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Joey (TV series)

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Joey
File:Joey title card.jpg
Joey intertitle
Created byScott Silveri
Shana Goldberg Meehan
StarringMatt LeBlanc
Andrea Anders
Paulo Costanzo
Jennifer Coolidge
Miguel A. Núñez Jr. (season 2)
and Drea de Matteo
Opening theme"Sunny Hours" by Long Beach Dub Allstars (featuring will.i.am)
Country of originUSA
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes46 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time22 mins (approx)
Production companiesSilver & Gold Productions
Warner Bros. Television
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 9, 2004 –
March 7, 2006

Joey was an American sitcom, which starred Matt LeBlanc reprising his role as Joey Tribbiani from the sitcom Friends. It premiered on the NBC television network, on September 9, 2004, in the former time slot of its parent series, Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. Midway through the second season, the show was placed on a hiatus by NBC but returned on March 7, 2006 in a new timeslot of Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. One episode, "Joey and the Snowball Fight", was shown on a Tuesday at 8:30 p.m, but was pulled by NBC when it was overshadowed in ratings by American Idol. NBC cancelled the series in May 2006 and did not air the remaining episodes.

Repeats are currently aired in Norway on TV2, in Sweden on Kanal 5, in Portugal on Fox Life, in the Netherlands on Comedy Central and in the United Kingdom on Fiver.

Main characters

  • Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, who moves from New York to LA, to proceed with his acting career. He is constantly talking about food or eating sandwiches.
  • Paulo Costanzo as Joey's nephew Michael Tribbiani who idolizes his Uncle Joey's ability to date many women, and who himself is sheltered and nervous around girls. He is self-conscious that he has been so sheltered and that his mother Gina breast fed him until he was seven. He is a huge Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Wars fan. He is extremely intelligent, an aerospace engineer, attends Caltech and specializes in applied thermodynamics, works with his rival Seth frequently on engineering projects, and is an obvious direct opposite from his more street-wise mother and uncle. He turns to Joey as a big brother and substitute father figure, even after his biological father Jimmy re-enters mother Gina's love life. Michael plays a smaller role in the second season.
  • Drea de Matteo as Joey's attractive older sister Gina Tribbiani, who is temperamental and promiscuous. Not particularly bright but very street-wise, Gina is a caring but over-protective and domineering mother. For years she convinced her genius son Michael that he was born when she was 22 instead of 16 years old, and always says he is the one thing she has done really well. She and Joey are friends in addition to being siblings, both having the gift of being extremely appealing to the opposite sex, with numerous lovers. Initially working as hairdresser, by season two she works as a secretary for Joey's agent Bobbie, having impressed Bobbie with her brash manner. In season two she starts dating Michael's father Jimmy once again.
  • Andrea Anders as Alexis "Alex" Garrett, the next door neighbour, landlord and friend. She is an educated, but slightly ditsy, blonde lawyer who graduated from Pepperdine University. Initially intimidated, but also intrigued by Joey's tough street-wise older sister Gina, the two women eventually become friends, and she becomes more bold in the way she dresses and acts, thanks to Gina's influence. She is puzzled but impressed by Joey's gift at being able to know when she is wearing thong panties, and spends most of her time hanging out at Joey and Michael's apartment. She and Joey bond and become close friends. Her husband is a professional orchestra musician and is away from home most of the time, and she confides her problems with her marriage in Joey. At the end of season one, she and Joey become romantically involved during her separation from her husband. In season two she becomes romantically interested in Joey and has a crush on him for a long period. Gina tries to help her to get over Joey, but once she starts dating Joey's friend Dean, Joey soon realizes that he is also in love with Alex. Ironically the actors portraying Joey and Alex also fell for each other in real life.
  • Jennifer Coolidge as Joey's oversexed agent Roberta "Bobbie" Morganstern, and reportedly the twelfth most powerful woman in Hollywood. She has an enormous crush on Joey's nephew Michael. She often entertains herself by making her office assistant do funny tricks, or shocking herself with a stun-gun. She is brash, forward, aggressive, highly entertaining and slightly ditsy, laughing at everything and at anyone's expense, including her client Joey's. She was once sued by Phil Collins.
  • Miguel A. Núñez Jr. joined the cast at the start of season two as the character Zach Miller. He soon became one of Joey's best friends. Zach has an interesting career, going from playing extras on TV, to directing amateur plays. Zach does not appear to have a home; he was seen at one time living in Joey's trailer while working on a major blockbuster movie. In one episode, Zach and Joey, both drunk, married in Tijuana, possibly a parody of Ross and Rachel marrying each other in the season five finale of Friends. As a tribute to Joey and Chandler, Joey and Zach argued like a married couple, Zach playing the part of the wife. Zach's final appearance was in "Joey and the Big Move". Núñez was absent from the last five episodes, including the finale of the series, because he found another job. Zach's absence within the show was not mentioned, nor was the character at all.

