| Jennifer Slept Here | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy sitcom |
| Written by | Nick Arnold Larry Balmagia Tom Chehak Bruce Ferber Terry Hart David Lerner Rick Mittleman Larry Rosen Larry Spencer Larry Tucker Jurgen Wolff |
| Directed by | John Bowab Charles S. Dubin |
| Starring | Ann Jillian John P. Navin, Jr. Georgia Engel Brandon Maggart Mya Stark Glenn Scarpelli |
| Theme music composer | Clint Holmes Ann Jillian Joey Murcia Bill Payne |
| Opening theme | "Jennifer Slept Here" performed by Joey Scarbury |
| Composer(s) | Perry Botkin, Jr. |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Larry Rosen Larry Tucker |
| Producer(s) | Douglas Arango Phil Doran |
| Running time | 24 min |
| Production company(s) | Columbia Pictures Television The Larry Larry Company |
| Distributor | Columbia TriStar Domestic Television (2001) Sony Pictures Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | October 21, 1983 – September 5, 1984 |
Jennifer Slept Here is an American fantasy sitcom series that ran for one season on NBC from October 21, 1983 to September 5, 1984.
Contents |
In the series, Ann Jillian plays Jennifer Farrell: a once-popular movie actress who made the unfortunate, mortal mistake of chasing an ice cream truck near her Los Angeles, California home. When the ice cream truck accidentally backed up, it ran her over, killing her. Years later, the Elliot family from New York City moved into Jennifer's home. Father George was a lawyer who had handled Jennifer's posthumous affairs, including the house. George's wife, Susan, was a concerned and understanding figure. Daughter Marilyn was a typical 8-year-old.
The driving story behind the series was that Jennifer haunted the Elliot house—ostensibly to mentor and befriend the family's teenage son, Joey, who was the only person to whom she made herself visible. Naturally, Joey had a hard time convincing his family and friends of Jennifer's ghostly existence. They not only refused to believe Joey's claim, but often concluded Joey needed psychiatric or other help. In one episode, they hired a phony exorcist (played by Zelda Rubinstein in a parody of her Poltergeist character Tangina Barrons) to rid the house of Jennifer's spirit by capturing it in a jar.
Jennifer often caused Joey more trouble than he could handle. In one episode, Jennifer poured a pitcher of milk over George after he'd scolded Joey for asserting Jennifer's spirit still existed. No matter how sticky the situations got, Jennifer and Joey always found ways to prevail.
Although the show had mixed reviews and a tough Friday night timeslot (its competition was The Dukes of Hazzard on CBS and Webster on ABC), it attracted decent ratings. The show cracked the top 20 during the summer of 1984, but that was not enough to guarantee a second season.
The show was produced by Columbia Pictures Television. The series theme song was written by series star Ann Jillian, Clint Holmes, Joey Murcia, and Bill Payne, and was performed by Joey Scarbury.
| № | Title | Original airdate | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | October 21, 1983 | As the Elliotts move into the home of recently deceased actress Jennifer Farrell, Joey becomes spooked when her spirit shows up and he is the only one who can see her. |
| 2 | "Jennifer the Movie" | October 28, 1983 | Jennifer is furious when a rival actress that she despised when she was alive will play her in a planned biopic. |
| 3 | "Not with My Date You Don't" | November 4, 1983 | A new girl stands in the way of Joey and Marc...and a pair of concert tickets that the girl actually wants. |
| 4 | "Boo" | November 11, 1983 | As part of deal between the two, Jennifer will help Joey scare up surprises for a pair of twins in exchange for holding a seance to contact her mother (Debbie Reynolds). |
| 5 | "Calendar Girl" | November 18, 1983 | After George discovers a nude photo of Jennifer in a box of unclaimed items, Jennifer wants Joey to retrieve it before his father can sell it off at an auction for her estate. Monty Hall guest stars. |
| 6 | "One of Our Jars Is Missing" | November 25, 1983 | The Elliotts hire a phony poltergeist expert to rid the house of Jennifer... and to Joey's shock, it works! Now Joey and Jennifer must convince her to restore Jennifer's power before a letter that Joey accidentally wrote is mailed off. |
| 7 | "Trading Faces" | December 2, 1983 | Jennifer discovers that she has the ability to enter other people's bodies, so she uses Susan's so she can rekindle a former mortal flame. |
| 8 | "Rebel with a Cause" | December 16, 1983 | With Jennifer's help, Joey is able to take care of a bully... and in the process acquire his entire lifestyle. |
| 9 | "Risky Weekend" | April 14, 1984 | With the parents away, Joey agrees to let the house be used for a bingo game. That is, until Joey and Jennifer discover that they're using the place as a gambling parlor. |
| 10 | "Do You Take This Ghost?" | April 21, 1984 | Jennifer's former playboy boyfriend, who is also a ghost, wants to revive the relationship they had when they were alive. Eve McVeagh made a guest appearance. |
| 11 | "Life with Grandfather" | April 28, 1984 | After George's father dies unexpectedly, the family finally has kind things to say about him that they never told him when he was alive. |
| 12 | "The Tutor Who Came to Dinner" | May 5, 1984 | When a new tutor appears on the scene to help Joey, Jennifer becomes jealous of her. And she should be: She's Jennifer's spiritual replacement! Jillian's It's A Living co-star Gail Edwards plays the ghostly tutor. |
| 13 | "Take Jennifer, Please" | May 12, 1984 | Fed up with having his father not believing that he can see Jennifer, Joey must find a way to convince him otherwise, even if it mean having Jennifer prove that she is a ghost in front of the family. So Jennifer tells Joey that she'll help him if Joey can produce the real will she wrote, which George had in his office safe and is unaware that he had it. |
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Primetime Emmy Award | Nominated | Outstanding Technical Direction/Camerawork/Video for a Series | For episode "Life with Grandfather" |
| 1984 | Young Artist Awards | Winner | Best Young Actor in a New Television Series | John P. Navin, Jr. |
| Nominated | Best New Television Series |
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| Nominated | Best Young Actor in a New Television Series | Glenn Scarpelli |