Life's Work

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Life's Work

Title screen with programming information
Genre Sitcom
Created by Warren Bell
Developed by Buena Vista Television
Starring Lisa Ann Walter
Michael O'Keefe
Lainie Kazan
Jenny O'Hara
Alexa Vega
Opening theme "Life's Work" (instrumental)
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 18
Production
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 25 minutes[1]
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Picture format NTSC
Audio format Stereo
Original run September 17, 1996 – June 10, 1997

Life's Work is an American situation comedy series that aired from September 1996 to June 1997 on the ABC channel; the show stars Lisa Ann Walter as Lisa Ann Minardi Hunter, an assistant district attorney in Baltimore.

Lisa Ann always wanted to practice law since she was young because she always argued with her parents.[2] She also had a basketball coach husband named Kevin Hunter (Michael O'Keefe) who served as the patriarch of the family.[2] Together, they raised a 7-year-old daughter Tess (Alexa Vega) and a toddler son named Griffin (Cameron and Luca Weibel).[2] During the entire run of the series, a simple electric guitar instrumental solo was used as the show's opening theme. Laugh tracks were used in all episodes in the sitcom as it was filmed "live before a studio audience."

During the 1990s, it was common to give stand-up comedians their own sitcom on TV; even if their first one had flopped.[3] Lisa Ann Walter was a stand-up comedian who played a mouthy feminist who could stand up to her mother in addition to her superiors at work.[3] While Lisa Ann's character had plenty of zingers to her, there was still a sense of "been-there-done-that" with her character.[3]

In one of the episodes, Lisa Ann claimed to have a sexual affair with then-current American President Bill Clinton.[4]

Episodes

Main article: List of Life's Work episodes

Boss

One of the most crucial episodes in the series was titled "Boss". This episode was originally aired on December 3, 1996. During this episode, Lisa's mother Connie (portrayed by Jenny O'Hara) was recruited to help take care of the children.[5] This occurred after she visited the family in the episode "Gobblegook" for a Thanksgiving meal.[6]

Trying to make a comeback from being forced to wear classic briefs when it took four of her G-strings to "make a decent rag," Lisa referred to her new underwear as "big kid pants," suggesting that she was handed a pair of underwear that only children should wear.

Banquet

In the final episode of Life's Work, Lisa's husband Kevin looks at a banquet to see his wife having an extramarital affair with the new district attorney.[7] She didn't realize that she couldn't juggle the banquet, an elegant dinner with her husband, and please her boss at the same time.[7]

Cancellation

The show was put on hiatus on after airing the episode Neighbors on January 27, 1997. Months later, the show was officially canceled even though it earned higher ratings than The Drew Carey Show and held on to 90% of the viewers who watched the final season of Roseanne.[8] However, the ratings for Roseanne saw a major decrease in 1996-97 and ended at the end of the season as well.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Duration of show (Italian)". Antonio Genna. Retrieved 2011-05-11. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Series Summary". TV.com. Retrieved 2008-08-15. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Lisa Ann Walter Summary". Sitcoms Online. Retrieved 2010-03-17. 
  4. ↑ [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=Damerini, Margaria 2001p. 426 Damerini, Margaria 2001 Damerini, Margaria 2001 p. 426] 
  5. ↑ "Cast and crew information". The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-05-16. 
  6. ↑ "Connie Minardi backstore". TV.com. Retrieved 2010-03-02. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Episode summary (Banquet)". TV.com. Retrieved 2011-03-29. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Why Life's Work Didn't Last". Internet Archive. 2002-10-16. Archived from the original on 2002-10-16. Retrieved 2008-08-15. 

Bibliography

  • Damerini; Fabrizio Margaria (2001). Garzanti, ed. Dizionario dei telefilm (1ª edizione ed.). ISBN 88-11-74000-2.  Unknown parameter |cid= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |name= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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