 |
This is an episode list of the Fox television series Get a Life . The series starred Chris Elliott as Chris Peterson, a 30-year-old paperboy who still lives with his parents (portrayed by Elinor Donahue and Elliott's real-life dad Bob Elliott). Also starring was Sam Robards as Chris' best friend Larry, Robin Riker as Larry's wife (and Chris' main antagonist) Sharon, and Brian Doyle-Murray as Chris' surly second-season landlord Gus.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Terror on the Hell Loop 2000" | David Mirkin | Chris Elliott & David Mirkin & Adam Resnick | September 23, 1990 | |
Chris talks his best friend Larry into taking the day off from his job so they can go to the amusement park and ride the new Hell Loop 2000, a 360-degree looped rollercoaster. However the fun ends when they get stuck upside down at the top of the loop. Julie Brown guest stars as TV reporter Connie Bristol. The opening theme is before and after the pilot. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Prettiest Week of My Life" | David Mirkin | Adam Resnick & Chris Elliott | September 30, 1990 | |
Chris decides to enter the exciting world of male modeling when he joins the Handsome Boy School of Modeling. Brian Doyle-Murray guest stars as Ted Bains. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Dadicus" | Tony Dow | Marjorie Gross | October 7, 1990 | |
Chris convinces his father to accompany him to the father-son competition at the annual newspaper boy picnic. James Hampton guest stars. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "A Family Affair" | Dwayne Hickman | Ian Gurvitz | October 14, 1990 | |
Sharon's sister comes to visit and she is taken with Chris' charm, much to Sharon's chagrin. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Pile of Death" | Peter Baldwin | Adam Resnick & Chris Elliott | October 21, 1990 | |
In order to raise money to help save his childhood playground, Chris attempts to set a world record by having the most things piled on top of him. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Paperboy 2000" | Peter Baldwin | Adam Markowitz & Bill Freiberger | November 4, 1990 | |
Chris and the other paper boys lose their jobs when the newspaper replaces them with the Paperboy 2000, a gigantic paper-delivering robotic vehicle. To get everyone's job back, Chris challenges Paperboy 2000 to a paper-delivering contest. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Drivers License" | David Mirkin | David Mirkin | November 11, 1990 | |
Chris becomes infatuated with a new waitress at the local diner (Anastasia Barzee) and wants to take her out on a date, but she'll only go if he takes her on a drive around town. However, Chris never got a driver's license and tries to keep that fact a secret when he "borrows" his dad's car for his date. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Sitting" | David Steinberg | Miguel Furman & Marjorie Gross & Adam Resnick | November 18, 1990 | |
Chris becomes a house sitter in an old Victorian house that appears to be haunted. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Bored Straight" | David Mirkin | Marjorie Gross | December 2, 1990 | |
While delivering papers in the bad side of town, Chris meets a group of young hoodlums and he decides to "take back the streets" by helping the kids. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Zoo Animals on Wheels" | Peter Baldwin | Adam Resnick | December 16, 1990 | |
Much to Sharon's dismay, Chris auditions for and gets the lead part in a local community theatre production of Andrew Todd Keller's musical "Zoo Animals on Wheels" (a parody of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals "Cats" and "Starlight Express"). | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Roots" | Dwayne Hickman | Adam Markowitz & Bill Freiberger | January 6, 1991 | |
Chris finds evidence that makes him think he is adopted, so he sets off to find his natural parents, an Amish couple. When he finds them, they are even less prepared for Chris' bizarre behavior than Fred and Gladys. | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "The Counterfeit Watch Story" | David Mirkin | Adam Resnick | February 3, 1991 | |
Chris goes to work for the police in a sting operation after he buys a counterfeit watch, the Chronosynch 2000. | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Chris vs. Donald" | Dwayne Hickman | Adam Resnick | February 10, 1991 | |
