One of the Boys (1989 TV series)
One of the Boys | |
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Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | |
Developed by | Tom Palmer |
Starring | |
Theme music composer | |
Composer | Jonathan Wolff |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 6 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | April 15 May 20, 1989 | –
One of the Boys is an American
Cast and characters
The sitcom One of the Boys follows Maria Conchita Navarro (
Navarro's love interest is Mike Lukowski (Robert Clohessy), the small business owner of the Lukowski Construction Company and recently widowed father of three boys:[9] 20-year-old Luke Lukowski (Michael DeLuise), 18-year-old Steve Lukowski (Billy Morrissette), and 13-year-old Nick Lukowski (Justin Whalin).[1] Luke works on the company's job sites with foreman Ernie (Dan Hedaya) while Steve and Nick attend school.[10] Mike and Maria's relationship quickly becomes romantic and they wed in the fifth episode.[6]
Background
Few
Production
Tom Palmer developed the series while Silverman executive produced it with creators Blake Hunter and Martin Cohan,[18] who worked on the ABC television series Who's the Boss?[5] Bob Ezrin and Michael Tavera wrote the theme music while Jonathan Wolff composed other sound effects,[19] and Castle Bryant Johnsen designed the title sequence.[20] ELP Communications, Stiefel-Philips Entertainment, The Fred Silverman Company, Hunter-Cohan Productions, and Columbia Pictures Television managed the show's production.[19]
Originally scheduled to start in late February 1989,[15] filming began in mid-March before an audience at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood.[21] Episode tapings occurred on Tuesdays following six days of rehearsals.[22] Script issues plagued production, and the premiere was filmed again one week before its broadcast.[11] To prevent viewers from thinking of her as "another actress trying to sing", Alonso kept her singing career separate from the show and does not sing in it.[7]
Episodes
No. | Title [23] | Directed by | Written by [24] | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | Rating/share (households) [b] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "The Meeting" | Will Mackenzie[20] | Teleplay by : Tom Palmer Story by : Blake Hunter & Martin Cohan & Tom Palmer | April 15, 1989[27] | 23.7[27] | 16.3/29[27] | |
Mike hires Maria as a bookkeeper at his construction company. She gets acquainted with Luke, Steve, and Nick at their home.[26] | |||||||
2 | "The Dance" | Unknown | Lawrence Gay & Michael DiGaetano | April 22, 1989[29] | 14.4[29] | 10.6/22[29] | |
Mike receives an award at a banquet but attends with another woman instead of Maria. She attends with another man, and they regret not going together.[28] | |||||||
3 | "The Date" | John Whitesell[31] | Dava Savel | April 29, 1989[32] | 12.9[32] | 9.4/19[32] | |
Mike and Maria get robbed on their first date. Luke, Steve, and Nick arrive at a bar to save Mike after he gets in a fight.[30] | |||||||
4 | "The Proposal" | Unknown | Gina Wendkos | May 6, 1989[34] | 17.0[34] | 12.1/22[34] | |
Luke, Steve, and Nick attend a baseball game while Mike and Maria have a romantic dinner. When the sons arrive back home early, they find Mike and Maria's relationship has become intimate.[33] | |||||||
5 | "The Wedding" | Unknown | Richard Albrecht & Casey Keller | May 13, 1989[36] | 18.3[36] | 12.7/26[36] | |
Mike and Maria get married. She quits her job at the company because Mike refuses to let her become the only woman on his construction crew.[35] | |||||||
6 | "Maria Conchita Lukowski" | John Whitesell[38] | Richard Albrecht & Casey Keller | May 20, 1989[39] | 14.7[39] | 10.5/21[39] | |
Luke dislikes Maria moving in to the Lukowski house.[37] |
Broadcast history
One of the Boys received little publicity before its premiere; the production delays prevented critics from watching a preview.
