Rocky Road (TV series)

Rocky Road
Created by Arthur Annecharico
Starring Maylo McCaslin
Desiree Boschetti
Georg Olden
Lilly Moon
Marcianne Warman
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 71
Production
Executive producer(s) Arthur Annecharico
Producer(s) Gene Abravaya
Location(s) Hollywood Center Studios, Los Angeles
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) The Arthur Company
Broadcast
Original channel Superstation WTBS
Picture format Color
Original run September 2, 1985 – June 26, 1987

Rocky Road is an American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the Superstation WTBS cable network from September 2, 1985 to June 26, 1987. Produced by Arthur Annecharico, the series follows three young siblings who run a beach-front ice cream parlor, and aired Monday nights as part of WTBS' line-up of original "family programming", which also included Down to Earth and Safe at Home. During its three season run, the series underwent several cast changes and starred Maylo McCaslin, Desiree Boschetti, Georg Olden, Lily Moon, and Marcianne Warman.[1][2][3][4][5]

Premise

Main cast for season 3 of Rocky Road

The series centers around the three young Stuart siblings who live and work in a Pismo Beach boardwalk ice cream parlor that they inherit from their recently deceased parents. The Stuart kids – Jessica, the 22-year-old eldest and legal guardian of her two younger siblings; Robbie, the 17-year-old middle sibling and self-appointed "idea man"; and Cindi, the 12-year-old youngest sibling – somehow find a way keep the struggling ice cream parlor afloat with the help (and interference) of their neighbors on the beach.[2][3][5]

Jessica struggles to keep the family together while balancing a life of her own. Robbie is a typical teenager whose "bright ideas" have a tendency to backfire. And Cindi consistently finds adventures amidst a world of eccentric adults. Suzie Quartermain, the boardwalk's young lifeguard, is a fun-loving "party girl" whose antics always keep things interesting. Sandy Bradshaw, the boardwalk's police officer, is a bumbling young rookie who often finds himself in some mix-up. Lucas Buchanan, who owns the boardwalk's bait shop, watches over the Stuart kids and reminisces about the escapades of his younger days, before eventually selling the bait shop to retired Marine officer, Frank Wilson, Sr. and his teenage son, Frank, Jr.[2][3][5]

Cast and characters

Production

Rocky Road was created by three-time Emmy Award winner Arthur Annecharico and was produced by his production company "The Arthur Company" for TBS. An attempt at producing sitcoms on a budget, each episode of Rocky Road was estimated to cost $100,000 to produce, approximately ¼ the cost of network sitcoms of the time. The series was filmed at Hollywood Center Studios in Los Angeles, California and premiered in its 7:05 pm time-slot on September 2, 1985 as part of TBS's Monday night line-up of its original shows Down to Earth (airing at 6:05 pm) and Safe at Home (airing at 6:35 pm) which, at the time, were both also produced by The Arthur Company.[1][2][3]

Episodes

Season 1

No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Original air date Production
code
11"Miss Boardwalk"September 2, 1985001
22"Handcuffed"September 9, 1985002
33"The Great American Kiss Off"September 16, 1985003
44"Buried Treasure"September 23, 1985004
55"The Formula"September 30, 1985005
66"Knives Near the Water"October 7, 1985006
77"Sister Was a Centerfold"October 14, 1985007
88"Spellbound"October 21, 1985008
99"Curse"October 28, 1985009
1010"The Critic"November 4, 1985010
1111"Trading Spaces"November 11, 1985011
1212"You Make Me Feel So Young"November 18, 1985012
1313"Boardwalk Melody"November 25, 1985013