Two cast members had previously appeared as different characters in Friends; Coolidge appeared as Amanda, an old friend of Monica and Phoebe, in a tenth season episode. Adam Goldberg appeared in Friends' second season in the recurring role of Eddie, who moves in with Chandler after Joey moves out. Additionally, Robert Costanzo reprised his role as Joey's father in "Joey and the Dad", a character originated in the first season of Friends. Costanzo was the only actor besides LeBlanc to play the same character in this series as in Friends (Gina appeared in a third season episode of Friends, but was not played by Drea de Matteo).

Development

The pilot episode was released in screener for test audiences and members of the entertainment industry to preview the show and drum up business. The screener was subsequently leaked on the Internet and thus has received a much wider critical review process than initially conceived.[1] There were few differences between the unaired pilot and the version that was aired. Ashley Scott played the role of Allison in the unaired pilot[2], she was replaced by Andrea Anders and the character name changed to Alex.

The series did well in the Nielsen Ratings in its first season (2004-2005) and was subsequently renewed for a second season (2005-2006). In the second season, Miguel A. Núñez Jr. was also added to the show as a series regular. Also, Jennifer Coolidge had a more prominent role.

The show was pulled from its Thursday-night timeslot in December 2005, and NBC returned the show in a new timeslot (Tuesdays at 8pm) on March 7, 2006. Despite being in competition with American Idol, the ratings were even higher; Joey was the highest rated prime time program of the week for NBC.[3] The network pulled the series after the first Tuesday airing and its cancellation was announced on May 15, 2006. The remaining episodes have never been aired by NBC, but have been shown on various other networks around the world.

The fifth and the thirteenth episodes were directed by David Schwimmer (who played Ross Geller on Friends).

Episodes

Season 1: 2004–2005

# Total Title Director Writer Original airdate
11"Pilot"Kevin S. BrightShana Goldberg-Meehan & Scott SilveriSeptember 8, 2004
22"Joey and the Student"Kevin S. BrightShana Goldberg-Meehan & Scott SilveriSeptember 16, 2004
33"Joey and the Party"Gail MancusoRobert CarlockSeptember 23, 2004
44"Joey and the Book Club"Andrew D. WeymanJohn QuaintanceSeptember 30, 2004
55"Joey and the Perfect Storm"David SchwimmerVanessa McCarthyOctober 7, 2004
66"Joey and the Nemesis"Kevin S. BrightSherry Bilsing-Graham & Ellen PlummerOctober 14, 2004
77"Joey and the Husband"Gail MancusoBrian KelleyOctober 21, 2004
88"Joey and the Dream Girl Part 1"Gary HalvorsonBrian BucknerNovember 4, 2004
99"Joey and the Dream Girl Part 2"Gary HalvorsonRobert CarlockNovember 11, 2004
1010"Joey and the Big Audition"Sheldon EppsJohn QuaintanceNovember 18, 2004
1111"Joey and the Road Trip"Kevin S. BrightVanessa McCarthyDecember 2, 2004
1212"Joey and the Plot Twist"Kevin S. BrightStory: John Pollack
Teleplay: Craig DeGregorio
December 9, 2004
1313"Joey and the Taste Test"David SchwimmerShana Goldberg-Meehan & Scott SilveriJanuary 6, 2005
1414"Joey and the Premiere"Kevin S. BrightMatt HubbardJanuary 13, 2005
1515"Joey and the Assistant"Andrew D. WeymanJohn Quintance & Brian KelleyJanuary 20, 2005
1616"Joey and the Tonight Show"Andrew D. WeymanDoty AbramsFebruary 3, 2005
1717"Joey and the Valentine's Date"Andrew D. WeymanStory: Brian Kelley
Teleplay: Robert Carlock
February 10, 2005
1818"Joey and the Wrong Name"Kevin S. BrightStory: Sherry Bilsing-Graham & Ellen Plummer
Teleplay: Matt Hubbard
February 17, 2005
1919"Joey and the Fancy Sister"Gary HalvorsonRobert Carlock & Brian BucknerFebruary 24, 2005
2020"Joey and the Neighbor"Gary HalvorsonStory: Nicholas Darrow
Teleplay: Vanessa McCarthy
March 24, 2005
2121"Joey and the Spying"Kevin S. BrightStory: Tracy Reilly
Teleplay: Brian Buckner
April 21, 2005
2222"Joey and the Temptation"Sheldon EppsStory: Craig DeGregorio
Teleplay: Sherry Bilsing-Graham & Ellen Plummer
May 5, 2005
2323"Joey and the Breakup"Andrew D. WeymanStory: John Quintance
Teleplay: Nicholas Darrow
May 12, 2005
2424"Joey and the Moving In"Kevin S. BrightShana Goldberg-Meehan & Scott SilveriMay 12, 2005

