Silver Spoons
Silver Spoons | |
---|---|
Created by | Howard Leeds Ben Starr Martin Cohan |
Developed by | David W. Duclon Ron Leavitt Michael G. Moye |
Starring | Rick Schroder Erin Gray Leonard Lightfoot Franklyn Seales Alfonso Ribeiro Joel Higgins |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 116 |
Production | |
Executive producers | David W. Duclon (1982–1984) Robert Illes & James Stein (1984–1985) Steve Pritzker (1985–1986) George Burditt (1986–1987) |
Running time | approx. 0:23 (per episode) |
Original release | |
Network | NBC (1982-1986) Syndicated (1986-1987) |
Release | September 25, 1982 – March 4, 1987 |
Silver Spoons was an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982 to May 11, 1986 and in first-run syndication from September 15, 1986 to March 4, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the first four seasons, until Columbia Pictures Television (now Sony Pictures Television) took production of the series with the move to syndication.
About the show
The title of the show is based on the expression that rich children are born with a proverbial silver spoon in their mouth, implying that they are given only the very best and work for nothing. Despite the premise of the show, the goal of the show was to disprove this notion. The term silver spoon(s) is also an expression for family wealth. Silver spoons, because of their weight and number, are often one of the most valuable parts of a rich household's effects, a traditional target for burglars.
In the pilot episode, Rick Stratton (Rick Schroder) arrives at the mansion of the father he has never met to introduce himself, move in and get to know him better. Edward Stratton III (played by Joel Higgins) epitomized the phrase "overgrown child," having never taken responsibility for anything in his whole life including his toy business named Eddie Toys, which showed in the pilot as he tried to take his mind off the fact his business associate embezzled some of his money. The elder Stratton thinks that his son is too uptight and needs to get out and have fun while he's still young. Edward's father is played by John Houseman in a recurring role as the thoughtful, well-to-do patriarch and industrialist whose demeanor starkly contrasts with Edward's and seems more similar to Ricky's (at first).
Ricky's mother Evelyn Bluedhorn (with whom Edward had a romantic relationship which led to a marriage that lasted one week, played recurringly by Christine Belford) placed him in a military boarding school after she remarried, thinking Ricky would be in the way. Needless to say, Edward was surprised to find that his short-lived marriage to Evelyn had produced a son. After originally sending Ricky back to boarding school, Edward changes his mind and decides to surprise his son by dressing up as a swamp monster to tell Ricky that he would let him live with him at the mansion.
The series centers on Ricky and his single father Edward. As an overgrown kid who owns a multinational toy company empire, Edward's mansion is stocked with arcade video games (including Tempest) and has a scale model freight train that runs throughout the house. Edward exhibits his childishness and playfulness in many behaviors; for example, he performs a little dance before playing Pac-Man when the video game plays its theme song. Stratton's personal assistant, Kate Summers (played by Erin Gray), was often the voice of reason. Kate's role added tension to the show and provided incentive for Edward to act more mature (at least sometimes). Edward and Kate had a will-they-or-won't-they relationship which led to the two dating and later becoming married in the third season.
During the early years of the series, Ricky meets Derek Taylor (Jason Bateman, appearing 1982-83) and Freddy Lippencottleman (Corky Pigeon, appearing from 1982-85) . They get into a lot of trouble and learn all the childhood lessons along the way. Ricky also tries to teach his father Edward to grow up and be an upstanding adult, while Edward taught Ricky to be a kid and have fun. In the third season, Ricky develops a friendship with Alfonso Spears (Alfonso Ribeiro), the nephew of Edward's stuffy accountant Dexter Stuffins (Franklyn Seales).
Guest stars that have appeared on the show included Whitney Houston, Joey Lawrence, Matthew Perry, Mr. T, Menudo, Gary Coleman (in a crossover from Diff'rent Strokes as Arnold Jackson) and most notably John Houseman, and Ray Walston. Baseball Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda appeared at the end of one episode.