At the annual Peterson family reunion, Chris is still struggling to get out from under the shadow of his more successful cousin Donald (Jackie Earle Haley). | ||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Chris Wins a Celebrity" | Dean Parisot | Adam Resnick | February 24, 1991 | |
Chris wins a contest, where his favorite talk show host will spend a weekend at his place. The squalor of the Elliott residence makes the host try to get out of the contest, until Chris gets him in on some of his fun activities. However, after enjoying some of Chris' zany antics, the host says he is through with Hollywood, to Chris' regret. Martin Mull guest stars. | ||||||
| 15 | 15 | "Houseboy 2000" | Peter Baldwin | Marjorie Gross | March 10, 1991 | |
After destroying her kitchen, Chris becomes Sharon's slave to work off the $2,000 in damage. | ||||||
| 16 | 16 | "Married" | David Mirkin | David Mirkin | March 24, 1991 | |
In the span of one day, Chris meets his soulmate (Deborah Shelton), marries her and goes through an entire relationship with her. | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | "Camping 2000" | Dean Parisot | Steve Pepoon | March 31, 1991 | |
Chris and Larry join Chris' dad Fred on a camping trip. When Fred manages to lose them, the hungry boys eat some berries that cause them to hallucinate. | ||||||
| 18 | 18 | "The Construction Worker Show" | David Mirkin | Adam Resnick | April 7, 1991 | |
Chris becomes a construction worker with the men who are renovating his parents kitchen. When they tell him one of their trade secrets, Chris has a problem with their dishonesty. | ||||||
| 19 | 19 | "The Big City" | Peter Baldwin | Marjorie Gross | April 21, 1991 | |
During a visit to "The Big City" (somehow set in the 1930s or 1950s) that resembles New York City, Chris believes his wallet was stolen after he was slipped a "mickey". Chris soon becomes a celebrity known affectionately in the City as "Walletboy". | ||||||
| 20 | 20 | "Neptune 2000" | David Mirkin | Steve Pepoon | April 28, 1991 | |
When Chris was 12 he got a job as a paperboy so he could buy a submarine from an ad in the back of a comic book. Chris and his father put it together. However, when they embark on the sub's maiden voyage (in Chris's bathtub), they become trapped. | ||||||
| 21 | 21 | "The One Where Chris and Larry Switch Lives" | David Mirkin | Edd Hall | May 12, 1991 | |
After stealing an arrowhead from an Indian burial ground, Chris and Larry become cursed and wind up switching lives. Chris then has 24 hours to return the arrowhead or suffer the fate of being married to Sharon forever. | ||||||
| 22 | 22 | "Psychic 2000" | David Mirkin | David Mirkin | May 19, 1991 | |
Chris has a near-death experience after choking on cereal and is endowed with prescience. However he becomes worried when one of his visions is of Sharon being murdered. | ||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "Chris Moves Out" | David Mirkin | Adam Resnick, David Mirkin | November 9, 1991 | |
Chris turns 31 and decides it's time to move out, so he goes in search of a new place to live and he moves into Gus' garage. | ||||||
| 24 | 2 | "Larry on the Loose" | David Mirkin | Bob Odenkirk | November 16, 1991 | |
Larry takes off after listening to Chris reminding him of everything wrong with his life. So Chris goes in search of Larry and when he fails, he goes in search of a new best friend. Larry Potter last episode of the series. | ||||||
| 25 | 3 | "Meat Locker 2000" | David Mirkin | Jace Richdale | November 23, 1991 | |
Chris and Sharon show their true feelings when they become trapped in a meat locker together. | ||||||
| 26 | 4 | "Health Inspector 2000" | Dean Parisot | Steve Pepoon | November 30, 1991 | |
After finding a dead rat in his carton of milk, Chris decides to become a food inspector. | ||||||
| 27 | 5 | "Chris Gets His Tonsils Out" | David Mirkin | Eileen Conn, Andrew Gordon | December 7, 1991 | |
Chris must deal with the fact he is ready to undergo "major" surgery and he begins by trying to make peace with Sharon. | ||||||
| 28 | 6 | "Prisoner of Love" | David Mirkin | Charlie Kaufman | December 14, 1991 | |
