robert Alba Keith, known professionally as Brian Keith, was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his six-decade career gained recognition for his work in films such as the Disney family film The Parent Trap (1961); Johnny Shiloh (1963); the comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966); and the adventure saga The Wind and the Lion (1975), in which he portrayed President Theodore Roosevelt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick at Nite</span> Nighttime programming block on Nickelodeon

Nick at Nite is a nighttime programming block on the American basic cable channel Nickelodeon. The programming broadcasts from prime time to late night. The block initially consisted of syndicated sitcoms and films from the 1950s to the 1970s. Nick at Nite gradually shifted its programming to primarily airing sitcoms as recent as the mid-1990s to the 2010s.

<i>Kate & Allie</i> American sitcom

Kate & Allie is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from March 19, 1984, to May 22, 1989, starring Susan Saint James and Jane Curtin as two divorced mothers who decide to live together in the same home. The series was created by Sherry Coben.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitney Blake</span> American actress and director (1926–2002)

Whitney Blake was an American film and television actress, director, and producer. She is known for her four seasons portraying Dorothy Baxter, the mother, on the 1960s sitcom Hazel, and as co-creator and writer of the sitcom One Day at a Time. With her first husband she had three children, including actress Meredith Baxter.

"The Terminator Decoupling" is an episode of the American comedy television series The Big Bang Theory. It first aired on CBS in the United States on March 9, 2009. It is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the series and the thirty-fourth episode overall. The episode features guest appearances by actress Summer Glau and cosmologist George Smoot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Smith (American actor, born 1929)</span> American actor (1929–2006)

Arthur Paul Smith was an American comic character actor with a perpetually perplexed or, alternatively, bemused expression, who, during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, appeared in scores of television episodes, primarily sitcoms, including regular roles in five series, and was also seen in numerous theatrical features, television films and commercials, frequently in brief, sometimes unbilled, comedic bits. Best known for The Doris Day Show (1969-1971).

References

  1. "Do you remember these 6 obscure sitcoms from 1976?". Me TV. Retrieved 2018-10-21.