Throb

Throb is an American sitcom that aired in syndication from September 6, 1986 to May 21, 1988. The series, created by Fredi Towbin, was produced by Procter & Gamble Productions in association with Taft Entertainment Television, and was distributed by Worldvision Enterprises. The series' rights are currently held by CBS Television Distribution.

For other uses, see Throb (disambiguation).

Throb
Title card
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Fredi Towbin
Starring	Diana Canova Jonathan Prince Maryedith Burrell Jane Leeves Richard Cummings Jr. Paul Walker (season 1) Sean de Veritch (season 2)
Music by	Tena Clark
Opening theme	"Throb" – performed by The Nylons
Ending theme	"Throb" – performed by Diana Canova and The Nylons
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	48
Production
Executive producer(s)	Fredi Towbin
Producer(s)	Jason Shubb
Production company(s)	Swany, Inc. Procter & Gamble Productions Taft Entertainment Television
Distributor	Worldvision Enterprises
Release
Original network	Syndication
Original release	September 6, 1986 (1986-09-06) – May 21, 1988 (1988-05-21)

Synopsis

The series revolved around thirty-something divorcee Sandy Beatty (Diana Canova), who gets a job at a small new wave record label, Throb. Beatty's boss is Zachary Armstrong (Jonathan Prince), who had a huge crush on Sandy. Beatty also has a 12-year-old son named Jeremy (played in the first season by Paul Walker and in season two by Sean de Veritch). Beatty's best friend was Meredith (Maryedith Burrell), a single teacher who lived in her building, and her co-workers included hip business manager Phil Gaines (Richard Cummings, Jr.), and British-born Prudence Anne Bartlett, who was nicknamed "Blue" (Jane Leeves).

During the second season, Sandy moved from her original apartment to the recently vacated penthouse in her building. She took in her co-worker Blue to help out with rent, but the differences between straitlaced, somewhat conservative Sandy and the free-spirited Blue became more pronounced as they both lived and worked together. However, they were still friends.

Casting

Notably, it was the first time much of the American TV audience saw Jane Leeves, who later gained fame as Daphne Moon on Frasier. Also notable is the casting of a young Paul Walker, who played Jeremy Beatty for the first season. Walker became a leading man in Hollywood some 15 years later, particularly after his breakthrough role in The Fast and the Furious.

The creation of the Zachary Armstrong character, and the casting of Jonathan Prince in the role, was inspired by the (then) current rising fame of Michael J. Fox. Prince bore a strong physical resemblance to Fox, and played Zachary with many similar characterizations as Fox's Family Ties character, Alex P. Keaton. Like Alex Keaton, Zachary was also a young, diminutive overachiever on the fast track who found himself attracted to women who were both older and taller than he, the main object of his affection being Sandy.

Cast

• Diana Canova - Sandy Beatty
• Jonathan Prince - Zachary Armstrong
• Maryedith Burrell - Meredith
• Jane Leeves - "Blue" (Prudence Anne Bartlett)
• Richard Cummings Jr. - Phil Gaines
• Paul Walker - Jeremy Beatty (1986–87) (as Paul W. Walker)
• Sean de Veritch - Jeremy Beatty (1987–88)

