The Good Life (1994 TV series)
The Good Life is an American sitcom television series created by Jeff Martin, Kevin Curran and Suzanne Martin, which aired on NBC from January 3 to April 12, 1994. It starred John Caponera and Drew Carey.[1] Other members of the cast included Eve Gordon, Jake Patellis, Shay Astar, Justin Berfield and Monty Hoffman. It focuses on the personal and working life of John Bowman (Caponera) and his family.
| The Good Life | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Bowmans |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Gerry Cohen |
| Starring |
|
| Composer | Jonathan Wolff |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producers |
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| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | January 3 – April 12, 1994 |
Premise
The show revolved around John Bowman, and featured both his home life and the lock distribution warehouse where he serves as a middle manager. It was set in Chicago.[2]
Production
Caponera originally created the character of John Bowman for his stand-up routine. He based John on the man he would have become if he had "married young and never finished college."[3] When executives from Disney saw Caponera perform the character during one of his shows, they offered him the chance to star in his own sitcom.[3] The Good Life was created by Jeff Martin, Kevin Curran and Suzanne Martin.[4]
The show premiered on January 3, before moving to its regular Tuesday timeslot the following day.[5] The fifth episode, broadcast on January 30, 1994, aired following NBC's coverage of Super Bowl XXVIII.[6]
Cancellation
Thirteen episodes were produced and aired, before the sitcom was cancelled on May 13, 1994.[3] Caponera heard about the cancellation from the press and was unhappy with NBC for dropping the show, stating "People seemed to love it, but the powers that be didn't care because the ratings weren't high enough."[3] He felt that NBC did not do enough to help get the show started when it debuted in January, suggesting that a comedy lead in and not putting them up against Full House on ABC would have helped growth. He also pointed out that The Good Life was taken off air for coverage of the Olympics and then placed in a different timeslot, which impacted the show's ratings.[3] Caponera told Bunnie Nichols of the News-Press that the show's producer Disney Studios was shopping the sitcom around and that Fox were interested.[3]
Cast
- John Caponera as John Bowman, a middle manger at Honest Abe Security Products[5]
- Eve Gordon as Maureen Bowman, a school teacher and John's wife[7]
- Jake Patellis as Paul Bowman, John and Maureen's teenage son[7]
- Shay Astar as Melissa Bowman, John and Maureen's teenage daughter[7]
- Justin Berfield as Bob Bowman, John and Maureen's six year old son[7]
- Drew Carey as Drew Clark, John's best friend and co-worker[7]
- Monty Hoffman as Tommy Barlett, the union shop steward[2]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Rating/rank (households) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Paul Dates a Buddhist" | Gerry Cohen | Warren Bell | January 3, 1994 | 12.4 / #38[8] |
| 2 | "Maureen's Play" | Gerry Cohen | Mark Driscoll | January 4, 1994 | 8.3 / #73[8] |
| 3 | "Pilot" | John Rich | Jeff Martin, Kevin Curran, Suzanne Martin | January 11, 1994 | 6.9 / #84[9] |
| 4 | "John Hurts His Leg or Tales from the Crip" | Gerry Cohen | David Silverman and Stephen Sustarsic | January 18, 1994 | 6.8 / #84[10] |
| 5 | "The Statue" | Gerry Cohen | Frank Lombardi and Dana Reston | January 30, 1994 | 14.2 / #21[11] |
| 6 | "Calendar Girl" | Gerry Cohen | Mark Driscoll | February 1, 1994 | 7.5 / #83[12] |
| 7 | "She Shoots, She Scores" | Gerry Cohen | Kevin Curran | February 1, 1994 | 7.1 / #84[12] |
| 8 | "John Takes Out Melissa" | Gerry Cohen | Leslie Rieder | March 15, 1994 | 7.0 / #78[13] |
| 9 | "John Fights the System" | Gerry Cohen | David Silverman and Stephen Sustarsic | March 15, 1994 | 5.9 / #86[13] |
| 10 | "Bob's Field Trip" | Gerry Cohen | Wendy Braff | March 22, 1994 | 6.0 / #78[14] |
| 11 | "Melissa the Thief" | Gerry Cohen | Suzanne Martin | March 29, 1994 | 6.2 / #81[15] |
| 12 | "The Mother-in-Law" | Gerry Cohen | Holly Hester | April 5, 1994 | 5.4 / #88[16] |
| 13 | "John's New Assistant" | Gerry Cohen | Suzanne Martin | April 12, 1994 | 5.9 / #85[17] |
Reception
John J. O'Connor of The New York Times gave the show a positive review, writing "Another sitcom. Another show with a goofy dad, a wry mom and three troublesome but wonderful kids. Television marches on. Groan. But then, against all odds, the tired formula works."[4] He thought John's co-workers were "brought to a wonderful level of lunacy by Drew Carey and Monty Hoffman" and he praised the younger actors, calling their characters "appealing."[4] He believed that the cast were "having a genuinely good time" and that came across in their performances, adding "that's a good sign. Mr. Caponera is onto something."[4]
References
- Cotter, Bill (1997). The Wonderful World of Disney Television. Hyperion Books. pp. 449–450. ISBN 0-7868-6359-5.
- Hoogenboom, Lynn (January 1, 1994). "On the road to 'The Good Life' – from college class to 'Star Search'". North County Times. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Nichols, Bunnie (May 20, 1994). "That's 'Life'!". News-Press. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- O'Connor, John J. (January 3, 1994). "Review/Television; A Stand-Up Guy, and His Family". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
- Brennan, Patricia (January 1, 1994). "NBC shakes things up for 'Good Life' debut". The Daily Progress. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Hype it up! It's Super Bowl Sunday". The Tennessean. January 30, 1994. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- Curtright, Bob (January 1, 1994). "Reaction positive to low-budget Ruby Stone's 'Come 'N Get It'". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "'Homicide' is very much alive in ratings". South Florida Sun Sentinel. January 13, 1994. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The Nielsen Ratings". The Miami Herald. January 20, 1994. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "'60 Minutes' puts CBS on top – network had 4 shows in top 10". The Orlando Sentinel. January 27, 1994. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Super Bowl gives NBC a super Nielsen victory". News and Messenger. February 3, 1994. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Moore, Frazler (February 10, 1994). "CBS' rivals take back seat in February ratings sweep". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "'Home Improvement' leads ratings". The Grand Island Independent. March 24, 1994. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Elber, Lynn (March 31, 1994). "Academy Awards make ABC a winner". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "ABC edges out CBS again in weekly Nielsen ratings". Democrat and Chronicle. April 7, 1994. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "CBS wins the ratings with NCAA basketball". Democrat and Chronicle. April 14, 1994. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The Nielsen Ratings". The Miami Herald. April 21, 1994. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- The Good Life at IMDb
- The Good Life intro from Retrojunk
| Preceded by Homicide: Life on the Street 1993 |
The Good Life (1994 TV series) Super Bowl lead-out program 1994 |
Succeeded by Extreme 1995 |