Duet (TV series)
| Duet | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by |
Ruth Bennett Susan Seeger |
| Written by |
Ruth Bennett Bruce Ferber Lisa Medway John Peaslee Judd Pillot Susan Seeger Michael Zinberg |
| Directed by |
Peter Baldwin Gabrielle Beaumont Lee Shallat-Chemel Arlene Sanford David Steinberg Michael Zinberg Stephen Zuckerman |
| Starring |
Matthew Laurance Mary Page Keller Chris Lemmon Alison LaPlaca |
| Theme music composer | Buddy Budson |
| Composer(s) | John Beasley |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 54 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Linda Nieber |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
UBU Productions Paramount Television |
| Distributor | CBS Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Original release | April 19, 1987 – May 7, 1989 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Open House |
Duet is an American sitcom that aired on Fox from April 19, 1987 to August 20, 1989. The series stars Matthew Laurance as Ben Coleman, Mary Page Keller as Laura Kelly, Chris Lemmon as Richard Phillips, and Alison LaPlaca as Linda Phillips. The series was created by Ruth Bennett and Susan Seeger, and was produced by Paramount Television.
Synopsis
Ben is a struggling mystery novelist, while his girlfriend Laura is a caterer with her younger sister Jane (Jodi Thelen). Richard and Linda were a high-powered yuppie couple. He was in the family patio-furniture business and she was a studio executive. Linda's boss at World Wide Studios was Cooper Hayden (Larry Poindexter), who eventually became infatuated with Jane. Richard later quit his job to become a professional pianist. Geneva (Arleen Sorkin) was the Phillips' wisecracking, sexy maid who sometimes fraternized with the sisters.
In the 1987-88 season finale, Linda gave birth to a daughter, Amanda, who grew into a three-year-old (Ginger Orsi) capable of speech by the start of the series' third and final season. When the 1988-89 season began, Ben and Laura had married, and Linda had lost her job at World Wide Studios. Linda then sought a partnership in Laura's catering business. Just prior to the end of that season, Linda met real estate mogul Ted Nichols, played by guest star and LaPlaca's then-boyfriend, Philip Charles MacKenzie. Ted schmoozed her into joining his realty firm, selling upscale properties to snobs just like herself. Shortly after, Fox announced its cancellation of Duet, and with LaPlaca as its breakout star, both she and MacKenzie shared the lead in its spin-off, Open House.
Opening titles
The show's first season opening title sequence, showing cast member names written on dresser drawers, dog food dishes and other props, was produced by creator Susan Seeger's brother, David Seeger, and father, noted animator Hal Seeger.
The theme music over the opening titles was composed by Buddy Budson, and in the first two seasons performed by Ursula Walker and Tony Franklin.
Beginning in season two, the opening titles changed to begin featuring clips of the characters in scenes from the show. These were book-ended by the show's title appearing in gold on a maroon leather-textured photo album cover, which opened to reveal the series of episode clips, and the photo album closing, with creators Ruth Bennett and Susan Seeger being credited in gold on the album cover. (In season one, the show title was displayed over the beginning of the opening scene.) In season three, the same sequence style remained, but the theme music was rearranged into a complete synthesizer/electric guitar instrumental, with the guitar taking the place of the notes sung by vocalists Walker and Franklin.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Matthew Laurance | Ben Coleman |
| Mary Page Keller | Laura Kelly |
| Jodi Thelen | Jane Kelly |
| Chris Lemmon | Richard Phillips |
| Alison LaPlaca | Linda Phillips |
| Larry Poindexter | Cooper Hayden |
| Arleen Sorkin | Geneva |
| Ginger Orsi | Amanda Phillips |
| Bo * | Reuben * |
