Thursday, December 2, 2010

Mixing Comedy & Soap: A History of the Serialized Situation Comedy

Mixing Comedy & Soap: A History of the Serialized Situation Comedy
By Doug Prinzivalli

As one of the producers of the hit web series PRETTY - a parody hybrid of reality TV and soaps - I thought it would be a fun idea to take a brief look at the long history of the serialized situation comedy. The idea of mixing comedy with soap elements is not a new one - in fact it started over 60 years ago.

THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS (CBS 1950-52) was a mildly humorous daily soap about newlyweds who are gifted with a bat-infested Victorian mansion. Sounds pretty wacky to me. After less than two years, it was replaced by something called THE GUIDING LIGHT.


THE EGG & I (CBS 1951-52) Based on a book by Betty MacDonald and the 1947 film (starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray) that followed, this show followed the misadventures of city folk who move to the country to run a chicken farm. The popular characters of Ma & Pa Kettle originated here. This 15-minute daily failed to catch on, but undoubtably later inspired the successful 1960s CBS sitcom GREEN ACRES.

WORLD OF MR. SWEENEY (NBC 1954-55) Spun off from THE KATE SMITH HOUR, this show began airing three nights a week at 7:30PM before settling in as an afternoon series. Set in Mapleton, this series featured veteran comic actor Charles Ruggles along with Helen Wagner, before she moved on to Oakdale on AS THE WORLD TURNS.

AS THE STOMACH TURNS (CBS 1960s-1970s) A riotous sketch that appeared frequently on THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW (1967-78). While the plotlines were not continious, characters and themes were recurring— and always quite entertaining. Guest stars such as Bernadette Peters, Paul Lynde, Petula Clark and Cher helped moved plotlines along over the years. Carol also did another occasional soap spoof, TERMINAL HOSPITAL.

LOVE OF CHAIR (PBS 1971-72) A recurring sketch on the childrens' educational series THE ELECTRIC COMPANY, this odd segment featured background organ music in the style of classic soap operas, and featuring the continuing drama of a boy and his love for a certain chair.

MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN (Syndicated 1976-77) Norman Lear's classic late-night soap satire that made an overnight sensation of star Louise Lasser, but unfortunately led to her exhaustion and eventual departure from the series after 325 episodes. The show took advantage of it's late time slot and explored many taboo subjects never explored on the daytime shows it was spoofing. Also featuring an excellent cast of supporting players including Greg Mullavey, Dody Goodman, Debralee Scott, Mary Kay Place, Dabney Coleman, Marian Mercer and Martin Mull.

ALL THAT GLITTERS (Syndicated 1977) A second late-night soap by Lear. This one was set in an alternate reality where women ran the world and men were secretaries and sex objects. Lois Nettleton, Anita Gillette, Linda Gray (playing a transexual), Eileen Brennan and Gary Sandy were among the cast members of this short-lived effort. I'd loved to see this on DVD one day.

FOREVER FERNWOOD (Syndicated 1977-78) Picking up where MARY HARTMAN left off, new cast members Shelley Fabares, Richard Hatch, Joe Penny, Renee Taylor, Orson Bean and Tab Hunter (as Mary Hartman's surgically-enhanced dad) tried to fill the void, but the show limped along without the riveting Louise Lasser and sadly died after only a few months on the air.

SOAP (ABC 1977-81) Susan Harris' controversial and hysterical saga of two families: the Tates and the Campbells. The show made stars out of many cast members, including Katherine Helmond, Cathryn Damon, Robert Mandan, Richard Mulligan, Diana Canova, Robert Guillaume, Billy Crystal, Ted Wass and Dinah Manoff. SOAP was a Top 30 hit during it's first three seasons, before ABC started moving it around. Thankfully you can relived the entire series on DVD.

HIGHCLIFFE MANOR (NBC 1979) It's SOAP meets THE ADDAMS FAMILY in this short-lived gothic send-up. Shelley Fabares and Audrey Landers were along for the brief ride.

THE DAYS OF THE WEEK (NBC 1980s) SCTV created this absolutely brilliant soap-opera parody which stretched through two seasons of the weekly late-night sketch comedy series in the early '80s. Featuring characters with flamboyantly soapy names like Violet McKay, Dr. William Wainright, Clay Collins, May Madlock, Zach Harrington and Mojo the maid! I would love if this was released all on one DVD.

FILTHY RICH (CBS 1982-83) Delta Burke and Dixie Carter starred in this prime-time soap send-up before being cast as sisters in DESIGNING WOMEN. The plotline dealt with unscrupulous family members vying for the fortune of their late patriach. The wonderful Ann Wedgeworth and Nedra Volz had supporting roles.



LIFE AND TIMES OF EDDIE ROBERTS (L.A.T.E.R.) (Syndicated 1980) Another attempt to capture a late-night audience with a nightly serial. Didn't last.

