Stir Crazy (TV series)

Stir Crazy is an American sitcom that aired on CBS[1][2] as part of its 1985 fall lineup.[3][4] Stir Crazy was based on the 1980 film of the same name.[5][6] The theme song was "Stir It Up" by Patti LaBelle.

For the 1980 film, see Stir Crazy (film).
Stir Crazy
GenreSitcom
Adventure
Developed byLarry Tucker
Larry Rosen
Written byMichael Russnow
Directed byPeter H. Hunt
Christian I. Nyby II
StarringJoe Guzaldo
Larry Riley
Marc Silver
Jeannie Wilson
Opening theme"Stir It Up"
Country of originUSA
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes9
Production
ProducerDavid J. Latt
Running time60 min.
Production companyColumbia Pictures Television
DistributorSony Pictures Television
Release
Original networkCBS
Picture format35mm film
Audio formatMono
Original releaseSeptember 18, 1985 (1985-09-18) –
January 7, 1986 (1986-01-07)

Synopsis

It tells the story of two socially awkward friends, Harry Fletcher (Larry Riley) and Skip Harrington (Joseph Guzaldo), who were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to 132 years in prison. While working on a chain gang, they escape and set out after Crawford (Marc Silver), the man who had actually committed the crime for which they had been sentenced. Pursuing them is the aggressive, ruthless, and cold-hearted Captain Betty Phillips (Jeannie Wilson), a female prison guard. "Captain Betty" was an amalgam of "Warden Beatty", the prison guard character played by Barry Corbin in the feature film, whom the boys were on the run from (the movie character's name, in itself, being a spoof of Warren Beatty).

Critical reception

While the movie upon which it was based[7] had been a hit,[8] the television version of Stir Crazy was anything but.[9][10][11] None of the people involved in the film had a major role in this series. It was pulled from the CBS fall lineup in October 1985, the month after its premiere,[12] and put on hiatus. It returned in a new time slot in December 1985 and a few more episodes were aired, also to low ratings. The program was permanently cancelled[13] after the January 7, 1986 broadcast.

Pilot

The pilot[14] for the TV series, which aired on September 18, 1985, had Polly Holliday[15][16][17] in the role of Captain Betty and Royce D. Applegate[18] as Crawford. Both were promptly dismissed from the roles, ostensibly because of poor testing when CBS executives screened the pilot. The sixtyish Betty turned into the much younger and curvaceous version of the character played by Jeannie Wilson, while Marc Silver's Crawford was also younger and physically different from the version played by Applegate.

Episode list
Nº Title Directed by Written by Original Air date
1"Pilot"Peter H. HuntBruce Jay Friedman and Larry Tucker & Larry RosenSeptember 18, 1985 (1985-09-18)
2"The Ping Pong Caper"TBATBASeptember 25, 1985 (1985-09-25)
3"Welcome to the Tribe"TBATBAOctober 2, 1985 (1985-10-02)
4"Magnificent Repossession"Christian I. Nyby IITBAOctober 9, 1985 (1985-10-09)
5"The Football Story"TBATBAOctober 16, 1985 (1985-10-16)
6"The Sulky Race"Rod AmateauTBAOctober 23, 1985 (1985-10-23)
7"The Love Affair"Rod AmateauMichael RussnowDecember 24, 1985 (1985-12-24)
8"Where's Mary?"Rod AmateauTBADecember 31, 1985 (1985-12-31)
9"Basic Straining"Christian I. Nyby IITBAJanuary 7, 1986 (1986-01-07)

References

Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows

  1. Kelley, Bill (September 22, 1985). "NETWORK LOSERS FACE SWIFT AX". Sun Sentinel.
  2. Rosenberg, Howard (September 18, 1985). "CBS DEBUTS 4 NEW SERIES TONIGHT : THE FALL TV SEASON". Los Angeles Times.
  3. O'Connor, John J. (September 18, 1985). "TV REVIEWS; NEW CBS WEDNESDAY NIGHT LINEUP". New York Times.
  4. Margulies, Lee (May 8, 1985). "'JEFFERSONS' OUT OF CBS LINEUP". Los Angeles Times.
  5. Gardella, Kay (July 5, 1985). "`STIR CRAZY` COSTAR JOE GUZALDO MEANS BUSINESS". Chicago Tribune.
  6. BLACKS ON TV: TUNING IN TO THE NEW SEASON. p. 68.
  7. Unger, Arthur (May 24, 1985). "Rating the fall lineup". The Christian Science Monitor.
  8. "These 10 forgotten TV reboots of the 1980s prove Hollywood has always been into recycling". Decades. June 11, 2018.
  9. Rothenberg, Fred (December 17, 1985). "NBC Wins Week; CBS' "Mary" Finishes Below Expectations". AP News.
  10. Hill, Michael E. (December 8, 1985). "Mary Tyler Moore". The Washington Post.
  11. Hanauer, Joan (December 28, 1985). "Best and worst TV 1985;NEWLN:UPI Arts & Entertainment -- TV World". UPI.
  12. Brioux, Bill (July 26, 2010). "TCA Press Tour: Still a Kick 25 Years Later". brioux.tv.
  13. Mednick, Brian Scott. Gene Wilder: Funny and Sad.
  14. "STIR CRAZY: PILOT {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)". The Paley Center for Media.
  15. Shales, Tom (September 18, 1985). "Vigilante With Verve". The Washington Post.
  16. "TONIGHT'S CBS SHOWS WON'T LAST". Sun Sentinel. September 18, 1985.
  17. "Syracuse Herald Journal Archives, Jun 1, 1985, p. 6". Newspaper Archives. January 1, 1985.
  18. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 938. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
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