When his pen-pal gets released from prison, she comes to stay with Chris. She takes him hostage when the police come after her when she starts criminal activities under Chris' nose. Nora Dunn guest stars. This is the last episode of Fred and Gladys Peterson. | ||||||
| 29 | 7 | "Chris Becomes a Male Escort" | John Fortenberry | Adam Resnick | December 21, 1991 | |
Chris decides on a whim to become a male escort, hoping for free plays and dates with young women. What he gets is an elderly woman who is hard up. | ||||||
| 30 | 8 | "Girlfriend 2000" | David Mirkin | David Mirkin | January 12, 1992 | |
After getting hit by her car, Chris falls for (and stalks) a doctor; later, while stalking her, he starts getting stalked by the girl from the drugstore who has fallen for him. Emma Samms guest stars. | ||||||
| 31 | 9 | "Chris' Brain Starts Working" | John Fortenberry | Steve Pepoon | January 19, 1992 | |
Exposure to toxic waste found under Gus' house turns Chris into a genius, and with Gus he proceeds to enter and win spelling bees. | ||||||
| 32 | 10 | "Bad Fish" | David Mirkin | Bob Odenkirk | February 2, 1992 | |
After eating bad shellfish, Sharon and Gus get amnesia, and Chris seizes the opportunity to convince them that they are his best friends. | ||||||
| 33 | 11 | "SPEWEY and Me" | David Mirkin | Jace Richdale | February 9, 1992 | |
| 34 | 12 | "1977 2000" | David Mirkin | Charlie Kaufman | March 1, 1992 | |
Chris time travels to save Gus' career as a law enforcement officer, however, he soon discovers the trouble with messing with the past which includes two-headed zombies named Sharon. | ||||||
| 35 | 13 | "Clip Show" | David Mirkin | David Mirkin | March 8, 1992 | |
In this clip show, while on his first jet airplane flight, Chris falls out, and is disappointed when his life flashes before his eyes and it only covers the past eighteen months. He survives the fall when he unexpectedly lands on a bed, but then the bed turns out to be made of explosives and blows him up. | ||||||
The Razor's Edge is a 1944 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It tells the story of Larry Darrell, an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. Maugham is the narrator whose narration takes the form of relating his conversations and reactions to the characters. He finds Larry both mystifying and compelling. The story begins through the eyes of Larry's friends and acquaintances as they witness his personality change after the war. His rejection of conventional life and search for meaningful experience allows him to thrive while the more materialistic characters suffer reversals of fortune.
Christopher Nash Elliott is an American actor, comedian and writer known for his surreal sense of humor. He appeared in comedic sketches on Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1988), created and starred in the comedy series Get a Life (1990–1992) on Fox, and wrote and starred in the film Cabin Boy (1994). His writing has won four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards. His other television appearances include recurring roles on Everybody Loves Raymond (2003–2005) and How I Met Your Mother (2009–2014), and starring roles as Chris Monsanto in Adult Swim's Eagleheart (2011–2014) and Roland Schitt in Schitt's Creek (2015–2020). He also appeared in the films Manhunter (1986), Groundhog Day (1993) Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), Osmosis Jones (2001), Scary Movie 2 (2001), and The Rewrite (2014).
Robert Brackett Elliott was an American comedian and actor, one-half of the comedy duo of Bob and Ray. He was the father of comedian/actor Chris Elliott and grandfather of actresses and comedians Abby Elliott and Bridey Elliott. He is most remembered for the character of radio reporter Wally Ballou.
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up comedian, and then moved into television writing. He wrote for the sitcoms Three's Company, It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show and served as showrunner on the series Newhart. After an unsuccessful attempt to remake the British series The Young Ones, Mirkin created Get a Life in 1990. The series starred comedian Chris Elliott and ran for two seasons, despite a lack of support from many Fox network executives, who disliked the show's dark and surreal humor. He moved on to create the sketch show The Edge starring his then-partner, actress Julie Brown.
