Working (TV series)
| Working | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by |
Michael Davidoff Bill Rosenthal |
| Directed by |
Robert Berlinger Linda Day David Owen Trainor Fred Savage Andrew Tsao James Widdoes Steve Zuckerman |
| Starring |
Fred Savage Arden Myrin |
| Opening theme | "Working in the Coal Mine" performed by Devo |
| Composer(s) |
Craig Jerris Mark Mothersbaugh |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 39 (4 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Michael Davidoff Bill Rosenthal |
| Producer(s) |
Sy Rosen Noah Taft Andrew Tsao Werner Walian Mark Wilding |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Davidoff/Rosenthal Productions NBC Studios |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | October 8, 1997 – January 25, 1999 |
Working is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from 1997 to 1999. The series was created and executive produced by Michael Davidoff and Bill Rosenthal.
Synopsis
Working took a satirical (and sometimes over-the-top) look at office life within a big corporate company. The show starred Fred Savage as the naive Matt Peyser, whose ideals are constantly challenged by his boss, Tim Deale, played by Maurice Godin. Other characters included dim-witted Jimmy (Dana Gould), under-respected secretary Hal (Sarah Knowlton), overly perky Abby Cosgrove (Arden Myrin), acerbic Delaney (Steve Hytner), and no-nonsense manager Evelyn (Yvette Freeman).
Due to faltering ratings, the network attempted to breathe new life into the show during the second season with some cast changes. This included writing out the characters of Jimmy and Hal. They were replaced by Debi Mazar as the ruthless Liz and Rebecca McFarland as Val (As an in-joke, when Matt first sees Liz and Val he mistakenly calls them Jimmy and Hal). During the series run, Danica McKellar, formerly a co-star of Savage's of The Wonder Years, made two guest-appearances playing a woman Savage's character meets in a bar (who turns out to be related to his boss), and of whom he says "she reminds me of a girl I grew up with!"
Ratings for the series didn't improve and NBC canceled Working in January 1999. 35 of the 39 episodes produced were aired. Working was later reaired on the USA Network, including the never-before-seen episodes.
Theme song
The show used a cover of the song "Working in the Coal Mine" performed by Devo, set over top of scenes of work, including marching workers from the film Metropolis, frantic work scenes from Terry Gilliam's Brazil and office scenes from Billy Wilder's The Apartment. The vocals of the theme song were removed for the USA Network broadcasts.
Cast
- Fred Savage ... Matt Peyser
- Maurice Godin ... Tim Deale
- Yvette Freeman ... Evelyn Smalley
- Steve Hytner ... John Delaney
- Arden Myrin ... Abby Cosgrove
- Dana Gould ... Jimmy Clarke (1997-1998)
- Sarah Knowlton ... Hal Blum (1997-1998)
- Rebecca McFarland ... Val Gibson (1998-1999)
- Debi Mazar ... Liz Tricoli (1998-1999)
- Kate Hodge ... Chris Grant (1998)
Episode list
Season 1
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | Pilot | October 8, 1997 |
| 1-2 | "Close Quarters" | October 15, 1997 |
| 1-3 | "Rumoring" | October 29, 1997 |
| 1-4 | "Quick Out of the Gate" | November 5, 1997 |
| 1-5 | "Sexual Harassment" | November 12, 1997 |
| 1-6 | "Lost Weekend" | November 19, 1997 |
| 1-7 | "Creative Matt" | December 3, 1997 |
| 1-8 | "Top O' the World Ma" | December 10, 1997 |
| 1-9 | "Medieval Christmas" | December 17, 1997 |
| 1-10 | "The Breakfast" | January 7, 1998 |
| 1-11 | "Enemies: A Love Story" | January 14, 1998 |
| 1-12 | "Sam I Am" | January 21, 1998 |
| 1-13 | "Boys Club" | January 28, 1998 |
| 1-14 | "Hatchet Man" | February 4, 1998 |
| 1-15 | "Mum's the Word" | February 25, 1998 |
| 1-16 | "As Bad As It Gets" | March 18, 1998 |
| 1-17 | "Labor Pains" | March 25, 1998 |
| 1-18 | "The Gold Digger" | April 1, 1998 |
| 1-19 | "Equality" | April 15, 1998 |
| 1-20 | "The Lying Game" | April 29, 1998 |
| 1-21 | "Due Process" | May 6, 1998 |
| 1-22 | "The Brown Noser" | May 13, 1998 |
Season 2
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 2-23 | "Home-O-Apathy" | September 22, 1998 |
| 2-24 | "The Closer" | September 29, 1998 |
| 2-25 | "Armageddon Outta Here" | October 27, 1998 |
| 2-26 | "Performance Review" | November 3, 1998 |
| 2-27 | "Good Val Hunting" | November 10, 1998 |
| 2-28 | "Networking" | November 17, 1998 |
| 2-29 | "A Boy, A Girl, And His Bird" | December 1, 1998 |
| 2-30 | "The Consultant" | December 8, 1998 |
| 2-31 | "Greenery" | December 18, 1998 |
| 2-32 | "The Christmas Party" | December 22, 1998 |
| 2-33 | "Romeo and Julie" | January 11, 1999 |
| 2-34 | "The Retreat" | January 18, 1999 |
| 2-35 | "The Prodigy" | January 25, 1999 |
| 2-36 | "Manifesto Destinyf" | Never aired |
| 2-37 | "The Other Executive" | Never aired |
| 2-38 | "She Loves Me, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" | Never aired |
| 2-39 | "Sliding Doors" | Never aired |
Awards
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Young Artist Awards | Won | Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series - Young Performer Age Ten or Under | Sara Paxton |
External links
- Working at the Internet Movie Database
- Working at TV.com
- Working at epguides.com