Co-Ed Fever

Co-Ed Fever is an American sitcom that aired on CBS in 1979. The series attempted to capitalize on the success of the motion picture National Lampoon's Animal House. It was the third of three "frat house" comedy series to air in early 1979 (the others were ABC's Delta House and NBC's Brothers and Sisters). CBS cancelled Co-Ed Fever after only one episode, and all three series were off the air by the end of April 1979. The series was so low rated, it never made it to its regular time slot, Monday night, instead having aired as a "special preview" the night before.[1][2]

Co-Ed Fever
GenreSitcom
Created byMartin Ransohoff
Michael Elias
Frank Shaw
Directed byMarc Daniels
StarringDavid Keith
Heather Thomas
Alexa Kenin
Cathryn O'Neil
Tacey Phillips
Jillian Kesner
Theme music composerAlan Bergman
Marilyn Bergman
Henry Mancini
Opening theme"Dear Mom and Dad"
ComposerHenry Mancini
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6 (5 unaired) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerMartin Ransohoff
ProducerFrank Shaw
Running time22–24 minutes
Production companyFilmways
DistributorMGM Television (current)
Release
Original networkCBS
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseFebruary 4, 1979 (1979-02-04)

In 2002, Co-Ed Fever ranked number 32 on TV Guide's 50 Worst Shows of All Time list.[3]

Synopsis

The series was set in Brewster House, a dormitory on the campus of Baxter College, a formerly all-female college that had just started to admit male students.[4] Co-Ed Fever starred Heather Thomas (as Sandi), Alexa Kenin (Maria a.k.a. "Mousie"), Cathryn O'Neil (Elizabeth), Tacey Phillips (Hope), and Jillian Kesner (Melba) as residents of Brewster House, who are joined by David Keith (Tucker Davis), Christopher S. Nelson (Doug), and Michael Pasternak (Gobo). Jane Rose played the "spaced-out" housemother Mrs. Selby; Hamilton Camp was Mr. Peabody.

The episode "Pepperoni Passion" was aired as a "special preview" at 10:30 pm (ET) on February 4, immediately after the airing of the movie Rocky; however, the series was cancelled in the interim between this airing and the scheduled premiere date (February 19), the result of low ratings aside from viewer complaints and censorship issues because of content (a problem that also affected its rival shows). Six episodes were completed, but only "Pepperoni Passion" was broadcast in the United States; however, all six were aired in Canada (on BCTV in Vancouver) in a late-afternoon weekend timeslot. The Brewster House "set" was later reused as the girls' dormitory during the first season of The Facts of Life, which premiered during the summer of 1979.

Another new sitcom, Billy, was scheduled on CBS in Co-Ed Fever's regular timeslot, instead. By airing once, Co-Ed Fever at least fared better than Mr. Dugan, another sitcom that CBS planned to air during the spring of 1979; the Norman Lear-produced comedy about a black congressman never aired at all, due to complaints from real black congressmen.

Episodes
No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Pepperoni Passion"February 4, 1979 (1979-02-04)
Trouble comes in with the boys when a girls' school goes co-ed. In the opener, Mousie pines for Tuck, who's interested in Melba, who just isn't interested.
2"Pilot"Unaired
3"Disco Tuck"Unaired
4"Double Exposure"Unaired
5"Mid-Term Panic"Unaired
6"Goodbye, Mrs. Selby"Unaired

References
  1. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2003). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. p. 233. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
  2. (11 February 1979). "Co-Ed Fever" Expires, Bonham Daily Favorite (UPI story)
  3. TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes and Noble. 2004. pp. 228. ISBN 0-7607-5634-1.
  4. (12 January 1979). College fun big success in Hollywood, Montreal Gazette (UPI story)
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