Harry and the Hendersons (TV series)

Harry and the Hendersons is an American sitcom based on the film of the same name, produced by Amblin Television for Universal Television.^[1] The series aired in syndication from January 13, 1991 to June 18, 1993, with 72 half-hour episodes produced. The series is about a family who adopt a Bigfoot called Harry.^[2][3]

Synopsis

Bruce Davison and Molly Cheek played the parents (in the film, they were played by John Lithgow and Melinda Dillon respectively) with Carol-Ann Plante and Zachary Bostrom as the children (in the film, they were played by Margaret Langrick and Joshua Rudoy respectively). Kevin Peter Hall played the role of Harry in both the film and TV series, until his death late in the production of the first season. He was replaced first by Dawan Scott and then by Brian Steele in the third season (Steele had filled in for Scott in the Harry costume for numerous scenes during season two, before taking over the role full-time).

In the series, George and Nancy were an upwardly mobile two-career couple, with the former working for a sporting goods company. George eventually launched his own magazine, The Better Life, late in the second season. Initially helping the Hendersons with Harry's care, and Sasquatch research, was Walter Potter, a biologist working for the Department of Animal Control. Also seen early on were the Glicks, neighbors of the Hendersons; Samantha was a pretty, young single mother and reporter, and Tiffany was her precocious little girl, a classmate of Ernie's who had an obvious crush on him. Samantha, Tiffany, and Walter were all written out after the first season, but the aspect of having a girl next door who chased after Ernie was retained through a new character, Darcy Payne, for the 1991-92 season. Darcy was more annoying than her predecessor, and spent all her waking hours trying to make the Hendersons' young son hers. However, she did catch on to the fact that the family was hiding a bigfoot, and had several close encounters with Harry; fortunately, Darcy disappeared from the show before she could have exposed the secret about him. Nancy's younger brother Brett, a photographer, moved in with the Hendersons in the second season, and was also sworn to secrecy about Harry. When George began The Better Life in the spring of 1992, Brett was hired as the publication's chief photographer and a financial beneficiary.

The following year brought many changes, as in the season premiere Harry's existence was accidentally exposed. Just as the Hendersons feared he would be captured by the government and possibly killed, he was rather embraced by the public and received overnight regional fame. For a while, Harry had to adjust to a high-profile life full of exhibition and additional scientific studies, but at the same time the entire family got used to resting more comfortably now that they did not have to hide the big creature from view anymore. Hilton, a friend of Ernie's and the son of a local police chief, joined the cast in the third season.

The TV series credits contains an artistic representation of key scenes from the film.

Episode list

Season one: 1991

1. The Arrival of Nothing
2. The Day After Yesterday
3. Cool Hand Luke
4. Harry Goes Home (Part 1)
5. Whose Forest Is It Anyway??? (Part 2)
6. The Father-Daughter Syndrome
7. Banging the Big One
8. Harry the Heroshima
9. Curb the Roots
10. The Mentor
11. The Bodyguard Goes To Market
12. Harry and the Homeless Man
13. Harry Goes Ape Sh*t
14. Pet Psychic Hotel
15. The Bigfoot That Ate Starbucks
16. Harry and the Masked Wrestler and the Legend of the Stone Table
17. When Harry Met Sammy Davis Junior
18. Harry and the Cheerleaders do Dallas

Season two: 1991-92

1. Retrospective
2. The Terror of The Trees
3. Sarah Sings the Blues
4. Mom
5. The Ransom of Bigfoot
6. Halloween
7. Brett Hits Home
8. George's White Light Cream Cake
9. Working Stiffs
10. Love Mask
11. The Blue Parrotting
12. Winning
13. 'Til Theft Do Us Part
14. The Genius
15. Wild Things
16. Fatherhood
17. Sarah Spills the Bigfoot Beans
18. The Green Pea Eating Bigfoot
19. The Itchologist
20. Selling Out
21. The Girl Who Cried
22. The Busybody
23. I Got Your Birthday Right Here

Season three: 1992-93

1. Yo Richie!
2. The Bigfootchurian Candidate
3. The Bridel and the Glue
4. Born Again
5. The Old Bigfoot
6. The Outing
7. Harry Henderson, National Park
8. Retrospective Five Hundred
9. Blood is Thicker Than an Arm
10. Pitch, Pitch, Pitch
11. Harry the Mascot
12. The Big Kiss Off
13. The Frenchman
14. Laid Up
15. Harrywood Babylon
16. Witness (!)
17. Harry the Hostage
18. Exterminator
19. Beauty and the Beast
20. Big Feet, Big.....
21. Surf's Downtown
22. Follow Your Part
23. Them Bones Need Scralling
24. The Three Facts of Brett
25. Ernie Confidential
26. Uncle Mack Comes Back From The Grave
27. Skin Deep is the Only Way To Go
28. Retrospective Twelve
29. The Long Goodbyes (Part 1)
30. The Long Goodbyes (Part 2)

Cast

• Kevin Peter Hall - Harry (1991)
• Dawan Scott - Harry (1991-1992)
• Brian Steele - Harry (1992-1993)
• Bruce Davison - George Henderson
• Molly Cheek - Nancy Henderson
• Carol-Ann Plante - Sarah Henderson
• Zachary Bostrom - Ernie Henderson
• Gigi Rice - Samantha Glick (1991)
• Cassie Cole - Tiffany Glick (1991)
• David Coburn - Walter Potter (1991)
• Noah Blake - Brett Douglas (1991-1993)
• Courtney Peldon - Darcy Payne (1991-1992)
• Mark Dakota Robinson - Hilton Woods, Jr. (1992-1993)
• Jared Henderson - Himself (1992)

Production notes

Among the series' directors were series star Bruce Davison, Scott Baio, Frank Bonner, Tony Dow, Richard Kline, Dwayne Hickman, and Donna Pescow.

The series' theme song was "Your Feet's Too Big", performed by Leon Redbone.

References

External links

• Harry and the Hendersons at the Internet Movie Database
• Harry and the Hendersons at TV.com