Picket Fences
Picket Fences | |
---|---|
Family drama Legal drama | |
Created by | David E. Kelley |
Starring | |
Opening theme | "Picket Fences" by Stewart Levin |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 89 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Running time | 42 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | September 18, 1992[1] – June 26, 1996 |
Picket Fences is an American
Overview
The series follows the lives of the residents of the small town of Rome, Wisconsin, where weird things happen, including cows'
Struggling to maintain order in the community is Sheriff Jimmy Brock (Tom Skerritt). Sheriff Brock is 52 years old,[3] married to the town doctor, Jill (Kathy Baker), his second wife. They raise their three children, Kimberly (Holly Marie Combs) from Jimmy's first marriage to Lydia Brock (Cristine Rose), Matthew (Justin Shenkarow) and Zachary (Adam Wylie).
Maxine 'Max' Stewart (
Bombastic lawyer Douglas Wambaugh (Fyvush Finkel) usually irritated Judge Henry Bone (Ray Walston). Wambaugh refused to hear any confessions of guilt from his clients as he feared that it would only stand in the way of adequately defending them in court; and Bone's rulings seemed to be directed more by his own moral compass than by points of law, though his decisions were almost never reversed. After several prosecutors came and went, Don Cheadle joined the cast as John Littleton.
Other actors who were in the cast included Marlee Matlin as Mayor Laurie Bey / The Dancing Bandit, Richard Masur as Ed Lawson, Roy Brocksmith as elementary school principal Michael Oslo, Jack Murdock as ethically challenged city councilman Harold Lundstrom, Roy Dotrice as Father Gary Barrett, a Catholic priest, and Dabbs Greer as the Reverend Henry Novotny, priest of the local Episcopal church.
Cast
Actor | Character | Seasons | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
Main characters | ||||||
Tom Skerritt | Jimmy Brock | Main | ||||
Kathy Baker | Jill Brock | Main | ||||
Lauren Holly | Maxine Stewart | Main | ||||
Costas Mandylor | Kenny Lacos | Main | ||||
Holly Marie Combs | Kimberly Brock | Main | ||||
Justin Shenkarow | Matthew Brock | Main | ||||
Adam Wylie | Zachary Brock | Main | ||||
Fyvush Finkel | Douglas Wambaugh | Recurring | Main | |||
Kelly Connell | Carter Pike | Recurring | Main | |||
Zelda Rubinstein | Ginny Weedon | Main | ||||
Don Cheadle | John Littleton | Recurring | Main | |||
Marlee Matlin | Laurie Bey | Guest | Main | |||
Ray Walston | Henry Bone | Recurring | Main | |||
Recurring characters | ||||||
Dabbs Greer | Henry Novotony | Recurring | ||||
Roy Dotrice | Gary Barrett | Recurring | ||||
Roy Brocksmith | Michael Oslo | Recurring | ||||
Denis Arndt | Franklin Dell | Recurring | ||||
Sam Anderson | Donald Morrell | Recurring | ||||
Michael Keenan | Bill Pugen | Recurring | ||||
Robert Cornthwaite | Howard Buss | Recurring | ||||
Elisabeth Moss | Cynthia Parks | Recurring | ||||
Leigh Taylor-Young | Rachel Harris | Recurring | ||||
Richard Masur | Ed Lawson | Guest | Recurring | |||
Amy Aquino | Joanna Diamond | Recurring | ||||
Matthew Glave | Bud Skeeter | Recurring |
Episodes
Picket Fences has a total of 88 episodes and four seasons.
Crossovers
The series has two crossover episodes with another David E. Kelley series, Chicago Hope, one occurring in each series. In the first, on Picket Fences, Dr. Jill Brock accompanies Douglas Wambaugh to Chicago Hope Hospital over concerns of his heart. In the second, Wambaugh is back at Chicago Hope Hospital causing trouble for the doctors. Lauren Holly later joined the cast of Chicago Hope as Dr. Jeremy Hanlon and Tom Skerritt appear in a different role as a guest star.
Show | Episode # | Episode Name | Airdate |
---|---|---|---|
Picket Fences | 3–7 | "Rebels with Causes" | November 11, 1994 |
Chicago Hope | 1–13 | "Small Sacrifices" | January 23, 1995 |
David E. Kelley and Chris Carter (creator of The X-Files) were talking in a parking lot on the Fox lot one day and thought it might be interesting to have Mulder and Scully visit Rome, Wisconsin for an X-Files episode. Originally, the two shows would be shot with different viewpoints – one from the X-Files perspective and the other from Picket Fences'. The official approval was never given by Fox and CBS, so the only remnants remaining of this effort are the X-Files episode "Red Museum" and the Picket Fences episode "Away in the Manger" having similar plotlines involving cows. Every reference to Picket Fences has been purged from the X-Files episode, but there still are some small details left in the Picket Fences episode referring to the happenings at The X-Files and some minor characters there.[4]
Ratings
Season | U.S. ratings | Network | Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1992-93 | 9.49 million | CBS | #63 |
2 | 1993-94 | 9.49 million | CBS | #61 |
3 | 1994-95 | 9.50 million | CBS | #64 |
4 | 1995-96 | 7.00 million | CBS | #98 |
Adaptation
The series was adapted in India in Hindi language and aired on StarPlus as Kehta Hai Dil from 2002 to 2005 produced by UTV Software Communications.[5] However, the Indian version in between deviated entirely from the story of Picket Fences.[6]
Home media
On June 19, 2007,
Awards and nominations
Picket Fences won fourteen
In 1997, the episode "Heart of Saturday Night" was ranked #96 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time.[10]
In 2002, the character of Douglas Wambaugh was ranked 47th on TV Guide's 50 Greatest Television Characters of All Time list.[11]
References
- ^ Kitman, Marvin (September 17, 1992). "Beyong the 'Picket Fences'". Newsday (Long Island, New York). p. 65.
- ^ Abcarian, Robin (July 28, 2005). "Monrovia's Midwest mystique". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
- ^ Season 2/Episode 12
- ^ "Picket Fences and The X-Files". Thom Holbrook's Crossovers & Spin Offs pages. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
- ^ "Bindass". The Times of India. September 26, 2002.
- ^ "UTV's 'Kehta hai dil', 'Meher' top the charts". August 27, 2004.
- ^ "JB Hi-Fi | Picket Fences - Season 1 6 DVD". Archived from the original on December 6, 2014.
- ^ "Movies + TV Shows - Deals on DVD + Blu-Ray at JB Hi-Fi".
- ^ "Picket Fences - Season 3 ~ DVD".
- ^ "Special Collectors' Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide. No. June 28-July 4. 1997.
- ISBN 978-0-7624-3007-9.
External links
- Picket Fences at IMDb
- Picket Fences at epguides.com