Wait Till Your Father Gets Home

*Wait Till Your Father Gets Home*
Wait Till Your Father Gets Home
Genre	Animated sitcom
Created by	R.S. Allen & Harvey Bullock
Directed by	Barrie Helmer (1972-1974); Charles A. Nichols (1974);
Voices of	Tom Bosley; Joan Gerber; Jack Burns; David Hayward; Kristina Holland; Jackie Haley; John Stephenson; Frank Maxwell; Len Weinrib;
Composer	Richard Bowden
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	48 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	William Hanna; Joseph Barbera;
Producers	R.S. Allen; Harvey Bullock;
Running time	22 minutes
Production company	Hanna-Barbera Productions
Original release
Network	Syndicated
Release	September 12, 1972 –; October 8, 1974

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home is an animated sitcom^[1] produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired in first-run syndication in the United States from 1972 to 1974.^[2] The show originated as a one-time segment on Love, American Style called "Love and the Old-Fashioned Father". The same pilot was later produced with a live cast (starring Van Johnson), but with no success. The show was the first primetime animated sitcom to run for more than a single season since fellow Hanna-Barbera show The Flintstones more than ten years earlier, and would be the only one until The Simpsons seventeen years later. The show was inspired by All in the Family.^[3]

Premise

The show features Harry Boyle, wife Irma, daughter Alice, and sons Chet and Jamie. Harry, a conservative restaurant supply wholesaler, often butts heads with most of his family about the social issues of the day. Contrasting that is Harry's neighbor and friend, Ralph Kane, a paranoid right-wing militia fanatic whose extreme opinions and often dangerous actions Harry can barely tolerate as much as his kids' ideas.

Like many animated series created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the show contained a laugh track created by the studio.^[4] For this show, the studio added a third belly laugh to add a little more "variety" (the only TV series made by Hanna-Barbera to have this added laugh). In addition, the laugh track was also slowed considerably.^[4]

Voice cast

Tom Bosley as Harry Boyle
Joan Gerber as Irma Boyle
Kristina Holland as Alice Boyle
David Hayward/Lennie Weinrib as Chet Boyle
Jackie Earle Haley/Willie Aames as Jamie Boyle
Jack Burns as Ralph Kane
Veteran Hanna-Barbera voice talents such as Daws Butler, John Stephenson, and Don Messick provided minor roles.

Other "guests" on the series included thinly disguised versions of celebrities who did not provide their own voices, such as guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. When a crooked car dealer on another episode was perceived by real-life Los Angeles car salesman Cal Worthington as being a send-up of him, he sued the studio (Hanna-Barbera), the sponsors (Chevrolet) and the five NBC-owned stations that carried the show.^[5]

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes	Originally aired
Season	Episodes	First aired	Last aired
1	24	September 12, 1972	February 20, 1973
2	20	September 11, 1973	January 29, 1974
3	4	September 17, 1974	October 8, 1974

Season 1 (1972–73)

The first 44 episodes (All episodes of the first two seasons) were directed by Peter Luschwitz.

