Homeroom (TV series)
Homeroom is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 16, 1989 to December 17, 1989. The series stars stand-up comedian Darryl Sivad as a fourth grade teacher at an inner-city school. ABC executives created the show as a vehicle for Sivad after seeing his routine on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.[1]
| Homeroom | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Andrew Scheinman Gary Gilbert |
| Directed by | Linda Day Arlando Smith |
| Starring | Darryl Sivad Penny Johnson Bill Cobbs |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (3 unaired) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Topper Carew |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 25 mins. |
| Production company(s) | Giggling Goose Productions Castle Rock Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | September 16 – December 17, 1989 |
Premise
The series follows Darryl Harper (Sivad), a highly paid advertising copywriter who decides to quit his job to teach underprivileged kids at P.S. 391, an inner city school in New York City. Darryl's wife Virginia (Penny Johnson) supports his choice but Virginia's father, Phil Drexler (Bill Cobbs) does not. Phil frequently voices his disapproval to Darryl which he feels is his right as Darryl and Virginia live rent-free in the brownstone Phil owns and also lives in.[2]
Cast
- Darryl Sivad as Darryl Harper
- Penny Johnson as Virginia "Vicki" Harper
- Bill Cobbs as Phil Drexler
- Claude Brooks as Anthony Harper
- Trent Cameron as Sam
- Jahary Bennett as Devon
- Billy Dee Willis as Donald
- Daphne Lyn Jones as Lisa
Recurring
- Gregory Hines as Tony
- Bill Cosby as Cosby
- James Garner as Roger
- Wayne Brady as Police Frank
- Wayne Knight as Bob
Guest Stars
- Tony Danza as Henry
- Steve Harvey as Jack
- Gary Coleman as Himself
- Jerry Stiller as Jerry
- Phil Hartman as Rick A Tv Director
- Tracy Ullman as Wendy
- Dan Castellaneta as Dan
- Anthony Anderson as Phil
Reception and cancellation
Homeroom premiered on ABC on September 16, 1989 to mixed reviews.[3] The series was scheduled on Sunday nights opposite CBS's hit series Murder, She Wrote and NBC's My Two Dads. As a result, Homeroom struggled in the ratings and faced cancellation.[4] In an effort to save the series, the cast and producers asked viewers to start a letter writing campaign. Executive producer Topper Carew went on a cross-country promotional tour to schools where he showed the series to students and teachers and held a Q&A session afterwards.[5] Carew also mailed letters and contacted African-American organizations and activists asking them to watch the show and to talk about it.[4] Despite the cast and producers' efforts, ABC canceled the series in December 1989.[6] Three of the thirteen episodes produced were never aired.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Art Wolff | Gary Gilbert & Andrew Scheinman | September 16, 1989 | |
| The kids cheat at a big math test. | |||||
| 2 | "The Lookin' for West Coast Travelin' 'Long the Missouri River Blues" | Linda Day | David X. Cohen & Roger S. H. Schulman | September 24, 1989 | |
| Donald takes piano lessons. Anthony gets dumped by his girlfriend. | |||||
| 3 | "Food for Thought" | Arlando Smith | Marc Cherry & Jamie Wooten | October 1, 1989 | |
| The manager for the cafeteria gets tired of Donald's misbehavior. | |||||
| 4 | "It's Not Easy Bein' Green" | Linda Day | Marc Cherry & Jamie Wooten | October 8, 1989 | |
| A tree is left in Devon's care, but the tree dies because of lack of water. Virginia tries to help Phil with his high blood pressure. | |||||
| 5 | "Dirty Laundry" | Linda Day | Trish Soodik | October 22, 1989 | |
| Lisa and Devon run for class president. | |||||
| 6 | "Who Is Captain Fitness?" | Linda Day | Marc Cherry & Jamie Wooten | November 5, 1989 | |
| Sam's hero, Captain Fitness, dies during a classroom workout. | |||||
| 7 | "Dinner at Fiveish" | Linda Day | Trish Soodik | November 19, 1989 | |
| Phil goes out with a colleague of Darryl. | |||||
| 8 | "The Commercial Break" | TBA | David Cohen & Roger S.H. Schulman | December 3, 1989 | |
| Anthony directs his first commercial. The kids find out that Darryl was once a practical joker. | |||||
| 9 | "Mr. Drexler's Neighborhood" | Linda Day | Paul B. Price & Stephen Nathan | December 10, 1989 | |
| Phil tries to teach the kids in Darryl's class about the streets in the neighborhood. | |||||
| 10 | "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, Sister" | Arlando Smith | Trish Soodik | December 17, 1989 | |
| Darryl lets Lisa direct a school play based on her contest-winning script. | |||||
| 11 | "Who'll Be My Role Model Now That My Role Model Is Gone?" | Tony Singletary | David Cohen & Roger S.H. Schulman | December 23 1989 | |
| 12 | "The Visitor" | Linda Day | David Cohen & Roger S.H. Schulman | December 25 1989 | |
| 13 | "The Mom Who Came to Dinner" | Linda Day | Marc Cherry & Jamie Wooten | January 2 1990 | |
References
- Ensign, Tom (September 4, 1989). "Comedy goes to school in ABC's new 'Homeroom'". Toledo Blade. pp. P–2. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
- Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (October 17, 2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (9 ed.). Ballantine Books. p. 630. ISBN 0-345-49773-2.
- DuBois, Stephanie (November 21, 1989). "'Homeroom' Star Sivad Trying to Be the Best He Can Be". The Spokane Review. p. 5. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
- "Keeping 'Homeroom' alive via 'African-American grapevine'". The Modesto Bee. November 2, 1989. p. E5. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
- Weaver, Maurice (November 20, 1989). "'Homeroom' actors try to save series". Sun Journal. p. 8. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
- "'Homeroom', 'Living Dolls' canceled by ABC". Sun Journal. December 6, 1989. p. 29. Retrieved November 28, 2012.