The King of Queens

The King of Queens
Genre Sitcom
Created by
Starring
Opening theme "Baby All My Life I Will Be Driving Home To You" by Billy Vera (1999–07)
Ending theme "Baby All My Life I Will Be Driving Home To You" (instrumental) (season 2)
Composer(s) Andrew Gross (season 1)
Jonathan Wolff
Rich Ragsdale
Kurt Farquhar (2000–07)
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 9
No. of episodes 207 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s) Jim Kukucka
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 21–22 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor
United States:
  • Columbia TriStar Television
  • Sony Pictures Television (2002–present)

International:

Release
Original network CBS
Picture format
Audio format Dolby Surround 2.0
Original release September 21, 1998 (1998-09-21) – May 14, 2007 (2007-05-14)
External links
Website

The King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007. The show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions (1998–2006), CBS Paramount Television (2006–07), in association with Columbia TriStar Television (1998–2002), and Sony Pictures Television (2002–07). It was filmed at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California.

After the series finale broadcast on May 14, 2007, The King of Queens became the last American live action sitcom that premiered in the 1990s to end its run.

Plot

Doug and Carrie Heffernan are a working class couple living at "3121 Aberdeen Street" in Rego Park, Queens, New York,[1] along with Carrie's eccentric father, Arthur Spooner.[2] Doug works for the fictional International Parcel Service (IPS) as a delivery driver, while Carrie works as a secretary in Manhattan, first for a law firm and later for a real estate firm. Their lives are complicated by the demands of Arthur, so much so that they eventually hire Holly, a professional dog walker, to spend time with him as she walks dogs in the park.

Also featured on the show are Doug's friends Deacon Palmer, Spence Olchin and Richie Iannucci, as well as Doug's cousin Danny Heffernan. Deacon's wife Kelly is Carrie's best friend.

Most scenes take place in the Heffernans' home, but other common locations include Doug and Carrie's workplaces, the restaurant "Cooper's" and the residences of friends and family. While locations seen during the theme-song were filmed in areas surrounding New York, the series was filmed in California.

The show begins after Doug and Carrie have already married, and how they met is slightly unclear due to continuity issues. In one flashback episode, "Meet By-Product", Doug meets Carrie when he is a bouncer at a nightclub that Carrie attends. However, in another episode, "Road Rayge", Carrie reflects on a song that she says Doug asked her to dance to when they were in junior high school. In a later episode, it was implied that they all went to high school together, as Kelly and Carrie were said to have slept with the same guy neither husband knew of until the day of the guy's wedding.

Characters

Main

Main cast of The King of Queens

Recurring

Series background

Based on the lives of blue-collar couple Doug and Carrie Heffernan, The King of Queens debuted on CBS on September 21, 1998. During its run, it brought in solid ratings (usually ranking in the Top 40) for the most part and was a Monday night staple, competing with shows such as the long-running drama 7th Heaven. In 2003, when scheduled against The West Wing and Nanny 911, it began to drop in the ratings. The final episode aired on May 14, 2007. The series shot at Sony Pictures Studios' Stage 28 in Culver City, California.[3]

According to the DVD commentary of the Pilot episode, the character of Arthur was conceived with Jerry Stiller in mind, but he initially turned down the role. Veteran comedian Jack Carter was then cast and a pilot was shot. Soon afterward, Stiller changed his mind and took the part, which required re-shooting of scenes featuring Carter.

The King of Queens was partly inspired by the classic television sitcom The Honeymooners, as the characters of Doug and Carrie are based on the Kramden couple, with similar mannerisms and deadpan expressions. In a 2001 episode of the show ("Inner Tube"), the show pays homage to The Honeymooners, as a distraught Doug dreams that he is Ralph Kramden, his wife Carrie is Alice Kramden, and his friend Deacon is Ed Norton. The sequence was filmed in black-and-white and the audio quality (including the audience) matches a 1950s style.

The King of Queens was one of the first series to broadcast in 16:9 high-definition video, broadcasting in 1080i. At the time of the show's premiere, CBS had just regained broadcasting rights to the NFL, and was an early adopter of HDTV technology as a result, allowing The King of Queens to broadcast with the technology.