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
1	1	"The Fling"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	September 12, 1972 (1972-09-12)	63-1
Restaurant-equipment dealer Harry Boyle helps a sexy female customer move into her apartment, prompting everyone around him to think that Harry is cheating on his wife, Irma.
2	2	"Alice's Dress"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	September 19, 1972 (1972-09-19)	63-2
Harry and his family get invited to a party held by Harry's boss, and Harry wants everyone in the family to act and dress their best -- which is easier said than done because Alice wants to wear a racy department-store dress with no bra, prompting Harry and Irma to worry about the influence that sex and sexuality in the media has on their daughter.
3	3	"The Hippie"	Mark Scott and Charles Anthony	September 26, 1972 (1972-09-26)	63-3
Chet befriends a hippie musician, which drives his family crazy and prompts Ralph and his anti-Communist Army buddies to create a wall around the neighborhood to keep out all hippies, alleged Communists, subversives, and free-thinkers.
4	4	"The Beach Vacation"	Pamela Chais	October 3, 1972 (1972-10-03)	63-4
The Boyles rent a beach house, but things get complicated when Alice wants to wear a string bikini and Harry must decide whether or not to press charges against a nude sunbather who will not leave his property.
5	5	"Help Wanted"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	October 10, 1972 (1972-10-10)	63-5
Harry gets into trouble with special-interest groups when he fires his Jewish driver and must choose between hiring someone who is right for the job versus hiring someone in order to comply with the dictates of affirmative action and diversity.
6	6	"Love Story"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	October 17, 1972 (1972-10-17)	63-6
Alice shocks her family again by dating a homeless man named Norman, but when Harry and Irma find out that Norman has rich parents, they push Alice into staying with him.
7	7	"The Victim"	Mark Scott and Charles Anthony	October 24, 1972 (1972-10-24)	63-7
Harry gets mugged and beaten in the park by a young criminal. While Harry and Ralph want the young criminal to be locked away, Chet and Alice want Harry to go soft on his assailant since it is his first offense.
8	8	"Chet's Job"	Terry Ryan	October 31, 1972 (1972-10-31)	63-8
Harry gives his slacker son, Chet, an ultimatum: either find a job and pay rent or get out of the house. Chet decides to find a job — and ends up earning more than his father as a hardware-store grunt.
9	9	"Chet's Fiancee"	Mark Kammerman	November 7, 1972 (1972-11-07)	63-9
Chet dates a young, attractive decent young woman named Prudence and brings her home to meet Harry and Irma...and ends up shocking everyone when he tells Prudence that he does not want to marry her.
10	10	"The Mouse"	Bill Manhoff	November 14, 1972 (1972-11-14)	63-10
Jamie runs away from home after Harry tells him he cannot keep a mouse as a pet.
11	11	"Duty Calls"	Charles Isaacs	November 21, 1972 (1972-11-21)	63-11
Chet angers his parents when he tries to bail out of being enlisted in the Army.
12	12	"Expectant Papa"	William Raynor and Myles Wilder	November 28, 1972 (1972-11-28)	63-12
Irma worries that she may be pregnant again, which does not sit well with Chet and Alice, who feel the world is too overpopulated.
13	13	"The New Car"	Harriet Belkin and Norman Belkin	December 5, 1972 (1972-12-05)	63-13
The Boyles are tricked into buying a crummy car, and fight back against the man who sold it to them.
14	14	"The New House"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	December 12, 1972 (1972-12-12)	63-14
The Boyles consider moving into a bigger house, but Harry does not have the money for it.
15	15	"The Prowler"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	December 19, 1972 (1972-12-19)	63-15
Ralph starts a neighborhood vigilante group in order to fight back against a burglar who has been breaking into houses in the Boyles' neighborhood.
16	16	"Mama's Identity"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	December 26, 1972 (1972-12-26)	63-16
In an attempt to be more than just a housewife and mother, Irma takes a job as a secretary at a law firm, but struggles with sexual discrimination and competition from a younger, prettier coworker, while Harry and Ralph worry that women in the workplace will lead to men being treated like sex objects and second-class citizens.
17	17	"Papa the Patient"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	January 2, 1973 (1973-01-02)	63-17
Harry is sent to the hospital after suffering from stress-related stomachaches.
18	18	"The Swimming Pool"	Mark Scott and Charles Anthony	January 9, 1973 (1973-01-09)	63-18
Harry builds a swimming pool for his family, but the neighbors end up using it.
19	19	"Sweet Sixteen"	Fred S. Fox and Seaman Jacobs	January 16, 1973 (1973-01-16)	63-19
Irma wants Alice to have an extravagant 16th birthday party, but Harry is too cheap to do it.
20	20	"The Commune"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	January 23, 1973 (1973-01-23)	63-20
Alice runs away to a hippie commune to escape the stresses of school and home life.
21	21	"Music Tycoon"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	January 30, 1973 (1973-01-30)	63-21
Chet and his friends get famous as a hot, new garage band, but Chet soon learns that fame is fickle.
22	22	"Accidents Will Happen"	Stanley Ralph Ross	February 6, 1973 (1973-02-06)	63-22
Harry splits his pants after slipping in a restaurant. Everyone advises Harry to sue, but Harry just wants a new pair of pants.
23	23	"Papa in New York"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	February 13, 1973 (1973-02-13)	63-23
Harry goes to New York on business, and takes Ralph with him.
24	24	"The Neighbors"	Harvey Bullock and R.S. Allen	February 20, 1973 (1973-02-20)	63-24
Newlyweds Mona and George experience trouble in paradise when they fight over a new couch. The Boyles must get Mona and George back together when George moves in with the Boyles.