Season 2

No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Original air date Production
code
141"My Guy"December 2, 1985014
152"The Creature That Ate the Boardwalk"December 9, 1985015
163"Sandy, She Wrote"December 16, 1985016
174"Suzie Claus Is Coming to Town"December 23, 1985022
185"B. My Love"December 30, 1985019
196"The Exterminators"January 6, 1986017
207"The Buck Stops Here"January 13, 1986023
218"Bully for You"January 20, 1986018
229"Big Sister Blues"January 27, 1986020
2310"Mr. October"February 10, 1986021
2411"Partners"February 17, 1986024
2512"The Big Two-three"February 24, 1986025
2613"Buchanan and Son"March 3, 1986026
2714"Tonsils"March 10, 1986027
2815"A Robbie Production"March 17, 1986028
2916"Hurricane"March 24, 1986029
3017"Two Tickets for Bruce"April 7, 1986030
3118"The Oddest Couple"May 5, 1986036
3219"The Wrong Mr. Right"May 12, 1986037
3320"Real Men Eat Quiche"May 19, 1986032
3421"Jessica's Old Flame"May 26, 1986034
3522"Bicycle Thief"June 2, 1986038
3623"Dueling Dads"June 3, 1986031
3724"Lucas' Nephew"June 5, 1986035
3825"Big Brother Is Watching"June 6, 1986039
3926"Jessica's Vacation"June 9, 1986041
4027"Robbie's Inheritance"June 11, 1986033
4128"Misfortune Cookie"June 12, 1986042
4229"Jess, You Is My Mother Now"June 13, 1986040

Season 3

No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Original air date Production
code
431"Junior High School Confidential"September 5, 1986048
442"Fair Weather Friends"September 12, 1986050
453"Suzie Moves In"September 19, 1986058
464"Rockin' Robbie"September 26, 1986055
475"Bringing Up Baby"October 3, 1986044
486"A Horse Is a Horse"October 10, 1986049
497"Fear of Flying"October 17, 1986051
508"Davey Jones' Locket"October 31, 1986054
519"Jessica's College Roommate"November 6, 1986043
5210"Junk Food Junkie"November 11, 1986046
5311"Brain Bowl"November 12, 1986047
5412"The New Lucas"November 19, 1986052
5513"Love for Sale"November 20, 1986053
5614"Cindi's Identity Crisis"November 24, 1986056
5715"Boardwalk Blues"November 26, 1986057
5816"Credit Crunch"March 20, 1987059
5917"Frank Wilson & Son"March 27, 1987060
6018"Why Frank Senior Can't Read"April 3, 1987061
6119"Green Eyed Monster"April 10, 1987062
6220"To Go or Not to Go"April 17, 1987063
6321"The Return of Jerry"April 24, 1987064
6422"Moscow on the Boardwalk"May 1, 1987065
6523"Stuart's Folly"May 8, 1987066
6624"Terms of Agreement"May 15, 1987067
6725"Witness for the Persecution"May 29, 1987069
6826"Drinking Buddies"June 5, 1987070
6927"Food for Thought"June 12, 1987071
7028"Bye, Bye, Jerry"June 19, 1987072
7129"True Colors"June 26, 1987075

Awards and nominations

Year Award Nominee Category Result Ref.
1986Young Artist AwardGeorg OldenBest Young Actor in a Cable Series or SpecialNominated[6]
1987Young Artist AwardRocky RoadBest Cable SeriesNominated[7]
Young Artist AwardGeorg OldenBest Young Actor in a Cable Series or SpecialNominated
Young Artist AwardDevon OdessaBest Young Actress in a Cable Series or SpecialNominated

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Associated Press (June 4, 1985). "Author Co. makes cable comedies". The Madison Courier.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 John Carman (September 2, 1985). "Latest comedy has 'Rocky Road' to hoe on WTBS". The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Charles Witbeck (August 29, 1986). "High quality TV seeks out low costs". The Times-News.
  4. 4.0 4.1 George Fergus. "'Rocky Road' – a titles and airdates guide". EpGuides.com. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Life's a thrill for 'Gorgeous Georg' Olden". Teen Idols Mania!. July 1986. p. 56.
  6. "8th Annual Youth In Film Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  7. "9th Annual Youth In Film Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Retrieved March 16, 2012.

External links