| The Good Guys | |
|---|---|
From left:Bob Denver, Herb Edelman, Joyce Van Patten |
|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Jack Rose |
| Written by | Arnold Horwitt Jack Rose Mel Tolkin |
| Directed by | Charles R. Rondeau |
| Starring | Bob Denver Herb Edelman Joyce Van Patten Jack Perkins |
| Theme music composer | Ray Evans Jerry Fielding Jay Livingston |
| Opening theme | "Two Good Guys" |
| Composer(s) | Jerry Fielding |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 42 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Leonard B. Stern |
| Producer(s) | Jerry Davis Jack Rose Bob Schiller Bob Weiskopf |
| Cinematography | William T. Cline Robert Hoffman |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Talent Associates, in association with The CBS Television Network |
| Distributor | CBS Television Distribution |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | September 25, 1968[1] – January 23, 1970 |
The Good Guys is an American sitcom which aired on CBS from September 25, 1968 to January 23, 1970. 42 color episodes were filmed in all. As with The Governor & J.J. and Get Smart, it was produced by Talent Associates and CBS Productions.[2] CBS Television Studios also owns the rights to this program as well.
Contents |
The show centers around Rufus Butterworth (Bob Denver), the driver of a customized 1930s touring car turned taxi, and his childhood friend Bert Gramus, played by Herb Edelman, owner of a local diner and neighborhood hangout called "Bert's Place", which Butterworth advertised on the taxi's fender-mount spare tire covers.[3] Plots usually revolved around "get rich quick" schemes that invariably backfired.[1] In the second season, Rufus became a partner with Bert in the diner, which moved to a beach location. Other characters included Bert's schoolteacher wife, Claudia and diner regulars Mr. Bender, Hal Dawson and truck driver Big Tom (played by Alan Hale, Jr.).
Never a huge hit with fans, The Good Guys failed to finish in the Nielsen Top 30 and was canceled after its second season.
Rufus' taxi was created by George Barris. A 1/25-scale model kit was manufactured by MPC Corporation and examples are highly collectible today.
The first few episodes of the first season, unlike most other sitcoms by this time, were taped before a live studio audience, with an accompanying laugh track to sweeten the laughs. Eventually, however, due to production changes, the rest of the episodes of the first and second season had just a laugh track.[4]
The Good Guys has never been shown in reruns in the United States. In his autobiography, Gilligan, Maynard and Me, Bob Denver related that poor-quality prints of the show were shown for a time in South America. TV Land considered showing episodes of the show in 1998 but opted instead to air episodes of another "lost" sitcom that was also produced by Talent Associates, He and She.