Jennifer Slept Here

*Jennifer Slept Here*
Jennifer Slept Here
Genre	Fantasy sitcom
Created by	Larry Rosen; Larry Tucker
Written by	Nick Arnold; Larry Balmagia; Tom Chehak; Bruce Ferber; Terry Hart; David Lerner; Rick Mittleman; Larry Rosen; Larry Spencer; Larry Tucker; Jurgen Wolff
Directed by	John Bowab; Charles S. Dubin
Starring	Ann Jillian; John P. Navin Jr.; Georgia Engel; Brandon Maggart; Mya Stark; Glenn Scarpelli
Theme music composer	Clint Holmes; Ann Jillian; Joey Murcia; Bill Payne
Opening theme	"Jennifer Slept Here" performed by Joey Scarbury
Composer	Perry Botkin, Jr.
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producers	Larry Rosen; Larry Tucker
Producers	Douglas Arango; Phil Doran
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Larry Larry Productions; Columbia Pictures Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	October 21, 1983 –; September 5, 1984

Jennifer Slept Here is an American fantasy sitcom television series that ran for one season on NBC from October 21, 1983, to September 5, 1984. The series was a Larry Larry production in association with Columbia Pictures Television.

Overview

In the series, Ann Jillian plays Jennifer Farrell: a once-popular movie actress who in 1963 made the unfortunate mistake of chasing an ice cream truck near her Los Angeles, California home. When the ice cream truck accidentally backed up, it ran her over, killing her. About twenty years later, the Elliot family moved from New York City into Jennifer's home. In the series, this story conflicts with the assertion that her death occurred "six years ago". Father George was a lawyer who had handled Jennifer's posthumous affairs, including the house. George's wife, Susan, was a concerned and understanding figure. Daughter Marilyn was a typical 8-year-old.

The driving story behind the series was that Jennifer haunted the Elliot house—ostensibly to mentor and befriend the family's teenage son, Joey, who was the only person to whom she made herself visible. During the series, however, she does make herself visible in at least one episode. Naturally, Joey had a hard time convincing his family and friends of Jennifer's ghostly existence. They not only refused to believe Joey's claim, but often concluded Joey needed psychiatric or other help. In one episode, they hired a phony exorcist (played by Zelda Rubinstein in a parody of her Poltergeist character Tangina Barrons) to rid the house of Jennifer's spirit by capturing it in a jar.

Cast

Ann Jillian as Jennifer Farrell
John P. Navin Jr. as Joseph "Joey" Elliot
Georgia Engel as Susan Elliot
Brandon Maggart as George Elliot
Mya Akerling as Marilyn Elliot
Glenn Scarpelli as Marc