NUMBER 96 (NBC 1980-81) A sanitized version of the naughty Australian hit came to the states amongst much hype. Launched over three nights, and settling in on Fridays opposite DALLAS, this hour-long effort didn't stand a chance. Among the cast: game show and FRIDAY THE 13TH legend Betsy Palmer, MARY HARTMAN's Greg Mullavey and SOAP refugee Randee Heller.

FRESNO (CBS 1986) Carol Burnett now took a turn at tackling prime-time soaps in this uproarious miniseries set in the glamourous world of raisins! Dabney Coleman, Gregory Harrison (who never wore a shirt), Teri Garr and ANOTHER WORLD's Charles Keating lend support in this unusual network offering. Why isn't this on DVD yet?

DAYS AND NIGHTS OF MOLLY DODD (NBC 1987-88, LIFETIME 1989-91) The wonderful Blair Brown starred in this continuing dramedy about a Manhattan divorcee searching for happiness in New York City. After 2 short runs on NBC, Lifetime picked up the show for three more bittersweet seasons. Sadly, not on DVD either.

GRAND (NBC 1990) An overlooked gem, this comedy of manners told the story of three intertwined families living in the small town of Grand, PA. Pamela Reed, Bonnie Hunt, Michael McKean and Sara Rue were among the likable cast. Ranking #15 in the Top 20 for it's first season, I guess the CHEERS lead-in wasn't enough to save it.

GROSSE POINT (WB 2000-2001) Life behind-the-scenes of the prime-time soap GROSSE POINT, created by Darren Star.

Well, there you have it. I'm sure I may have missed a few. Some people think SUNSET BEACH and PASSIONS were more spoofs than actual soaps - but I tried only look at shows that were positioned as comedies. If you enjoy a few laughs with your soaps, I hope you will check out my web series PRETTY at prettytheseries.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Also check out Doug's fantastic pop culture blog at dougsploitation.blogspot.com.

10 comments:

  1. I would love for all these series to be on DVD - especially "Molly Dodd", "All That Glitters" and more "Mary Hartman". Great post!

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  2. Great rundown! A few more to add to the list:

    BOB AND RAY: The classic radio comedians Bob and Ray had a number of ongoing serial parodies in their various shows. The most memorable likely was "Mary Backstayge, Noble Wife," their long running parody of "Mary Noble, Backstage Wife." Others were "One Fellas Family," "The Gathering Dusk" and "The Life And Loves of Linda Lovely."

    ACORN ANTIQUES: Acorn Antiques was written by British comedienne Victoria Wood as a regular feature in the two seasons of Victoria Wood As Seen On TV, which ran from 1985 to 1987. It was turned into a musical by Wood, opening in 2005. The show was a parody mainly of the cheaply-produced, but very popular, UK serial "Crossroads."

    Fortunately, you can purchase Bob and Ray's serial parodies on CD on the Bob and Ray website. Acorn Antiques can be seen on You Tube or puchased on DVD.

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  3. Doug, don't forget the big soap connection to "Love of Chair"! It featured the announcing talents of Ken Roberts who was also the announcer for the entire run of "Love of Life" (1951-1980) which was obviously the initial inspiration for that 'Electric Company' skit.

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  4. I am surprised you didn't mention how on The Muppet Show, they had Veterinarian's Hospital which included the traditional organ music and voice over.

    The other I thought of that was extremely short lived was Good & Evil, which was also by Susan Harris and from 1991. I remember it because Lane Davies was on the program.

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  5. Another vote for "Molly Dodd" on DVD please (even though, unfortunately, as anyone who watched the show knows, there will probably be those lovely music rights issues that hold up any possible DVD release), and hopefully when it happens, it doesn't come out as butchered as WKRP did on DVD. Miss "The Days of the Week", always good for a laugh.

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  6. you forgot a really great one. It was called "Good & Evil" which was a nightime soap spoof that aired on ABC and had her playing twins; one good and one evil vying for control of a family. It aired in 1991.

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  7. her is Terri Garr by the way.

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  8. Yes I forgot GOOD & EVIL and more importantly ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT!! Oh well - maybe I'll write a follow-up ?

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  9. This is a fun, interesting list. I would love to see so much as one episode of "All That Glitters." I've done some looking, and there just doesn't seem to be much out there on/about it.

    I got the DVD set of "Mary Hartman" and loved it. Wish there was more.

    One overlooked show is "Hail to the Chief," starring Patty Duke as the first female president of the United States. It ran in the spring of 1985. Paul Junger Witt and Susan Harris were involved in that one.

    I recall seeing an episode or two back in the day. Awhile back I saw some YouTube videos of it. It's not a classic, but it's fun and interesting.

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