The Good Life (1994 TV series)
| The Good Life | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Bowmans |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Gerry Cohen |
| Starring |
|
| Composer | Jonathan Wolff |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producers |
|
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | January 3 – April 12, 1994 |
The Good Life is an American sitcom television series created by Jeff Martin, Kevin Curran and Suzanne Martin, which aired on NBC from January 3 to April 12, 1994. It starred John Caponera and Drew Carey.[1] Other members of the cast included Eve Gordon, Jake Patellis, Shay Astar, Justin Berfield and Monty Hoffman. It focuses on the personal and working life of John Bowman (Caponera) and his family.
Premise
The show revolved around John Bowman, and featured both his home life and the
Production
Caponera originally created the character of John Bowman for his stand-up routine. He based John on the man he would have become if he had "married young and never finished college."[3] When executives from Disney saw Caponera perform the character during one of his shows, they offered him the chance to star in his own sitcom.[3] The Good Life was created by Jeff Martin, Kevin Curran and Suzanne Martin.[4]
The show premiered on January 3, before moving to its regular Tuesday timeslot the following day.[5] The fifth episode, broadcast on January 30, 1994, aired following NBC's coverage of Super Bowl XXVIII.[6]
Cancellation
Thirteen episodes were produced and aired, before the sitcom was cancelled on May 13, 1994.
Cast
- John Caponera as John Bowman, a middle manager at Honest Abe Security Products[5]
- Eve Gordon as Maureen Bowman, a school teacher and John's wife[7]
- Jake Patellis as Paul Bowman, John and Maureen's teenage son[7]
- Shay Astar as Melissa Bowman, John and Maureen's teenage daughter[7]
- Justin Berfield as Bob Bowman, John and Maureen's six year old son[7]
- Drew Carey as Drew Clark, John's best friend and co-worker[7]
- Monty Hoffman as Tommy Barlett, the union shop steward[2]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Viewers (millions) | Rating/rank (households) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Paul Dates a Buddhist" | Gerry Cohen | Warren Bell | January 3, 1994 | 20.0[8] | 12.4 / #38[9] |
| 2 | "Maureen's Play" | Gerry Cohen | Mark Driscoll | January 4, 1994 | 12.0[8] | 8.3 / #73[9] |
| 3 | "Pilot" | John Rich | Jeff Martin, Kevin Curran, Suzanne Martin | January 11, 1994 | 9.9[10] | 6.9 / #84[11] |
| 4 | "John Hurts His Leg or Tales from the Crip" | Gerry Cohen | David Silverman and Stephen Sustarsic | January 18, 1994 | 10.2[12] | 6.8 / #84[13] |
| 5 | "The Statue" | Gerry Cohen | Frank Lombardi and Dana Reston | January 30, 1994 | 22.8[14] | 14.2 / #21[15] |
| 6 | "Calendar Girl" | Gerry Cohen | Mark Driscoll | February 1, 1994 | 10.3[16] | 7.5 / #83[17] |
| 7 | "She Shoots, She Scores" | Gerry Cohen | Kevin Curran | February 1, 1994 | 10.2[16] | 7.1 / #84[17] |
| 8 | "John Takes Out Melissa" | Gerry Cohen | Leslie Rieder | March 15, 1994 | 8.3[18] | 7.0 / #78[19] |
| 9 | "John Fights the System" | Gerry Cohen | David Silverman and Stephen Sustarsic | March 15, 1994 | 9.9[18] | 5.9 / #86[19] |
| 10 | "Bob's Field Trip" | Gerry Cohen | Wendy Braff | March 22, 1994 | 8.2[20] | 6.0 / #78[21] |
| 11 | "Melissa the Thief" | Gerry Cohen | Suzanne Martin | March 29, 1994 | 8.4[22] | 6.2 / #81[23] |
| 12 | "The Mother-in-Law" | Gerry Cohen | Holly Hester | April 5, 1994 | 7.1[24] | 5.4 / #88[25] |
| 13 | "John's New Assistant" | Gerry Cohen | Suzanne Martin | April 12, 1994 | 7.8[26] | 5.9 / #85[27] |
Reception
John J. O'Connor of The New York Times gave the show a positive review, writing "Another sitcom. Another show with a goofy dad, a wry mom and three troublesome but wonderful kids. Television marches on. Groan. But then, against all odds, the tired formula works."[4] He thought John's co-workers were "brought to a wonderful level of lunacy by Drew Carey and Monty Hoffman" and he praised the younger actors, calling their characters "appealing."[4] He believed that the cast were "having a genuinely good time" and that came across in their performances, adding "that's a good sign. Mr. Caponera is onto something."[4]
References
- ISBN 0-7868-6359-5.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d O'Connor, John J. (January 3, 1994). "Review/Television; A Stand-Up Guy, and His Family". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Hype it up! It's Super Bowl Sunday". The Tennessean. January 30, 1994. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b DeRosa, Robin (January 12, 1994). "'Improvement' leads ABC charge". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ DeRosa, Robin (January 19, 1994). "'Columbo' on the case for ABC". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. January 26, 1994. p. 3D.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ DeRosa, Robin (February 2, 1994). "Super Bowl runs up NBC's score". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b DeRosa, Robin (February 9, 1994). "Lilith brings ratings to 'Frasier'". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b DeRosa, Robin (March 23, 1994). "Wednesday wins for ABC". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ DeRosa, Robin (March 30, 1994). "Winner ABC can thank the academy". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ DeRosa, Robin (April 6, 1994). "ABC gets help from 'These Friends'". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ DeRosa, Robin (April 13, 1994). "Hoops figure in to CBS' net again". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. April 20, 1994. p. 3D.
- Newspapers.com.
External links
- The Good Life at IMDb
- The Good Life intro from Retrojunk