Episode Guide
There are 116 Episodes from Seasons 1-5
Season 1
- Pilot
- Boys Will Be Boys
- Grandfather Stratton
- Me & Mr. T
- Takin' a Chance on Love
- Evelyn Returns
- The Great Computer Caper
- I'm Just Wild About Harry
- Honor Thy Father
- Father Nature
- A Little Magic
- Falling in Love Again
- The Best Christmas Ever
- The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
- Twelve Angry Kids
- The Toy Wonder
- Popcorn
- Junior Businessman
- Three's a Crowd
- The Empire Strikes Out
- Won't You Go Home, Bob Danish?
- The 'X' Team
Season 2
- Passports to Pleasure
- Attack of the Giant Frog People
- A Fair to Remember
- The Hospital
- Mr. President
- Driver Ed
- Menudo Madness
- Happy Birthday
- Sounds of Silence
- Rick the Greek
- Uneasy Rider
- The World's Greatest Father
- I Want to Be Alone
- Mr. Cool
- St. Louis Blues
- A Hunting We Will Go
- Changes
- A Summer's Romance (1)
- A Summer's Romance (2)
- Spare the Rod
- Blazing Hotel Rooms
- Hi, Mom
Season 3
- Best Friends
- Survival of the Fittest
- Growing Pains (1)
- Growing Pains (2)
- A Dark and Stormy Night
- I Won't Dance
- Voyage of the Darned (1)
- Voyage of the Darned (2)
- The Call of the Wild
- Beauties and the Beasts
- Twas the Night Before Christmas
- Lulu's Back in Town
- The Trouble with Grandfather
- Special Friend
- What's Cookin'?
- Marry Me, Marry Me (1)
- Marry Me, Marry Me (2)
- Rick and the Legend
- Trouble with Words
- Hot Shot
- Return of the Paisley Conspiracy
- All the Principal's Men
- The Secret Life of Ricky Stratton
- The Babysitters
Season 4
- Mrs. Stratton Builds Her Dreamhouse
- Poor Evelyn
- Promises, Promises
- The Great Baseball Card Scheme
- The Trouble with Harry (a.k.a. The Trouble with Uncle Harry)
- One Strike and You're Out
- Race with Eagles
- A Magnificent Obsession
- Judgment Day
- The Barbarians
- Three Musketeers
- Second Class Parent
- The Lady Is a Tramp
- Stratton and Stratton
- Daddy Rick
- One for the Road (1)
- One for the Road (2)
- Movie Madness
- Rick Sings
- The Way We Weren't
- A Family Affair
- Rick at 16
- Second Best
Season 5
- Who's the Boss?
- Lost and Found
- The Live-In
- Rick Sells His Sole
- The Beach House
- Rick Moves Out
- Man to Man
- Hey, Mrs. Robinson
- Rick's Learning Problem
- The Triangle
- Kate Lassos a Longhorn
- Get the Hook
- Rumors are Flying
- The House Guest
- Band on the Run
- Author, Author
- Mother's Day
- Fallen Idol
- Baby Blues
- Thoroughly Modern Mildred
- Mon Amour
- Educating Rick
- Edward's Big Adventure
- Let It Snow, Let It Snow
Cast
- Ricky Schroder as Ricky "Rick" Stratton
- Joel Higgins as Edward Stratton III
- Erin Gray as Kate Summers Stratton
- Leonard Lightfoot as Leonard Rollins (1982-1983)
- Franklyn Seales as Dexter Stuffins
- Jason Bateman as Derek Taylor (1982-1984)
- Corky Pigeon as Freddy Lippincottleman (1983-1985)
- Alfonso Ribeiro as Alfoso Spears (1984-1987)
- Bobby Fite as J.T Martin (1983-1984)
- John Houseman as Grandfather Edward Stratton II
- Ray Wilson as Uncle Harry Summers (1985)
- Billy Jacoby as Brad (1985-1986)
- Christine Belford as Evelyn Bluedhorn Stratton (1983-1986)
Notable Guests:
- Lyle Alzado as unknown (episode: The Call of the Wild)
- Christina Applegate as Ricky's date (episode: A Family Affair)
- Evan Arnold as Stan (episode: Second Class Parent)
- Pearl Bailey as Lulu (episodes: Lulu's Back in Town; What's Cookin?)
