Joe & Valerie
| Joe & Valerie | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Bernie Kahn Ronald Rubin |
| Directed by | Bill Persky (1978) Bob Claver (1978–79) |
| Starring | Paul Regina Char Fontane Robert Costanzo Arlene Golonka |
| Music by | Jack Elliott, Allyn Ferguson (1978) Joe Raposo, Patti Brooks (1979) |
| Opening theme | Char Fontane, Randy Winburn (1978) Patti Brooks, Jean Raposo (1979) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 8 (1 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Linda Hope |
| Producers | Bernie Kahn (1978) Frank Badami (1979) |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Hope Enterprises |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | April 24 – May 10, 1978 January 5 – 19, 1979 |
Joe & Valerie is an American sitcom starring Paul Regina and Char Fontane as the title characters that aired on NBC in four half-hour segments from April 24 to May 10, 1978, and three half-hour segments from January 5 to January 19, 1979 (with one episode remaining unaired). The series was produced by Bob Hope's production company, Hope Enterprises, and his daughter, Linda, served as executive producer.
Synopsis
The series, set in Brooklyn, follows the romantic misadventures of a teenage couple – Joe Pizo, an apprentice plumber, and Valerie Sweetzer, a cosmetics salesgirl – who meet and fall in love at a New York City disco. Joe shares an apartment with his roommates Frank and Paulie (who call themselves "The Big Three") while Valerie lives at home with her divorced mother, Stella.
The series is divided into two parts: the first part (1978) depicts events in the lives of Joe and Valerie as they meet, fall in love and plan their future; the second part (1979) centers on the courtship, marriage and efforts of Joe and Valerie as they begin a married life together. The show was highly influenced by the disco craze of the late 1970s and the movie Saturday Night Fever specifically. [1]
Cast
- Paul Regina as Joe Pizo
- Char Fontane as Valerie Sweetzer
- Donna Ponterotto as Thelma Medina (Valerie's friend) (1978) / Rita (1979)
- David Elliott as Paulie Barone (Joe's friend, a hearse driver)
- Robert Costanzo as Vincent Pizo (Joe's widowed father, a plumber)
- Bill Beyers as Frank Berganski #1 (Joe's friend) (1978)
- Lloyd Alan as Frank Berganski #2 (Joe's friend) (1979)
- Pat Benson as Stella Sweetzer #1 (Valerie's divorced mother) (1978)
- Arlene Golonka as Stella Sweetzer #2 (Valerie's divorced mother) (1979)
- Jack Riley as Ed Sweetzer (Stella's ex-husband) (1979)
Episodes
Season 1 (1978)
| Nº | Title | Directed by | Written by | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Meeting" | Unknown | Bernie Kahn | April 24, 1978 | |
|
Joe and Valerie, two young teenagers from blue-collar families, meet at a New York disco and fall in love when Joe bets his roommates, Frank and Paulie, that he can take Valerie away from her dancing partner. | |||||
| 2 | "The Perfect Night" | Unknown | Howard Albrecht and Sol Weinstein | May 1, 1978 | |
|
Valerie arranges a disastrous date between Frank and her best friend Thelma and when she fixes up Paulie with a co-worker who gets married the night before the date, she must come up with a last minute substitute. | |||||
| 3 | "Valerie's Wild Oat" | Unknown | Unknown | May 3, 1978 | |
|
Joe and Valerie's romance hits a potential roadblock when Valerie finds out that her new boss at the department store is her ex-boyfriend Ernie (Marcus Smythe). | |||||
| 4 | "The Commitment" | Unknown | Unknown | May 10, 1978 | |
|
When Valerie's mother is unexpectedly called away for the weekend, Joe and Valerie face the prospect of spending their first night together; Joe's dilemma is that he loves Valerie too much to stay and he's afraid of what the guys will think if he doesn't. | |||||
Season 2 (1979)
| Nº | Title | Directed by | Written by | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | "The Engagement" | Bob Claver | Unknown | January 5, 1979 | |
|
Joe and Valerie break the news to their respective parents that they have decided to live together which causes an uproar and the subsequent search for a place to live through a rental service causes even more havoc. | |||||
| 6 | "The Wedding Guest" | Bob Claver | Unknown | January 12, 1979 | |
|
Joe and Valerie learn that a gangster's funeral is scheduled at the same time and in the same church as their wedding. | |||||
| 7 | "The Wedding" | Bob Claver | Unknown | January 19, 1979 | |
|
The newly-married Joe and Valerie take a flashback look at the hilarious events that occurred before their wedding: Vince insists that Valerie wear his wife's outdated wedding dress, Frank and Paulie feud over who will be the best man and Stella threatens to boycott the wedding if her ex-husband (Valerie's father) shows up. | |||||
| 8 | "Paulie's First Love" | Bob Claver | TBD | UNAIRED | |
References
- ^ Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials, Volume 2, retrieved August 17, 2015.