The Montefuscos

Last updated
The Montefuscos
GenreComedy
Created by Bill Persky
Sam Denoff
Directed byDon Richardson
Bill Brinckerhoff
Starring Joseph Sirola
Naomi Stevens
Ron Carey
Composer Peter Lurye
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8 (plus 1 pre-empted)
Production
Executive producersBill Persky
Sam Denoff
ProducersDon Van Atta
Bill Idelson
Production companiesConcept II Productions
MGM Television
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseSeptember 4 (1975-09-04) –
October 23, 1975 (1975-10-23)

The Montefuscosis an American sitcom that was cancelled after three episodes were broadcast in 1975. It aired on NBC, which chose to run a total of eight episodes (a ninth was pre-empted by Game 5 of the 1975 World Series) from September 4 to October 23, 1975 despite its earlier cancellation notice. Created by executive producers Bill Persky and Sam Denoff, the comedy centered on three generations of an Italian-American family that lived in New Canaan, Connecticut and their weekly gatherings for Sunday dinner. [1] It led off a Thursday prime time schedule that also featured new programs Fay , Ellery Queen and Medical Story .

Contents

Cast

From left: Back-son Nunzio (Sal Viscuso), son Joseph (John Aprea), daughter Angie (Linda Dano), son in law Jim (Bill Cort). Middle-Daughter in Law Teresa (Phoebe Dorin), mother Rose (Naomi Stevens), father Tony (Joseph Sirola), son Frank (Ron Carey). Front-the grandchildren played by: Dominique Pinassi, Jeffrey Palladini, Damon Raskin and Robby Paris. The Montefuscos cast 1975.JPG
From left: Back-son Nunzio (Sal Viscuso), son Joseph (John Aprea), daughter Angie (Linda Dano), son in law Jim (Bill Cort). Middle-Daughter in Law Teresa (Phoebe Dorin), mother Rose (Naomi Stevens), father Tony (Joseph Sirola), son Frank (Ron Carey). Front-the grandchildren played by: Dominique Pinassi, Jeffrey Palladini, Damon Raskin and Robby Paris.

Production

The sitcom's original title prior to its debut was Sunday Night Dinner, but it was changed by NBC's vice president of programs Marvin Antonowsky as a result of unfavorable test results. [2] Thirteen episodes were videotaped before a live audience, but only eight aired. [3]

Reception

The series generally received unfavorable reviews from television critics, some of whom called it "The Monte-Fiascos." [4] John J. O'Connor of The New York Times pointed out the primary target of the criticism when he stated, "We are obviously, snugly ensconced in the world of stereotype." He described the members of the fictional family as tending "to shout frequently, throw their arms about one another, slap one another's back." [5]

Gary Deeb of the Chicago Tribune was much less tactful in his analysis, saying that it was "a program built around an alleged Italian family in which each member talked with his hands, drank gallons of red wine, and said 'AY!' approximately every 15 seconds." [4] He added, "If you grew up in a real Italian family, this shameful piece of burlesque will have you writhing in disbelief." [6]

Cancellation

The Montefuscos was slated to air opposite the first half-hour of The Waltons on CBS and Barney Miller on ABC. It debuted along with Fay and Medical Story on September 4, 1975, just prior to premiere week. [5] Three weeks later on September 25, NBC announced that The Montefuscos and Fay would be dropped from its primetime schedule after October 23 because of poor showings in the Nielsen ratings. Both shows were the first ones cancelled during the 1975–76 television season. [7]

ABC Television president Fred Pierce spoke out against NBC's swift cancellations, pointing out that the ratings for Barney Miller in its first season were no better than those of The Montefuscos under the similar circumstance of going opposite The Waltons in the same time slot. He explained, "Unless a show is absolutely hopeless, a network ought at least try it in another time period before giving up on it, if only out of respect for the people in Hollywood who made large investments of money and time in the programs." [8]