Adam Resnick is an American comedy writer from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his work writing for Late Night with David Letterman.
Christopher Cross Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is the second of three children of Peter and Lois Griffin and is also the older brother of Stewie Griffin and the younger brother of Meg Griffin. He is voiced by the American actor, producer, and writer Seth Green and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow" on January 31, 1999.
Charles Stuart Kaufman is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. He wrote the films Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He both wrote and directed the films Synecdoche, New York (2008), Anomalisa (2015), and I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020). In 2020, Kaufman released his first novel, Antkind.
Katharine Juliet Ross is an American retired actress. Her accolades include an Academy Award nomination, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards.
Elliott Gould is an American actor.
Sam Prideaux Robards is an American actor. He is best known for his film roles in American Beauty (1999) and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). For his performance in the Broadway production of The Man Who Had All the Luck, he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
The Razor's Edge is a 1946 American drama film based on W. Somerset Maugham's 1944 novel of the same name. It stars Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, and Herbert Marshall, with a supporting cast including Lucile Watson, Frank Latimore, and Elsa Lanchester. Marshall plays Somerset Maugham. The film was directed by Edmund Goulding.
The Razor's Edge is a 1984 American historical drama film directed and co-written by John Byrum starring Bill Murray, Theresa Russell, Catherine Hicks, Denholm Elliott, Brian Doyle-Murray, and James Keach. The film is an adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's 1944 novel The Razor's Edge.
Lifeguard is a 1976 American drama film made by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Daniel Petrie from a screenplay by Ron Koslow. It stars Sam Elliott, Anne Archer, Stephen Young, Parker Stevenson, and Kathleen Quinlan. The film follows Rick Carlson, a Southern California lifeguard who is prompted to reexamine his life when he attends his high school reunion.
Dilbert is an American adult animated sitcom produced by Adelaide Productions, Idbox and United Media, and distributed by Columbia TriStar Television. The series is an adaptation of the comic strip of the same name by Scott Adams, who also served as executive producer and showrunner for the series along with former Seinfeld writer Larry Charles. The first episode was broadcast on January 25, 1999, and was UPN's highest-rated comedy series premiere at that point in the network's history; it lasted two seasons with thirty episodes and won a Primetime Emmy for its title sequence.
Antoinette "Toni" Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Laura Hill from 2001 until 2008.
Total Drama Island is the first season of Total Drama series, a Canadian animated television series created by Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch. The series premiered in Canada on Teletoon on July 8, 2007, and ran for 26 episodes, each 22 minutes in duration with a special 44-minute season finale.
Skellington Productions was an American animation studio and production company that was a joint venture between Walt Disney Feature Animation and directors Henry Selick and Tim Burton. The company specialized in stop motion animation and made use of the art in its two films. The studio's last work was season one of KaBlam!, after which it was closed by Disney.
Abigail Elliott is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2008 to 2012, and has starred on the Bravo comedy Odd Mom Out, the NBC sitcom Indebted, and the FX/Hulu comedy-drama The Bear. She is the daughter of actor and comedian Chris Elliott and sister of Bridey Elliott.
The Stranger Who Looks Like Me is a 1974 American made-for-television drama romance film directed by Larry Peerce and starring Meredith Baxter, Beau Bridges and Walter Brooke. The cast includes Whitney Blake, who was Meredith Baxter's real-life mother; Bill Vint, who starred in the drive-in classic Macon County Line, as well as future Dallas star Patrick Duffy, who has a small part. The film originally premiered as the ABC Movie of the Week on March 6, 1974.
Get a Life is a television sitcom that was broadcast in the United States on the Fox Network from September 23, 1990, to March 8, 1992. The show stars Chris Elliott as a 30-year-old paperboy named Chris Peterson. Peterson lived in an apartment above his parents' garage. The opening credits depict Chris Peterson delivering newspapers on his bike to the show's theme song, "Stand" by R.E.M.