Rags to Riches (TV series)
Rags to Riches is an American musical comedy-drama that was broadcast on NBC for two seasons from March 9, 1987 to January 15, 1988. Set in the pre-British Invasion 1960s, the series tells the story of Nick Foley, a self-made millionaire who adopts six orphan girls. Each episode included musical scenes of hit songs from the era performed by the girls integrated into the plot (with the lyrics modified to provide commentary on the storyline).
| Rags to Riches | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Bernie Kukoff |
| Starring |
|
| Opening theme | Mark Mueller (lyrics) |
| Composer | J. Peter Robinson (1.1) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Cinematography | Paul Onorato |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 48 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Distributor | Vine Alternate Investments |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | March 9, 1987 – January 15, 1988 |
Plot
Nick Foley (Joseph Bologna), the millionaire owner of Foley's Frozen Foods, is a streetwise New Jersey-born businessman with a playboy lifestyle. In the TV movie pilot which launched the series, Foley attempts to develop a family man image by bringing a group of six orphaned girls, who were featured in a newspaper story saying that they refused to be separated from each other, to live in the mansion in Bel Air where he lives with his butler, John Clapper (Douglas Seale). Foley does this to seal a business deal and does not intend to keep the girls permanently, but Foley's plans change as he grows attached to the girls, and he ends up adopting them as his legal daughters
The adjustment is huge on both sides, as the girls acquire a new father with no parenting experience. Having spent the past few years in a rundown orphanage, the girls suddenly find themselves in a life of luxury (hence the series' title). The series follows the trials and tribulations of the girls and a man who has previously never loved anyone but himself, and often struggles to cope with his new family.
In the pilot for the series, Foley takes in a group of six girls; however, Foley only adopted five of them for the remainder of the series' run: Rose, 17; Diane, 16; Marva, 15; Patti, 14; and Mickey, 8. The sixth girl, Nina, appears only in the pilot (after the pilot was produced, it was decided that six children was too many for the series cast, so Nina was written out of the series as having been reunited with her birth mother).
The series differed from regular comedy-dramas in that the girls would frequently burst into song to help explain their feelings or move along the plot. Each episode therefore contained at least two musical scenes with covers of popular songs from the early 1960s with the lyrics changed to provide commentary on the storyline of the episode.
Reception
Promoted with the tagline, "If you liked Annie, you'll like Rags to Riches", ratings for the series were not strong enough for its Friday night time slot, and NBC canceled the show part way through its second season.[1][2]
Musical numbers
Mark Mueller wrote new comedic lyrics for existing hit songs from the '50s and early '60s that were featured in most episodes of both seasons of the show. He also wrote the lyrics to the show's theme song. Many of the songs used were not around yet during the time frame when the series takes place; 1961-63.
Cast and characters
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Joseph Bologna | Nick Foley |
| Douglas Seale | John Clapper |
| Kimiko Gelman | Rose |
| Bridget Michele | Diane |
| Tisha Campbell | Marva |
| Blanca De Garr | Patti |
| Heidi Zeigler | Mickey |
| Heather McAdam | Nina |
| Sarah Buxton | Amy Hillerman |
| Sue Ball | Marnie |
| Jeff Harlan | Marty |
| John Christy Ewing | Mr Donovan |
| Sandy Ward | Al Schweikert |
Episodes
Season 1 (1987)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 2 | 1 2 | "Pilot" | Bruce Seth Green | Bernie Kukoff | March 9, 1987 |
| 3 | 3 | "High Society" | Bruce Seth Green | Bernie Kukoff & Bill Daley | March 15, 1987 |
| 4 | 4 | "Foley vs. Foley" | Michael Lange | David Garber & Bruce Kalish | March 22, 1987 |
| 5 | 5 | "First Love" | Bruce Seth Green | Andrew Schneider | March 29, 1987 |
| 6 | 6 | "Business is Business" | Michael Switzer | Diane Frolov | April 5, 1987 |
| 7 | 7 | "Patty's Mom" | Chuck Braverman | Steven Baum & Neil Alan Levy | April 12, 1987 |
| 8 | 8 | "Bad Blood" | Michael Lange | Steve Johnson & Sharon Spelman | April 19, 1987 |
| 9 | 9 | "Born to Ride" | Bruce Seth Green | Andrew Schneider & Bernie Kukoff | April 26, 1987 |
Season 2 (1987–88)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | "Vegas Rock" | Michael Switzer | Andrew Schneider | September 18, 1987 |
| 11 | 2 | "Once in a Lifeguard" | Bruce Seth Green | Chris Carter | September 25, 1987 |
| 12 | 3 | "That's Cheating" | Kim Friedman | Story by : Molly-Ann Leikin Teleplay by : Molly-Ann Leikin and Harry Longstreet & Renee Longstreet | October 2, 1987 |
| 13 | 4 | "Wilderness Blues" | Michael Switzer | Story by : Deborah Baron Teleplay by : Deborah Baron & Andrew Schneider | October 16, 1987 |
| 14 | 5 | "Dear Diary" | Daniel Cahn | Robin Schiff | October 23, 1987 |
| 15 | 6 | "Hunk in the House" | Bruce Seth Green | Harry Longstreet & Renee Longstreet | November 6, 1987 |
| 16 | 7 | "Marva in the Key of Cee" | Michael Switzer | Susan Goldberg | November 13, 1987 |
| 17 | 8 | "Beauty and the Babe" | Bruce Seth Green | Chris Carter | November 20, 1987 |
| 18 | 9 | "A Russian Holiday" | Charles Correll | Andrew Schneider | December 11, 1987 |
| 19 | 10 | "A Very Foley Christmas" | Daniel Cahn | Story by : Susan Goldberg & Robin Schiff Teleplay by : Andrew Schneider and Harry Longstreet & Renee Longstreet | December 20, 1987 |
| 20 | 11 | "Guess Who's Coming to Slumber?" | Michael Lange | Robin Schiff | January 8, 1988 |
| 21 | 12 | "Sweet 16" | James Kellahin | Steven Baum & Neil Alan Levy | January 15, 1988 |
Home media
On June 5, 2012, Image Entertainment released Rags to Riches: The Complete Series on Region 1 DVD.[3]
DTP Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Germany. Season 1 was released on May 13, 2011 and season 2 on October 27, 2011.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Young Artist Award | Best Young Actress Under Ten Years of Age in Television or Motion Pictures | Heidi Zeigler | Won |
| 1988 | Young Artist Award | Best Family Comedy Series | Nominated | |
| 1988 | Young Artist Award | Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress in a Television Comedy Series | Blanca De Garr | Nominated |
References
- Shales, Tom (1987-03-09). "Rags: Moderately Rich; NBC Rips Off Annie, Hits Easy Street". The Washington Times.
- McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present. Penguin Books. p. 683. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
- Lambert, David (February 29, 2012). "Rags to Riches - We've Got the Scoop on a DVD Release of the Show Starring Joseph Bologna and Tisha Campbell". tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
External links
- Rags to Riches at IMDb (Pilot TV-movie)
- Rags to Riches at IMDb
- Rags to Riches at TV.com
- Rags to Riches at epguides.com