Season 2 (1973-74)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
25	1	"Bringing Up Jamie"	Charles Isaacs	September 11, 1973 (1973-09-11)	63-25
A child psychologist recommends that Jamie take up photography to deal with his aggression, but Jamie only ends up photographing his family at their worst.
26	2	"The Lady Detective"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	September 18, 1973 (1973-09-18)	63-26
An eccentric female detective (played by guest star Phyllis Diller) is hired to help Harry find out who stole from the company's payroll.
27	3	"Permissive Papa"	Dave Ketchum and Bruce Shelley	September 25, 1973 (1973-09-25)	63-27
Harry bars Alice from going to a concert and sets her up on a date with a nice man named Jay Jay, who turns out to be a pervert.
28	4	"Boyles on TV"	Arthur Julian	October 2, 1973 (1973-10-02)	63-28
The Boyles are invited to be interviewed on TV, but Harry thinks having the entire family on TV will ruin his reputation.
29	5	"My Wife, The Secretary"	Mark Scott and Charles Anthony	October 9, 1973 (1973-10-09)	63-29
Irma re-tries to find a job...and ends up working as Harry's secretary at his restaurant equipment store.
30	6	"Papa, the Housewife"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	October 16, 1973 (1973-10-16)	63-30
Harry takes Irma's place as a housewife...with disastrous results.
31	7	"Jamie's Project"	Perry Grant and Dick Bensfield	October 23, 1973 (1973-10-23)	63-31
Harry helps Jamie with a project for a school-wide competition.
32	8	"Don for the Defence"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	November 6, 1973 (1973-11-06)	63-32
Harry goes to court to contest a traffic violation—and ends up in deeper trouble when he hires an incompetent lawyer.
33	9	"Alice's Diet"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	November 13, 1973 (1973-11-13)	63-33
After being spurned by a crush at school, Alice goes to a beauty farm, and comes back slim and beautiful.
34	10	"Mama Loves Monty"	Mark Scott and Charles Anthony	November 20, 1973 (1973-11-20)	63-34
Irma signs herself and Harry to appear on a game show, but Harry misconstrues it as a sign that Irma is leaving him for game show host Monty Hall.
35	11	"Alice's Crush"	Charles Isaacs	November 27, 1973 (1973-11-27)	63-35
Alice has fallen in love; this time, her object of desire is one of her teachers.
36	12	"Papa's Big Check"	Sid Dorfman	December 4, 1973 (1973-12-04)	63-36
Harry gets a tax refund check for $940,000, but learns too late that the amount is a misprint.
37	13	"Mama's Charity"	R.B. Rigby	December 11, 1973 (1973-12-11)	63-37
Irma begins spending all of her time working for different charities.
38	14	"Chet's Pad"	Perry Grant and Dick Bensfield	December 18, 1973 (1973-12-18)	63-38
Chet finally moves out of the house and into his own place, but Harry keeps visiting Chet to parent him.
39	15	"Papa the Coach"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	December 25, 1973 (1973-12-25)	63-39
Harry is named the new coach of the high school basketball team, and must contend with the pushy parents of the players.
40	16	"Birdman Chet"	Skip Webster	January 1, 1974 (1974-01-01)	63-40
Chet gets a job at a pan factory, and suggests that the company change their image to help the endangered California condor.
41	17	"Back to Nature"	Roy Kammerman	January 8, 1974 (1974-01-08)	63-41
Harry takes his family on a camping trip to break them of their addiction to TV, but after a few days in the woods, Harry wants out.
42	18	"Alice's Freedom"	Perry Grant and Dick Bensfield	January 15, 1974 (1974-01-15)	63-42
Irma's mother visits and insists that Alice be allowed her freedom since she is a woman. Alice enjoys her freedom to do as she pleases, but soon realizes that there is a downside to too much freedom.
43	19	"The Beekeeper"	Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell	January 22, 1974 (1974-01-22)	63-43
The Boyles call an exterminator to get rid of the bees in their backyard, but the exterminator ends up being more of a pest than the actual bees.
44	20	"Maude Loves Papa"	Jack Elinson and Norman Paul	January 29, 1974 (1974-01-29)	63-44
While collecting back payment, Harry helps an old woman open a service station for motorcycles.

Season 3 (1974)

All four episodes of the third and final season were directed by Charles A. Nichols.

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
45	1	"Rich Little, Supersleuth"	Harveter Luschwitzey Bullock and R.S. Allen	September 17, 1974 (1974-09-17)	63-45
The bank next to Harry's store gets robbed.
46	2	"Model Alice"	Terry Ryan	September 24, 1974 (1974-09-24)	63-46
Harry objects when a painter asks Alice to pose nude.
47	3	"Marriage Counselor"	R.B. Rigby	October 1, 1974 (1974-10-01)	63-47
Harry and Irma's visit to a marriage counselor threatens to destroy their relationship rather than save it.
48	4	"Car 54"	Mark Scott and Charles Anthony	October 8, 1974 (1974-10-08)	63-48
Irma's brother-in-law (who works as a police officer) opens a kindergarten, which goes well, until a child goes missing.

Home media

On June 5, 2007, Warner Home Video released Season 1 of Wait Till Your Father Gets Home on DVD in Region 1 for the Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection. Warner Archive has yet to release season 2 and Season 3.

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home: The Complete First Season
Set details	Special features	Release dates
24 episodes 528 minutes 4-disc set 4:3 standard	Retrospective look at the classic show	Region 1 June 5, 2007

References

^ "Why Family Guy is the king of comedy". independent.
^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 306–307. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
^ "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home". TVGuide.com.
^ ^a ^b Iverson, Paul: "The Advent of the Laugh Track". Hofstra University archives; February 1994.
^ Erickson, Syndicated Television, McFarland, 1988

External links

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home at IMDb

[1] "Why Family Guy is the king of comedy". independent.

[Woolery-2] Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 306–307. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 22 March 2020.

[3] "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home". TVGuide.com.

[Iverson-4] Iverson, Paul: "The Advent of the Laugh Track". Hofstra University archives; February 1994.

[5] Erickson, Syndicated Television, McFarland, 1988

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