Double Trouble (American TV series)
Double Trouble is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from April 4, 1984 to March 30, 1985. The series stars identical twins Jean and Liz Sagal as Kate and Allison Foster, two teenagers living under the watchful eye of their widowed father. The show was considered an updating of the "twins in mischief" concept seen in films like The Parent Trap or The Patty Duke Show of the 1960s. The Sagal sisters acknowledged that Norman Lear, the Sagal family's godfather,[1] was the one who held influence over the show's concept.[2]
| Double Trouble | |
|---|---|
 Publicity shot of the Sagal twins | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | David W. Duclon Robert Illes James R. Stein |
| Directed by | John Bowab Jim Drake Ellen Falcon Marlene Laird John Pasquin |
| Starring | Jean Sagal Liz Sagal |
| Composers | Ray Colcord Mark Snow |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Judith Allison Janis Hirsch Robert Illes Bernie Orenstein Bill Richmond Saul Turteltaub |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company | Embassy Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | April 4, 1984 – March 30, 1985 |
Synopsis
Double Trouble premiered in April 1984. Initially, the series was set in Des Moines, Iowa, and generally revolved around the twins' high school or their father's dance studio (thus giving the girls a chance to show off their real-life dancing skills). Most of the show's comedy was generated from the fact that one twin was serious while the other more laid-back and happy-go-lucky.
Beginning as a mid-season replacement, the show also starred Donnelly Rhodes as the girls' father, Art Foster. The show did not generate high enough ratings in its initial debut to be included in NBC's fall schedule; however, it was brought back for a second go-'round as a mid-season replacement in December 1984. After some retooling, the setting of the show was relocated to New York City. Rhodes was replaced by Barbara Barrie as the twins' aunt. The second season ran for fifteen episodes. The series was not renewed after the second season, but it was seen in reruns on NBC until August 21, 1985, and for several years on USA Network in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Cast
- Jean Sagal as Kate Foster
- Liz Sagal as Allison Foster
- Donnelly Rhodes as Art Foster (season 1)
- Patricia Richardson as Beth McConnell (season 1)
- Barbara Barrie as Margo Foster (season 2)
- Anne-Marie Johnson as Aileen Lewis (season 2)
- Michael D. Roberts as Mr. Arrechia (season 2)
- Jonathan Schmock as Billy Batalato (season 2)
- James Vallely as Charles Kincaid (season 2)
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (1984)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "One Drives, the Other Doesn't" | Marlena Laird | Story by : Robert Illes & James Stein & Saul Turteltaub & Bernie Orenstein Teleplay by : Saul Turteltaub & Bernie Orenstein | April 4, 1984 | 226151 |
| Kate's inability to pass her driving test doesn't stop her from taking Art's car — and Allison's driver's license — to a concert. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Lust" | Jim Drake | Jill Gordon & Susan Jane Lindner | April 11, 1984 | TBA |
| Kate risks the wrath of both her sister and her boyfriend when she becomes smitten by a guy working out at the gym. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "First Day" | John Bowab | Deidre Fay & Stuart Wolpert | April 18, 1984 | TBA |
| After she transfers to Allison's school, Allison helps Kate adjust by adding her to the yearbook staff; within a week, Kate's rising toward the top of its masthead. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Bad Chemistry" | John Bowab | Kimberly Hill | April 25, 1984 | TBA |
| Kate's out of her element when filling in for Allison in Chemistry class. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Dueling Feet" | Marlena Laird | Emily Potter | May 2, 1984 | TBA |
| Kate challenges Allison to join her in a televised dance contest, but an ankle sprain forces one of them to go it alone. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Separate Birthdays" | Marlena Laird | Story by : David Chambers & Saul Turteltaub & Bernie Orenstein Teleplay by : Saul Turteltaub & Bernie Orenstein | May 16, 1984 | TBA |
| After Kate pulls her into a "twin testing" science project, Allison starts seeking an identity away from her sister... by moving in with Beth and celebrating her birthday by herself. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Heartache" | Jim Drake | Jill Gordon and Susan Jane Lindner | May 23, 1984 | TBA |
