Normal, Ohio | |
---|---|
Created by | Bonnie Turner Terry Turner Bob Kushell |
Starring | John Goodman Joely Fisher Anita Gillette Orson Bean Mo Gaffney Charles Rocket |
Composers | Ben Vaughn Jeff Sudakin |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 12 (7 aired, 5 unaired episodes) + 1 unaired original alternative pilot |
Production | |
Executive producers | Marcy Carsey Caryn Mandabach Tom Werner |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production companies | Bonter Productions Carsey-Werner Company |
Original release | |
Network | Fox |
Release | November 1 – December 13, 2000 |
Normal, Ohio is an American television sitcom aired on Fox in 2000. The show stars John Goodman as William "Butch" Gamble, a gay man returning to his Midwestern home town. The cast also includes Joely Fisher, Anita Gillette, Orson Bean, Mo Gaffney and Charles Rocket. The title is a reference to Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio .
The original concept for the series was an Odd Couple –style situation comedy called Don't Ask, with Goodman as "Rex", sharing his West Hollywood apartment with college friend David (Anthony LaPaglia). Although the pilot was well-received, creators Bonnie and Terry Turner felt that the premise was not strong enough for an ongoing series. LaPaglia's character was written out and the series was relocated to Ohio. [1]
The show was most notable for the divisions it exposed regarding American culture's view of homosexuality. Gamble is an average blue collar bear-type gay man, with many traits typical of American masculinity, including a love of football and beer, and very few of the traits stereotypically associated with gay men. Nevertheless, his sexuality itself was signified in part by isolated moments of more stereotypically gay behavior, such as singing snippets of Broadway show tunes and helping his sister to color her hair, that were seemingly at odds with the way his character was presented most of the time. As a result, some media outlets dismissed Goodman's role as unrealistic. [2]
Goodman won the People's Choice Award for Best Actor in a New Comedy Series, but, up against the second half hour of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? , it flopped in the Nielsen ratings. Twelve episodes of the series were made, but only seven were aired before its cancellation.
Goodman appeared on the cover of TV Guide's 2000 Fall Preview issue, along with three other actors starring in new sitcoms: Geena Davis, Bette Midler and Michael Richards. The magazine proclaimed them a "fab foursome", but none of the shows was a hit. (In the 2001 Fall Preview issue, the 2000 cover was re-printed with thought balloons over the actors' heads, with Goodman's saying, "Even I didn't buy me as a gay dad!")
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code [3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Homecoming Queen" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner & Bob Kushell | November 1, 2000 | 101 |
2 | "Foreign Affairs" | Phillip Charles MacKenzie | Gregg Mettler | November 8, 2000 | 104 |
3 | "Caught on Tape" | Phillip Charles MacKenzie | Jimmy Aleck & Jim Keily | November 15, 2000 | 106 |
4 | "A Thanksgiving Episode" | Phillip Charles MacKenzie | Miriam Trogdon | November 22, 2000 | 102 |
5 | "Buyer's Remorse" | Phillip Charles MacKenzie | Brad Walsh & Paul Corrigan | November 29, 2000 | 103 |
6 | "Working Girl" | Phillip Charles MacKenzie | Lynnie Greene & Richard Levine | December 6, 2000 | 108 |
7 | "Just Another Normal Christmas" | Phillip Charles MacKenzie | John Schwab | December 13, 2000 | 107 |
8 | "Pamela's New Boyfriend" | Phillip Charles MacKenzie | Bob Nickman | Unaired | 105 |
9 | "Forgotten, But Not Gone" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Brad Walsh & Paul Corrigan | Unaired | 109 |
10 | "The Favorite" | Phillip Charles MacKenzie | Kira Arne | Unaired | 110 |
11 | "He Always Get His Man" | Phillip Charles MacKenzie | Gregg Mettler | Unaired | 111 |
12 | "Charlie's Gamble" | Phillip Charles MacKenzie | Jimmy Aleck & Jim Keily | Unaired | 112 |
00 | "Don't Ask (Unaired Alternative Pilot)" [4] | David Trainer | Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner | Unaired | TBA |
Roseanne is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams that originally aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Roseanne Barr as Roseanne Conner and revolves around her family in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois. Receiving generally positive reviews for its realistic portrayal of a working-class American family, the series reached No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings from 1989 to 1990 in its second season.
The Cosby Show is an American television sitcom created by and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons, including an outtakes special. The show focuses on the Huxtables, an upper middle-class Black-American family living in Brooklyn, New York; the series was based on comedy routines in Cosby's stand-up comedy act, which in turn were based on his family life. The series was followed by a spin-off, titled A Different World, which ran from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993, with a total of six seasons consisting of 144 episodes.
