| Ed | |
|---|---|
The main cast |
|
| Format | comedy-drama |
| Created by | Jon Beckerman Rob Burnett |
| Starring | Tom Cavanagh Julie Bowen Rachel Cronin Josh Randall Jana Marie Hupp Lesley Boone Michael Ian Black Justin Long Daryl "Chill" Mitchell Mike Starr |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 83 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | October 8, 2000 – February 6, 2004 |
Ed is an NBC television program co-produced by David Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated, NBC Productions, and Viacom Productions that aired from 2000 to 2004.
The hour-long comedy-drama starred Tom Cavanagh as Edward Jeremy Stevens, the protagonist, Julie Bowen as his love interest Carol Phyllis Vessey, Josh Randall as his friend Dr. Mike Burton, Jana Marie Hupp as Mike's wife Nancy, Lesley Boone as their friend Molly Hudson, and Justin Long as awkward high-school student Warren Cheswick. Other supporting cast members included Michael Genadry and Ginnifer Goodwin as Warren's friends Mark and Diane, and Michael Ian Black, Mike Starr, Rachel Cronin, and (later) Daryl Mitchell as the employees of Stuckeybowl, Ed's bowling alley. Long term guest stars included John Slattery as Dennis Martino and Sabrina Lloyd as Frankie Hector. The show was created by executive producers Jon Beckerman and Rob Burnett.[1] David Letterman is also credited as one of the show's executive producers.[2]
Ed received casting, writing, and directing Emmy nominations in 2001. Tom Cavanagh received a Golden Globe nomination and a TV Guide Award for his work on the program.
In 2004, despite a campaign by fans to keep the series on the air, NBC cut the show from their lineup because of poor ratings.
Contents |
The show revolved around Cavanagh's Ed Stevens, a hotshot New York lawyer who on the same day is fired from his job (for drafting a contract with a misplaced comma that ended up costing his firm $1.6 million) and comes home to discover his wife sleeping with a mailman[2] (the wife makes the point that it is not their mailman in particular, but another mailman).
Deciding to spend some time in his hometown of Stuckeyville, Ohio, he is reunited with friends that he has missed, as well as Carol Vessey, a woman he had a crush on in high school.[3] Determined to win Carol's heart, he decides to stay, buying a rundown bowling alley and setting up a new law firm in the process, being nicknamed the "Bowling-Alley Lawyer" ("I am a lawyer, I own a bowling alley. Two separate things").[4]
Ed also had a number of running gags, such as bowling alley employee Phil (Michael Ian Black) hatching ludicrous schemes usually to gain fame and/or fortune, ten-dollar bets between Ed and Mike that would require one of them to do something extremely embarrassing, mentions of Arbor Day as a big holiday, and various characters named "Godfrey" appearing in many episodes. The series also dealt with issues of social popularity and self esteem both through Ed—who was unpopular in high school and yet had a crush on stereotypically popular blond cheerleader Carol Vessey—and through Molly, Carol's coworker and friend who was similarly unpopular in high school and continues to have self esteem issues due to her being overweight.
While the premise of the show hinges on the changes in Ed's life in New York and his initial return to Stuckeyville, the pilot which illustrated these events was not aired as part of the series. A summary using footage from the pilot, however, did appear at the beginning of the first regular episode.[3]
In addition, the pilot also contained some notable casting choices, with Donal Logue portraying Phil and Janeane Garofalo guest-starring as Ed's ex-wife Liz. Michael Ian Black replaced Logue as Phil in re-shot scenes of the first episode and for the entire series, and a number of different actresses played Liz in her few appearances (for example, Lea Thompson played the character in several episodes near the end of the series).
The show was originally called Ed, then titled Stuckeyville when in development at CBS, and then renamed Ed again when it was picked up by NBC.[5]
Although set in the fictitious town of Stuckeyville, Ohio, the majority of the series was actually shot in various towns in northern New Jersey including Montclair, Hillsdale, Haworth, Westfield, Cranford, Nutley, Ridgewood, Harrington Park, Allendale and Northvale and Rockland County, New York (Tappan, Nyack). Many of the street names and towns mentioned on the show are real New Jersey street and town names. The opening sequence showed Ed driving past the Rialto movie theater in the downtown of Westfield. Stuckeybowl was actually the former Country Club Lanes in Northvale, NJ, and also served as the show's headquarters. Many of the show's other sets were built in a cleared out portion of the bowling alley such as the interiors of Stuckeyville High School, the courtroom, and The Smiling Goat. Country Club Lanes went out of business several years ago, and was completely demolished in the late Spring of 2006, to make room for new housing.
The opening credits theme song for the majority of the show's run was "Next Year" by Foo Fighters,[6] except during the entire second season when Clem Snide's "Moment in the Sun" was used. Season three reverted to "Next Year" in the United States, after resolving the "complicated business reasons" that prevented its use the previous year.[7] "Moment in the Sun" continued to be used outside the U.S., although the end credits list "Next Year" as the opening theme.
A framed Foo Fighters poster hung on the wall of Stuckeyville High School principal Molly Hudson's office.
| Season | Timeslot (EDT) | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunday 8:00 P.M. (October 8, 2000 – May 23, 2001) |
October 8, 2000 | May 23, 2001 | 2000–2001 | #52 | 11.5 |
| 2 | Wednesday 8:00 P.M. (October 10, 2001 – May 15, 2002) | October 10, 2001 | May 15, 2002 | 2001–2002 | #58 | 9.8 |
| 3 | Wednesday then Friday 8:00 P.M. (September 25, 2002 – April 11, 2003) | September 25, 2002 | April 11, 2003 | 2002–2003 | #49 | 10.12 |
| 4 | Friday 8:00 P.M. (September 21, 2003 – February 6, 2004) | September 21, 2003 | February 6, 2004 | 2003–2004 | #76 | 8.25 |
Ed Stevens (Tom Cavanagh) is the main character of the series. After his wife cheated on him, he returned to his hometown of Stuckeyville. His best friend is Michael Burton (Josh Randall), who is now a doctor at a practice and happily married to his wife, Nancy Burton (Jana Marie Hupp). Ed reconnects with his old high school crush, Carol Vessey (Julie Bowen), who has become a high school English teacher. Her friend, Molly Hudson (Lesley Boone) teaches science at the same high school. Warren Cheswick (Justin Long) is an awkward high school student who has a crush on Carol, his English teacher.
On a whim, Ed buys the local bowling alley, Stuckeybowl. Besides Ed, Stuckeybowl has only three employees, Phil Stubbs (Michael Ian Black), Shirley Pifko (Rachel Cronin), and Kenny Sandusky (Mike Starr). Later, Kenny leaves and Eli Cartwright Goggins (Daryl Mitchell) joins Stuckeybowl. Starving for business, Phil comes up with the idea to combine Ed's legal knowledge with bowling. Ed comes to represent many of the townspeople in court.
Dr. Walter Jerome (Marvin Chatinover) is a doctor who owns the practice where Mike works. He wants Mike to succeed in his practice, so he is strict in his methods. Mark Vanacore (Michael R. Genadry) is Warren's best friend and closest confidant. Diane Snyder (Ginnifer Goodwin) is also Warren and Mark's friend. Jessica Martell (Robin Paul) is the object of Warren's affections.