Bridget Loves Bernie
Bridget Loves Bernie | |
---|---|
Theme music composer | Jerry Fielding Diane Hildebrand |
Opening theme | "Love Is Crazy" |
Composer | Jerry Fielding |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 24 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Douglas S. Cramer |
Producers | Jerry London (pilot) Don Nelson Arthur Alsberg |
Running time | 26 minutes |
Production companies | The Douglas S. Cramer Company Thornhill Productions Screen Gems |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | September 16, 1972 March 3, 1973 | –
Bridget Loves Bernie is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to March 3, 1973. The series, created by Bernard Slade, depicted an interfaith marriage between a Catholic woman and a Jewish man. It stars Meredith Baxter and David Birney as the title characters. CBS canceled the show after only one season despite very high ratings.
Baxter and Birney later married in real life in 1974 after the program had left the air and Baxter was known in her professional career for several years as Meredith Baxter Birney.
Overview
The series depicts an interfaith marriage between an
Supporting cast members included
Cast
- David Birney as Bernie Steinberg
- Meredith Baxter as Bridget Fitzgerald Steinberg
- Bibi Osterwald as Sophie Steinberg
- Harold J. Stone as Sam Steinberg
- Audra Lindley as Amy Fitzgerald
- David Doyleas Walter Fitzgerald
- Ned Glass as Moe Plotnik
- Robert Sampson as Father Michael Fitzgerald
- Bill Elliott as Otis Foster
Controversy
The series was controversial because of the differing faiths of the married characters. Some Jewish groups charged that the series "mocked the teachings of Judaism".
Episodes
Nº | Title | Directed by | Written by | Air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Bridget Loves Bernie" | Richard Kinon | Bernard Slade | September 16, 1972 | |
Series pilot : It's love at first sight when cab driver (and struggling writer) Bernie Steinberg picks up his fare, Bridget Fitzgerald, on a rainy New York day. | |||||
2 | "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Vatican" | Lee Philips | John McGreevey | September 23, 1972 | |
Bernie's parents, Sam and Sophie, win a raffle ticket for a private audience with Pope Paul VI that was sold by Bridget's mother, Amy. Her father, Walt, fears that the Steinbergs may end up causing him major embarrassment. | |||||
3 | "Wake Up, We're Getting Married Today" | Richard Kinon | Don Nelson and Arthur Alsberg | September 30, 1972 | |
After being married in a civil ceremony, Bridget and Bernie agree to their parents' wishes to have a religious ceremony, but the conflict of religions causes havoc. | |||||
4 | "The Last of the Red Hot Playwrights" | Richard Kinon | Bernard Slade | October 7, 1972 | |
Despite several rejections, a reluctant Bernie decides to write a play drawn from his own experiences and personal acquaintances. | |||||
5 | "Who's Watching the Store?" | Lee Philips | Jerry Mayer | October 14, 1972 | |
Confusion and chaos reign when Catholic Bridget runs a Jewish delicatessen, aided by her socialite mother and brother who's a priest. | |||||
6 | "The Newlybeds" | Richard Kinon | Warren S. Murray | October 21, 1972 | |
Trying to replace a perennially-breaking bed results not only in sleeping trouble for Bridget and Bernie, but also causes an inter-family squabble. | |||||
7 | "Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Moe" | Hal Cooper | Lloyd Turner and Gordon Mitchell | October 28, 1972 | |
Bernie's Uncle Moe falls in love with Bridget's aunt, which leads to all sorts of trouble. | |||||
8 | "Bernie's Last Stand" | Richard Kinon | Burt and Adele Styler | November 4, 1972 | |
Despite a generous (and belated) wedding gift of one year's free rent on a plush apartment from Walt and Amy, Bridget and Bernie are reluctant to accept the offer. | |||||
9 | "How to Be a Jewish Mother" | Richard Kinon | George Burditt and Paul Wayne | November 11, 1972 | |
After Bernie rejects Bridget's breakfast of ham and eggs, she decides to take a crash course in Jewish cooking, which leads to disaster. | |||||
10 | "The Little White Lie That Grew and Grew" | Don Nelson and Arthur Alsberg | Lee Philips | November 18, 1972 | |
Bridget and her parents become Jewish for the weekend when Bernie's devout aunt stops in New York on her way back from Israel. | |||||
