Twenty Good Years is an American sitcom television series created by Michael Leeson and Marsh McCall, that aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, until November 1, 2006. The series starred Jeffrey Tambor, John Lithgow, Heather Burns and Jake Sandvig.

Twenty Good Years
GenreSitcom
Created byMichael Leeson
Marsh McCall
StarringJeffrey Tambor
John Lithgow
Heather Burns
Jake Sandvig
ComposersSteve Hampton
John Adair
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (9 unaired)
Production
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesMarsh McCall Productions
Werner/Gold/Miller Productions
Warner Bros. Television
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseOctober 11, 2006 (2006-10-11) –
January 31, 2007 (2007-01-31)

Synopsis

edit

John Lithgow plays John Mason, a surgeon forced into semi-retirement, while Jeffrey Tambor was Jeffrey Pyne, a judge.[1] The comedy show was about two old friends that appeared to be polar opposites in many situations. One thing they agreed upon, however, is that life is short and both men vowed to live every day like it is their last, since they figured at their age, they only had "twenty good years" to live.[2]

On May 14, 2007, the series was officially canceled by NBC.[3]

Cast

edit

Ratings and reception

edit

Since the series debut, Twenty Good Years had been plagued by schedule changes before the season began, as well as receiving mixed-to-negative reviews. It had also placed fourth in its Wednesday time period and continued to slip since the first episode. On October 25, 2006, NBC announced that it was replacing the Wednesday night comedy block with specials, pulling Twenty Good Years from the schedule with no plans for a return.[4]

Episodes

edit
No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Pilot"Terry HughesMarsh McCall & Michael J. LeesonOctober 11, 2006 (2006-10-11)
Meet John and Jeffrey, two complete opposites who can only agree on one thing – they only have twenty good years left to live. In spite of the differences between the two, they vow to live each day as if it were their last – without looking back and without any regrets.
2"Big Love"Terry HughesPatricia BreenOctober 18, 2006 (2006-10-18)
John and Jeffrey go to a rock music club. To their surprise, the club’s sexy owner (Jane Leeves) flirts with them and invites them to an after-party. John and Jeffrey end up dating her at the same time and she offers a challenge that may be too much for them to handle.
3"The Elbow Incident"Terry HughesMarsh McCallOctober 25, 2006 (2006-10-25)
When Jeffrey hurts his elbow in a basketball game against two younger players he refuses to let John operate because he is afraid of hospitals. This does not sit well with John because he wants a rematch against the younger players.
4"Jeffrey's Choice"Terry HughesUnknownNovember 1, 2006 (2006-11-01)
John does not like it when Jeffrey's ex-girlfriend Gina shows up again. He is afraid it will ruin the plans he has for him and Jeffrey.
5"Between Brock and a Hard Place"Terry HughesTBDUNAIRED
When Jeffrey and John's neighbor, Brock Manley, invites them to apply for membership in "The Magellan Adventure Club," an exclusive, all male club, it leads the two friends into an initiation process they didn't bargain for.
6"They Shoot Turkeys, Don't They?"Terry HughesTBDUNAIRED
As they prepare for Thanksgiving, Jeffrey struggles to teach Hugh how to make the perfect pie and John makes plans to hunt for his turkey dinner. Meanwhile, John finds out about Stella's relationship with the doctor hired to replace him.
7"The Bong Show"Terry HughesTBDUNAIRED
When Jeffrey accidentally buys a bong thinking it is a vase, John sneaks it into the background of a formal photo being taken of Jeffrey to be hung in the courthouse in honour of twenty years of service as a judge.
8"Foil Me Once"Terry HughesTBDUNAIRED
9"Adventure Club"Terry HughesTBDUNAIRED
10"The Crying Game"Terry HughesTBDUNAIRED
When John’s date accuses him of being unemotional, John pretends to cry, however she sees through him. Meanwhile, Jeffrey cooks in a smoky kitchen because his building manager always ignores his pleas to fix the broken vent and a stuck window.
11"Remember the Alimony"Terry HughesTBDUNAIRED
When John’s ex-wife, Kate announces that she is engaged, John is ecstatic because he won’t be paying alimony to her anymore. Jeffrey suspects that Kate’s fiancé is gay after admitting that he’s ‘living a lie’.
12"Come Fly with Me"Terry HughesTBDUNAIRED
Jeffrey finds the woman that he wants to spend the rest of his life with and, as always, John’s not happy about it. Feeling rejected, John goes to Las Vegas and returns the next day with a new wife, a Korean blackjack dealer.
13"John's Old Lady"Terry HughesTBDUNAIRED
Jeffrey notices that John’s constant bickering with their attractive middle-aged next door neighbour is just thinly-veiled flirtation. Meanwhile, a sexy law student flirts with Jeffrey; however they do not have much in common with each other.

International broadcasts

edit
Country Broadcaster Timeslot Notes
Australia Nine HD The entire series has been broadcast.
Belgium VT4 15:40 (UTC+1)
Brazil SBT
Bulgaria Nova television
Denmark 6'eren
Slovenia Kanal A Midnight (UTC+1) The entire series has been broadcast.
New Zealand TV2
Finland MTV3
Russia NTV The entire series has been broadcast.
Macedonia A2 TV
Cyprus Nimonia
Ukraine Novyi Kanal
Norway TV3

References

edit
  1. ^ "NBC.com > Twenty Good Years". www.nbc.com. Archived from the original on 2006-07-02.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-06-15. Retrieved 2006-05-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "TV Series Finale - 2007 Cancelled Shows: Several NBC Cancellations". Archived from the original on 2007-05-16. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
  4. ^ Broadcasting Cable website article
edit