Rags to Riches (TV series)
| Rags to Riches | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Drama Musical Comedy |
| Created by | Bernie Kukoff |
| Starring | Joseph Bologna Douglas Seale Kimiko Gelman Bridget Michele Tisha Campbell Blanca De Garr Heidi Zeigler Heather McAdam (Pilot) |
| Composer(s) | J. Peter Robinson (1.1) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Bernie Kukoff Leonard Hill Andrew Schneider |
| Cinematography | Paul Onorato |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Leonard Hill Films New World Television |
| Distributor | NBC |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | March 15, 1986 – January 15, 1987 |
Rags to Riches is an American musical comedy drama series that was broadcast on NBC for two seasons from 1987 to 1988. Set in the 1960s, the series tells the story of Nick Foley, a self-made millionaire who adopts five orphan girls. Each episode included music videos of hit songs from the era sung by the cast integrated into the plot (usually with the lyrics changed so that they provided comment on the storyline).
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Nick Foley (Joseph Bologna), the millionaire owner of Foley's Frozen Foods, is a street-wise New Jersey-born businessman with a playboy lifestyle. In the TV movie pilot which launched the series, Foley attempts to develop a family man image by bringing a group of six orphaned girls to live in the mansion in Bel Air where he lives with his butler, John Clapper (Douglas Seale). He does this to help seal a business deal and does not intend to keep them there permanently. But his plans change when he grows fond of the girls, and he ends up adopting them.
The adjustment is huge on both sides, as the girls acquire a father with no parenting experience. Having spent the past few years in a rundown children's home, the girls now find themselves in the lap of luxury. The series follows the trials and tribulations of the girls and a man who has previously never loved anyone but himself and often struggles to cope with his new family.
In the pilot for the series, Foley takes in a group of six girls. However in the subsequent episodes of the show, Foley has adopted five girls: Rose (aged 17), Diane (aged 16), Marva (aged 15), Patti (aged 14) and Mickey (aged 8). The sixth girl, Nina, appears only in the pilot (after the pilot was made, it was decided that six children was too many for the series cast, so Nina was written out with the explanation that she had been reunited with her birth mother).
The series differed from regular comedy-dramas in that the cast would frequently burst into song to help explain their feelings or move along the plot. Each episode therefore contained at least two music videos, most of them covers of hit songs from the 1960s with the lyrics changed to provide comment on the storyline of the episode.
[edit] Reception
Promoted with the tagline, "If you liked Annie, you'll like Rags to Riches", ratings for the series were not strong enough for its Friday night time slot, and NBC canceled the show part way through its second season.[1][2]
[edit] Cast and characters
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Joseph Bologna | Nick Foley |
| Douglas Seale | John Clapper |
| Kimiko Gelman | Rose |
| Bridget Michele | Diane |
| Tisha Campbell | Marva |
| Blanca De Garr | Patti |
| Heidi Zeigler | Mickey |
| Heather McAdam | Nina |
| Sarah Buxton | Amy Hillerman |
| Sue Ball | Marnie |
| Jeff Harlan | Marty |
| John Christy Ewing | Mr Donovan |
| Sandy Ward | Al Schweikert |
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Season 1
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | Pilot | March 3, 1987 |
| 1-2 | "High Society" | March 15, 1987 |
| 1-3 | "Foley vs Foley" | March 22, 1987 |
| 1-4 | "First Love" | March 29, 1987 |
| 1-5 | "Business is Business" | April 5, 1987 |
| 1-6 | "Patty's Mom" | April 12, 1987 |
| 1-7 | "Bad Blood" | April 19, 1987 |
| 1-8 | "Born to Ride" | April 26, 1987 |
[edit] Season 2
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 2-1 | "Vegas Rock" | September 18, 1987 |
| 2-2 | "Once In a Lifeguard" | September 25, 1987 |
| 2-3 | "That's Cheating" | October 2, 1987 |
| 2-4 | "Wilderness Blues" | October 16, 1987 |
| 2-5 | "Dear Diary" | October 23, 1987 |
| 2-6 | "Hunk in the House" | November 6, 1987 |
| 2-7 | "Marva in the Key of Cee" | November 13, 1987 |
| 2-8 | "Beauty and the Babe" | November 20, 1987 |
| 2-9 | "A Russian Holiday" | December 11, 1987 |
| 2-10 | "A Very Foley Christmas" | December 20, 1987 |
| 2-11 | "Guess Who's Coming To Slumber?" | January 8, 1988 |
| 2-12 | "Sweet 16" | January 15, 1988 |
[edit] DVD Release
Although never released on DVD in the United States, the first season was released in Germany under the German title, Full House: Rags to Riches in 2011. Season two will be released on October 2, 2011.
[edit] Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Young Artist Award | Winner | Best Young Actress Under Ten Years of Age in Television or Motion Pictures | Heidi Zeigler |
| Nominated | Best Family Comedy Series |
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| Nominated | Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress in a Television Comedy Series | Blanca De Garr |
[edit] References
- ^ Shales, Tom (1987-03-09). "Rags: Moderately Rich; NBC Rips Off Annie, Hits Easy Street". The Washington Times.
- ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present. Penguin Books. p. 683. ISBN 0-140-24916-8.
[edit] External links
- Rags to Riches at the Internet Movie Database (Pilot TV-movie)
- Rags to Riches at the Internet Movie Database
- Rags to Riches at TV.com
- Rags to Riches at epguides.com
- 1980s American television series
- 1987 television series debuts
- 1988 television series endings
- American comedy-drama television series
- English-language television series
- Musical television series
- NBC network shows
- Period television series
- Teen dramas
- Television series by Fox Television Studios
- Television series set in the 1960s
- Television shows set in Los Angeles, California