Episodes

NºTitleOriginal air date
1"Behind Papa's Back"September 4, 1975 (1975-09-04)
Tony's reading of his will after dinner has the other family members worried about his health.
2"My Son, the Actor"September 11, 1975 (1975-09-11)
The family anticipates Nunzio's professional acting debut on a live, local television production.
3"Nunzie's Girl"September 18, 1975 (1975-09-18)
Nunzio's girlfriend (Candice Azzara) is revealed to have once secretly dated Frank.
4"The Last of the Red Hot Dinners"September 25, 1975 (1975-09-25)
Tony is furious when his son-in-law Jim is late for dinner because he attended a football game.
5"Do You Take This Montefusco"October 2, 1975 (1975-10-02)
Tony & Rose's 40th wedding anniversary celebration is marred by an angry outburst during Mass.
6"Too Many Cooks"October 9, 1975 (1975-10-09)
With Rose ill from an infected wisdom tooth, the rest of the family attempts to prepare dinner.
7"Here Comes the Priest"October 16, 1975 (1975-10-16)
The family anxiously awaits the Bishop's arrival, hoping Joey is appointed pastor of the local parish.
Note: This episode was originally scheduled to air that night, but was preempted by the network's telecast of Game 5 of the 1975 World Series.
8"Filomena's Visit"October 23, 1975 (1975-10-23)
Filomena (Kaye Ballard), Tony's sister and Rose's bitter rival, interrupts Sunday dinner.
9"Papa Pasta"October 23, 1975 (1975-10-23)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The WB</span> American television network (1995–2006)

The WB Television Network was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. Entertainment division of Time Warner and the Tribune Broadcasting subsidiary of the Tribune Company, with the former acting as controlling partner. The network aired programs targeting teenagers and young adults between the ages of 13 and 34, while its children's division, Kids' WB, targeted children between the ages of 6 and 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ritter</span> American actor (1948–2003)

Johnathan Southworth Ritter was an American actor. Ritter was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is known for playing Jack Tripper on the ABC sitcom Three's Company (1977–1984), and received a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the role in 1984. Ritter briefly reprised the role on the spin-off Three's a Crowd, which aired for one season, producing 22 episodes before its cancellation in 1985.

<i>Joey</i> (TV series) American sitcom

Joey is an American sitcom created by Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan. It is a spin-off to Friends, with Matt LeBlanc reprising his role as Joey Tribbiani. It premiered on NBC on September 9, 2004. Midway through the second season, the show was placed on a hiatus but returned on March 7, 2006. Only one more episode aired before the show was pulled. NBC canceled the series due to low ratings in May 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Glass</span> American actor (1945–2016)

Ronald Earle Glass was an American actor. He was known for his roles as literary Det. Ron Harris in the television sitcom Barney Miller (1975–1982), and as the spiritual shepherd, Shepherd Book, in the science fiction series Firefly (2002) and its sequel film Serenity (2005).

<i>Somerset</i> (TV series) American TV series or program

Somerset is an American television soap opera which ran on NBC from March 30, 1970, until December 31, 1976. The show was a spin-off of another NBC serial, Another World. The show was created by Robert Cenedella and was produced by Lyle B Hill.

<i>The Ropers</i> American TV series or program

The Ropers is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from March 13, 1979, to May 15, 1980. It is a spin-off of Three's Company and loosely based on the British sitcom George and Mildred, which was itself a spin-off of Man About the House, on which Three's Company was based.

That's My Mama is an American television sitcom that was the first series to be produced by Columbia Pictures Television and originally broadcast for 39 episodes on ABC from September 4, 1974, to December 24, 1975. That's My Mama was never a ratings success, having always been beaten by NBC's Little House on the Prairie among other competing programs, and was not among of the top 30 most-watched U.S. programs in the Nielsen ratings for either the 1974–1975 or 1975–1976 television seasons. As a result, the series ended on Christmas Eve 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Majandra Delfino</span> Venezuelan-born American actress and singer