Episodes

Season 1: 1986–87

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Pilot"	Linda Day	Fredi Towbin	September 20, 1986 (1986-09-20)
2	2	"Our Song"	Linda Day	George Tibbles	September 27, 1986 (1986-09-27)
3	3	"Getting to Know You"	Phil Ramuno	Teleplay by: Lee H. Grant Story by: Mark Duvall & Jay Wolf	October 4, 1986 (1986-10-04)
4	4	"My Fair Punker Lady"	Linda Day	Teleplay by: Hollis Rich Story by: Sandy Krinski	October 11, 1986 (1986-10-11)
5	5	"I Lost Him at the Movies"	Linda Day	Hollis Rich	October 18, 1986 (1986-10-18)
6	6	"Something Extra"	Michael Lessac	Andy Cowan & David S. Williger	October 25, 1986 (1986-10-25)
7	7	"Bus of Dreams"	Barnet Kellman	Michael Lessac & Fredi Towbin	November 1, 1986 (1986-11-01)
8	8	"The Concert"	Phil Rumuno	Michael Short	November 8, 1986 (1986-11-08)
9	9	"The Party"	Phil Ramuno	Andy Goldberg	November 15, 1986 (1986-11-15)
10	10	"Tassles"	Renny Temple	Fredi Towbin	November 22, 1986 (1986-11-22)
11	11	"Wedding Bell Blue"	Tony Singletary	Fredi Towbin	December 6, 1986 (1986-12-06)
12	12	"Nothing Personal"	Tony Singletary	Richard Marcus	December 13, 1986 (1986-12-13)
13	13	"Confidence Game"	Phil Ramuno	Hollis Rich	January 24, 1987 (1987-01-24)
14	14	"Brief Encounter"	Phil Ramuno	Teleplay by: Hollis Rich Story by: Sue Herring	January 31, 1987 (1987-01-31)
15	15	"Genius"	Barnet Kellman	Jeffrey Duteil	February 7, 1987 (1987-02-07)
16	16	"An Oldie But Goodie"	Barnet Kellman	Teleplay by: Joel Kimmel & Ann Gibbs Story by: Seth Weisbord	February 14, 1987 (1987-02-14)
17	17	"High Anxiety"	Nancy Heydorn	Richard Marcus	February 21, 1987 (1987-02-21)
18	18	"Death Be Not Weird"	John Bell	Hollis Rich	February 28, 1987 (1987-02-28)
19	19	"Buffalo"	Renny Temple	Fredi Towbin	March 21, 1987 (1987-03-21)
20	20	"Party Games"	Barnet Kellman	Barry Rubinowitz	April 25, 1987 (1987-04-25)
21	21	"Moonlighting"	Phil Ramuno	Teleplay by: Laura Levine Story by: Jerry Rannow	May 2, 1987 (1987-05-02)
22	22	"Two Flights Up"	Phil Rumano	Teleplay by: Richard Marcus Story by: Jill Sacco & Barbara J. Herndon	May 9, 1987 (1987-05-09)
23	23	"Nashville, Almost"	Phil Ramuno	Teleplay by: Fredi Towbin & George Arthur Bloom Story by: Daniel J. Finneran	May 16, 1987 (1987-05-16)
24	24	"Rainy Day People"	Steve Zuckerman	Jeffrey Duteil & Hollis Rich	May 23, 1987 (1987-05-23)

