Thea (TV series)
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| Thea | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Bernie Kukoff |
| Written by | Bill Bryan Lenore G. Bunt Dan Cohen Elias Davis Tom Devanney Michelle Jones Bernie Kukoff David Kukoff David Pollack F.J. Pratt Donald Seigel Terri Schaffer Hicks Chris Sheridan Latrice Williams |
| Directed by | John Bowab Linda Day Paul Kreppel Jay Sandrich Tony Singletary Chuck Vinson |
| Starring | Thea Vidale Adam Jeffries Brandy Norwood Jason Weaver Brenden Jefferson Cleavant Derricks Yvette Wilson |
| Theme music composer | Freddie Washington Benjamin Wright |
| Composer(s) | Kurt Farquhar |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 19 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Bernie Kukoff Andrew Susskind |
| Producer(s) | Tom Devanney Mary Ellen Jones |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Castle Rock Entertainment |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | September 3, 1993 – February 14, 1994 |
Thea is an American sitcom that premiered September 3, 1993 on ABC, and last aired on February 14, 1994, for a total of 19 episodes. Starring comedienne Thea Vidale, the series marked the first time an African American female comedienne was the star of a series named after her.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Thea Vidale starred as the sassy Thea Turrell (known for her trademark one-liner of "See ya!"), a widowed mother of 4 who works in a Houston, Texas supermarket by day and runs a 1-chair beauty salon on the corner of her porch in the evenings.
The show was the first to feature Brandy Norwood, who later went on to become a Grammy-winning singer and the star of her own sitcom, Moesha, (with Yvette Wilson as a member of the supporting cast).
Although the show garnered high ratings at first, ratings steadily fell, and the series was canceled after only 19 episodes. It ended the season in 43rd place.
[edit] Cast
- Thea Vidale — Thea Armstrong-Turrell, the show's titular character; the no-nonsense widow and matriarch of four children
- Adam Jeffries — Jarvis Turrell, Jr.
- Brandy Norwood — Danesha Turrell
- Jason Weaver — Jerome Turrell
- Brenden Jefferson — James Turrell
- Yvette Wilson — Lynette Armstrong-Russell
- Cleavant Derricks — Charles Russell
[edit] Supporting cast
- Kenny Ford, Jr. — Leonard, Danesha's boyfriend
- Miguel A. Nunez Jr. — Rickey, Thea's supervisor
- Arvie Lowe, Jr. — Otis
- Venus DeMilo Thomas — Desiree
- Blake Clark — Roy Bennett, Thea's boss at Mickey's Barbecue
- Dennis Burkley — Walt Henderson, regular customer at Mickey's
- Scotch Byerley — Claude Cooper, regular at Mickey's
- Marcus T. Paulk — Cedric
- Countess Vaughn — Charlene
- Wendy Raquel Robinson — Patrice Washington, Thea and Lynette's "baby sister"; an attorney
[edit] Episodes
| Series # | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | September 3, 1993 |
| We are introduced to Thea's hectic routine, working at the supermarket checkout by day, dressing hair by night, and supervising her four demanding children. James gives his mother $25 which he earned delivering sandwiches during his school lunch hour, but she insists that he keep the money and eat his own lunch in the cafeteria. Danesha returns from taking Jerome clothes-shopping, and Jerome blabs that he had to keep trying on ill-fitting clothes while she talked on the phone to her new boyfriend Leonard, whom she's meeting at the library later. Thea insists that Leonard pick Danesha up at home so she can inspect him. Meanwhile, Jarvis is supposedly at a friend's house doing a geography assignment, but Thea finds his geography book and knows that he has been at the video arcade instead, and grounds him before she leaves to attend a memorial service. It's the night of a big video-game competition, and Jarvis sneaks out despite James' attempts to keep him at home--then must face Thea's wrath. | ||
| 2 | "Jerome Makes the Grade" | September 10, 1993 |
| Jerome is failing English because of his desperate attempts to make the school basketball team. When Thea forces him to finish his book report on "To Kill a Mockingbird", he doesn't make the team--but gets an A on his report. Meanwhile, Danesha attempts to submit a video to America's Funniest Home Videos. | ||
| 3 | "Dirty Laundry" | September 22, 1993 |