Note: * Ben's dog (live animal actor)
Broadcast history
| Season | Time |
|---|---|
| 1986–87 | Sunday at 9:00 pm (Episode 1) Sunday at 9:30 pm (Episodes 2–4, 8) Sunday at 8:30 pm (Episodes 5–7, 9–13) |
| 1987–88 | Saturday at 9:30 pm (Episodes 1–4) Sunday at 9:30 pm (Episodes 5–21) Sunday at 10:00 pm (Episode 22) |
| 1988–89 | Sunday at 10:00 pm |
Episode guide
Season 1 (1987)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Prelude" | TBA | TBA | April 19, 1987 |
| 2 | 2 | "Overture" | TBA | TBA | April 19, 1987 |
| 3 | 3 | "Adagio" | David Steinberg | John Peaslee & Judd Pillot | April 26, 1987 |
| 4 | 4 | "Variations on a Theme" | TBA | TBA | May 3, 1987 |
| 5 | 5 | "Dissonace" | TBA | TBA | May 10, 1987 |
| 6 | 6 | "Lullabye" | TBA | TBA | May 17, 1987 |
| 7 | 7 | "Fugue" | TBA | TBA | May 24, 1987 |
| 8 | 8 | "Interlude" | TBA | TBA | May 24, 1987 |
| 9 | 9 | "Liebestraum" | TBA | TBA | May 31, 1987 |
| 10 | 10 | "Work in Progress" | TBA | TBA | June 7, 1987 |
| 11 | 11 | "The Long Goodbye" | TBA | TBA | June 14, 1987 |
| 12 | 12 | "Trio" | TBA | TBA | June 21, 1987 |
| 13 | 13 | "Passage" | TBA | TBA | June 28, 1987 |
Season 2 (1987–1988)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "Apart" | TBA | TBA | September 26, 1987 |
| 15 | 2 | "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Leaves You" | Michael Zinberg | John Peaslee & Judd Pillot | October 3, 1987 |
| 16 | 3 | "The Cower of Love" | TBA | TBA | October 10, 1987 |
| 17 | 4 | "Lots of Things Happen" | TBA | TBA | October 17, 1987 |
| 18 | 5 | "Strange Bedfellows" | TBA | TBA | October 25, 1987 |
| 19 | 6 | "Satin Doll" | TBA | TBA | November 1, 1987 |
| 20 | 7 | "Jane's Getting Serious" | TBA | TBA | November 8, 1987 |
| 21 | 8 | "I Never Played for My Father: Part 1" | Arlene Sanford | J. David Shapiro | November 22, 1987 |
| 22 | 9 | "I Never Played for My Father: Part 2" | TBA | TBA | November 29, 1987 |
| 23 | 10 | "Born, Bred and Buttered in Brooklyn" | TBA | TBA | December 6, 1987 |
| 24 | 11 | "Fatal Distraction" | Arlene Sanford | Susan Seeger | December 13, 1987 |
| 25 | 12 | "A Hero is Just a Sandwich" | Arlene Sanford | Charlene Seeger | January 17, 1988 |
| 26 | 13 | "The Package" | TBA | TBA | January 24, 1988 |
| 27 | 14 | "Baby Talk" | TBA | TBA | February 7, 1988 |
| 28 | 15 | "Funny Valentine" | TBA | TBA | February 14, 1988 |
| 29 | 16 | "The Candidate" | TBA | TBA | February 21, 1988 |
| 30 | 17 | "Special Delivery" | TBA | TBA | February 28, 1988 |
| 31 | 18 | "Oh My God, I Left the Baby on the Bus" | TBA | TBA | March 6, 1988 |
| 32 | 19 | "Mommy and Me" | TBA | TBA | March 13, 1988 |
| 33 | 20 | "Lady on a Grate" | TBA | TBA | March 20, 1988 |
| 34 | 21 | "Good Intentions" | TBA | TBA | May 1, 1988 |
| 35 | 22 | "No Reservations" | TBA | TBA | July 10, 1988 |
Season 3 (1988–1989)
| № | Prod. code | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 40263-036 | "Partners" | October 30, 1988 |
| 37 | 40263-037 | "Deja Two" | November 6, 1988 |
| 38 | 40263-038 | "It's My Party" | November 13, 1988 |
| 39 | 40263-039 | "For Richard, For Poorer" | November 20, 1988 |
| 40 | 40263-040 | "Oh, Boy!" | November 27, 1988 |
| 41 | 40263-041 | "One Man Out" | December 11, 1988 |
| 42 | 40263-042 | "His Mother, Myself" | December 18, 1988 |
| 43 | 40263-043 | "Brother from Another Zip Code" | January 15, 1989 |
| 44 | 40263-044 | "Sister of the Year" | January 29, 1989 |
| 45 | 40263-045 | "The New and Improved Linda" | February 5, 1989 |
| 46 | 40263-046 | "Too Many Cooks" | February 12, 1989 |
| 47 | 40263-047 | "Read Between the Lines" | February 19, 1989 |
| 48 | 40263-048 | "Don't Quit Your Day Job" | February 26, 1989 |
| 49 | 40263-049 | "True Stories" | March 12, 1989 |
| 50 | 40263-050 | "Role Call" | March 26, 1989 |
| 51 | 40263-051 | "Kiss and Break Up" | April 9, 1989 |
| 52 | 40263-052 | "On the Nose" | April 23, 1989 |
| 53 | 40263-053 | "Richie and the Vamp" | April 30, 1989 |
| 54 | 40263-054 | "Open House" | May 7, 1989 |