Benson (TV series)
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| Benson | |
|---|---|
 The cast of Benson |
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| Genre | Sitcom |
| Running time | 22 minutes per episode |
| Creator(s) | Susan Harris |
| Starring | Robert Guillaume James Noble Inga Swenson Missy Gold Rene Auberjonois (1980-86) Ethan Phillips (1980-85) Caroline McWilliams (1979-81) Didi Conn (1981-85) Lewis J. Stadlen (1979-80) Billie Bird (1984-86) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | September 13, 1979–April 19, 1986 |
| No. of episodes | 158 |
Benson was an American television series which aired from September 13, 1979 to April 19, 1986 on ABC. The character of butler Benson DuBois, played by Robert Guillaume, had originally appeared on the soap opera parody Soap.
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[edit] Series summary
In the show, Benson had been hired to be the head of household affairs for the scatterbrained and widowed Governor of a never-specified U.S. state, Eugene Gatling (James Noble), and his daughter Katie (Missy Gold). Governor Gatling was cousin to Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond), a character on Soap. In spite of his somewhat off center personality, Governor Gatling proved to be a very capable and commanding figure when a crisis arose.
Benson's housekeeping dilemmas, his fights with the German housekeeper Gretchen Kraus (Inga Swenson), and his interactions with Clayton Endicott III (Rene Auberjonois), who assisted Governor Gatling as chief of staff, made up the bulk of the stories each week. In spite of their adversarial relationship, Benson and Kraus eventually became good friends.
Benson worked his way up the ladder during the series, going from butler to head of the Governor's household staff, to state budget director, and eventually was elevated to the position of Lieutenant Governor. During the final episodes of the 1985-1986 season, Benson ran for governor against Gatling. Kraus proved to be Benson's biggest supporter during this time as well. So much so, that he made her his personal assistant and campaign manager.
[edit] Series finale
The premise was that initially Gatling was prohibited from running for re-election due to term limits. Later it was revealed that he could run again if he did so as an independent candidate, which he decided to do. By this time, Benson had already won the nomination of Gatling's party, setting the stage for the two to go head-to-head in the general election.
At the end of the series' final episode (Seventh season finale), it was election night, and with the race still too close to call, Benson and Gatling, who had strained relations due to the race, made their peace with one another and sat down together to watch election returns on television. As the broadcaster began to announce that a winner in the election was at last being projected, the episode ended with an unresolved cliffhanger to the series.
According to the Internet Movie Database, three endings were supposedly shot involving either a Gatling win, a win by Benson, or a surprise win by a wildcard candidate in the form of a crooked senator, putting both of them out of a job. None of these endings proved satisfactory to anyone involved, so the decision was made to keep the show's ending unresolved. [1]
[edit] Awards
Over the course of the show's seven-year run it was nominated for a total of 17 Emmys. It won two, including Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Guillaume's second-to-last season portraying the title character.
[edit] Setting
Although the state in which Benson takes place is never specified and could be fictional, there are multiple clues to its location (similar to The Simpsons, which has featured numerous clues during its run hinting at the location of Springfield):
- Dialogue in the show specifically eliminated Idaho (Season 1, episode 1), Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, Connecticut, California and New Jersey as possible locations.
- Benson has a map of Western Connecticut, Eastern New York, Long Island and Long Island Sound on his office's wall. He also has a map of the Chesapeake Bay area. This may indicate that it takes place in the Northeastern United States, although should not be taken as conclusive.
- In the episode Old School Ties, it is mentioned that the "other side of the state" is 300 miles away from the capital. This disqualifies all of the states in the Northeast with the exception of New York and Pennsylvania.
- In the episode Homework, Benson, Governor Gatling and Pete are talking about a proposed "State Heritage Day". In the discussion, Governor Gatling remarks that the state's most important moment was a locust attack on all the state's agriculture in 1832. This would seem to limit the possible states to those formed before 1832. Pete also brings up the fact that pioneer Johnny Appleseed planted trees in the state with some degree of importance. This could further reduce the states where the show takes place.
- Benson is a spin-off from Soap, a television show which took place in Connecticut. At no point is it suggested that Benson takes place in the same state as Soap, however.
- In the episode All Shook Up, a major earthquake rocks the state capital. While it's possible for the Northeastern United States to be rattled by an earthquake, the jolt depicted in the episode is more common in California or the Pacific Northwest. However, in the episode, Benson says "This isn't California."
- An interesting Simpsons/Benson coincidence: It is mentioned several times-as early as the third-season (April 2, 1982), episode Teed Off-that the show is set in "Capital City," also the name of the capital of The Simpsons' state.
- In the episode "Mary and her Lambs" (17 December 1982 (Season 4, Episode 10), the new assistant cook, Mary has two non-biological children with her, her deceased neighbors daughter (Margeret) and a Vietnamese boy (Van) evacuated during "the airlift". An officer of the court is pursuing her and the children to place them in foster homes. Benson reveals that the warrant issued for the children is from Clark County, while the capital is in Laurence County. Also, the state motto is mentioned - "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" - in Latin.
- In one episode where Benson and Gov. Gatling are summoned to Washington to meet with the President, the meeting is cancelled leaving Benson to exclaim that "we came 1,800 miles for nothing." Among the states with capitals approximately that distance from Washington are Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Texas.
[edit] Trivia
- Jerry Seinfeld's first television appearance was in 1980, playing the recurring role of the delivery man/aspiring comic, Frankie. Shortly afterwards, he was abruptly fired.
- Ted Danson played the character Dan, who married Benson's secretary, Marcy. The following year, Danson would star in the eventual hit program Cheers.
- Missy Gold, who played Katie, the governor's daughter, is the sister of Tracey Gold, who played the role of Carol Seaver on the TV show Growing Pains.
- An episode airing February 22, 1985 ("Scenario") marked the first reference to the Internet on American network television. In the episode, they were accessing the ARPANET, the progenitor of the Internet, which was used by the US government to communicate with the military.
- Two actors from this series, Ethan Phillips and Rene Auberjonois, appeared later as regular characters in the Star Trek universe (as Neelix in Star Trek: Voyager and Odo in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, respectively). Robert Picardo, who played the Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager, appears in the two-part Benson seventh season episode "Reel Murder".
- Swenson and McWilliams appeared as recurring characters on Soap (TV series) prior to joining the Benson cast. Although Benson is a cross-over character from Soap, both Swenson's and McWilliams' characters are near identical to the Soap personas, but different (mostly just in name and background).
- The exterior shots of the governor's mansion are actually of a private home located at 1365 South Oakland Ave. in Pasadena, California. The same house makes a brief appearance in The Beverly Hillbillies (1993 movie) and as recently as 2006 in a U.S. television commercial for RE/MAX.
- The series finale, And The Winner Is..., aired on April 19, 1986, thirty-eight years to the day after the ABC television network began airing as a television network (although the network officially considers 1953 to be its birthdate).
[edit] Reruns
In June 2006, TV Land began airing reruns of Benson starting with a weekend marathon on June 3 and 4, joining the regular lineup after that. As of July 2006, five or six episodes air in a mini-marathon every Friday night starting at midnight EST, with an additional four airing in afternoon blocks on Tuesday afternoons from noon until 2 PM.