11 | "The In-Laws Who Came to Dinner" | Richard Kinon | Jerry Mayer | November 25, 1972 | |
Walt and Amy fear that their ability to influence an important art collector will be compromised when the in-laws move in after smoke damage currently has their apartment under repair. | |||||
12 | "The Homecoming" | Ezra Stone | Bernard Slade | December 2, 1972 | |
Bridget and Bernie spend the weekend at the Fitzgerald country estate and after Bernie meets some of Bridget's friends, he becomes aware of the style to which she was previously accustomed. | |||||
13 | "You Are Cordially Not Invited" | Hal Cooper | Ron Friedman | December 9, 1972 | |
Sam and Sophie aren't invited to a party that Walt and Amy are holding for United Nations delegates. However, Sophie is determined to attend after discovering Moshe Dayan will be the guest of honor. | |||||
14 | "'Tis the Season" | Alan Rafkin | Joanna Lee | December 16, 1972 | |
Bridget and Bernie reach the holiday season unsure of whether to celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah. | |||||
15 | "Belated Honeymoon" | Coby Ruskin | Joanna Lee | December 23, 1972 | |
Increasing tensions between Bridget and Bernie lead both sets of parents to send them on the honeymoon they never had. | |||||
16 | "Honesty Is the Worst Policy" | Richard Kinon | Howard Merrill | January 6, 1973 | |
Bernie is distressed when he discovers that Bridget was engaged when they met and never once mentioned there being another man in her life. | |||||
17 | "Life Begins at 65" | James Sheldon | Jack Hanrahan and Don Sherman | January 13, 1973 | |
After Uncle Moe turns 65, he runs away from home after Sam and Sophie decide he should retire from the deli. | |||||
18 | "With This Ring" | Ozzie Nelson | Gordon Farr and Arnold Kane | January 20, 1973 | |
Bernie is finally able to buy Bridget an engagement ring, but she quickly loses it. | |||||
19 | "Into Every Life, a Little Snow Must Fall" | James Sheldon | Elias Davis | January 27, 1973 | |
Bridget and Bernie talk their fathers into spending a weekend at Walt's hunting lodge. | |||||
20 | "To Teach or Not to Teach" | James Sheldon | Don Nelson and Arthur Alsberg | February 3, 1973 | |
Bridget announces that she's going to teach a sex education class to her fourth graders. | |||||
21 | "Painting, Painting – Who's Got the Painting?" | Ozzie Nelson | Bill Dana | February 10, 1973 | |
Bridget has a hard time finding a home for a painting that once hung in her nursery until she discovers a potentially rare painting is found hidden under the surface of the canvas. | |||||
22 | "Steinberg and Son" | Richard Kinon | Jerry Mayer | February 17, 1973 | |
Sam and Walt each get the chance to realize their dream of having Bernie work for them. | |||||
23 | "The Information Gap" | Ozzie Nelson | Marty Roth | February 24, 1973 | |
In an effort to get some measure of privacy, Bridget and Bernie decide to ignore all questions and phone calls from their parents. | |||||
24 | "Greener Pastures" | Bill Bixby | Rick Mittleman | March 3, 1973 | |
Bernie is offered the opportunity to work for a newspaper in Providence. |
Home media
On December 4, 2012,
In popular culture
Bridget Loves Bernie was referenced to in the
References
- ^ "'Live From Baghdad': The Cameras of War", by Tom Shales, The Washington Post, December 7, 2002. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
- ^ "'Bridget Loves Bernie' Attacked by Jewish Groups" The New York Times, Feb 7, 1973
- ^ "Some Jews Are Mad At Bernie; Intermarriage Religion, The New York Times, Feb 11, 1973
- ^ Jewish Groups Score New TV Show for Intermarriage Theme The Jewish Daily Forward, Oct 24, 1972
- ^ Kahane, Meir (1975). "What Makes Bernie Run?". mkwords.com. Manhattan, NY.
- ^ "Producer Gets Threat Call, Milwaukee Sentinel, January 19, 1973
- ^ "David Zurawik, The Jews of Prime Time, Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture, and Life, 2003, p. 94
- ^ "Murder Suspect Overdoses, Delaying Extradition to U.S.," Los Angeles Times, July 14, 1993
- ^ "Bridget Loves Bernie DVD news: Update about Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series". TV Shows On DVD. May 25, 2007. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
External links
- Bridget Loves Bernie at IMDb