Living Dolls
| Living Dolls | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Ross Brown |
| Written by |
Ross Brown Eric Gilliland |
| Directed by | John Sgueglia |
| Starring |
Michael Learned Leah Remini Deborah Tucker Alison Elliott Halle Berry |
| Theme music composer |
John Beasley John Vester |
| Opening theme | "Living Dolls" |
| Composer(s) | Jonathan Wolff |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Ross Brown Martin Cohan Phyllis Glick Blake Hunter |
| Producer(s) |
R.J. Colleary Martha Williamson |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
ELP Communications Columbia Pictures Television |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 26 – December 30, 1989 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Who's the Boss? |
Living Dolls was an American situation comedy featured on the fall 1989 schedule of ABC. It was a spin-off created by a writer from Who's the Boss? and featuring characters introduced during an episode of that show. The show is notable as the acting debut of Halle Berry.[1] Both Who's the Boss? and Living Dolls were produced by ELP Communications through Columbia Pictures Television and ABC.
Synopsis
The show featured Charlie Briscoe (Leah Remini), a friend of Samantha Micelli (the Who's the Boss? character played by Alyssa Milano). Samantha is dabbling in a modeling career and Charlie, a friend from Samantha's old Brooklyn neighborhood comes to visit. While doing some test shots for a dog food commercial, it is discovered that Charlie is very photogenic. Charlie was then befriended by the owner of a modeling agency for teenage girls, Trish Carlin (Michael Learned). Trish is also a friend of Angela Bower.
Reception
Living Dolls was universally derided by critics and received mostly negative reviews.[2] It was the only series to receive an "F" grade by People magazine in its 1989 fall preview issue.[3] ABC canceled the series after 12 episodes in December 1989.[4]
Production
The series had a back-door pilot on Who's the Boss? before turning into a series. In that episode, Vivica A. Fox played Emily instead of Halle Berry.
Two pilots were made for the series. The first, in which Berry, David Moscow, and Tucker did not appear, was produced to introduce Living Dolls as a spin-off. Their roles were portrayed by other actors. Executives disliked the original cast and held auditions for recasting.[2] Another pilot was shown directly before the Living Dolls premiere, which illustrates the reasons why Charlie moved in with Trish in the first place.
Cast
- Michael Learned as Miss Patricia "Trish" Carlin
- Leah Remini as Charlene "Charlie" Briscoe
- Deborah Tucker as Caroline Weldon
- Alison Elliott as Martha Lambert
- Halle Berry as Emily Franklin
- David Moscow as Eric "Rick" Carlin
Episode guide
Season 1
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "It's All Done with Mirrors" | September 26, 1989 |
| 1-2 | "It's My Party" | September 30, 1989 |
| 1-3 | "Martha Means Well" | October 7, 1989 |
| 1-4 | "Seeing Is Believing" | October 21, 1989 |
| 1-5 | "Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner" | November 4, 1989 |
| 1-6 | "Rick's Model Girlfriend" | November 11, 1989 |
| 1-7 | "The Not So Sweet Smell of Success" | November 18, 1989 |
| 1-8 | "The Flash Is Always Greener" | November 25, 1989 |
| 1-9 | "He's Ba-aack!" | December 2, 1989 |
| 1-10 | "C Is for Model" | December 9, 1989 |
| 1-11 | "And I Thought Modeling Was Hard" | December 16, 1989 |
| 1-12 | "Beauty and the Beat" | December 30, 1989 |
References
- ↑ "Halle Berry's Journey From Miss USA Runner-Up To Oscar Winner". Access Hollywood. June 16, 2011.
- 1 2 Ewey Johnson, Melissa (2009). Halle Berry: A Biography. ABC-CLIO. p. 21. ISBN 0-313-35834-6.
- ↑ "Throwing a Curveball: Surprising Spin-Offs". Screenrush. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
- ↑ "'Homeroom', 'Living Dolls' canceled by ABC". Sun Journal. 1989-12-06. p. 29. Retrieved 28 November 2012.