The Los Angeles Times Syndicate deemed the premiere's performance as one of the top 20 highest-rated prime time programs in the week it aired "respectable".[46] After the second episode only made the top 50, Tom Green of USA Today said the show's ratings "results haven't been that good".[47] The six episodes ranked 17th, 49th, 55th, 42nd, 37th, and 48th, respectively.[48] NBC canceled One of the Boys on May 15, 1989, as it announced a schedule for the 1989–90 television season.[49] According to Alonso, it was not renewed because the network "didn't think it would be a long-running hit".[50] Clohessy remarked their "on-screen relationship ... would have kept evolving" if a second season were filmed,[23] and Aquino's character would have assumed the role of bookkeeper at the company.[40]
Critical reception
One of the Boys's concept and writing were subject to critical commentary. King Features Syndicate's Steven H. Scheuer and Don Davies of the Wisconsin State Journal considered both aspects ordinary.[51] According to Variety, the series simply "reintroduce[s] the theme of the single parent raising his kids".[52] A writer for The Kingston Whig-Standard thought the program was predictable because they felt Mike and Maria seemed destined for marriage by the end of the first episode.[53] Hester Riches of the Vancouver Sun said it was "certainly not worth staying home Saturday night to catch".[54]
Critics also commented on Alonso's acting. Scheuer stated she was funnier than her script,[55] and Riches remarked she makes the show "genuinely funny".[54] According to Davies, Alonso "manages switcheroos on tired plotlines".[43] In contrast, Variety considered her enthusiasm unconvincing.[52]
References
Notes
- ^ Sources differ regarding the surname of Aquino's character.Brooks & Marsh (1999) and Leszczak (2016) list it as "DeSalvo" while Polson (1989) gives "DiSalvo".
- ^ "Rating" represents the percentage of American households with a television watching an episode during any given minute of its broadcast while "share" represents the percentage of American households with a television in use watching an episode during any given minute of its broadcast.[25]
Footnotes
- ^ a b Brooks & Marsh 1999; Coto 1989.
- ^ a b Walstad 1989; Coto 1989; Koltnow 1989.
- ^ Walstad 1989; Coto 1989.
- ^ Crockett 1989.
- ^ a b Coto 1989.
- ^ a b Brooks & Marsh 1999.
- ^ a b c d Walstad 1989.
- ^ Polson 1989; Brooks & Marsh 1999.
- ^ Brooks & Marsh 1999; Leszczak 2016; Coto 1989; Walstad 1989.
- ^ Brooks & Marsh 1999; Leszczak 2016.
- ^ a b c d Lomartire 1989.
- ^ Coto 1989; Green 1989; Los Angeles Times 1988.
- ^ Lomartire 1989; Daily Press 1989; Crockett 1989.
- ^ Green 1989; Walstad 1989.
- ^ a b Beck 1989.
- ^ Crockett 1989; Walstad 1989.
- ^ Coto 1989; Green 1989; Crockett 1989.
- ^ "The Meeting" 1989, opening and closing credits; Leszczak 2016.
- ^ a b "The Meeting" 1989, closing credits; Leszczak 2016.
- ^ a b "The Meeting" 1989, closing credits.
- ^ Leszczak 2016; Walstad 1989; Roush 1989.
- ^ Parga 1989.
- ^ a b Leszczak 2016.
- ^ Writers Guild of America West.
- ^ Welch 2019.
- ^ "The Meeting" 1989.
- ^ a b c USA Today 1989a.
- ^ Snyder 1989.
- ^ a b c USA Today 1989b.
- ^ "The Date" 1989.
- ^ "The Date" 1989, closing credits.
- ^ a b c USA Today 1989c.
- ^ Los Angeles Times Syndicate 1989.
- ^ a b c USA Today 1989d.
- ^ The Sacramento Bee 1989; The Indianapolis Star 1989.
- ^ a b c USA Today 1989e.
- ^ Rapid City Journal 1989.
- ^ UCLA Film and Television Archive.
- ^ a b c USA Today 1989f.
- ^ a b Polson 1989.
- ^ Lomartire 1989; Walstad 1989; USA Today 1989a.
- ^ USA Today 1989b; USA Today 1989c.
- ^ a b Davies 1989.
- ^ USA Today 1989d; USA Today 1989e; USA Today 1989f.
- ^ The Province 1989.
- ^ USA Today 1989a; Los Angeles Times Syndicate 1989.
- ^ Green 1989; USA Today 1989b.
