Mr. President (TV series)
| Mr. President | |
|---|---|
| Carlin Glynn and George C. Scott | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Ed. Weinberger Johnny Carson |
| Written by | David Lloyd Johnny Carson Gene Reynolds Ed. Weinberger |
| Directed by | Marc Daniels |
| Starring | George C. Scott |
| Theme music composer | Patrick Williams |
| Composer | Bill Maxwell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Gene Reynolds |
| Running time | 30 min. |
| Production company | Carson Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox |
| Release | May 3, 1987 (1987年5月3日) – February 13, 1988 (1988年2月13日) |
Mr. President is an American sitcom created by Johnny Carson's company, Carson Productions, that starred George C. Scott and premiered on May 3, 1987. It was part of the Fox Broadcasting Company's premiere season of prime time entertainment, alongside Married... with Children , The Tracey Ullman Show , and Duet .[1]
Plot
[edit ]The series centered around newly elected President Samuel Arthur Tresch, the former governor of Wisconsin. Others in the cast were Meg Tresch, Samuel's wife, who left him at the start of the second season, and Samuel's children, 16-year-old Cynthia and 12-year-old Nick. Charlie Ross was the Chief of Staff.
The show takes place in the near future relative to its airing: it is mentioned in the episode "Freedom of Speech" that Tresch won the 1988 United States presidential election and a newspaper headline in "Strange Bedfellows" indicates that the events of that episode take place around October 8, 1990. It is implied in "Loisgate" that Meg and Samuel separated in April 1991.
Cast
[edit ]- George C. Scott ... President Samuel Arthur Tresch
- Conrad Bain ... Charlie Ross, the President's Chief of Staff
- Carlin Glynn ... First Lady Meg Tresch; she leaves the President at the beginning of the second season
- Maddie Corman ... Cynthia Tresch, the President's youngest daughter
- Susan Wheeler Duff ... Jennifer, the President's eldest daughter (married)
- Andre Gower ... Nick Tresch, the President's son
- Madeline Kahn ... Lois Gullickson, the President's sister-in-law; after the President's wife leaves him, she moves into the White House to help care for the children
- Earl Boen ... Dave
- Allen Williams ... Daniel Cummings
Production
[edit ]In the summer of 1986, Johnny Carson went to the residence of George C. Scott to propose starring in a half-hour sitcom involving the day-to-day life of a man who "just happened to be the President of the United States", complete with 13 episodes as a premiere show for the upstart Fox Broadcasting Company, which had started in April. Scott found it an alluring challenge and chance to make a show better than the status quo type of programming. The result was a show that saw Scott butt heads with the attempts to emphasize gags and topical humor to go with shtick despite taking the time out of his Connecticut home to go to the West Coast (complete with a request for a motor home near the shooting stage) to volunteer services for story conferences. Scott came up with an idea for an episode where his character must appoint a Vice President and he picks a highly qualified black woman that sees repercussions ensue. However, the concept was rejected despite Scott paying a writer for a first draft, with Scott quoting the executive producer as saying, "I don't know how to do a story like that." In the buildup to the premiere, Carson described it as "not a situation comedy...I would call it more of a drama – with humor and with comedy and all the other emotions people have within a family", while Scott cited the talent alongside the chance to ensure his retirement with money.[2]
The show was cancelled in the winter of 1987. Scott, describing the working situation as "positively Byzantine", wrote an article to the Los Angeles Times relating his experience with the show within a sardonic conversation between himself and his conscience (named Sam Tresch) after he had dealt with an acute myocardial infarction in January 1988; he stated that the show had managed to succeed only in "trivializing the presidency."[3]
Episode list
[edit ]Season 1 (1987)
[edit ]| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Unknown | Unknown | May 3, 1987 (1987年5月3日) |
| 2 | 2 | "The Magnetic Presidency" | Unknown | Unknown | May 10, 1987 (1987年5月10日) |
| 3 | 3 | "Cabin Fever" | Unknown | Unknown | May 17, 1987 (1987年5月17日) |
| 4 | 4 | "Freedom of Speech" | Unknown | Unknown | May 31, 1987 (1987年5月31日) |
| 5 | 5 | "Meet the People" | Unknown | Unknown | June 7, 1987 (1987年6月7日) |
| 6 | 6 | "Private Moments" | Unknown | Unknown | June 21, 1987 (1987年6月21日) |
| 7 | 7 | "The First Son-in-Law" | Unknown | Unknown | June 28, 1987 (1987年6月28日) |
| 8 | 8 | "Uncle Sam" | Burt Brinckerhoff | Bruce Feirstein | July 12, 1987 (1987年7月12日) |
| 9 | 9 | "Strange Bedfellows" | Unknown | Unknown | July 19, 1987 (1987年7月19日) |
| 10 | 10 | "Love's Labor Last" | Unknown | Unknown | July 26, 1987 (1987年7月26日) |
Season 2 (1987–1988)
[edit ]| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Dear Sam: Part 1" | Greg Antonacci | Peter Noah | September 27, 1987 (1987年9月27日) |
| 12 | 2 | "Dear Sam: Part 2" | Greg Antonacci | Peter Noah | October 4, 1987 (1987年10月4日) |
| 13 | 3 | "Armageddon Kinda Sore" | Marc Daniels | David Cohen & Roger S.H. Schulman | October 11, 1987 (1987年10月11日) |
| 14 | 4 | "He'll Have to Go" | Unknown | Sybil Adelman & Martin Sage | October 18, 1987 (1987年10月18日) |
| 15 | 5 | "The Language Barrier" | Marc Daniels | David Lloyd | October 24, 1987 (1987年10月24日) |
| 16 | 6 | "Loisgate" | Unknown | Unknown | October 31, 1987 (1987年10月31日) |
| 17 | 7 | "Yes, Mr. President" | Marc Daniels | Christian Williams | November 7, 1987 (1987年11月7日) |
| 18 | 8 | "Lois Gets Lucky" | Unknown | Sybil Adelman & Martin Sage | November 14, 1987 (1987年11月14日) |
| 19 | 9 | "The President's Brother" | Unknown | Unknown | November 21, 1987 (1987年11月21日) |
| 20 | 10 | "The Christmas Story" | Unknown | Unknown | December 26, 1987 (1987年12月26日) |
| 21 | 11 | "Insecurity" | Unknown | Unknown | January 2, 1988 (1988年1月2日) |
| 22 | 12 | "A Royal Send Off" | Unknown | Sybil Adelman & Martin Sage | January 16, 1988 (1988年1月16日) |
| 23 | 13 | "All About Jean" | Unknown | Unknown | February 6, 1988 (1988年2月6日) |
| 24 | 14 | "Get a Job" | Unknown | Unknown | February 13, 1988 (1988年2月13日) |
References
[edit ]- ^ Keith Olbermann (April 5, 2007). Countdown with Keith Olbermann (2007年04月05日) (Television). MSNBC.
- ^ "CARSON'S 'MR. PRESIDENT' STARS GEORGE C. SCOTT". Sun Sentinel. May 1, 1987. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ Scott, George C. (April 3, 1988). "The Casual Assassination of 'Mr. President'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
External links
[edit ]- 1987 American television series debuts
- 1988 American television series endings
- 1980s American sitcoms
- 1980s American political comedy television series
- Television shows set in Washington, D.C.
- Television series by Universal Television
- Television series by Carson Productions
- Television series created by Ed. Weinberger
- Fox Broadcasting Company sitcoms