Life's Work
| Life's Work | |
|---|---|
 Title screen with programming information |
|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Warren Bell |
| Developed by | Buena Vista Television |
| Starring | Lisa Ann Walter Michael O'Keefe Lainie Kazan Jenny O'Hara Alexa Vega |
| Opening theme | "Life's Work" (instrumental) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 25 minutes[1] |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Picture format | NTSC |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original run | September 17, 1996 – June 10, 1997 |
Life's Work is a situation comedy that aired from September 1996 to June 1997 on the American Broadcasting Company channel; the show stars Lisa Ann Walter as Lisa Ann Minardi Hunter, the assistant district attorney.
Lisa Ann always wanted to practice law since she was young because she always argued with her parents.[2] She also had a basketball coach husband named Kevin Hunter (Michael O'Keefe) who served as the patriarch of the family.[2] Together, they raised a 7-year-old daughter Tess (Alexa Vega) and a toddler son named Griffin (Cameron and Luca Weibel).[2] During the entire run of the series, a simple electric guitar instrumental solo was used as the show's opening theme. Laugh tracks were used in all episodes in the sitcom as it was filmed "live before a studio audience."
During the 1990s, it was very common to give stand-up comedians their own sitcom on TV; even if their first one had flopped.[3] Lisa Ann Walter was a stand-up comedian who played a mouthy feminist who could stand up to her mother in addition to her superiors at work.[3] While Lisa Ann's character had plenty of zingers to her, there was still a sense of "been-there-done-that" with her character.[3]
In one of the episodes, Lisa Ann claimed to have a sexual affair with then-current American President Bill Clinton.[4]
Contents |
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Boss
One of the most crucial episodes in the series was titled Boss. This episode was originally aired on December 3, 1996. During this episode, Lisa's mother Connie (portrayed by Jenny O'Hara) was recruited to help take care of the children.[5] This occurred after she visited the family in the episode Gobblegook for a Thanksgiving meal.[6]
Trying to make a comeback from being forced to wear classic briefs when it took four of her G-strings to "make a decent rag," Lisa referred to her new underwear as "big kid pants," suggesting that she was handed a pair of underwear that only children should wear.
[edit] Banquet
In the final episode of Life's Work, Lisa's husband Kevin looks at a banquet to see his wife having an extramarital affair with the new district attorney.[7] She didn't realize that she couldn't juggle the banquet, an elegant dinner with her husband, and please her boss at the same time.[7]
[edit] Cancellation
The show was officially put on hiatus on after airing the episode Neighbors on January 27, 1997. Months later, the show was officially canceled even though it earned higher ratings than The Drew Carey Show and held on to 90% of the viewers who watched the final season of Roseanne.[8] Towards the end of the final season, Home Improvement and Michael J. Fox's Spin City flourished in the ratings, taking away viewers from this show.[8] All of this combined with the fact that the ratings for Roseanne saw a major decrease that eventually contributed to the cancellation of this show.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ "Duration of show (Italian)". Antonio Genna. http://www.antoniogenna.net/doppiaggio/telefilm/lapazzavitasigrahunter.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-11.
- ^ a b c "Series Summary". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/lifes-work/show/2258/summary.html. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ a b c "Lisa Ann Walter Summary". Sitcoms Online. http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/77132. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
- ^ Margaria 2001p. 426 Damerini, Margaria 2001 Damerini, Margaria 2001 p. 426
- ^ "Cast and crew information". The Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115245/. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
- ^ "Connie Minardi backstore". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/lifes-work/gobbledegook/episode/37106/summary.html?tag=ep_guide;summary. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
- ^ a b "Episode summary (Banquet)". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/show/2258/summary.html. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
- ^ a b c "Why Life's Work Didn't Last". Internet Archive. 2002-10-16. Archived from the original on 2002-10-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20021016024020/http://www.geocities.com/owepar2/canceled.html. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
[edit] Biblography
- Damerini; Fabrizio Margaria (2001). Garzanti. ed. Dizionario dei telefilm (1ª edizione ed.). ISBN 88-11-74000-2..
