The Bad News Bears (TV series)
The Bad News Bears is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from March 24, 1979, until July 26, 1980, consisting of 26 episodes (three unaired by CBS). It was based on the 1976 film of the same name, that was followed by two sequels in 1977 and 1978.
| The Bad News Bears | |
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| Genre | Sitcom |
| Based on | Characters created by Bill Lancaster |
| Developed by |
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| Written by |
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| Directed by | |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | David Michael Frank |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (3 unaired) |
| Production | |
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| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
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| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | March 24, 1979 – July 26, 1980 |
| Related | |
| The Bad News Bears | |
Synopsis
In the television series, Jack Warden portrayed former minor-leaguer Morris Buttermaker, the coach of the Hoover Junior High Bears, a team of young adolescents with poor skills and little ability to play baseball. Catherine Hicks played the role of Hoover Junior High principal Dr. Emily Rappant, Phillip Richard Allen played Roy Turner, the coach of the rival team the Lions. Corey Feldman, Billy Jayne (then credited as Billy Jacoby) and Meeno Peluce were cast amongst the team's players, and Tricia Cast played Amanda Wurlitzer, the Bears' talented pitcher. Kristoff St. John, Cast's future co-star on The Young and The Restless, played Ahmad.
The series was originally scheduled on Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. In September 1979, it was moved to 8:30 p.m. Three episodes into the series' second season, CBS canceled The Bad News Bears due to low ratings. When the CBS broadcast unaired episodes in June 1980, it was moved back to 8:00 p.m. One month later, the series was again moved to the 8:30 timeslot, but by then, audiences were confused by the frequent time changes and stopped tuning in.[2]
Cast
- Jack Warden ... Morris Buttermaker
- Catherine Hicks ... Dr. Emily Rappant
- Phillip Richard Allen ... Roy Turner
- Sparky Marcus ... Leslie Ogilvie
- Meeno Peluce ... Tanner Boyle
- Billy Jayne ... Rudi Stein
- Corey Feldman ... Regi Tower
- Shane Butterworth ... Timmy Lupus
- Kristoff St. John ... Ahmad Abdul Rahim
- J. Brennan Smith ... Mike Engelberg
- Charles Nunez ... Miguel Agilar
- Danny Nunez ... Jose Agilar
- Tricia Cast ... Amanda Wurlitzer
- Bill Lazarus ... Frosty
- Gregg Forrest ... Kelly Leak
- Rad Daly ... Josh Matthews
- Persephanie Silverthorn ... Student
- Sherrie Wills ... Marsha
Episodes
Season 1: 1979
| Nº | Ep | Title | Directed by: | Written by: | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Here Comes the Coach" | Bruce Bilson | Bob Brunner, Arthur Silver | March 24, 1979 |
| 2 | 2 | "Amanda Joins the Bears" | William Asher | John Boni (s), Hap Schlein (t), Betty Steck (t), Norman Stiles (s) | March 31, 1979 |
| 3 | 3 | "Nakedness Is Next to Godliness" | Norman Abbott | Sam Greenbaum | April 7, 1979 |
| 4 | 4 | "The Kelly Story" | Norman Abbott | Tom Moore, Jeremy Stevens | April 21, 1979 |
| 5 | 5 | "Tanner's Bird" | Jeremy Stevens | Tom Moore, Jeremy Stevens | April 28, 1979 |
| 6 | 6 | "Emily Loves Morris" | William Asher | Jeff Franklin | May 5, 1979 |
| 7 | 7 | "The Food Caper" | Gene Nelson | Jim Brecher | May 12, 1979 |
| 8 | 8 | "Men Will Be Boys" | William Asher | Richard Rosenstock | May 19, 1979 |
| 9 | 9 | "Three's a Crowd" | Alan Myerson | Richard Rosenstock | May 26, 1979 |
| 10 | 10 | "Save the Bears" | William Asher | Jeff Franklin (t), Elliot Werber (s) | June 2, 1979 |
| 11 | 11 | "Dance Fever" | Lowell Ganz | Roy Teicher | June 9, 1979 |
| 12 | 12 | "Fielder's Choice" | William Asher | Jeff Franklin | June 23, 1979 |
Season 2: 1979–80
| Nº | Ep | Title | Directed by: | Written by: | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1 | "Run Down" | Jeffrey Ganz | Jeffrey Ganz, Brian Levant | September 15, 1979 |
| 14 | 2 | "Buttermaker Rides Again" | Brian Levant | Ron Leavitt | September 22, 1979 |
| 15 | 3 | "First Base" | Ron Leavitt | Ron Leavitt, Brian Levant | September 29, 1979 |
| 16 | 4 | "Wedding Bells: Part 1" | William Asher | Paul Diamond | October 6, 1979 |
| 17 | 5 | "The Birds, the Bees and the Bears" | Jeffrey Ganz | Richard Rosenstock | June 7, 1980 |
| 18 | 6 | "Lights Out" | Jeffrey Hayden | Al Aidekman (t) | June 14, 1980 |
| 19 | 7 | "Wedding Bells: Part 2" | Unknown | Unknown | June 21, 1980 |
| 20 | 8 | "Matched Set" | Jeffrey Ganz | Cindy Begel, David Lerner | June 28, 1980 |
| 21 | 9 | "Old Timers' Day" | William Asher | Allen Goldstein, Levi Taylor | July 12, 1980 |
| 22 | 10 | "Scrambled Eggs" | John Tracy | Richard Gurman, Lesa Kite | July 19, 1980 |
| 23 | 11 | "Double Play" | William Asher | Fred Fox Jr. | July 26, 1980 |
| 24 | 12 | "The Good Life" | William Asher | Judy Olstein | N/A |
| 25 | 13 | "The Pride of the Bears" | William Asher | Richard Rosenstock | N/A |
| 26 | 14 | "The Headless Ghost of MacKintosh Manor" | William Asher | Paul Diamond | N/A |
Syndication
In the late 1980s, the show was occasionally rerun on Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite. In the early 1990s, it was rerun on Comedy Central.
Home media
Visual Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 in October 2018.[3]
References
- "Bob Brunner, 'Happy Days' writer, dies". Variety. 2012-11-08. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
- Brant, Marley (2006). Happier Days: Paramount Television's Classic Sitcoms, 1974-1984. Billboard Books. p. 196. ISBN 0-8230-8933-9.
- "The Bad News Bears". Retrieved 2018-10-12.