Maria Alejandra Delfino, known professionally as Majandra Delfino, is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Maria DeLuca on Roswell, and as Andi on the CBS sitcom Friends with Better Lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rural purge</span> Coordinated cancellations of American rural-themed television programs

The "rural purge" of American television networks was a series of cancellations in the early 1970s of still-popular rural-themed shows with demographically skewed audiences, the majority of which occurred at the end of the 1970–71 television season. In addition to rural-themed shows such as Mayberry R.F.D., The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres, the cancellations ended several highly rated variety shows that had been on CBS since the beginning of television broadcasting. CBS saw a dramatic change in direction with the shift, moving away from shows with rural themes and toward more appeal to urban and suburban audiences.

<i>Angie</i> (TV series) American TV series or program

Angie is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from February 8, 1979, to September 4, 1980. The series was created by Garry Marshall and Dale McRaven, and produced by Miller-Milkis Productions in association with Paramount Television.

This is a list of Australian television-related events in 1976.

The Fanelli Boys is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 8, 1990, to February 16, 1991, as part of its 1990–91 prime time schedule. The series was created by the team of Barry Fanaro, Mort Nathan, Kathy Speer, and Terry Grossman, all of whom previously worked on The Golden Girls.

Kodiak is a half-hour adventure program that aired Friday evenings at 8:00 p.m Eastern time on ABC during the 1974-1975 television season. The show filled the time spot left vacant by ABC's cancellation of The Brady Bunch.

In American broadcast programming, "burning off" is the custom of quickly airing the remaining episodes of a television program, usually one that has already been or is planned to be cancelled, without the intent to attract a large number of viewers. In addition to airing episodes two at a time, this process may also include rescheduling the show to a lower-rated time slot, or transferring the show to a less visible sister network. A low-rated show that premiered in the early portion of the regular television season may return during the summer, only to have the final episodes "burned off."

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

Fay is an American sitcom starring Lee Grant as the title character. The series aired on NBC from September 1975 to June 1976.

The 50th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 13, 1998. It was broadcast on NBC.

Witt/Thomas Productions is an American television and movie production company run by TV producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas. The company was consistently productive between its founding in 1973 and 1999, but is still active, producing an occasional film or TV series project. It has produced more than 25 American primetime television series, mostly half-hour sitcoms. Witt/Thomas is perhaps best known for producing the popular sitcoms Soap, Benson, It's a Living, The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, Blossom, and Brotherly Love. Witt and Thomas have also produced many cinematic works, including the 1989 box office collection success Dead Poets Society.

<i>The Hogan Family</i> American television series

The Hogan Family is an American sitcom television series that began airing on NBC on March 1, 1986, and finished its run on CBS on July 20, 1991, for a total of six seasons. It was produced in association with Lorimar Productions (1986), Lorimar-Telepictures (1986–88), and Lorimar Television (1988–91).

Rickey William Kelman is a former actor. He had supporting roles in two single-season sitcoms, The Dennis O'Keefe Show (1959-1960) on CBS and Our Man Higgins (1962-1963) on ABC.

References

  1. ↑ The Montefuscos – The Classic TV Archive.
  2. ↑ Kane, Arnold. My Meteoric Rise to Obscurity. Rancho Mirage, CA: We Publish Books, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2020
  3. ↑ Leszczak, Bob. Single Season Sitcoms, 1948-1979: A Complete Guide. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2020
  4. 1 2 Deeb, Gary. "'Grady' is latest in long line of losers," Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, December 3, 1975.
  5. 1 2 O'Connor, John J. "TV: New on NBC, 2 Comedies and 'Medical Story,'" The New York Times, Thursday, September 4, 1975.
  6. ↑ Deeb, Gary. "More than ever before," Chicago Tribune, Sunday, September 7, 1975.
  7. ↑ "NBC Dropping 'Fay' And 'Montefuscos,'" The New York Times, Friday, September 26, 1975.
  8. ↑ Brown, Les. "ABC Chief Scores Cuts In TV Series," The New York Times, Monday, October 6, 1975.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.