Public Morals (1996 TV series)

This article is about 1996 sitcom. For the 2015 drama, see Public Morals (2015 TV series).

Public Morals
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Steven Bochco Jay Tarses
Starring	Peter Gerety Donal Logue Bill Brochtrup Julianne Christie Jana Marie Hupp Joseph Latimore Justin Louis Larry Romano
Composers	Ben Decter Mike Post
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producers	Steven Bochco Jay Tarses
Producers	Dayna Flanagan Stephen C. Grossman
Production locations	Los Angeles, California [1]
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production companies	Steven Bochco Productions 20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	October 30, 1996 (1996-10-30) – January 29, 1997 (1997-01-29)
Related
NYPD Blue

Public Morals is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from October 30, 1996, to January 29, 1997. Created and executive produced by Steven Bochco and Jay Tarses, the series was poorly received and was canceled after airing only one episode. ^[2]

Synopsis

The show is based around a group of mismatched detectives and others in New York City's vice squad. Among the actors who appear in the series are Peter Gerety and Donal Logue. Bill Brochtrup's character John Irvin, an administrative assistant, had been imported into the show from the drama NYPD Blue , and would return to NYPD Blue after the cancellation of Public Morals. Both Public Morals and NYPD Blue were produced by Steven Bochco. ^[3]

Cast

• Peter Gerety as Lieutenant Neil Fogarty
• Donal Logue as Detective Ken Schuler
• Bill Brochtrup as John Irvin
• Julianne Christie as Detective Corinne O'Boyle
• Jana Marie Hupp as Sergeant Val Vandergoodt
• Joseph Latimore as Officer Darnell "Shag" Ruggs
• Justin Louis as Detective Mickey Crawford
• Larry Romano as Detective Richie Biondi

Reception

The original pilot episode of Public Morals was scrapped because critics and some CBS affiliates believed the language was too vulgar. However, the episode that did air was also poorly received. Critics argued that the characters were one-dimensional and that some of the humor involved racial stereotypes. ^{[4] [5]}

Episodes

The fifth episode, "The White Cover", was originally the pilot.

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"The Blue Cover"	Don Scardino	Jay Tarses	October 30, 1996 (1996-10-30)
2	"The Yellow Cover"	Don Scardino	Lisa Albert	November 6, 1996 (1996-11-06)
3	"The Aqua Cover"	Don Scardino	Matt Tarses	November 13, 1996 (1996-11-13)
4	"The Red Cover"	Don Scardino	Beth Fieger Falkenstein	November 20, 1996 (1996-11-20)
5	"The White Cover"	Andy Ackerman	Jay Tarses	November 27, 1996 (1996-11-27)
6	"The Green Cover"	Don Scardino	Richard Dresser	December 4, 1996 (1996-12-04)
7	"The Purple Cover"	Don Scardino	Dan Greenberger	December 11, 1996 (1996-12-11)
8	"The Orange Cover"	Don Scardino	Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland	December 18, 1996 (1996-12-18)
9	"The Shrimp Cover"	Don Scardino	Richard Dresser	January 1, 1997 (1997-01-01)
10	"The Cornflower Cover"	John Ferraro	Lisa Albert	January 8, 1997 (1997-01-08)
11	"The Goldenrod Cover"	John Ferraro	Matt Tarses	January 15, 1997 (1997-01-15)
12	"The Camel Cover"	John Ferraro	Lisa Albert & Marc Flanagan	January 22, 1997 (1997-01-22)
13	"The Tuna Cover"	Jay Tarses	Richard Dresser	January 29, 1997 (1997-01-29)

References

1. Gerard, Jeremy (November 4, 1996). "Review: 'Public Morals Cbs, Wed. Oct. 30, 9:30 p.m.'". Variety. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
2. Brian Stelter. "Canceled After a Single Episode: TV’s One-Show Wonders". New York Times. April 18, 2008. Retrieved on November 11, 2008.
3. "True-blue actor has little time to mourn 'Morals'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 1, 1996. E2.
4. Allan Johnson. "Boorish Bochco: Stereotypical 'Public Morals' is nothing to laugh at". Chicago Tribune. November 6, 1996. p. 3.
5. Tom Shales. "'Morals' not so much a comedy as a crime". San Diego Union-Tribune. November 7, 1996. E3.

External links

• Public Morals at IMDb
• Public Morals at epguides.com