The show is currently in syndication worldwide and airs on TBS and TV Land in the United States and on TVTropolis and OMNI in Canada. In Sweden, Germany, Ireland, Romania, Denmark, the UK and Poland it runs on the ComedyCentral network. Since 14 April 2014 the show runs on weekdays on Channel 4 at 7:35am in the UK and Ireland.

Theme song and opening sequences

The season one main opening was a simple eight-second sequence which showed the window of a subway train with moving through and quickly stopping at the original show logo, which then peeled off to reveal the names of the show's creators.

Starting with season two, the show added a new theme song called "Baby All My Life I Will Be Driving Home to You", which was written by series writers Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, composed by Jonathan Wolff and Scott Clausen, and performed by Billy Vera and the Beaters. An instrumental version was used as the closing theme during season two, but was replaced in season three with a new closing theme composed by Kurt Farquhar.

The opening credits from seasons two through nine featured an opening shot of Doug getting into an IPS truck, which then cuts to a long shot of a elevated subway station, (Which is the 111 Street Station on the IRT Flushing Line which is on the 7 Line of the New York City Subway) where he drives under the subway station onto which the show's logo is digitally placed, as if it's a street sign. It then cuts to scenes of Doug, Carrie and Arthur spending time around Queens. In the season two sequence, Kevin James' starring credit was placed over a shot of the Brooklyn Bridge with the Manhattan skyline, but was re-edited after the September 11 attacks that felled the World Trade Center. Two short versions of the sequence exist: in original airings where the opening was shortened due to time constraints and in some syndicated airings, the opening featured the shot of the IPS truck going under the bridge, then to the final shot of the credits where Doug and Carrie get ices at the Lemon Ice King of Corona on 108th St in Queens. The second version used in U.S. syndicated airings since 2007 simply features the first eight seconds of the full sequence with the opening establishing shots of Queens placed before the truck scene. In syndicated airings of season one episodes that have aired in the U.S. since the fall of 2007, this version replaced the standard season one sequence in all episodes for unknown reasons.

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
125September 21, 1998 (1998-09-21)May 17, 1999 (1999-05-17)
225September 20, 1999 (1999-09-20)May 22, 2000 (2000-05-22)
325October 2, 2000 (2000-10-02)May 28, 2001 (2001-05-28)
425September 24, 2001 (2001-09-24)May 20, 2002 (2002-05-20)
525September 23, 2002 (2002-09-23)May 19, 2003 (2003-05-19)
624October 1, 2003 (2003-10-01)May 19, 2004 (2004-05-19)
722October 27, 2004 (2004-10-27)May 18, 2005 (2005-05-18)
823September 19, 2005 (2005-09-19)May 22, 2006 (2006-05-22)
913December 6, 2006 (2006-12-06)May 14, 2007 (2007-05-14)

Ratings

U.S. television ratings
Season Time slot (EDT) Season premiere Season finale TV season Rank Viewers
(in millions)
1 Monday 8:30/7:30c
(September 21, 1998 – May 17, 1999)
September 21, 1998 May 17, 1999 1998–1999 #35 12.5[4]
2 Monday 8:00/7:00c
(September 20, 1999 – May 19, 2003)
September 20, 1999 May 22, 2000 1999–2000 #34 12.7[5]
3 October 2, 2000 May 28, 2001 2000–2001 #26 13.4[6]
4 September 24, 2001 May 20, 2002 2001–2002 #21 13.9[7]
5 September 23, 2002 May 19, 2003 2002–2003 #27 13.0[8]
6 Wednesday 9:00/8:00c
(October 1, 2003 – May 18, 2005)
October 1, 2003 May 19, 2004 2003–2004 #33 11.1[9]
7 October 27, 2004 May 18, 2005 2004–2005 #48 9.8[10]
8 Monday 8:00/7:00c
(September 19, 2005 – May 22, 2006)
September 19, 2005 May 22, 2006 2005–2006 #49 10.0[11]
9 Wednesday 8:00/7:00c / Monday 9:30/8:30c
(December 6, 2006 – May 14, 2007)
December 6, 2006 May 14, 2007 2006–2007 #33 11.4[12]

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

In 2006, Kevin James received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his portrayal of Doug Heffernan.

TV Season Award Category Nominee Episode Result
2005–2006 Emmy Award Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Kevin James "Pole Lox" Nominated

The Emmy was won by Tony Shalhoub for his performance on Monk.