| The washing machine breaks down, which means endless trips to the laundromat. Meanwhile, Danesha's boyfriend is in hot water after he kisses another girl' Thea puts him through the wringer before he can come clean with Danesha. | ||
| 4 | "How I Got Over" | September 25, 1993 |
| Thea gets a chance to train for manager, but Jerome plans a boxing-match party while Thea is at her night-school class. | ||
| 5 | "To Tell the Truth" | October 6, 1993 |
| Jarvis lets his younger brother drive and they get into an accident. but it's no accident that the boys don't tell their mom who was behind the wheel. To punish them, she cooks up a scheme with Lynette, who pretends to have lost her wedding ring in her trash, now at the bottom of a very fragrant dumpster. | ||
| 6 | "Artie's Party" | October 13, 1993 |
| Conflict brews when Arthur plans his bachelor party and invites Jerome, whom Thea thinks is too young to attend. | ||
| 7 | "Here Comes Mr. Gordon" | October 15, 1993 |
| Thea acquires an unwanted admirer. | ||
| 8 | "Birthday Girl" | November 3, 1993 |
| On her birthday, Thea's treasured gift of hot tickets to a Motown reunion concert goes flat when her boss calls her in to work a replacement shift. | ||
| 9 | "Danesha Loooves Leonard" | November 17, 1993 |
| When Danesha's romance with Leonard disrupts the household, Jarvis and Jerome hatch a plan to split them up. | ||
| 10 | "Mama, I'm Full" | November 24, 1993 |
| Thea must work at the market on Thanksgiving, so she entrusts Danesha with the cooking of the family feast. | ||
| 11 | "Good Stock" | December 1, 1993 |
| Jerome finds he has a knack with stocks, which leads Thea to lend him a real investment stake. | ||
| 12 | "A Christmas Story" | December 15, 1993 |
| Jarvis procrastinates putting up the Christmas lights because he's afraid of heights. | ||
| 13 | "Danesha Project" | December 22, 1993 |
| Danesha has a social-studies project on single parents to do and she's teamed up with Cliff Croverd, the most popular guy in school. Guess who they choose to interview about the single-parenthood experience? | ||
| 14 | "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow" | January 12, 1994 |
| Thea finds herself in a hairy situation when she can't afford mandated improvements to her in-home salon and an inspector wants to close it down. | ||
| 15 | "Who's Zoomin' Who" | January 16, 1994 |
| Marcella uses Jerome to make her boyfriend Dwayne jealous, while Jerome uses the relationship to meet his own needs. Meanwhile, Thea decides to fix her own plumbing after Charles can't make time to do it for her. | ||
| 16 | "Of Fish and Men" | January 29, 1994 |
| Danesha is paired with a basketball star for a school project, but he tries to passs all the work off on her. | ||
| 17 | "Call Me Thea" | February 4, 1994 |
| Thea takes a day off, leaving the kids to do the household chores. She visits her favorite barbecue joint, Mickey's, but Mickey has died and new owner Roy's cooking doesn't come close. Enter new head chef Thea. | ||
| 18 | "T.C.B." | February 11, 1994 |
| Barbecue-sauce chef Thea is offered a restaurant partnership. | ||
| 19 | "The Pie Queen and the Loan Duck" | February 19, 1994 |
| Jarvis needs space and privacy to study for his college SATs. Meanwhile, Thea is outraged when she learns that Mitch Mallard, the banker who holds the mortgage on the diner, eats there for free--Thea's kids have to pay. | ||
[edit] Syndication
Reruns of the show returned on BET in May 2008 on Mother's Day. However, a few months later the reruns ceased to air.
[edit] Award nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Young Artist Awards | Nominated | Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series | Brandy Norwood, Jason Weaver, Brenden Jefferson and Adam Jeffries |
[edit] References
- ^ Littleton, Darryl (2006). Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught Us to Laugh. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 252. ISBN 1-557-83680-9.
[edit] External links
- Thea at the Internet Movie Database
- Thea at TV.com
- Thea at epguides.com
- Thea, an external wiki
Categories:
- 1993 American television series debuts
- 1994 American television series endings
- 1990s American television series
- American Broadcasting Company network shows
- American television sitcoms
- Black sitcoms
- English-language television series
- Television series by Sony Pictures Television
- Television shows set in Houston, Texas
