Charles in Charge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Charles in Charge | |
Title screen for Charles in Charge |
|
| Format | Sitcom |
|---|---|
| Created by | Michael Jacobs Barbara Weisberg |
| Starring | Scott Baio Willie Aames Julie Cobb (1984-1985) James Widdoes (1984-1985) April Lerman (1984-1985) Jonathan Ward (1984-1985) Michael Pearlman (1984-1985) Jennifer Runyon (1984-1985) Sandra Kerns (1987-1990) Nicole Eggert (1987-1990) Josie Davis (1987-1990) Alexander Polinsky (1987-1990) Ellen Travolta (1987-1990) James T. Callahan (1987-1990) |
| Country of origin | |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 126 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Al Burton |
| Running time | 24:30 (CBS); 22:30 (first-run syndication) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS (1984-1985) first-run syndication (1987-1990) |
| Original run | October 3, 1984 - April 3, 1985 (CBS) – January 3, 1987 - December 22, 1990 (first-run syndication) |
Charles in Charge is an American sitcom series which stars Scott Baio as Charles, a 19-year-old student at the fictional Copeland College in New Jersey[1], who worked as a live-in babysitter in exchange for room and board[2]. Baio directed many episodes of the show, and is credited with his full name, Scott Vincent Baio.
It was first broadcast on CBS from October 3, 1984 to April 3, 1985, where it was cancelled due to a struggle in the Nielsen ratings, and then a more successful first-run syndication run from January 3, 1987 to December 22, 1990. 126 original episodes were aired in total. It was produced by Al Burton Productions and Scholastic Productions in association with Universal Television.
Contents |
[edit] Transition from CBS to first-run syndication
Charles first worked for the Pembroke family: wife Jill, husband Stan, and their three children, Lila, Douglas, and Jason. When the show ended its run on CBS, and entered first-run syndication in 1987, the story explained that the Pembrokes sub-leased their house and moved to Seattle, and the Powells moved in instead, thereby allowing Charles to live downstairs yet again. This time, the family consisted of grandfather Walter, mother Ellen (whose husband was in the military, and consequently could only visit his family sporadically), and her three children, Jamie, Sarah, and Adam.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Main cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Scott Baio | Charles (Charles' last name was never revealed in the series; in fact the writers went to great lengths to avoid saying his last name.) |
| Willie Aames | Buddy Lembeck, whose real first name is Buddence. |
| 1984-1985 | |
| Jennifer Runyon | Gwendolyn Pierce |
| James Widdoes | Stan Pembroke |
| Julie Cobb | Jill Pembroke |
| April Lerman | Lila Pembroke |
| Jonathan Ward | Douglas Pembroke |
| Michael Pearlman | Jason Pembroke |
| 1987-1990 | |
| James T. Callahan | Walter Powell |
| Sandra Kerns | Ellen Powell |
| Nicole Eggert | Jamie Powell |
| Josie Davis | Sarah Powell |
| Alexander Polinsky | Adam Powell |
| Ellen Travolta | Lillian |
Charles' mother, Lillian, was played by Ellen Travolta, John Travolta's sister. She also played her sisters (Charles's aunts), Sally and Vanessa. She had previously played the mother of Chachi Arcola, Scott Baio's character on Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi. Chachi's real name, incidentally, was also Charles.
For the first half of the fourth season, Justin Whalin played Lillian's nephew Anthony.
Nicole Eggert went on to star in Baywatch (1992–1994). Another actress who appeared on this show and later went on to star in Baywatch (1989–1992) was Erika Eleniak, who played Charles' girlfriend on 3 episodes of the 4th season [3][4]. Josie Davis also made one appearance in a 1998 Baywatch episode. Both Charles in Charge and Baywatch were TV shows that began on network TV, before moving to first-run syndication.
Meg Ryan guest starred as "Meagan Parker" in two episodes of the show's first season: "War" on October 24, 1984[5] and "Charles 'R' Us" on February 13, 1985.[6]
Ben Stein also guest starred as "Stanley Willard," a malevolent loan officer, college professor, mental patient, and other multiple roles throughout the series
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Theme song
The theme song was composed by David Kurtz, Michael Jacobs, and Al Burton, and performed by Shandi Sinnamon.
Artists who have recorded or performed covers of the theme include
- the Australian band Smudge on their debut album, Manilow.
- the Christian rock band Relient K's debut, self-titled album, which also included a new verse about Buddy, the girl from Baywatch (referring to Jamie), and hanging out with Charles at his mom's pizza parlor with Jesus.
- The Blanks (appearing as The Worthless Peons) on the episode "My Nightingale" (2.02) of the sitcom Scrubs and appears on their debut album, Riding the Wave.
- Electric Hellfire Club, recording a gothic cover of the theme song on the compilation cd "TV Terror: Felching a Dead Horse"
It was one of the songs Brian Griffin and Stewie Griffin sang in their TV medley on the Family Guy Live in Vegas album; it was also sung by Peter Griffin in the episode "The Thin White Line."
Conan O'Brien often breaks into the chorus— in an operatic tone— when discussing TV themes, his own singing voice, or Scott Baio.
[edit] DVD releases
Universal Studios Home Entertainment released a 3-disc set of the first season of Charles in Charge on DVD in Northern America for the very first time on February 14, 2006. Due to poor sales, Universal licensed the rights to release the remaining four seasons to Arts Alliance America (which has since changed its name to Virgil Films & Entertainment) during the summer of 2007. Like season four, season five will not be generally available, but will be released on July 28, 2009 as an Amazon exclusive.[7][8][9][10]
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 22 | February 14, 2006 |
| The Complete Second Season | 26 | November 20, 2007 |
| The Complete Third Season | 26 | May 20, 2008 |
| The Complete Fourth Season | 26 | March 24, 2009 |
| The Complete Fifth Season | 26 | July 28, 2009 |
[edit] References
- ^ "Charles in Charge - The Complete First Season DVD Review". Sitcoms Online. http://www.sitcomsonline.com/charlesinchargeseason1dvdreview.html. Retrieved on March 25, 2009.
- ^ "Charles in Charge (TV Series) Overview". Allmovie. http://www.allmovie.com/work/319778. Retrieved on March 25, 2009.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000143/ accessed 6/23/2009
- ^ http://epguides.com/CharlesinCharge/ accessed 6/23/2009
- ^ Charles in Charge"War." IMDb.Retrieved 30 June 2007
- ^ Charles in Charge "Charles 'R' Us." IMDb. Retrieved 30 June 2007
- ^ Where Does the 4th Season of the Scott Baio Series Currently Stand? TVShowsOnDVD.com. January 28 2009.
- ^ Charles in Charge Season 4 Amazon.com. March 7, 2009.
- ^ Charles in Charge Season 5 Amazon.com. June 5, 2009
- ^ Charles in Charge - The 5th and Final Season is Available on DVD in July! TVShowsOnDVD.com. June 5, 2009
[edit] External links
- Charles in Charge at the Internet Movie Database
- Charles in Charge at TV.com
- Charles in Charge at Allmovie
- Charles in Charge Online
- Completely Unofficial Charles in Charge page

