Sonny Spoon

Sonny Spoon
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Michael Daly Dinah Prince Stephen J. Cannell Randall Wallace
Starring	Mario Van Peebles Melvin Van Peebles Jordana Capra
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	15
Production
Running time	48 minutes
Production companies	Stephen J. Cannell Productions NBC Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	February 12 (1988-2-12) – December 16, 1988 (1988-12-16)

Sonny Spoon is an American crime drama television series that aired on NBC television network from February 12 to December 16, 1988. The series was created by Michael Daly, Dinah Prince, Stephen J. Cannell, and Randall Wallace, and was a joint production of Stephen J. Cannell Productions in association with NBC Productions.

Overview

Sonny Spoon stars Mario Van Peebles as Sonny, a hip, black private investigator who uses his street smarts and "cool" persona to solve crimes. He often assists, and is assisted by, Carolyn Gilder (Terry Donahoe), an attractive assistant district attorney. Additionally, Sonny was a master of disguises, and might spend part of any given episode dressed as a clergyman, an Arab tourist, or an old lady. He used his many connections on the streets and relationships with friends and informants (who were apparently attracted to him mostly by his vibrant personality, as he had little cash to share with them) to further his ends, and also the insights of his father, Mel, a bar owner (played by Melvin Van Peebles, Mario's real-life father).

Cast

• Mario Van Peebles as Sonny Spoon
• Melvin Van Peebles as Mel Spoon
• Terry Donahoe as Carolyn Gilder
• Jordana Capra as Monique
• Bob Wieland as Johnny Skates
• Larry Friel as Det. Bartlett

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	7		February 12, 1988 (1988-2-12)	April 12, 1988 (1988-4-12)
2	8		October 7, 1988 (1988-10-7)	December 16, 1988 (1988-12-16)

Season 1 (1988)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Rating/share (households)
1	1	"Sam's Private Eye"	Corey Allen	Unknown	February 12, 1988 (1988-2-12)	12.0/21 [1]
2	2	"Wizard of Odds"	Rob Bowman	Stephen J. Cannell	February 19, 1988 (1988-2-19)	11.3/19 [2]
3	3	"Crimes Below the Waist"	Robert Iscove	Story by : Stephen J. Cannell & Randall Wallace & Michael Daly & Dinah Prince Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell	February 26, 1988 (1988-2-26)	11.2/20 [3]
4	4	"Who's Got Tonsillitis?"	Unknown	Unknown	March 4, 1988 (1988-3-4)	12.3/22 [4]
5	5	"Semper Fi"	Alan Cooke	Randall Wallace	March 11, 1988 (1988-3-11)	11.7/21 [5]
6	6	"Tough Habit"	Unknown	Unknown	March 18, 1988 (1988-3-18)	12.1/22 [6]
7	7	"Too Good to Be True, Too Smart to Get Caught"	Roy Campanella II	Stephen J. Cannell & Randall Wallace	April 12, 1988 (1988-4-12)	11.6/20 [7]

Season 2 (1988)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Viewers (millions)	Rating/share (households)
8	1	"Never Go to Your High School Reunion"	Roy Campanella II	Story by : Stephen J. Cannell Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell & Jo Swerling, Jr.	October 7, 1988 (1988-10-7)	15.7 [8]	11.3/21 [8]
9	2	"Cheap & Chili"	Mario Van Peebles	Randall Wallace	October 14, 1988 (1988-10-14)	13.1 [9]	8.8/16 [9]
10	3	"Blind Justice"	Dennis Dugan	Jack Bernstein	October 28, 1988 (1988-10-28)	11.7 [10]	8.3/15 [10]
11	4	"Papa Rozzi"	Randy Roberts	Robert Bielak	November 4, 1988 (1988-11-4)	11.8 [11]	8.1/14 [11]
12	5	"Ratman Can"	Dick Miller	Randall Wallace	December 2, 1988 (1988-12-2)	12.8 [12]	9.0/15 [12]
13	6	"Deuces Wild"	Bruce Kessler	Stephen J. Cannell	December 9, 1988 (1988-12-9)	12.9 [13]	8.5/14 [13]
14	7	"Diamonds Aren't Forever"	Bruce Kessler	Jonathan Glassner	December 16, 1988 (1988-12-16)	14.7 [14]	9.2/16 [14]
15	8	"The Final Exam"	N/A	N/A	Unaired	N/A	TBA

Production

Sonny Spoon began its run as a mid-season replacement in February 1988, and was renewed for a second season. It did not sustain its early momentum and was canceled in December 1988.

Broadcast history

Season	Time slot (ET)
1987–88	Friday at 10:00 pm
1988–89	Friday at 8:00 pm (Episodes 1-4) Friday at 9:00 pm (Episodes 5-7)

References

1. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . February 17, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306012742.
2. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . February 24, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   305993630.
3. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . March 2, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306042747.
4. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . March 9, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306024044.
5. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . March 16, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306030149.
6. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . March 23, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306010273.
7. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . April 20, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306035713.
8. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . October 12, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306106992.
9. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . October 19, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306123175.
10. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . November 2, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306129406.
11. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . November 9, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306136856.
12. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . December 7, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306146398.
13. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . December 14, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306143538.
14. "A very 'Brady' ratings hit". Life. USA Today . December 21, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest   306159082.

Sources

• Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows

External links

• Sonny Spoon at IMDb