Homeroom | |
---|---|
Genre | Sitcom |
Created by |
Andrew Scheinman Gary Gilbert |
Directed by |
Linda Day Arlando Smith |
Starring | Darryl Sivad Penny Johnson Bill Cobbs |
Opening theme | "Love Each Other (The Solution)" performed by the Dimples |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 13 (3 unaired) ( list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Topper Carew |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production companies | Giggling Goose Productions Castle Rock Entertainment |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | September 16 December 17, 1989 | –
Homeroom is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 16 to December 17, 1989. The series stars stand-up comedian Darryl Sivad as a fourth grade teacher at an inner-city school. ABC executives created the show as a vehicle for Sivad after seeing his routine on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. [1]
The series follows Darryl Harper (Sivad), a highly paid advertising copywriter who decides to quit his job to teach underprivileged kids at P.S. 391, an inner city school in New York City. Darryl's wife Virginia ( Penny Johnson) supports his choice but Virginia's father, Phil Drexler ( Bill Cobbs) does not. Phil frequently voices his disapproval to Darryl that he feels is his right as Darryl and Virginia live rent-free in the brownstone Phil owns and also lives in. [2]
Homeroom premiered on ABC on September 16, 1989, to mixed reviews. [3] The series was scheduled on Sunday nights opposite CBS's hit series Murder, She Wrote and NBC's My Two Dads. As a result, Homeroom struggled in the ratings and faced cancellation. [4] In an effort to save the series, the cast and producers asked viewers to start a letter writing campaign. Executive producer Topper Carew went on a cross-country promotional tour to schools where he showed the series to students and teachers and held a Q&A session afterwards. [5] Carew also mailed letters and contacted African-American organizations and activists asking them to watch the show and to talk about it. [4] Despite the cast and producers' efforts, ABC canceled the series in December 1989. [6] Three of the thirteen episodes produced were never aired.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Pilot" | Art Wolff | Gary Gilbert & Andrew Scheinman | September 16, 1989 | |
The kids cheat at a big math test. | |||||
2 | "The Lookin' for West Coast Travelin' 'Long the Missouri River Blues" | Linda Day | David X. Cohen & Roger S. H. Schulman | September 24, 1989 | |
Donald takes piano lessons. Anthony gets dumped by his girlfriend. | |||||
3 | "Food for Thought" | Arlando Smith | Marc Cherry & Jamie Wooten | October 1, 1989 | |
The manager for the cafeteria gets tired of Donald's misbehavior. | |||||
4 | "It's Not Easy Bein' Green" | Linda Day | Marc Cherry & Jamie Wooten | October 8, 1989 | |
A tree is left in Devon's care, but the tree dies because of lack of water. Virginia tries to help Phil with his high blood pressure. | |||||
5 | "Dirty Laundry" | Linda Day | Trish Soodik | October 22, 1989 | |
Lisa and Devon run for class president. | |||||
6 | "Who Is Captain Fitness?" | Linda Day | Marc Cherry & Jamie Wooten | November 5, 1989 | |
Sam's hero, Captain Fitness, dies during a classroom workout. | |||||
7 | "Dinner at Fiveish" | Linda Day | Trish Soodik | November 19, 1989 | |
Phil goes out with a colleague of Darryl. | |||||
8 | "The Commercial Break" | Unknown | David Cohen & Roger S.H. Schulman | December 3, 1989 | |
Anthony directs his first commercial. The kids find out that Darryl was once a practical joker. | |||||
9 | "Mr. Drexler's Neighborhood" | Linda Day | Paul B. Price & Stephen Nathan | December 10, 1989 | |
Phil tries to teach the kids in Darryl's class about the streets in the neighborhood. | |||||
10 | "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, Sister" | Arlando Smith | Trish Soodik | December 17, 1989 | |
Darryl lets Lisa direct a school play based on her contest-winning script. | |||||
11 | "Who'll Be My Role Model Now That My Role Model Is Gone?" | Tony Singletary | David Cohen & Roger S.H. Schulman | UNAIRED | |
12 | "The Visitor" | Linda Day | David Cohen & Roger S.H. Schulman | UNAIRED | |
13 | "The Mom Who Came to Dinner" | Linda Day | Marc Cherry & Jamie Wooten | UNAIRED |