Gimme a Break!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gimme a Break! | |
|---|---|
 Gimme a Break! title screen used during the first and second seasons. |
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| Format | Comedy |
| Created by | Mort Lachman Sy Rosen |
| Starring | Nell Carter Dolph Sweet (1981-1985) Lara Jill Miller Lauri Hendler (1981-1986) Kari Michaelsen (1981-1986) John Hoyt (1982-1987) Joey Lawrence (1983-1987) Telma Hopkins (1984-1987) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 137 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 24:55 |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | October 29, 1981 – May 12, 1987 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from October 29, 1981 until May 12, 1987. It starred stage actress Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a police chief and his three daughters, whose mother had died.
Contents |
[edit] Premise
The sitcom took place in fictional Los Angeles suburb of Glenlawn, California. Nellie Ruth "Nell" Harper (Nell Carter) agrees to be a housekeeper for the Kanisky household as a special favor to her late friend, Margaret Kanisky, who was the wife of police chief Carl Kanisky (Dolph Sweet). Nell also served as a confidante to the chief's three daughters, 17-year-old Katie (Kari Michaelsen), 15-year-old Julie (Lauri Hendler), and 13-year-old Samantha (Lara Jill Miller).
[edit] Supporting characters
Officer Ralph Simpson (Howard Morton) was a dopey police officer who worked with Carl. During the second season, Carl's parents, Grandpa Stanley (John Hoyt) and Grandma Mildred (Jane Dulo), were occasionally seen, as was his brother, Ed (Pete Schrum), an overweight mortician who loved to play practical jokes. Grandma, however, died after that season, and Grandpa moved in with Carl and his family. Ed got married and was written out of the series.
During the 1982-1983 season, the family also contended with a man who would often annoy the Kanisky household, who was only known by his surname of "Swackhammer" (played by actor Jack Fletcher). The aforementioned Swackhammer (but was incorrectly called jackhammer) was at first the assistant manager of the local phone company in Glenlawn, who angered Nell and called her by the wrong surname, not to mention turned off phone service to the Kanisky household, and having Nell arrested and thrown in jail, because she ripped the phone out of the phone company. However, the phone company snafu was eventually fixed up, and the arrogant Swackhammer was demoted thusly. Other episodes had him as a neighbor, who always complained about noise, and he was often referred to as "that jerk, Swackhammer!"; however after five episodes, Swackhammer disappeared with no explanation whatsoever.
The third season saw occasional appearances of Adelaide "Addy" Wilson (Telma Hopkins), Nell's childhood friend who worked as a teacher. Although they were friends, Nell and Addy would be somewhat competitive at times too. Meanwhile, Joey Donovan (Joey Lawrence) was a six-year-old orphan who joined the Kanisky household that year. Addy became a regular cast member one year later. In the fourth season, Julie married Jonathan Maxwell (Jonathan Silverman), a pizza-delivery man, who moved into the household.
Over the series run, a number of celebrities have appeared on the show, including singer Whitney Houston, Andy Gibb, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Ray Parker, Jr.. In some of these episodes, the guest would eventually perform a song with Nell.
[edit] Later developments
During the summer 1984 hiatus, Dolph Sweet underwent stomach surgery, which was revealed shortly after to be the first extensive treatment for cancer. Over the course of the 1984-1985 season, Sweet's health went into serious decline as the cancer further ravaged his body. Producers found it increasingly harder to keep him on-screen much, due to his condition and gaunt appearance, but Sweet insisted to continue working as much as possible in order to help with the coping of his illness. Both co-stars and viewers watched him triumph to the very end; Sweet passed away on May 8, 1985, after taping had completed on season four. To open the next season, the crew dealt with the star's death tastefully. They wrote out the character of Carl Kanisky and built the season premiere ("Joey's Train") around the family's coming to terms with the loss and their indecisions over facing the one place that evoked the most memories of Carl - his empty bedroom.
As the fifth season saw the death of the chief, Nell became the head of the household. Officer Simpson, who remained a friend of the family after the death of his superior, stuck around for another season. Julie and Jonathan, who were now living in the Chief's old room, found out they were expecting a baby; their daughter was born before season's end. In an attempt to reverse a drop in ratings, the producers of Gimme a Break! made several changes after the fifth year. Katie moved to San Francisco; Julie, Jonathan, and their baby, Nell, moved to San José; and Samantha attended college in New Jersey. However, she was still seen occasionally in the sixth season, visiting from school. Addy got a job in New York City, so Nell, Grandpa and Joey came to New York to join her. There, they discovered Joey's irresponsible father, Tim, who showed him his brother, Matthew (played by Matthew Lawrence, Joey's real-life brother), and left them with Nell and Grandpa. Marty (Paul Sand) was their landlord who also owned a Mexican restaurant under the name "Esteban." Nell's Mama Maybelle (Rosetta LeNoire), became a regular in season six after previous guest appearances. She had moved in with her son (Nell's brother), who was working as a TV weatherman in New York. One of Nell and Addy's New York neighbors was a young lady named Maggie O'Brien, played by Rosie O'Donnell.
As a promotional gimmick, one episode of this series was performed and broadcast live. The episode aired on March 2, 1985.
The show was produced by Alan Landsburg Productions, whose successor-in-interest, Reeves Entertainment Group, took over production in 1985. The American syndication rights are held by NBC Universal Television Distribution. Fremantle Media owns the international rights, as they own Thames Television, which acquired Alan Landsburg Productions and Reeves Entertainment Group product. The creators of the show were Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen.
[edit] DVD Releases
Universal Studios Home Entertainment released a 3-disc DVD of the complete first season of Gimme a Break! on February 14, 2006, available in the United States only. Due to poor sales, it is unknown if Universal will ever release the remaining five seasons.
On May 30, 2006, Visual Entertainment released a Canada exclusive DVD of the first season. VEI subsequently released the second season on January 16, 2007, once again exclusive to Canada.
U.S. releases
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Season One | 19 | February 14, 2006 |
Canada-only releases
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 19 | May 30, 2006 |
| The Complete Second Season | 22 | January 16, 2007 |
[edit] External links
- Gimme a Break! at the Internet Movie Database
- Gimme a Break! at TV.com
- Gimme a Break! at Jump the Shark