| Art panics when she discovers Allison's diary, and reads and entry indicating her passion for heartthrob Steven. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Bombshell" | Jim Drake | Robert Illes, James Stein & Janis Hirsch | May 30, 1984 | TBA |
| Thinking Beth's relationship with Art is just platonic, the girls invite an attractive woman for dinner in the hopes that Art will become smitten with her. | ||||||
Season 2 (1984–85)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "If We Can Make It Here..." | Jim Drake | Don Reo | December 1, 1984 | |
| The girls make their move to New York City, settling in with their Aunt Margo and setting out toward their respective ambitions (Kate as an entertainer, Allison as a fashion designer). | ||||||
| 10 | 2 | "Do You Believe in Magic?" | Jim Drake | Janis Hirsch | December 8, 1984 | |
| Kate becomes assistant to Rollo the Great (Carl Ballantine), a magician whose next big trick is to make Kate appear in two places at once. | ||||||
| 11 | 3 | "Dream Girls" | John Pasquin | Lissa Levin | December 15, 1984 | |
| Kate joins a rock star's concert tour, leaving Allison back in New York... and envious. | ||||||
| 12 | 4 | "O Come All Ye Faithful" | John Pasquin | Janis Hirsch | December 22, 1984 | |
| With bad weather precluding a trip home, the girls set up a holiday party at Margo's, a to-do Allison hopes Mr. Arrechia can attend. | ||||||
| 13 | 5 | "Man for Margo" | John Pasquin | Bill Richmond | January 5, 1985 | |
| Sensing that Margo deserves someone who'll show her a good time, Charles and Kate set her up on a date with the most charming man money can buy. | ||||||
| 14 | 6 | "The Boy Next Door" | Ellen Chaset Falcon | Lissa Levin | January 12, 1985 | |
| Expecting to not win, Margo consents to Allison and Billy attending an awards banquet in her stead; sparks between the two soon fly. | ||||||
| 15 | 7 | "Memories" | Don Reo | Judith D. Allison | January 19, 1985 | |
| Footage from Season 1 contributes to Kate and Allison's recollections of back home. | ||||||
| 16 | 8 | "Two Girls for Every Boy" | Ellen Chaset Falcon | Lissa Levin | January 26, 1985 | |
| Kate hears wedding bells after meeting a radio DJ whose tastes are more in line with Allison's. | ||||||
| 17 | 9 | "The Write Stuff" | Linda Day | Janis Hirsch | February 2, 1985 | |
| Allison submits a newspaper article, which attracts enough compliments to spur her into forsaking design school for a writing career. | ||||||
| 18 | 10 | "Commercial Break" | Ellen Chaset Falcon | Bill Richmond | February 9, 1985 | |
| Kate loses her voice on the eve of a commercial audition; reluctantly, Allison agrees to fill in... and her talents get her sister the part. | ||||||
| 19 | 11 | "Old Movies" | Ellen Chaset Falcon | Don Reo | February 16, 1985 | |
| Late-night movie watching inspires the housemates to imagine themselves in some of cinema's greatest scenes. | ||||||
| 20 | 12 | "September Song" | Ellen Chaset Falcon | Perry Grant & Dick Bensfield | February 23, 1985 | |
| Allison becomes smitten with a much older man, but Margo thinks his asking Allison to join him on a trip to Paris is too big of a step. | ||||||
| 21 | 13 | "Funny Girl" | Judi Elterman | Janis Hirsch | March 2, 1985 | |
| A wealthy new classmate (Mindy Cohn) strikes a friendship with Allison; before long, she's also stealing her design ideas. | ||||||
| 22 | 14 | "The Day of the Rose" | Ellen Chaset Falcon | Perry Grant and Dick Bensfield | March 23, 1985 | |
| After an anniversary gift from her late husband makes Margo melancholy, the twins spend the weekend cheering her up, but an out-of-town trip doesn't turn out as the trio hoped it would. | ||||||
| 23 | 15 | "Where's Poppa?" | Ellen Chaset Falcon | Don Reo & Judith D. Allison | March 30, 1985 | |
| Art pays his daughters a visit... and, after seeing their life in the Big Apple, prefers that they come back to Iowa with him. | ||||||
U.S. television ratings
| Season | Episodes | Start Date | End Date | Nielsen Rank | Nielsen Rating | Tied With |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-84 | 8 | March 4, 1984 | May 30, 1984 | 71 | 13.1[3] | N/A |
| 1984-85 | 15 | December 1, 1984 | March 30, 1985 | 43 | 13.8[4] | "The Dukes of Hazzard", "TJ Hooker" |
References
- "Married Biography". 17 July 2023.
- "The Times-News - Google News Archive Search".
- "1983-84 Ratings History -- The Networks Are Awash in a Bubble Bath of Soaps". Archived from the original on 2018-03-22.
- "1984-85 Season Nielsens -- NBC Breaks its 8-Year Curse and Shoves Into 2nd Place as ABC and CBS Continue to Bank on Soap Prominence". Archived from the original on 2018-03-22.
External links
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