The George Carlin Show
| The George Carlin Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | George Carlin (uncredited) Sam Simon |
| Directed by | Jeffrey Melman Rob Schiller Sam Simon |
| Starring | George Carlin Alex Rocco Paige French Anthony Starke Christopher Rich Susan Sullivan |
| Theme music composer | Chandler Travis |
| Composer(s) | Roger Boyce |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 27 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | George Carlin Sam Simon Jerry Hamza |
| Producer(s) | Michael Stanislavsky |
| Editor(s) | Brian K. Roberts |
| Cinematography | Gregg Heschong |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Sweet Freedom Productions Main Sequence Warner Bros. Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Fox |
| Original run | January 16, 1994 – July 16, 1995 |
The George Carlin Show is an American sitcom that aired on the Fox network from January 1994 to July 1995. It was created jointly by veteran TV producer Sam Simon and the show's namesake, comedian George Carlin.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The series centers on George O'Grady (George Carlin), a taxi cab driver living in New York City. The show, for the most part, took place in The Moylan Bar, run by bartender Jack Donahue (Anthony Starke). The setting's real-life basis was the now-defunct Moylan Tavern, a younger Carlin's neighborhood bar on Broadway between La Salle Street and Tiemann Place in the Morningside Heights neighborhood, and owned by the grandparents of film critic and author Maitland McDonagh.[1] As Carlin recalled in 1994, "The Moylan Tavern. It was where I saw Oswald shot. It was where I headed during the [1965] blackout. The Moylan is where I came of age."[2] The name of the show's bartender character, Jack Donahue, was taken from that of real-life owner Jimmy Donahue, who bought the bar from the original owners.[2] The set itself, however, resembled another upper-Broadway bar, Carlin said: "Cannon's — where my father used to drink."[2]
As Carlin noted on his website:
January, 1994 - 'The George Carlin Show' premieres on Fox Television. Lasts 27 episodes. Lesson learned: always check mental health of creative partner beforehand. Loved the actors, loved the crew. Had a great time. Couldn't wait to get the fuck out of there. Canceled December, 1995.[3]
He later elaborated in his posthumously published autobiography Last Words:
I had a great time. I never laughed so much, so often, so hard as I did with cast members Alex Rocco, Chris Rich, Tony Starke. There was a very strange, very good sense of humor on that stage...The biggest problem, though, was that Sam Simon was a fucking horrible person to be around. Very, very funny, extremely bright and brilliant, but an unhappy person who treated other people poorly...I was incredibly happy when the show was canceled. I was frustrated that it had taken me away from my true work."[4]
He went on to speak of not enjoying the committee-style writer's room, which he felt alienated anyone who was not a professional television writer.
[edit] Cast
- George Carlin as George O'Grady
- Paige French as Sydney
- Michael G. Hagerty as Frank MacNamara (Season 2)
- Christopher Rich as Dr. Neil Beck
- Alex Rocco as Harry Rossetti
- Anthony Starke as Jack Donahue
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Season 1
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "When Unexpected Things Happen to George" | January 16, 1994 |
| 1-2 | "George Sees an Airplane" | January 23, 1994 |
| 1-3 | "George Goes on a Date (Part 1)" | February 6, 1994 |
| 1-4 | "George Goes on a Date (Part 2)" | February 13, 1994 |
| 1-5 | "George Helps Sidney" | February 20, 1994 |
| 1-6 | "George Expresses Himself" | February 27, 1994 |
| 1-7 | "George Gets Some Money" | March 6, 1994 |
| 1-8 | "George Destroys a Way of Life" | March 20, 1994 |
| 1-9 | "George Loses His Thermos" | March 27, 1994 |
| 1-10 | "George Speaks His Mind" | April 24, 1994 |
| 1-11 | "George Looks Down the Wrong End of a Thirty-Eight" | May 1, 1994 |
| 1-12 | "George Plays a Mean Pinball" | May 8, 1994 |
| 1-13 | "George Lifts the Holy Spirit" | May 15, 1994 |
[edit] Season 2
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 2-1 | "George Gets a Big Surprise" | October 16, 1994 |
| 2-2 | "George Runs into an Old Friend" | October 23, 1994 |
| 2-3 | "George Goes Too Far" | October 30, 1994 |
| 2-4 | "George Gets Hoist By His Own Petard" | November 6, 1994 |
| 2-5 | "George Pulls the Plug" | November 13, 1994 |
| 2-6 | "George Gets Caught in the Middle" | November 27, 1994 |
| 2-7 | "George Really Does It This Time" | December 4, 1994 |
| 2-8 | "George Shoots Himself in the Foot" | December 11, 1994 |
| 2-9 | "George Does a Bad Thing" | December 18, 1994 |
| 2-10 | "George Puts on a Happy Face" | December 25, 1994 |
| 2-11 | "George Helps a Friend" | January 1, 1995 |
| 2-12 | "George Digs Rock 'n' Roll Music" | April 10, 1995 |
| 2-13 | "George Tells the Truth" | July 9, 1995 |
| 2-14 | "George Likes a Good War" | July 16, 1995 |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Pollak, Michael. "F.Y.I." (Sunday "The City" section), The New York Times, December 30, 2007
- ^ a b c Lovece, Frank. "Going, Going, Gone? Carlin goes for home run with comedy series that resembles his real life", Newspaper Enterprise Association via the Reading Eagle, February 16, 1994
- ^ GeorgeCarlin.com: "1990-1999"
- ^ Last Words by George Carlin with Tony Hendra, Free Press (div. Simon & Schuster), 2009.
[edit] External links
- The George Carlin Show at the Internet Movie Database
- The George Carlin Show at TV.com
- The George Carlin Show at epguides.com
- The George Carlin Show streaming episodes on TheWB
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