You Can't Take It with You (TV series)

You Can't Take It with You was an American half-hour sitcom produced for syndication[1] in 1986,[2][3] only four episodes of which were aired. It was based on the 1938 film adaptation of the 1937 play by the same name.

You Can't Take It with You
GenreSitcom
Based onYou Can't Take It with You by George Kaufman & Moss Hart
Developed byHal Kanter
Directed byBob LaHendro
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producer(s)Pamela Rosser
Sid Smith
Chris Hartt
Larry Patterson
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original networkSyndicated
Original releaseNovember 28, 1987 (1987-11-28) –
April 14, 1988 (1988-04-14)
Chronology
Related showsYou Can't Take It with You (1936 play)

Set in a contemporaneous home in Staten Island, the show starred Harry Morgan as the eccentric elderly family patriarch Martin Vanderhof, and Lois Nettleton as his daughter, Penny. The cast also included Richard Sanders as Penny's inventor-husband Paul, Lisa Aliff as Penny's older daughter, Alice, and Heather Blodgett (Elizabeth Townsend in the pilot)[2] as Penny's younger daughter, Essie. Theodore Wilson appeared as neighbor Durwood Pinner.[2][3]

Although only four episodes were broadcast, 22 episodes were filmed.[4] As of 2019 some episodes are available to watch on various content streaming services. One review of the show noted that the play from which the material for the show was originally adapted "will be remembered long after this routine comedy is not".[3]

Cast

Episodes

The following four episodes were the only ones broadcast in syndication.

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Like Mother, Like Son"November 28, 1987 (1987-11-28)
2"The Trial of Martin Vanderhof"December 5, 1988 (1988-12-05)
3"Grandpa's Two Suits"February 26, 1988 (1988-02-26)
4"For Whom the Phone Rings"April 14, 1988 (1988-04-14)

Syndication

You Can't Take It with You was a part of a syndication package that was conceived by NBC for its owned-and-operated stations. Five sitcoms each aired once a week under the brand "Prime Time Begins at 7:30", and were produced by various production companies contracted by NBC. Besides You Can't Take It With You, which aired on Wednesdays, the series included Marblehead Manor (from Paramount Television, airing Mondays), centering on a mansion owner and the people who live with him;[5] She's the Sheriff (from Lorimar-Telepictures and airing Tuesdays), a comeback vehicle for Suzanne Somers which cast her as a widowed county sheriff;[5] Out of This World (from MCA Television and airing Thursdays), which starred Maureen Flannigan as a teenager born to an alien father and human mother that develops supernatural abilities on her 15th birthday;[6] and a revival of the short-lived 1983 NBC series We Got It Made (produced by Fred Silverman for MGM Television and closing out the week on Fridays), as part of an ongoing trend at the time in which former network series were revived in first-run syndication.[6]

The package was aimed at attracting viewers to NBC stations in the half-hour preceding prime time (8:00 p.m. in the Eastern and Pacific Time Zone, 7:00 p.m. elsewhere),[6][7] and was conceived as a result of the FCC's loosening of the Prime Time Access Rule, legislation passed in 1971 that required networks to turn over the 7:30 p.m. (Eastern) time slot to local stations to program local or syndicated content; and the relaxation of the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules, which had prevented networks from producing content from their own syndication units to fill the void.[7] The shows that were part of the package were regularly outrated in many markets by such syndicated game shows as Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy! and Hollywood Squares. Marblehead Manor, We Got It Made and You Can't Take It With You were cancelled at the end of the 1987–88 season, with She's the Sheriff lasting one more season in weekend syndication before its cancellation. Out of This World ran for three additional seasons, airing mainly on weekends, and was the most successful of the five series.

City Station
Boston WNEV 7[8][9]
Detroit WXON 20[10]
Los Angeles KNBC 4[11]
Miami WDZL 39[12]
New York WNBC 4[13]
Portland KPDX 49[14]
Seattle KING 5[15]
Richmond WVRN 63[16]
Waterbury WTXX 20[17]
York WPMT 43[18]

References
  1. "THE SYNDICATED SEASON: 1987-1988". TV Obscurities. February 1, 2004.
  2. Vincent Terrace, Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937-2012 (2014), p. 332.
  3. Tim Brooks, Earle F. Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (2009), p. 1554.
  4. "You Can't Take It with You - Episode Guide". TV Guide. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  5. Sherwood, Rick (September 14, 1987). "New Fall Tv Season : Syndication In Prime Of Its Life". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  6. Rosenberg, Howard (September 14, 1987). "Syndicated-tv Reviews: Prime-time Lead-ins On Nbc: Joke's On Viewers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  7. Belkin, Lisa (August 11, 1987). "Redefining Prime Time: It's All in Who You Ask". The New York Times. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  8. WNEV 7 Lively Arts billboard/You Can't Take it With You promo- October 1987 on YouTube
  9. "Retro: Boston MA: Sunday, April 24, 1988". Radio Discussions. January 3, 2019.
  10. "Retro: Detroit, MI, Wednesday, September 30, 1987 3 independents". Radio Discussions. September 25, 2014.
  11. Miller, Barbara (September 11, 1987). "'CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU' TAKES TO TV". Los Angeles Times.
  12. "Retro Request: Sat 10/31 & 11/7 and Sun 11/1, 1987". Radio Discussions. March 14, 2010.
  13. YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU opening credits 80s syndicated sitcom on YouTube
  14. "You Can't Take It with You (TV Series)". Film Affinity.
  15. "Retro: Yakima, WA; Sun. July 3rd, 1988". Radio Discussions. July 15, 2015.
  16. May 6, 1988 Commercial Breaks – WVRN (Ind., Richmond) on YouTube
  17. WTXX You Can't Take it With You promo, 1987 on YouTube
  18. "Retro: Reading/Philadelphia, Sunday, July 3, 1988". Radio Discussions. May 31, 2018.
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