BMI Awards

In addition, The King of Queens received several BMI Awards during its prime-time run. The series won BMI Awards in the "TV Music Award" category in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. These awards were presented to Kurt Farquhar, Josh Goldsmith, Andrew Gross, and Cathy Yuspa.

Home media releases

DVD Name Ep # Release Dates
Region 1 (US) Region 1 (CAN) Region 2 (UK) Region 2 (Germany) Region 4 (Australia)
The Complete First Season 25
(3 discs)
November 18, 2003 August 11, 2009 January 29, 2007 November 26, 2004 January 11, 2007
The Complete Second Season 25
(3 discs)
April 20, 2004 August 11, 2009 July 9, 2007 March 31, 2005 July 12, 2007
The Complete Third Season 25
(3 discs)
February 22, 2005 August 11, 2009 September 15, 2008 September 2, 2005 July 31, 2008
The Complete Fourth Season 25
(3 discs)
April 14, 2005 January 5, 2010 February 9, 2009 December 2, 2005 January 15, 2009
The Complete Fifth Season 25
(3 discs)
June 20, 2006 January 5, 2010 May 18, 2009 May 26, 2006 May 7, 2009
The Complete Sixth Season 24
(3 discs)
September 19, 2006 January 5, 2010 July 13, 2009 November 24, 2006 August 6, 2009[15]
The Complete Seventh Season 22
(3 discs)
January 16, 2007 November 9, 2010[16] March 22, 2010 March 9, 2007 April 1, 2010
The Complete Eighth Season 23
(3 discs)
May 1, 2007 November 9, 2010[17] June 21, 2010 August 24, 2007 June 3, 2010
The Complete Ninth Season 13
(2 discs)
September 25, 2007 November 9, 2010[18] September 20, 2010 October 19, 2007 September 16, 2010
The Complete Series Box Set 207
(27 discs)
November 6, 2007 TBA May 7, 2012 March 7, 2008[19] TBA

Blu-ray releases

Seasons two[20] and three[21] were released on Blu-ray Disc by Koch Media on November 21, 2008. They are presented with 1080i/25fps VC-1 video, 2.0 DTS audio tracks in both English and German with German subtitles optional. They include the same extras as the DVD releases from Koch Media. Even though they are only released in Germany and Austria, they are not region locked.

On March 26, 2015, Koch Media released the whole series on Blu-ray in HD.[22] The complete box set is distributed for Region B/2.[23]

See also

References

  1. The exterior shots of the Heffernans' house were made in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. See "The King of Queens House". October 30, 2009..
  2. "King of Queens – The Complete Eighth Season". CBSStore.com. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
  3. "'King of Queens' cast prepares to say farewell". Today. Associated Press. April 8, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  4. "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Web.archive.org. 2009-10-29. Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  5. Quotenmeter.de – Das Online-Fernsehmagazin (2002-05-30). "US-Jahrescharts 1999/2000". Quotenmeter.de. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  6. Jun 01, 2001 (2001-06-01). "The Bitter End". EW.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  7. "How did your favorite show rate?". USA Today. May 28, 2002. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  8. "Nielsen's TOP 156 Shows for 2002–03 – rec.arts.tv | Google Groups". Groups.google.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  9. "I. T. R. S. Ranking Report: 01 Thru 210". ABC Medianet. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
  10. Archived May 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. Archived December 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  12. "Final Nielsen ratings for 2006–07 season". 606studios.com. 2007-05-25. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  13. "King Of Queens – Season 9 [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Kevin James, Leah Remini, Victor L. Williams, Patton Oswalt, Nicole Sullivan: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  14. "King of Queens, The – 9th Season (2 Disc Set)". Ezydvd.com.au. 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  15. "King of Queens S7: Amazon.ca: DVD". Amazon.ca. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  16. "King of Queens S8: Amazon.ca: DVD". Amazon.ca. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  17. "King of Queens S9: Amazon.ca: DVD". Amazon.ca. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  18. "Koch Media Home Entertainment". Kochmedia-dvd.com. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  19. "Season 2 Info". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  20. "Season 3 Info". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  21. "Complete Series Blu-Ray Info". kochmedia-film.de. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  22. "Complete Series Blu-Ray on Amazon". amazon.de. Retrieved 2016-02-27.

External links

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