Season 2: 1987–88

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
25	1	"Moving In"	Stan Harris	Fredi Towbin & Hollis Rich	September 19, 1987 (1987-09-19)
26	2	"The Spa"	Stan Harris	Hollis Rich	September 26, 1987 (1987-09-26)
27	3	"Torn Between Two Lovers"	Gregory Lehane	Andy Goldberg	October 3, 1987 (1987-10-03)
28	4	"Future Shock"	Phil Ramuno	Teleplay by: Fredi Towbin Story by: Molly G. Towbin	October 10, 1987 (1987-10-10)
29	5	"Good Vibrations"	Phil Ramuno	Laurie Newbound	October 17, 1987 (1987-10-17)
30	6	"Whose Coup Is It Anyway?"	Gregory Lehane	Michael Gordon	October 24, 1987 (1987-10-24)
31	7	"Last Night at the Fire Station: Part 1"	Phil Ramuno	Michael Gordon & Fredi Towbin	October 31, 1987 (1987-10-31)
32	8	"Last Night at the Fire Station: Part 2"	Phil Ramuno	Michael Gordon & Fredi Towbin	November 7, 1987 (1987-11-07)
33	9	"Garden Party"	Gregory Lehane	Diana Canova	November 14, 1987 (1987-11-14)
34	10	"Selling Out"	Gregory Lehane	Glenn Leopold & Kevin Hopps	November 21, 1987 (1987-11-21)
35	11	"The Golden Guys"	Gregory Lehane	Teleplay by: Fredi Towbin & Hollis Rich Story by: Fredi Towbin	December 5, 1987 (1987-12-05)
36	12	"One Christmas"	Gregory Lehane	Hollis Rich & Fredi Towbin	December 12, 1987 (1987-12-12)
37	13	"Mary Heartless"	Joe Regalbuto	Doug McIntyre	January 2, 1988 (1988-01-02)
38	14	"Men Without Lips"	Marc Gass	Jane Gould & Shelly Landau	January 30, 1988 (1988-01-30)
39	15	"Make a Joyful Noise"	Gregory Lehane	Bill Barker & Julieta England	February 6, 1988 (1988-02-06)
40	16	"The Cable Show"	Gregory Lehane	Hollis Rich & Fredi Towbin	February 13, 1988 (1988-02-13)
41	17	"Here Come the Amish"	Phil Ramuno	Michael Gordon	February 20, 1988 (1988-02-20)
42	18	"Only the Lonely"	Joe Regalbuto	Lawrence H. Levy	March 5, 1988 (1988-03-05)
43	19	"There's No Place Like Home"	John J. Desmond	Laurie Newbound	March 12, 1988 (1988-03-12)
44	20	"Summer Job"	Phil Pamuno	Teleplay by: Michael Gordon & Fredi Towbin Story by: Michael Gordon	April 23, 1988 (1988-04-23)
45	21	"Neil Returns"	Gregory Lehane	Hollis Rich	April 30, 1988 (1988-04-30)
46	22	"Jung Love"	Marc Gass	Michael Gordon	May 7, 1988 (1988-05-07)
47	23	"The Grammy"	James Widdoes	Barbara J. Herndon & Jill Sacco	May 14, 1988 (1988-05-14)
48	24	"She Can't Sing, Don't Ask Her"	Gregory Lehane	Teleplay by: Diana Canova & Colleen Dodson Story by: Lisa Chernin	May 21, 1988 (1988-05-21)

Stations

City	Station
Atlanta	WXIA 11[1]
Bakersfield	KERO 23
Bangor	WABI 5[2]
Boston	WLVI 56[3]
Chicago	WMAQ 5[4]
Cleveland	WUAB 43[5]
Columbus	WSYX 6[6]
Des Moines	KDSM 17[7]
Fargo	KVRR 15[8]
Fresno	KSEE 24[9]
Green Bay	WXGZ 32[10]
Hamilton	CHCH 11[11]
Harrisburg	WHTM 27[12]
Hartford	WTIC 61[13]
Houston	KTXH 20[14]
Huntington	WSAZ 3[15]
Miami	WCIX 6[16][17]
Milwaukee	WTMJ 4[18]
Minneapolis	KMSP 9[19]
New York	WNBC 4[20]
Oakland	KTVU 2[21]
Oklahoma City	KOCO 5[22]
Peoria	WEEK 25[23]
Philadelphia	WTXF 29[24][25][26]
Pittsburgh	WPGH 53[27]
Red Deer	CKRD 6[28]
Reliance	KPLO 15[29]
Richmond	WVRN 63[30]
Sacramento	KSCH 58[31]
Salinas	KSBW 8
Seattle	KING 5[32]
Spokane	KXLY 4[33]
Springfield	WRSP 55[34]
Syracuse	WTVH 5[35]
Thief River Falls	KBRR 10
Toledo	WUPW 36[36]
Washington, D.C.	WDCA 20[37][38] WRC 4