- ^ USA Today 1989a; USA Today 1989b; USA Today 1989c; USA Today 1989d; USA Today 1989e; USA Today 1989f.
- ^ Sonsky 1989; Screen International 1989.
- ^ Telgen & Kamp 1993.
- ^ Davies 1989; Scheuer 1989.
- ^ a b Variety 1989.
- ^ The Kingston Whig-Standard 1989.
- ^ a b Riches 1989.
- ^ Scheuer 1989.
Citations
- Newspapers.com.
- "Bright spots for No. 3 ABC". Life. ProQuest 306210811.
- .
- "CBS squeaks by into second". Life. ProQuest 306176608.
- Coto, Juan Carlos (April 17, 1989). "Alonso breaks the mold on TV's One of the Boys". Newspapers.com.
- Crockett, Lane (April 15, 1989). "She's just One of the Boys". Television. Newspapers.com.
- "The Date". One of the Boys. Season 1. Episode 3. April 29, 1989. NBC.
- Davies, Don (April 29, 1989). "NBC's Saturday now rivaling Thursday lineup". TV/Entertainment. Newspapers.com.
- "Everybody loved ABC's "Baby"". Life. ProQuest 306198690.
- Green, Tom (April 27, 1989). Written at Beverly Hills, California. "Alonso, flirting with sitcom stardom". Life. ProQuest 306176144.
- "Highlights". Life/Style. Newspapers.com.
- Koltnow, Barry (April 13, 1989). "Art follows life for Maria Alonso". Show. NewspaperArchive.
- Leszczak, Bob (2016). Single Season Sitcoms of the 1980s: A Complete Guide. Jefferson, North Carolina: .
- Lieb. (April 26, 1989). "One of the Boys". Television Reviews. ProQuest 1438497879.
- Lomartire, Paul (April 15, 1989). "One of the Boys aims to fill prime-time TV void for Latins". Accent. Newspapers.com.
- "The Meeting". One of the Boys. Season 1. Episode 1. April 15, 1989. NBC.
- "NBC sweeps top 11 spots". Life. ProQuest 306203436.
- "Notes". Television. The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. April 15, 1989. p. 6C – via Newspapers.com.
- "On TV tonight". The Morning Report. Newspapers.com.
- "One of the Boys". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- Parga, Beatriz (April 17, 1989). "En TV americana con nombre y acento hispanos" [On American TV with Hispanic name and accent]. Galeria [Gallery]. Newspapers.com.
- Polson, Mary Ellen (April 23, 1989). "One of the Boys has local ties". Amusements. Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. p. 1H – via Google News Archive.
- Riches, Hester (April 20, 1989). "TV priests need more than faith". Television. Newspapers.com.
- Roush, Matt (March 15, 1989). "McLaughlin to brighten NBC's new cable lineup". Life. ProQuest 306160732.
- "Saturday highlights". TV. Newspapers.com.
- "Saturday highlights". TV Week. Newspapers.com.
- "Saturday picks". TV. Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- "Sitcom rewards ABC's faith". Life. ProQuest 306174966.
- Snyder, Howard (April 22, 1989). "Also worth watching". Television. Newspapers.com.
- Sonsky, Steve (May 16, 1989). "NBC peacock struts out muted colors for fall". Living Today. Newspapers.com.
- "Talkback". Television Times. Newspapers.com.
- Telgen, Diane; Kamp, Jim, eds. (1993). Notable Hispanic American Women (1st ed.). Detroit, Michigan: LCC E184.S75 N674.
- "TV highlights". Newspapers.com.
- "UCLA Library Catalog Holdings Information". UCLA Film and Television Archive. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- Written at Los Angeles, California. "US majors show their hands". TV & Video News. ProQuest 1014651718.
- Walstad, David (May 7, 1989). "Flirting with TV fame". TV Week. Newspapers.com.
- "We loved CBS' Lucy tribute". Life. ProQuest 306197470.
- Welch, Alex (January 4, 2019). "The Masked Singer adjusts up, SEAL Team adjusts down: Wednesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019.
- "Worth a second look". Magazine. ProQuest 353330633.
External links
- One of the Boys at IMDb