Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Andy Richter Controls the Universe is a sitcom which aired from 2002–2003 on the Fox network. The series was Andy Richter's first starring role after leaving NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2000.
| Andy Richter Controls the Universe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Victor Fresco |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Andy Richter |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 19 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Garfield Grove Productions 20th Century Fox Television Paramount Network Television |
| Distributor | CBS Television Distribution (US current distributor) 20th Television (International current distributor) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Picture format | 16:9 HDTV |
| Original release | March 19, 2002 – January 12, 2003 |
It ran for two seasons, totaling nineteen episodes, and was canceled due in part to poor ratings. The show was a joint production of Garfield Grove Productions and 20th Century Fox Television in association with Paramount Television.
TV Guide included the series in their 2013 list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".[1]
Characters
The surnames of the characters are very rarely mentioned – with the exception of Andy, most are only mentioned once in the entire series.
Main
- Andy Richter: The character, sharing his name with the actor, is an aspiring writer living in Chicago who wants to write short stories. However, he is forced to work as a technical manual writer for Pickering Industries, the fifth largest company in America, to pay the bills. Andy is shy and not good with women. He doesn't really want to be working at the company, though he is very good at his job.
- Jessica Green (played by Paget Brewster): Jessica worked with Andy for years before she became the head of Andy's department, and thus, his boss. They tried dating once, but it didn't work out. She often has to act as an intermediary between her superiors and Andy and his co-workers, forcing her to take sides. She is fairly superficial when it comes to men.
- Wendy McKay (played by Irene Molloy): Wendy is the receptionist at Andy's office. As of the pilot, she had only been working there a month. Andy is attracted to her, but found out that since he had not made a move in a month, Keith has started to date her.
- Byron Togler (played by Jonathan Slavin): Byron is a new illustrator who moves into Andy's office, which causes Andy annoyance in the pilot episode. Byron is fairly insecure and shy.
- Keith (played by James Patrick Stuart): Keith is Andy's best friend and co-worker and one usually sticks up for the other. He is the handsome guy in the office who has things handed to him because he's good-looking.
Others
Pickering Industries is founded by Mr. Pickering (John Bliss) in 1880. Despite being over 170 years old, and dead, he appears in several episodes and has discussions with Andy within his imagination. His viewpoints are typically antiquated and contrary to political correctness to an extreme degree. His comments often seem to represent a negative aspect of Andy's mind, such as guilt, or self-doubt.
Teak (Charlie Finn) and Phil (Sean Gunn) live in the same building as Andy. They had been members of the same fraternity as Andy, ten years after Andy was a member. As such, they look up to him. It is hinted that Phil might be homosexual.
Guest appearances
Conan O'Brien appears as Pickering's new CEO in the episode "Crazy in Rio." Other stars to have guest roles include Cedric Yarbrough, Jon Cryer, Molly Sims, Beth Littleford, Rick Peters, Bree Turner, Jarrad Paul, Rex Lee, Lola Glaudini, and June Lockhart, who plays Andy's grandmother.
Episodes
Broadcast history
| Season | Time |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | Tuesday at 8:30 |
| 2002–03 | Sunday at 9:30 (Episodes 1–2, 4, 6-8) Tuesday at 8:30 (Episodes 3, 5) |
Season 1 (2002)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Andy Ackerman | Victor Fresco | March 19, 2002 | 001 |
| Andy has a crush on Wendy, but she is dating Keith. A new employee, Byron, is put in Andy's office which is barely big enough for Andy to begin with. Andy can't stay mad about it for too long, however, since Byron turns out to be a great guy. | ||||||
| 4 | 2 | "Grief Counselor" | Andy Ackerman | Michael A. Ross | March 26, 2002 | 004 |
| After a man named Charlie dies, the company forces everyone to see a grief counselor. Byron uses it to open up all of his sorrow and causes the grief counselor to commit suicide. | ||||||
| 6 | 3 | "Little Andy in Charge" | Andy Ackerman | Victor Fresco | April 2, 2002 | 006 |
| Andy has a crisis of conscience when he learns that the beautiful woman he is dating is a bigot. Jessica goes out partying before a big meeting and her tiredness plays to her advantage. | ||||||
| 2 | 4 | "The Second Episode" | Andy Ackerman | Michael Shipley & Jim Bernstein | April 9, 2002 | 002 |
| Andy is upset to be forced to share his office with yet another person (Cedric Yarbrough), making 3 people total in an office designed for one, this time an overly friendly and cheerful man who is also named Andy. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Gimme a C" | Will Mackenzie | Jennifer Celotta | April 16, 2002 | 005 |
| The gang gets irritated at Lemuel Praeger (Jon Cryer), vice-president of the company, constant cost cutting and so plays a prank on him, which they later regret when they learn he has cancer. Praeger then uses this against them and makes them do various things to make up for it. | ||||||
| 7 | 6 | "Wedding" | Andy Ackerman | Tim Doyle | April 23, 2002 | 007 |
| The gang goes to a wedding. Andy wakes up in Byron's bed and they wonder how that happened. | ||||||
Season 2 (2002–03)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "We're All The Same, Only Different" | Andy Ackerman | Victor Fresco | December 1, 2002 | 011 |
