Living Dolls is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 26 to December 30, 1989. 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 was 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.
| Living Dolls | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Ross Brown |
| Starring | Michael Learned Leah Remini Deborah Tucker Alison Elliott Halle Berry David Moscow |
| Theme music composer | John Beasley John Vester |
| Opening theme | "Take Your Best Shot" |
| Composer | Jonathan Wolff |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Ross Brown Martin Cohan Phyllis Glick Blake Hunter |
| Producers | R.J. Colleary Martha Williamson |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production companies | ELP Communications Columbia Pictures Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 26 – December 30, 1989 |
| Related | |
| Who's the Boss? | |
Synopsis
editThe 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 is then befriended by the owner of a modeling agency for teenage girls, Trish Carlin (Michael Learned). Trish is also a friend of advertising executive Angela Bower, one of the main characters on Who's the Boss? Trish becomes a mother figure to Charlie and the other models.
Production and reception
editLiving Dolls began as a back-door pilot on Who's the Boss? that aired in March 1989. In the backdoor pilot, Vivica A. Fox portrayed Emily and Jonathan Ward portrayed Rick. Executives disliked the original cast, and held auditions for recasting when the pilot was picked up to series in May.[2] Halle Berry replaced Fox in the series, while David Moscow was cast to replace Ward. The backdoor pilot was reaired in September as an episode of Living Dolls.[3]
In a later interview, Michael Learned recalled writers were inconsistent in writing her character, saying "I was told that she was supposed to be... kind of a tough cookie, and so that's what I understood was what they wanted in my character, when in truth what they wanted was Charlotte Rae in Facts of Life.[4] Learned also felt that producers were planning to replace her with Marion Ross, who guest starred in the final two episodes.[4] During the filming of one episode, Berry collapsed on the set and went into a coma; she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes shortly thereafter.[4][5]
Upon its debut, the series was panned 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.[6] Learned later criticized producers for underutilizing Berry.[4] ABC canceled the series after 12 episodes in December 1989.[7]
Cast
edit- Michael Learned as 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
Guest
edit- Alyssa Milano as Samantha Micelli
- Tony Danza as Tony Micelli
- Diedrich Bader as Eddie
- Gloria Loring as Liz Wyler
- Marion Ross as Marion Carlin
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Living Dolls" | John Sgueglia | Ross Brown | September 26, 1989[a] |
| 2 | "It's All Done with Mirrors" | John Sgueglia | Ross Brown | September 26, 1989 |
| 3 | "It's My Party" | John Sgueglia | Eric Gilliland | September 30, 1989 |
| 4 | "Martha Means Well" | Lee Bernhardi | R.J. Colleary | October 7, 1989 |
| 5 | "Seeing Is Believing" | Lee Bernhardi | Matt Ember | October 21, 1989 |
| 6 | "Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner" | Andy Cadiff | R.J. Colleary | November 4, 1989 |
| 7 | "Rick's Model Girlfriend" | Lee Bernhardi | James Gates | November 11, 1989 |
| 8 | "The Not So Sweet Smell of Success" | Andy Cadiff | Mark C. Miller | November 18, 1989 |
| 9 | "The Flash Is Always Greener" | Jonathan Weiss | Martha Williamson | November 25, 1989 |
| 10 | "He's Ba-aack!" | Valentine Mayer | Eric Gilliland & Martha Williamson | December 2, 1989 |
| 11 | "'C' Is for Model" | Lee Bernhardi | Martha Williamson | December 9, 1989 |
| 12 | "And I Thought Modeling Was Hard" | James Widdoes | Ross Brown & R.J. Colleary | December 16, 1989 |
| 13 | "Beauty and the Beat" | James Widdoes | Susan Sebastian & Diana Ayers | December 30, 1989 |
Notes
edit- ^ Originally aired as an episode of Who's the Boss? on March 29, 1989.
References
edit- ^ "Halle Berry's Journey From Miss USA Runner-Up To Oscar Winner". Access Hollywood. June 16, 2011.
- ^ a b Ewey Johnson, Melissa (2009). Halle Berry: A Biography. ABC-CLIO. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-313-35834-0.
- ^ Dayton Daily News, September 26, 1989
- ^ a b c d "Michael Learned discusses the Whos the Boss spinoff Living Dolls". YouTube. March 2, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ "Halle Berry reveals coma drama". Irish Examiner. December 18, 2005. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ "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.
External links
edit- Living Dolls at IMDb
