Buddies (TV series)
| Buddies | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by |
Carmen Finestra David McFadzean Matt Williams |
| Directed by |
Paul Lazarus John Pasquin Andrew Tsao |
| Starring |
Dave Chappelle Christopher Gartin Tanya Wright Richard Roundtree |
| Theme music composer | Derrick Perkins |
| Composer(s) | Brian Bennett |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (8 unaired) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Carmen Finestra David MacFadzean Matt Williams |
| Production location(s) | Burbank, California |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Wind Dancer Productions Touchstone Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | NTSC (480i) |
| Original release | March 5 – April 3, 1996 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Home Improvement |
Buddies is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC in 1996. It was created by Carmen Finestra, David McFadzean, and Matt Williams and starred Dave Chappelle, Christopher Gartin, Tanya Wright, and Richard Roundtree.
History
Home Improvement connection
Comedians Dave Chappelle and Jim Breuer attracted the attention of TV network executives with their guest appearance in the March 14, 1995 episode of ABC's highly rated sitcom Home Improvement.[1] The storyline had Chappelle and Breuer play a duo of friends who appear on Tool Time to ask Tim Taylor advice on their girlfriends. The characters' single outing on the episode proved so popular that ABC decided to give Chappelle and Breuer their own half-hour sitcom.
Cast changes
After subsequent rehearsals, Jim Breuer was replaced with Christopher Gartin as Dave Chappelle's "buddy". The unique comic timing and chemistry that Chappelle had with Breuer, his real-life friend, was not present with Gartin, and Breuer's abrupt firing exacerbated ill will. This prevented Chappelle and Gartin from developing the rapport and chemistry necessary for the characters' believability and likeability.[2]
Cancellation
Buddies premiered on Tuesday, March 5, 1996. The show garnered disappointing ratings. Buddies cancelled on April 3 after airing only five episodes out of the 13 that were produced.[3] Dave Chappelle himself was not proud of his involvement with Buddies in retrospect:
It was a bad show. It was bad. I mean when we were doing it, I could tell this was not gonna work.[4]
Cast
- David Chappelle as Dave Carlisle
- Christopher Gartin as John Bailey
- Tanya Wright as Phyllis Brooks
- Paula Cale as Lorraine Bailey
- Judith Ivey as Maureen DeMoss
- Richard Roundtree as Henry Carlisle
Episode list
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Andrew Tsao | Peter Tolan | March 5, 1996 |
| 2 | "A Room with a Pyew" | John Pasquin | Trish Baker | March 13, 1996 |
| 3 | "Regarding Henry" | Andrew Tsao | Sharon D. Johnson | March 20, 1996 |
| 4 | "Famous Last Words" | John Pasquin | Mark St. Germain | March 27, 1996 |
| 5 | "Marry Me...Sort Of" | Paul Lazarus | Daphne Pollon | April 3, 1996 |
| 6 | "Lights, Camera...Yuck!" | Paul Lazarus | Peter Tolan | Unaired |
| 7 | "Pet Peeves" | John Pasquin | Robert Zappia | Unaired |
| 8 | "The Content of Their Character" | John Pasquin | Lisa DeBenedictis & Daryl Rowland | Unaired |
| 9 | "There Goes the Groom" | John Pasquin | Richey Jones & Todd Jones | Unaired |
| 10 | "The PSA Story" | John Pasquin | Bob Burris & Michael Ware | Unaired |
| 11 | "John, I've Been Thinking" | John Pasquin | Art Everett | Unaired |
| 12 | "Engagement Hell" | Andrew Tsao | Steve Gabriel | Unaired |
| 13 | "Whack and Blight" | Andrew Tsao | Peter Tolan | Unaired |
DVD release
For a limited time in 2005, Best Buy had an exclusive DVD available that contained 10 episodes of Buddies, including all 8 unaired episodes.[5] The DVD was originally released on May 15, 2005[6] but seems to have been discontinued.
References
- ↑ Home Improvement episode listing for "Talk to Me." IMDB.com.
- ↑ "Spin Off: Buddies and Home Improvement. Poobala.com. Last accessed November 10, 2007.
- ↑ Buddies page at TV.com. Last accessed November 14, 2007
- ↑ "Chappelle: An Act Of Freedom." CBSNews.com. December 29, 2004.
- ↑ "Best Buy to get exclusive release of Dave Chappelle's 1996 series." Archived 2007-12-05 at the Wayback Machine. TvShowsOnDVD.com. April 25, 2005.
- ↑ Best Buy ad for DVD release. BestBuy.com. Last accessed November 10, 2007.