The Chris Isaak Show
The Chris Isaak Show is an American television sitcom which follows a fictionalized version of the life of American rock musician Chris Isaak. The show portrays Isaak and his band members as everyday people with everyday problems.[1] The series was produced for the Showtime channel from 2001–2004, and was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which stands in for the show's home setting of San Francisco.[1][2]
| The Chris Isaak Show | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Diane Frolov Andrew Schneider William Lucas Walker |
| Starring | Chris Isaak Kristin Dattilo Jed Rees Hershel Yatovitz Rowland Salley Kenney Dale Johnson Jennifer Calvert (2001) |
| Composer | Terry Frewer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 47 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Diane Frolov Andrew Schneider Chris Isaak Arnold Messer Mike Medavoy |
| Production locations | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Running time | 45 min. per episode |
| Production companies | Once and Future Films (seasons 1-2) Phoenix Pictures Viacom Productions |
| Distributor | CBS Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | Showtime |
| Original release | March 12, 2001 – March 25, 2004 |
The series featured Isaak and several members of his band, Silvertone, portraying themselves. Other roles were portrayed by actors, including Jed Rees as Isaak's keyboardist. Rees (who had studied piano, though much of his character's keyboard work is performed by a session player)[2] was hired in place of Isaak's actual keyboardist Brett Tuggle (a part-time band member)[2] to add some comedy to the show. Other characters featured on the show include Yola Gaylen, Isaak's manager and her colleague, Cody Kurtzman. The final regular character, Mona, appears lying nude on her stomach on a revolving circular bed in the basement of Bimbo's, a club Isaak frequents.[1] Through an optical illusion created with mirrors she's made to look as if swimming in an aquarium, and being called a mermaid (despite having human legs).[3] Only once does she sit up, revealing her toplessness.[4] She typically talks only with Isaak, acting as his conscience or a sounding board for him.
Currently, the entire series remains unreleased to DVD.
Cast
- Chris Isaak - Himself
- Kristin Dattilo - Yola Gaylen; manager
- Jed Rees - Anson Drubner; keyboardist
- Kenney Dale Johnson - Kenney Dale Johnson; drummer
- Rowland Salley - Rowland Salley; bassist
- Hershel Yatovitz - Hershel Yatovitz; guitarist
- Greg Winter - Cody Kurtzman
- BobbyJo Moore - Mona
- Jennifer Calvert - Vivian (Season One)
- Michelle Goh - Debbie Fung
Episodes
Season 1 (2001)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Freud's Dilemma" | Rob Thompson | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | March 12, 2001 |
| 2 | 2 | "Fantasia" | Max Tash | Maryanne Melloan | March 19, 2001 |
| 3 | 3 | "Crimes and Punishment" | Max Tash | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | March 26, 2001 |
| 4 | 4 | "It's the Music, Stupid" | Milan Cheylov | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | April 2, 2001 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Real Me" | Rob Thompson | Joe Bosso | April 9, 2001 |
| 6 | 6 | "Hurricane" | Scott Smith | Maryanne Melloan | April 16, 2001 |
| 7 | 7 | "T&A" | Victoria Hochberg | Story by : David Rothenberg Teleplay by : Maryanne Melloan | April 23, 2001 |
| 8 | 8 | "Mr. Isaak's Opus" | Richard Martin | William Lucas Walker | April 30, 2001 |
| 9 | 9 | "Tomorrowland" | Richard J. Lewis | Story by : Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider & William Lucas Walker Teleplay by : Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | May 7, 2001 |
| 10 | 10 | "Dancin'" | Charles Winkler | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | May 14, 2001 |
| 11 | 11 | "The Professionals" | Ron Oliver | Joe Bosso | May 21, 2001 |