| Andy makes a disparaging remark about Irish people, offending a friend of his that he didn't know was of Irish descent. No one else thinks it's a big deal until the Irish CEO finds out about it and makes everyone in Andy's department as well as every manager in the chain of command between himself and Andy take sensitivity training classes. Meanwhile, Andy learns sensitivity as a relationship blossoms between himself and his new African/Irish/American girlfriend (Dawnn Lewis). | ||||||
| 12 | 2 | "Twins" | Andy Ackerman | Rob Ulin | December 8, 2002 | 012 |
| A pair of identical twins is sharing Jessica as their girlfriend. Everything will be fine as long as they don't find out that she knows. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "France" | John Fortenberry | Will Gluck | December 10, 2002 | 003 |
| Andy convinces Jessica to send him instead of Keith (who really doesn't want to go anyway) on an important business trip to France. Then, Andy and Jessica learn that Byron speaks fluent French! | ||||||
| 13 | 4 | "Holy Sheep" | Andy Ackerman | Jennifer Celotta | December 15, 2002 | 013 |
| Byron struggles to remain celibate so that he can be initiated into his new religion, "Zumanism" as the beautiful daughter of the founder of the church (Molly Sims) tries desperately to seduce him. | ||||||
| 14 | 5 | "Relationship Ripcord" | Lee Shallat-Chemel | Michael Shipley & Jim Bernstein | December 17, 2002 | 014 |
| Andy and friends eavesdrop on the therapy session of a beautiful woman and Andy decides to exploit what he hears to start a relationship with her. | ||||||
| 9 | 6 | "The Show Might Go On" | Andy Ackerman | Jay Dyer | December 22, 2002 | 009 |
| Wendy is the understudy to the leading actress (Beth Littleford) in a local play. Andy and Keith conspire to make the actress miss a performance so that Wendy can get her big break. | ||||||
| 17 | 7 | "Crazy in Rio" | Andy Ackerman | Michael A. Ross | January 5, 2003 | 017 |
| The new CEO of Pickering industries (Conan O'Brien) takes a liking to Andy and promotes him to a lofty executive position. There's only one problem, the new CEO is completely insane. | ||||||
| 15 | 8 | "The Maid Man" | Andy Ackerman | Matthew Weiner | January 12, 2003 | 015 |
| Andy falls for Jessica's Russian housekeeper (Lola Glaudini), creating friction between himself and Jessica when the shallow infatuation runs its course. | ||||||
| 8 | 9 | "Bully the Kid" | Bryan Gordon | Steve Baldikoski & Bryan Behar | unaired (Aired: Jun.14,2004 on HDNet) | 008 |
| Andy drops the ball when asked to watch Jessica's nephew, who then blackmails Andy and Jessica so that he won't tell his mom about Andy and Jessica's lack of responsibility. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Duh Dog" | John Fortenberry | Tommy Blacha | unaired (Aired: Jun.21,2004 on HDNet) | 010 |
| Andy makes a sarcastic remark about a "big stupid dog" that catches everyone's attention and ends up becoming the company mascot. | ||||||
| 16 | 11 | "Final Fantasy" | John Fortenberry | Eric Kaplan | unaired (Aired: Jun.28,2004 on HDNet) | 016 |
| Wendy takes a crack at writing fantasy fiction. Byron accidentally becomes a pimp. | ||||||
| 19 | 12 | "Charity Begins in D Block" | Andy Ackerman | Dave Jeser & Matt Silverstein | unaired (Aired: Jul.5,2004 on HDNet) | 019 |
| Andy and Jessica volunteer as mentors at a prison. Their competitiveness gets the better of them as they coach their respective prisoners in a poetry competition. | ||||||
| 18 | 13 | "Saturday Early Evening Fever" | Jay Chandrasekhar | Tommy Blacha | unaired (Aired: Jul.12,2004 on HDNet) | 018 |
| Twenty-something Byron begins dating Andy's eighty-something grandmother (June Lockhart). | ||||||
Production
Although canceled after two mid-season runs (totaling 19 episodes), reruns of all 19 episodes aired on HDNet from mid 2003 until 2006. It was also shown on the Paramount Comedy Channel, the Irish network TV3 and on the Polish edition of Comedy Central.
The outside shots of Andy's office are taken from the Duke & Duke building from Trading Places.
Structure
The series' plots were fairly typical of sitcoms with Andy getting himself into a situation and having to find a solution. The unique aspects were several unusual devices that defined the show.
First was Richter's voiceover which essentially narrated the plot as well as Andy's thought processes in each episode. Secondly, and connected to the first, was Andy's imagination, which was presented onscreen as if it were reality until it was revealed in a smash cut accompanied by the sound of rewinding audio tape. This was often used to demonstrate alternatives to what actually happened for a given event. These fantasy sequences inspired the original working title, "Anything Can Happen," a sentiment Richter expresses in the series premiere's opening narration.
Home release
On March 24, 2009, CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) released all 19 episodes of Andy Richter Controls the Universe on DVD in Region 1.[2]
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment holds the international DVD rights, but has yet to make a release anywhere.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Richter Controls the Universe: The Complete Series | 19 | March 24, 2009 |
|
Soundtrack
All music from the show was written by Greg Burns, Jeff Burns, and Brian Kirk. The theme song is sung by Jason Cropper, the original guitarist for Weezer. The song was written for the show, and there is not a full version beyond the short clip in the beginning. However, a slightly longer version of the song is evident on the pilot episode.
See also
- Quintuplets – Andy Richter's subsequent sitcom
- Andy Barker, P.I. – Andy Richter's third sitcom
References
- Roush, Matt (June 3, 2013). "Cancelled Too Soon". TV Guide. pp. 20 and 21
- TV Shows on DVD Archived 2009-02-24 at the Wayback Machine
External links
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