 |
 |
September 21, 1992 - February 1, 1995
CBS Situation Comedy - 64 Filmed Episodes
Cast:
| Jack Stein: | Jay Thomas |
| Wallace "Wally" Porter: | Susan Dey |
| Nadine Berkus: | Joanna Gleason |
| Abe Johnson: | Charles Robinson |
| Ray Litvak: | Joel Murray |
| Ike Johnson: | John Hancock |
| Kip Zakaris: | Michael Nouri |
| Dana Paladino: | Annie Potts |
| Mary Margret Tynan: | Suzie Plakson |
It was certainly true that opposites attracted in
this comedy. Jack was a cynical, rather insecure columnist
for the New York Post. Opinionated and aggressive, he was
a regular at the seedy Blue Shamrock, a restaurant/bar
where he hung out with his buddies and let off steam.
Into his life, and the Blue Shamrock, walked Wally,
recently divorced from egocentric would-be actor Kip.
She was a classy uptown woman with champagne tastes.
After exchanging heated words with Jack and downing one
too many vodkas, Wally impulsively bought a share of
the bar from Ike, its bartender and owner, and declared
she would turn the "joint" into a chic restaurant. Jack
was both aghast and excited. He loved the grubby
familiarity of the Shamrock and hated what Wally was
doing to it, but, at the same time, he was falling madly
in lust with her. The other regulars, similarly disturbed
by the preposed conversion, were Ray, a shy sanitation
worker, and Meg, an outspoken sports writer.
Needing a waitress, Wally hired Nadine, a suburban
housewife with two kids in college and a husband in
jail for stock fraud, who needed the job to make ends
meet while she worked on a degree of her own. After
Ike died of a heart attack, his surly brother Abe,
an out-of-work auto worker from Detroit, showed up to
claim his inheritance--Ike's share of the Blue Shamrock.
He stayed on and took over as bartender, mellowing ever
so slightly over time. As the love affair between Jack
and Wally got more serious, they kept questioning
what was developing between them, musing
directly to the viewing audience.
As the 1993-1994 season opened Jack was moping over
being dumped by Wally, who had left for Paris. Into
the Blue Shamrock, and his life, walked his new love.
Dana was a gourmet chef who had quit her job at a
fancy French restaurant when the executive chef position
had been given to a man. She became the new chef at
the Shamrock and, more outspoken and less tolerant than
Wally, became Jack's new verbal sparring partner.
Although there was an undercurrent of growing sexual
tension, it was a full year before they ended up in
bed together. Having been burned by Wally, Jack took
everything much more slowly the second time around.
Click HERE to purchase TV books and videos!
Episode Guide
By George Fergus
The I Love Susan Dey Homepage
By Lennon Parker
Love & War
From TV.com
Love and War Message Board
From Todd Fuller's Sitcoms Online
These links were last tested September 2001.
