All's Fair

All's Fair is an American television sitcom from Norman Lear that aired one season on CBS from 1976 to 1977. The series co-starred Richard Crenna as a conservative political columnist and Bernadette Peters as a liberal photographer, and their romantic mismatch because of age and political opinions. The program also featured Michael Keaton in an early role as Lanny Wolf. Peters was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role.

All's Fair
Crenna and Peters
Created byBob Schiller
Bob Weiskopf
Rod Parker
Developed byNorman Lear
StarringRichard Crenna
Bernadette Peters
Michael Keaton
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes24 (list of episodes)
Production
Production locationsMetromedia Square, Los Angeles, California
Running timeapprox. 0:30
(per episode)
Production companyT.A.T. Communications Company
DistributorSony Pictures Television
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseSeptember 20, 1976 (1976-09-20) –
April 30, 1977 (1977-04-30)

Plot

In Washington, D.C., an older (49) conservative columnist Richard C. Barrington (Richard Crenna) and a young (23) liberal photographer Charlotte (Charley) Drake (Bernadette Peters) become romantically involved. The complications of their politics and the age difference provide the story lines. They are "separated by politics, generation gap, manners and living styles".[1]

Barrington is a gourmet cook who lives in a luxurious Washington townhouse, and Drake is a vegetarian. Barrington has a girl friend, a literary agent (Salome Jens), when he first meets Drake.[2] The style of the show is "almost constant hysteria, the rapid pacing set to the sounds of argumentative shouting."[1]

Cast and crew
Cast

Source: Nostalgia Central[3]

Crew

Episodes
L-R: Michael Keaton, Judith Kahan, Richard Crenna, and Bernadette Peters (1977)

{{Episode table |background=#000000 |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |prodcode= |aux4= |aux4T=Tape date |episodes=

1"Strange Bedfellows"TBATBASeptember 20, 1976 (1976-09-20)TBATBA 2"Jealousy"TBATBASeptember 27, 1976 (1976-09-27)TBATBA 3"A Perfect Evening"TBATBAOctober 4, 1976 (1976-10-04)TBATBA 4"Living Together"TBATBAOctober 18, 1976 (1976-10-18)TBATBA 5"Discovery Day"TBATBAOctober 25, 1976 (1976-10-25)TBATBA 6"Election Eve"TBABud WiserNovember 1, 1976 (1976-11-01)TBATBA 7"The Gang Leader"Bob ClaverKaren Bachar (s),
Dixie Brown Grossman,
Ron FriedmanNovember 8, 1976 (1976-11-08)112November 1, 1976 8"Happy Anniversary: Part 1"Bob ClaverMichael LomanNovember 15, 1976 (1976-11-15)109October 12, 1976 9"Happy Anniversary: Part 2"Bob ClaverTBANovember 22, 1976 (1976-11-22)TBATBA 10"The Weekend"TBABob Van ScoykNovember 29, 1976 (1976-11-29)TBATBA 11"The Leak"Bob ClaverTBADecember 13, 1976 (1976-12-13)TBATBA 12"True Confessions"Bob ClaverSylvie Adelman (s),
Bob Van Scoyk (s/t),
Bud Wiser (s/t)December 20, 1976 (1976-12-20)114December 7, 1976 13"Love and Marriage: Part 1"Bob ClaverBob Van ScoykJanuary 3, 1977 (1977-01-03)TBATBA 14"Love and Marriage: Part 2"J.D. LobueBud WiserJanuary 17, 1977 (1977-01-17)113November 10, 1976 15"Lucy's Job Offer"Bob ClaverHoward OstroffFebruary 7, 1977 (1977-02-07)116December 21, 1976 16"President Requests: Part 1"Bob ClaverTom WhedonFebruary 14, 1977 (1977-02-14)115December 14, 1976 17"President Requests: Part 2"Bob ClaverRod ParkerFebruary 21, 1977 (1977-02-21)116December 14, 1976 18"In Name Only"Bob ClaverTBAFebruary 28, 1977 (1977-02-28)TBATBA 19"Save the Yak"Bob ClaverHoward OstroffMarch 7, 1977 (1977-03-07)TBATBA 20"Remembrance"Bob ClaverTom WhedonMarch 14, 1977 (1977-03-14)TBATBA 21"The Dick and Vanessa Show"Bob ClaverTom Whedon{{{1}}} 22"The Jailbirds: Part 1"TBATBAApril 23, 1977 (1977-04-23)TBATBA 23"The Jailbirds: Part 2"TBATBAApril 30, 1977 (1977-04-30)TBATBA 24"Charley's Father"TBATBAMay 30, 1977 (1977-05-30)TBATBA

Reception

The reviewer for Knight News Wire wrote that the show "looks like the best new comedy series of the year...The show looks sound in both writing and acting ... the characters spend a lot of time shouting. Lear seems to have decided ... that high-decibel dialogue is necessary to hold the attention of a large audience."[6]

The critic for The New York Times wrote that "The casting is first-rate and the finger-snapping pace of the show leaves just about everything looking easy and undemanding.[2]

The reviewer for Copley News Service wrote that he did not believe in the relationship (between Crenna and Peters). However, he wrote that "it works. It works because Crenna is an expert farceur and Peters is, well, cute and full of the old ginger. It works because the dialogue has crackle and wit. ... Peters has spunk and spirit and a bawdy and snappishly delightful wit ... a well-paced, intelligently conceived and altogether trenchant comedy and I don't see how it can miss."[7]

Awards and nominations
  • Golden Globe, 1977, Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical - Bernadette Peters (nominated)[8]

See also

References
  1. O'Connor, John J. "TV View. Competition Makes Networks Go Rigid", The New York Times, September 26, 1976, page D29
  2. O'Connor, John J. "TV: An Odd, Late Season That Is Full of Gaps: Few New Shows Promising, but Most Follow Formula Old Sitcom Series Return in Slightly Altered Guise", The New York Times , September 20, 1976, p. 46
  3. " 'All's Fair'" Nostalgia Central
  4. Stein, Ben and Burton, Al. "Chapter 22" 26 Steps to Succeed in Hollywood (2006), books.google.com, Hay House. Inc., ISBN 978-1-4019-0700-6, p.68
  5. Sipos, Thomas M. "Ben Stein -- Portrait Of A Hollywood Republican" hollywoodinvestigator.com, September 28, 2003
  6. Winfrey, Lee. " 'All's Fair' Hot New Show" Boca Raton News, Knight News Wire (news.google.com), September 20, 1976
  7. Freeman, Don. "All's Fair' has Lear Touch" Beaver County Times (Copley News Service), news.google.com, October 7, 1976
  8. "Bernadette Peters Golden Globe Wins and Nominations" Archived 2012-09-02 at the Wayback Machine, Goldenglobes.org, accessed April 15, 2012
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