References

1. "Who aired what where: Lesser-known syndicated shows". Radio Discussions. July 26, 2014.
2. "Retro: Maritimes Sat, July 25, 1987". Radio Discussions. April 26, 2010.
3. "Retro: Boston MA: Sunday, April 24, 1988". Radio Discussions. January 3, 2019.
4. "Chicago, Saturday 4th of July 1987". Radio Discussions. June 28, 2017.
5. 33 minutes of TV commercials from 1986 and 1987 (WUPW WUAB 80s) on YouTube
6. "Retro: Columbus/Zanesville Sat, June 18, 1988". Radio Discussions. June 24, 2010.
7. Throb - 1987 on YouTube
8. 1986 "Throb" TV promo on YouTube
9. "Retro: Fresno Sat/Sun 2/21-22/87 (pt 1)". Radio Discussions. August 16, 2005.
10. "Retro: Northern Wisconsin, Sat. July 9th, 1988". Radio Discussions. February 1, 2019.
11. "Retro: Southwestern Ontario Mon, Mar 20, 1989". Radio Discussions. March 19, 2013.
12. Throb TV Show Commercial (1987) on YouTube
13. "Retro: New York Metro - Saturday, August 13, 1988". Radio Discussions. April 11, 2010.
14. "Retro: Houston Saturday, February 28-Sunday, March 1, 1987". Radio Discussions. March 6, 2010.
15. "Retro:Charleston-Huntington, West Virginia, Saturday 1/10/87 (Excluding PBS)". Radio Discussions. June 1, 2007.
16. "Retro Request: Sat 10/31 & 11/7 and Sun 11/1, 1987". Radio Discussions. March 14, 2010.
17. Rabkin, William (September 7, 1986). "THE 'POT OF GOLD' IN PRODUCING NETWORK TELEVISION SHOWS IS IN SELLING THE RERUNS. BUT INDEPENDENT STATIONS ARE HOPING TO CASH IN WITH NEW SHOWS MADE SPECIFICALLY FOR SYNDICATION". Sun Sentinel.
18. 1986 TV Promo for Throb with Diana Canova on YouTube
19. "Tape #1069: KMSP-TV; KTMA (Dec. 16 - 17, 1986; Dec. 1986)".
20. "First Run Comedies In Syndication". Radio Discussions. August 28, 2007.
21. "Retro: Fresno Sat/Sun 2/21-22/87 (pt 2)". Radio Discussions. August 16, 2005.
22. "Retro: Oklahoma City - Week of April 5, 1987". Radio Discussions. January 12, 2019.
23. "Retro: Western Illinois, Saturday 5/16/87 (by request)". Radio Discussions. March 18, 2006.
24. 80's Commercials Vol. 679 on YouTube
25. 80's Commercials Vol. 680 on YouTube
26. "Retro: Reading/Philadelphia, Sunday, July 3, 1988". Radio Discussions. May 31, 2019.
27. Bianco, Robert (August 25, 1987). "2 versions of 'Family Ties,' first-run sitcoms in WPGH lineup". The Pittsburgh Press.
28. "Retro: Alberta Wed, Apr 22, 1987 (ch 2-6)". Radio Discussions. February 21, 2006.
29. "Retro listings: Denver/Wyoming/Rapid City July 10th, 1987". Radio Discussions. September 7, 2007.
30. May 6, 1988 Commercial Breaks – WVRN (Ind., Richmond) on YouTube
31. 1988: KSCH Promos on YouTube
32. "Retro: Vancouver/Victoria Sun, Sept 21, 1986". Radio Discussions. September 21, 2010.
33. "Retro: Spokane, WA - Saturday, February 14, 1987". Radio Discussions. September 28, 2012.
34. "Retro: Western Illinois, Saturday 5/16/87 (by request)". Radio Discussions. March 18, 2006.
35. WTVH Station IDs/Throb Promo and 1987 AAU/USA Junior Olympics Spot (8/87) on YouTube
36. "1987 TV Guide Ad". Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries. April 23, 2012.
37. December 6, 1986 commercials (Vol. 4) on YouTube
38. March 13, 1987 commercials (Vol. 2) on YouTube

External links

• Throb on IMDb
• German fan site