Cybill is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired for four seasons and 87 episodes on CBS from January 2, 1995, to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd, the show revolves around the life of Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of two and struggling actress in her 40s who has never gotten her big break in show business. Alicia Witt and Dedee Pfeiffer co-starred as Sheridan's daughters, with Alan Rosenberg and Tom Wopat playing their respective fathers, while Christine Baranski appeared as Cybill's hard-drinking friend Maryann.
3rd Rock from the Sun is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, which originally aired from January 9, 1996, to May 22, 2001, on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, the third planet from the Sun, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet. The extraterrestrials pose as a human family to observe the behavior of human beings.
Whoopi is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner and starring Whoopi Goldberg that aired for one season on NBC. The series premiered on September 9, 2003, and ran until April 20, 2004. It was canceled by NBC in May 2004. The series revolved around the events and people at her hotel, the fictional Larchmont Hotel, in New York City.
Grounded for Life is an American television sitcom that debuted on January 10, 2001, as a mid-season replacement on Fox. Created by Mike Schiff and Bill Martin, it ran for two seasons on the network until being canceled only two episodes into its third season. It was immediately picked up for the rest of the third season by The WB, where it aired for two additional seasons until the series ended on January 28, 2005.
Orson Bean was an American film, television, and stage actor and comedian. He was a game show and talk show host and a "mainstay of Los Angeles’ small theater scene." He appeared frequently on several televised game shows from the 1960s through the 1980s and was a longtime panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth. "A storyteller par excellence", he was a favorite of Johnny Carson, appearing on The Tonight Show more than 200 times.
The Carsey-Werner Company is an independent production company founded in 1981 by former ABC writer/producer duo Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner. Caryn Mandabach was made a partner in the firm in 2001, but left in 2004 to embark on her own production deal.
Ah, Wilderness! is a comedy play by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on October 2, 1933. It differs from a typical O'Neill play in its happy ending for the central character, and depiction of a happy family in turn-of-the-century America. It is O'Neill's only well-known comedy.
Grace Under Fire is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 29, 1993, to February 17, 1998. The show starred Brett Butler as a single mother learning how to cope with raising her three children alone after finally divorcing her abusive husband. The series was created by Chuck Lorre and produced by Carsey-Werner Productions.
Woops! is an American postapocalyptic sitcom that aired on the Fox network from September 27 to December 6, 1992. The series was created by Gary Jacobs, and produced by Witt/Thomas Productions in association with Touchstone Television.
The Geena Davis Show is an American sitcom television series created by Terri Minsky starring Geena Davis. The show aired for one season on ABC from October 10, 2000, to July 10, 2001, during the 2000–01 U.S. television season.
Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane is an American teen sitcom created by Daniel and Sue Paige, starring Selma Blair, David Moscow, Michael Rosenbaum, and Azura Skye that premiered on The WB network from January 17, 1999 and ended on June 11, 2000. During development, the show was initially known as Zoe Bean and was later retitled Zoe... during its second season. The series aired a total of 26 episodes over its two seasons.
Anita Gillette is an American actress and singer. She has performed numerous roles on Broadway, American television, and in feature films.
M.Y.O.B. is an American sitcom starring Katharine Towne and Lauren Graham. The series premiered on NBC on June 6 and ended on June 27, 2000. Eight episodes were produced, but only four were aired by NBC. It was effectively burned off when The WB picked up Gilmore Girls to series the month before, which would star Graham.
Kristin is an American sitcom television series created by John Markus, starring Kristin Chenoweth. The series premiered on June 5, 2001 on NBC. The show was canceled on July 10, 2001, after six episodes had been screened.
Davis Rules is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC in 1991 and on CBS in 1992. The series was produced by Carsey-Werner Productions.
Danny is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS. The series was created, executive produced and starred Daniel Stern. It was one of the last comedies to air on CBS's Friday night lineup airing along with The Ellen Show which premiered at the same time. The series premiered on September 28, 2001, and was abruptly canceled after two episodes were aired, making it the first series of the 2001 U.S. television season to be canceled.
Brutally Normal is an American sitcom television series that starred Eddie Kaye Thomas from American Pie and Mike Damus from Teen Angel. It aired on The WB. The series premiered on January 24, 2000 with two back-to-back episodes later airing along with Zoe... A total of eight episodes were produced with only five of those episodes airing with the show being canceled on February 14, 2000.
Joel Fluellen was an actor and an activist for the rights of African Americans. He appeared in the films The Jackie Robinson Story, Perils of the Jungle, Duffy of San Quentin, Sitting Bull, Friendly Persuasion, Monster from Green Hell, The Decks Ran Red, Porgy and Bess, A Raisin in the Sun, He Rides Tall, Roustabout, The Chase, The Learning Tree, The Great White Hope, Skin Game, Thomasine & Bushrod, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, Casey's Shadow and Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, among others.