Theme song

The series theme song, also titled "Jennifer Slept Here", was written by Joey Murcia, Bill Payne, Clint Holmes, and series star Ann Jillian, and was performed by recording artist Joey Scarbury.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Pilot"	Charles S. Dubin	Larry Rosen, Larry Tucker	October 21, 1983 (1983-10-21)
With the Elliotts settling into her home, the recently deceased actress Jennifer Farrell appears to Joey for the first time, and later talks him out of a return trip to New York City to see a girl he had a crush on before relocating to California.
2	"Jennifer: The Movie"	John Bowab	Jurgen Wolff	October 28, 1983 (1983-10-28)
A planned biopic on her life leaves Jennifer furious: A rival actress she despised when she was alive will play her, and a key scene (to be filmed at her home) is altered for tawdry effect.
3	"Not with My Date You Don't"	John Bowab	Bruce Ferber, David Lerner	November 4, 1983 (1983-11-04)
A new girl stands in the way of Joey and Marc... and a pair of concert tickets that the girl actually wants.
4	"Boo"	John Bowab	Larry Balmagia	November 11, 1983 (1983-11-11)
The ghost of Jennifer's mother (Debbie Reynolds) pays her daughter a visit but goes missing after the two have a falling out over the influence the mother had on her daughter's career; to help contact her in a seance, Jennifer agrees to assist Joey in impressing a pair of twin girls.
5	"Calendar Girl"	John Bowab	Nick Arnold	November 18, 1983 (1983-11-18)
Monty Hall has a cameo in an episode that finds Joey discovering a box of Jennifer's unclaimed items — which includes a nude photo she posed for early in her career; when George discovers it and plans to sell it off at an auction for her estate, Jennifer asks Joey to retrieve it.
6	"One of Our Jars Is Missing"	Charles S. Dubin	Tom Chehak	November 25, 1983 (1983-11-25)
After seeing their son "talking to a lamp", George and Susan hire a phony expert on poltergeists (played by Zelda Rubinstein, who played a similar role in the film Poltergeist) to rid the house of Jennifer... and to Joey's shock, it works! Now, Joey and Jennifer must convince her to restore Jennifer's power before a letter that Joey accidentally wrote is mailed off.
7	"Trading Faces"	John Bowab	Larry Spencer	December 2, 1983 (1983-12-02)
Jennifer discovers that she has the ability to enter other people's bodies, so she uses Susan's so she can rekindle a former mortal flame.
8	"Rebel with a Cause"	John Bowab	Rick Mittleman	December 16, 1983 (1983-12-16)
With Jennifer's help, Joey is able to take care of a bully... and in the process acquire his entire lifestyle.
9	"Risky Weekend"	John Bowab	Tom Chehak, Larry Spencer	April 14, 1984 (1984-04-14)
With the rest of the family away, Joey keeps an eye on the house, but a sailboat moored in the backyard crashes into the dining room; to help pay for repairs, he agrees to let the repairman use the house for a bingo game... that is, until Joey and Jennifer discover that it's really a gambling operation.
10	"Do You Take This Ghost?"	Alan Myerson	Douglas Arango, Phil Doran	April 21, 1984 (1984-04-21)
Jennifer's former playboy boyfriend, who is also a ghost, wants to revive the relationship they had when they were alive. Eve McVeagh made a guest appearance.
11	"Life with Grandfather"	John Bowab	Terry Hart, Ken Kuta	April 28, 1984 (1984-04-28)
George's father pays a visit, but when he dies unexpectedly, the Elliotts finally have kind things to say about him that they never told him when he was alive.
12	"The Tutor Who Came to Dinner"	John Bowab	Terry Hart	May 5, 1984 (1984-05-05)
When a new tutor appears to help Joey, Jennifer becomes jealous of her... and for good reason, as the tutor (played by Gail Edwards, Ann Jillian's castmate from It's a Living) is actually Jennifer's spiritual replacement.
13	"Take Jennifer, Please"	Charles S. Dubin	Larry Rosen, Larry Tucker	May 12, 1984 (1984-05-12)
Fed up with having his father not believing that he can see Jennifer, Joey must find a way to convince him otherwise, even if it means having Jennifer prove her presence before the entire family. So, Jennifer tells Joey that she'll help him if Joey can produce the real will she wrote, which is located in George's office safe (unbeknownst to George).

Reception

Critical response

Although the show had mixed reviews and a tough Friday night time-slot (its competition was The Dukes of Hazzard on CBS and Webster on ABC), it attracted somewhat decent ratings. Repeats which were shown on Wednesday nights during the summer of 1984 often managed to make the Top 30, but that was not enough to guarantee a second season. Tom Ensign of The Toledo Blade, reviewing Jennifer Slept Here, stated that the show "isn't funny, it isn't witty and it doesn't stand the ghost of a chance".^[1] Baird Searles dismissed the series as "a shameless re-echo of Topper".^[2]

Ratings

Season	Episodes	Start Date	End Date	Nielsen Rank	Nielsen Rating^[3]
1983–84	13	October 21, 1983	May 12, 1984	89	10.3

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
1984	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Technical Direction/Camerawork/Video for a Series	For episode "Life with Grandfather"	Nominated
1984	Young Artist Awards	Best New Television Series	Jennifer Slept Here	Nominated
		Best Young Actor in a New Television Series	John P. Navin, Jr.	Won
		Best Young Actor in a New Television Series	Glenn Scarpelli	Nominated

References

^ "Two New Fantasy TV Shows Make Unimaginative Debuts". The Toledo Blade. November 4, 1983. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
^ "Films", F&SF, March 1984, p. 76.
^ "1983-84 Ratings History -- The Networks Are Awash in a Bubble Bath of Soaps". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

External links

[1] "Two New Fantasy TV Shows Make Unimaginative Debuts". The Toledo Blade. November 4, 1983. Retrieved October 22, 2014.

[2] "Films", F&SF, March 1984, p. 76.

[RATINGS1-3] "1983-84 Ratings History -- The Networks Are Awash in a Bubble Bath of Soaps". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

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