Struck by Lightning (TV series)

Struck by Lightning is an American television sitcom about Frankenstein's monster, which aired on CBS from September 19 until October 3, 1979.

Struck by Lightning
GenreSitcom
Created byArthur Fellows
Terry Keegan
Written byMichael Russnow
Directed byJoel Zwick
StarringJeffrey Kramer
Jack Elam
Jeff Cotler
Bill Erwin
Millie Slavin
Richard Stahl
Opening theme"You Are So Beautiful"
performed by Joe Cocker
ComposerTom Talbert
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes11 (8 unaired)
Production
Executive producersArthur Fellows
Terry Keegan
ProducerMichael Friedman
CinematographyKeith C. Smith
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesFellows-Keegan Productions
Paramount Television
DistributorCBS Television Distribution
Release
Original networkCBS
Picture formatFilm
Audio formatMono
Original releaseSeptember 19 (1979-09-19) 
October 3, 1979 (1979-10-03)

This show was cancelled after three out of 11 episodes were aired in the United States, although all 11 completed episodes did end up being shown in the United Kingdom on ITV in 1980.

Premise

Ted Stein (Jeffrey Kramer) is a science teacher who inherits a spooky old New England inn inhabited by its hulking, good-naturedly homicidal caretaker Frank (Jack Elam). It turns out that Ted is the descendant of the original Dr. Frankenstein and Frank is the Monster who needs a special serum every 50 years to stay alive, and he wants Ted to recreate it for him ("If you don't, I'll die," he explains, "Let me put it another way, if you don't, you'll die"). Ted agrees to stay and continue his ancestor's experiments while keeping Frank's identity a secret.

Cast

Episode list

11 episodes were made, but only the first three were aired in America.

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Struck by Lightning"Joel ZwickFred Freeman & Lawrence J. CohenSeptember 19, 1979 (1979-09-19)
2"Toot, Toot, Tutor, Goodbye"TBAPhill LewisSeptember 26, 1979 (1979-09-26)
3"The Movie"TBATBAOctober 3, 1979 (1979-10-03)
4"Frank Meets the Press"TBATBAN/A
5"Happy Birthday Frank"TBATBAN/A
6"The Main Event"TBATBAN/A
7"Frank the Crank"TBATBAN/A
8"Rich Frank, Poor Frank"TBATBAN/A
9"Looking Out for Number 2"TBATBAN/A
10"Frank the VIIIth"TBATBAN/A
11"My Mystery Guest"TBATBAN/A

Production

Elam claimed in an interview in Variety that he accepted the role of Frank after being told by the producers that he would not have to wear monster make-up because his naturally gnarled and bulgy-eyed appearance was already perfect for the part.

Availability

As of this writing, Struck by Lightning has not been released on home video.

References

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