| 12 | 12 | "Smackdown" | Ron Oliver | William Lucas Walker | May 28, 2001 |
| 13 | 13 | "Wages of Fear" | Ron Oliver | Maryanne Melloan | June 4, 2001 |
| 14 | 14 | "Lost and Found" | Charles Winkler | Joe Bosso | June 11, 2001 |
| 15 | 15 | "Storytime" | Milan Cheylov | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | June 18, 2001 |
| 16 | 16 | "Our Place" | Scott Smith | Story by : William Lucas Walker Teleplay by : Maryanne Melloan & Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | June 25, 2001 |
| 17 | 17 | "Behind the Isaak" | Jorge Montesi | Maryanne Melloan | July 2, 2001 |
Season 2 (2002)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 1 | "In the Name of Love" | Milan Cheylov | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | January 6, 2002 |
| 19 | 2 | "The Devil Made Me Do It" | Max Tash | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | January 13, 2002 |
| 20 | 3 | "Chris Isaak Day" | Max Tash | Scott Kaufer | January 20, 2002 |
| 21 | 4 | "Wrong Number" | Kevin Inch | Maryanne Melloan | January 27, 2002 |
| 22 | 5 | "Duty Calls" | Milan Cheylov | Maryanne Melloan | February 3, 2002 |
| 23 | 6 | "Family Ties" | David Warry-Smith | Scott Kaufer | February 10, 2002 |
| 24 | 7 | "Driven" | Brenton Spencer | Maryanne Melloan | March 3, 2002 |
| 25 | 8 | "Rat in the House" | Steve DiMarco | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | March 10, 2002 |
| 26 | 9 | "Hell is Other People" | Milan Cheylov | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | March 17, 2002 |
| 27 | 10 | "Mysterious Hearts" | Steve DiMarco | Adam Braff | March 31, 2002 |
| 28 | 11 | "Gimme Shelter" | Milan Cheylov | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | April 7, 2002 |
| 29 | 12 | "Farm Boys" | Kevin Inch | Teresa O'Neill | June 4, 2002 |
| 30 | 13 | "Home of the Brave" | Jorge Montesi | Maryanne Melloan | June 11, 2002 |
| 31 | 14 | "The Hidden Mommy" | Jorge Montesi | Scott Kaufer | June 18, 2002 |
| 32 | 15 | "Just Us Kids" | Jeremy Podeswa | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | June 25, 2002 |
| 33 | 16 | "Isaakland" | Brenton Spencer | Maryanne Melloan | July 2, 2002 |
| 34 | 17 | "Charity Begins at Home" | Steve DiMarco | Dennis Klein | July 9, 2002 |
Season 3 (2004)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 1 | "The Family of Man" | Jorge Montesi | Maryanne Melloan | January 8, 2004 |
| 36 | 2 | "Candidate" | Michael Rohl | Scott Kaufer | January 15, 2004 |
| 37 | 3 | "Let the Games Begin" | Steve DiMarco | Scott Kaufer | January 22, 2004 |
| 38 | 4 | "Home Improvement" | Chris Isaak | Scott Kaufer | January 29, 2004 |
| 39 | 5 | "The Little Mermaid" | Milan Cheylov | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | February 5, 2004 |
| 40 | 6 | "A Little Help From My Friends" | Milan Cheylov | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | February 12, 2004 |
| 41 | 7 | "Rivals" | Steve DiMarco | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | February 19, 2004 |
| 42 | 8 | "Criminal Favors" | Jorge Montesi | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | February 26, 2004 |
| 43 | 9 | "Home Fires" | Kevin Inch | Maryanne Melloan | March 4, 2004 |
| 44 | 10 | "Run, Yola, Run" | David Warry-Smith | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | March 11, 2004 |
| 45 | 11 | "Taking Off" | Jorge Montesi | Maryanne Melloan | March 18, 2004 |
| 46 | 12 | "Braveheart" | Kevin Inch | Maryanne Melloan | March 25, 2004 |
| 47 | 13 | "Suspicion" | Jorge Montesi | Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | March 25, 2004 |
References
- Williamson, Kevin (2002-04-12). "Cool show". Jam!. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- Israel, Robyn (2001-08-31). "Lights, camera, rock!". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/12/arts/television-review-relax-it-was-just-a-little-striptease.html
- Season 2, Episode 12 "Farm Boys"