- Maurice Bernard as unknown (episode: Baby Blues)
- Elizabeth Berkley as Melissa (episode: Rick Moves Out)
- Barbara Billingsley as Rick's teacher (1985)
- Earl Boen as Freddy's Father
- Gary Colemanas Arnold Jackson (episode: The Great Computer Caper)
- Fran Drescher as Kate's maid of honor (episode: Marry Me, Marry Me - Part 2)
- Erika Eleniak as Stephanie (episode: Rumors are Flying)
- Andrea Elsonasas Kimberly
- David Horowitz as himself (episode: Hot Shot)
- Whitney Houston as herself (episode: Head Over Heels)
- Bruce Jenner as episode: Trouble with Words)
- Joey Lawrence as himself (episode: The Best Christmas Ever)
- Ryan Lambert as himself
- Jonna Lee as Leslie (episode: The Triangle) / Martika (episode: Band on the Run)
- Shalane McCall as unknown
- Ed McMahon as himself
- Menudo as themselves (episode: Menudo Madness)
- John P. Navin Jr as Ox (episode: Me and Mr. T and Twelve Angry Kids)
- Thomas "Tip" O'Neill as himself (episode: Three Musketeers)
- Meeno Peluce as (friend of Ricky who was abused by his father)
- Sydney Penny as Billie
- Matthew Perry as Davey (episode: Rick Moves Out)
- Amanda Peterson as Rick's new girlfriend
- Robert Picardo (pilot episode)
- Line Renaud as unknown (episode: Pardon My French)
- Adam Rich as Scott (episode: Rick Moves Out)
- Susan Rinell as Holly
- Misty Rowe as Grandfather's gal (episode: Trouble With Grandfather)
- Michael Saucedo as unknown
- Allison Smith as Barbara Webster (episode: The Toy Wonder)
- Rob Stone as Frankie (episode: Rick Moves Out)
- Sharon Stone as Debbie (episode: A Little Magic)
- Mr. T as himself / Rick's bodyguard (episode: Me and Mr. T)
- Byron Thames as Randy (episode: Survival of the Fittest)
- Tracy Wells as Corliss (episode: Beauties and the Beasts)
Trivia
Erin Gray, who played Kate Summers on the television series, frequently attends conventions across the country including the Mid atlantic nostalgia convention and Chiller Theater.
The series has not been in regular syndication since the mid-1990s, except for a few airings of select episodes on Nick at Nite in 2001 and 2005.
The Sony Pictures Television program library (including Silver Spoons) had been acquired by ION in August 2006. No date has been announced when Silver Spoons will air. The show is also available on Comcast digital cable's On Demand service as of September 19, 2006.
Theme song
The show's theme song titled "Together" was written by Rik Howard and Bob Wirth. The original version was accompanied mostly by guitar. Two other versions of the theme were used during the show's run. A synthesized version was used in 1985 when all other Embassy Television series (The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes included) modified their opening credits. The third version of the theme, a rock version, was introduced in 1986 when the show moved to first-run syndication.
Issues addressed
While largely a comedy, Silver Spoons commonly addressed certain issues that affect people using the "very special episode" format.
- In a Season One episode, Ricky suspects that a girl he's babysitting was kidnapped by her mother. Many missing children cases have involved children being kidnapped by one of their parents or relatives.
- In an episode from Season Three, Alfonso is doing poorly in school, and a teacher (played by Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner) helps him by discovering that Alfonso has dyslexia, a condition which causes the mind to retain information differently, and letters are seen in a different way, usually backwards.
- Rick attends a party and is pressured into drinking by his friend. He later finds out that his friend has a drinking problem and tries to get him help.
- The issue of school bullies was touched upon in an episode in which Rick is being picked on by a bully and Edward decides to hire a bodyguard for Rick (played by Mr. T).
- Homelessness was addressed in an episode when Ricky discovered a family living in a cave on his father's estate.
- Teen pregnancy was also a subject in an episode where Rick is paired with a girl in a mock marriage project at school and finds out his partner is pregnant, both in the mock marriage project and in real life.
- In the season two episode "Spare the Rod," Rick discovers that his friend is being beaten by his father. The end of the episode reveals that the father is also a child abuse victim.
DVD releases
On June 19, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will be releasing the first season of Silver Spoons on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. [1]
Cover Art | DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
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File:Silver Spoons S1.jpg | The Complete First Season | 22 | June 19 2007 |