Season 2: 2005–2006

# Total Title Director Writer Original airdate
125"Joey and the Big Break Part 1"Kevin S. BrightScott SilveriSeptember 22, 2005
226"Joey and the Big Break Part 2"Kevin S. BrightRobert CarlockSeptember 22, 2005
327"Joey and the Spanking"Kevin S. BrightMichael BorkowSeptember 29, 2005
428"Joey and the Stuntman"Kevin S. BrightJohn QuaintanceOctober 6, 2005
529"Joey and the House"Ben WeissBrett Baer & Dave FinkelOctober 13, 2005
630"Joey and the ESL"Peter BonerzVanessa McCarthyOctober 20, 2005
731"Joey and the Poker"Kevin S. BrightMatt HubbardNovember 3, 2005
832"Joey and the Sex Tape"Kevin S. BrightLinda Videtti FigueiredoNovember 10, 2005
933"Joey and the Musical"Gary HalvorsonVanessa McCarthyNovember 17, 2005
1034"Joey and the Bachelor Thanksgiving"Kevin S. BrightJohn QuaintanceNovember 24, 2005
1135"Joey and the High School Friend"Sheldon EppsMichael BorkowDecember 8, 2005
1236"Joey and the Tijuana Trip"Gary HalvorsonRobert CarlockDecember 15, 2005
1337"Joey and the Christmas Party"Gary HalvorsonMatt Hubbard & Linda Videtti FigueiredoDecember 15, 2005
1438"Joey and the Snowball Fight"Gary HalvorsonTracy Reilly & Matt HubbardMarch 7, 2006
1539"Joey and the Dad"Kevin S. BrightRobert Carlock & John QuaintanceApril 18, 2006 (in Latin America)[4]
1640"Joey and the Party for Alex"Gil Cates Jr.Vanessa McCarthyMay 9, 2006 (in Latin America)[4]
1741"Joey and the Big Move"Gary HalvorsonJean YuMay 16, 2006 (in Latin America)[4]
1842"Joey and the Beard"Peter BonerzDan Holden & Linda Videtti FigueiredoMay 23, 2006 (in Latin America)[4]
1943"Joey and the Critic"Ben WeissMichael BorkowJune 6, 2006 (in Ireland)[4]
2044"Joey and the Actor's Studio"Kevin S. BrightJohn QuaintanceJune 28, 2006 (in Ireland)[4]
2145"Joey and the Holding Hands"Peter BonerzVanessa McCarthy & Robert CarlockMay 30, 2006 (in Latin America)[4]
2246"Joey and the Wedding"Kevin S. BrightAlison Flierl & John QuaintanceAugust 23, 2006 (in Latin America)[4]

Reception

Awards

Joey won the People's Choice Award of Favorite New Television Comedy and Matt LeBlanc won Favorite Male Television Star. LeBlanc was also nominated for the Golden Globe of Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical. Also, he won at the Kids' Choice Awards in 2003 and was praised by Jack Black in his movie memorandum.

Based on average total viewers per episode of Joey on NBC:[5][6]

Season Timeslot (EDT) Season premiere Season finale TV season Rank Viewers
[7]
18-49 rating/share
(rank)
Season high[7][8] Season low[7][8]
1 Thursday 8:00 P.M. (September 9, 2004 - May 12, 2005) September 9, 2004 May 12, 2005 2004-2005 #40 10.2 4.2/12 (#32) 18.6 7.5
2 Thursday 8:00 P.M. (September 22, 2005 - December 15, 2005)
Tuesday 8:30 P.M. (March 7, 2006)
September 22, 2005 March 7, 2006 2005-2006 #85 7.1 2.8/8 (#74) 8.4 4.1

Series information

DVD release

The Complete First Season was released on DVD on May 30, 2006 with all 24 episodes and French and Spanish subtitles. The Complete Second Season was released on April 29, 2008 in Canada (Region 1) and on September 10, 2008 in the Netherlands and September 11, 2008 in Portugal (both Region 2).[9] Both the United Kingdom and the United States are still waiting for a Second Season release. As is region 4.

DVD name Ep # Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
The Complete First Season 24 May 30, 2006 July 25, 2005 February 15, 2006
The Complete Second Season 22 April 29, 2008 TBA TBA

References

  1. ^ Digital Spy. "'Joey' pilot leaked onto net". Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  2. ^ News Bank (June 12, 2004). "`JOEY' GETS CASTING CHANGE". Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  3. ^ tvweek.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h TV EFFE (September 3, 2008). "Original airdate episode 15–22 season 2". Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  5. ^ Hollywood Reporter (May 27, 2005). "2004-05 Primetime Wrapup". Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  6. ^ Hollywood Reporter (May 26, 2006). "2005-06 Primetime Wrapup". Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  7. ^ a b c Amount In Millions
  8. ^ a b For an Original Episode
  9. ^ TV Guide (February 13, 2008). "Street Date Moves Closer for Joey - Season 2". Retrieved 2008-02-15.