Oliver Beene
Oliver Beene is an American sitcom that premiered on Fox on March 9, 2003. The show was created by Howard Gewirtz. Set in 1962 and 1963, the show chronicled the trials and tribulations of the 11-to-12-year-old Oliver Beene (played by Grant Rosenmeyer), in first person perspective. Oliver Beene's other main characters are his parents Jerry and Charlotte Beene, his older brother Ted Beene, and his two friends Joyce and Michael. The narrator, an older Oliver reflecting on his experience, is voiced by David Cross. Often in episodes, the story is interrupted by flashbacks and flash-forwards.
| Oliver Beene | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Howard Gewirtz |
| Starring | Grant Rosenmeyer Grant Shaud Wendy Makkena Andrew Lawrence Daveigh Chase Taylor Emerson |
| Narrated by | David Cross |
| Opening theme | "The Future Is Now" by The Solids |
| Composer(s) | Paul Buckley |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 24 (2 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Steven Levitan Productions (ge.wirtz) Films DreamWorks Television 20th Century Fox Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Picture format | 1080i/720p (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | March 9, 2003 – September 12, 2004 |
Premise
Oliver (born c. 1951), attempts to sustain normality in an often unpredictable family. Oliver's father Jerry spends his days drilling teeth as a dentist, while his mother attempts to play the traditional homemaker. Oliver's brother, Ted is a sports nut and a womanizer. Oliver's life is often made more bearable with friends Michael, Joyce and his crush Bonnie, who appears at his most embarrassing moments. Both brothers have a crush on a Swedish girl in their apartment building, Elke.
Cast
Main
- Grant Rosenmeyer as Oliver David Beene
- David Cross as future Oliver David Beene (voice only)
- Grant Shaud as Dr. Jeremiah "Jerry" Beene
- Wendy Makkena as Charlotte Caroline Beene
- Andrew Lawrence as Tayler "Ted" Mark Beene
- Daveigh Chase as Joyce
- Taylor Emerson as Michael
Recurring
- Ben Bookbinder as Neal
- Annie Korzen as Mrs. Heller
- Maggie Grace as Elke
- Amanda Michalka as Bonnie
Broadcast history
| Season | Time |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | Sunday at 8:30 (Episodes 1-6) Sunday at 9:30 (Episodes 7-8) |
| 2003–04 | Wednesday at 9:30 (Episode 1) Sunday at 7:30 (Episodes 2-6) Sunday at 7:00 (Episodes 7-12) |
Episodes
The series first aired on March 9, 2003, as a Fox program to replace the animated series Futurama. The first season was relatively successful, and the show was brought back for a second season. However, poor ratings throughout the second season led to the show's cancellation in September 2004, with the two last episodes of the season being left unaired in America. (the last episode to air in the show's original timeslot was broadcast on September 12, 2004). In the UK and Ireland, Sky One broadcast both seasons, in their entirety.
Season 1: 2003
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "A Day at the Beach" | Michael Spiller | Story by : Eric Abrams & Matthew Berry Teleplay by : Howard Gewirtz | March 9, 2003 | 103 |
| The Beenes hope to join a popular country club, while Oliver has a crush on a girl named Bonnie. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Home, a Loan" | Jeff Melman | Bill Callahan & Philip Wen | March 16, 2003 | 106 |
| Jerry and Charlotte visit Jerry's old college friend, Mitch (Kurt Fuller), While Ted's friend Harvey (A.J. Trauth), gets him and Oliver in trouble with a creepy neighbor. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Space Race" | Michael Spiller | Steven Levitan | March 30, 2003 | 105 |
| Oliver finds himself in trouble after accidentally hurting a new black student at school. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Nudie Mag" | Jeff Melman | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas | April 6, 2003 | 104 |
| Oliver may get in big trouble when he and Michael go looking for something in Michael's closet. They end up finding a porno mag belong to Michael's dad. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Lord of the Bees" | Matt Shakman | Chris Harris | April 13, 2003 | 111 |
| Oliver cheats on a test to beat Susan grade-wise. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Dancing Beene" | Jeff Melman | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas | April 20, 2003 | 109 |
| Oliver has a dream to become like Fred Astaire, so he takes a ballroom class. He later learns he can't dance at all. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Divorce-O-Rama" | Jeff Melman | Jace Richdale | April 27, 2003 | 102 |
| Oliver and Joyce try to get tickets to a TV show. Meanwhile, Oliver thinks his parents are getting a divorce after learning that Joyce's parents are headed for divorce. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Oliver's Best Friend" | Lev L. Spiro | Jim Bernstein & Michael Shipley | May 4, 2003 | 110 |
| After convincing his parents to get him a dog, Oliver learns that having a dog is more trouble than he can handle. | ||||||
Season 2: 2004
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "Dibs" | Lev L. Spiro | Howard Gewirtz & Steven Levitan | February 4, 2004 | 202 |
| Oliver and Ted have a crush on the new girl in the neighborhood, named Elke (Maggie Grace). Meanwhile, Jerry and Charlotte try to get into an old club unaware that it's all about jazz and marijuana. | ||||||
| 10 | 2 | "Soup to Nuts" | Lev L. Spiro | Chris Harris | February 8, 2004 | 205 |
| On a school field trip Oliver loses his lunch due to the bus hitting a bump and spills on his lap with everyone thinking he's thrown up on himself. | ||||||
| 11 | 3 | "Daughter for a Day" | Lev L. Spiro | Jim Bernstein, Howard Gewirtz & Michael Shipley | February 15, 2004 | 208 |
| Oliver and Jerry do some father-and-son bonding for the day, while Charlotte feels left out and spends the day with Joyce hoping to know her better. | ||||||
| 12 | 4 | "X-Ray Specs" | Michael Spiller | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas | February 22, 2004 | 207 |
| Oliver orders X-Ray glasses from a comic book and finds out that they don't work. He decides to get revenge on Barnaby Rollins (Richard Kind) the company owner, in order to get his money back. | ||||||
| 13 | 5 | "Ward Have Mercy" | Matt Shakman | David M. Stern | March 7, 2004 | 203 |
| Oliver creates a door knocker that Mr. Stitt (Ethan Phillips) does not approve of and instructs that it be removed. Charlotte gets help from Carl the building Superintendent (Kenneth Mars) on how to beat Mr. Stitt in the upcoming election. | ||||||
| 14 | 6 | "Disposa Boy" | Brent Carpenter | Kristofor Brown | March 14, 2004 | 107 |
|
Oliver learns that he is going to the lowest level of the grade levels in his school because his former teacher Mrs. Heller punished him. So, Oliver tries to figure out how to get back to level one without taking the Iowa test. Meanwhile, Jerry tries to get people interested in his latest invention "The Disposa Toothbrush". Note: This episode was originally produced for season 1. | ||||||
| 15 | 7 | "Idol Chatter" | Matt Shakman | Stephen Lloyd | June 6, 2004 | 206 |
| Jerry tries to out do his neighbors the O'Shaughnessy's by having a famous comedian entertaining the guests at the Beene party. | ||||||
| 16 | 8 | "Oliver and the Otters" | Michael Spiller | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas | June 13, 2004 | 209 |
| Oliver forms his own band called "Oliver and the Otters" to impress Joyce. Meanwhile, Jerry asks Charlotte to fill in as his dental assistant after his previous one got hurt. | ||||||
| 17 | 9 | "Kissing Babies" | Jay Chandrasekhar | Jim Bernstein & Michael Shipley | June 20, 2004 | 204 |
| Oliver is about to attend his first make-out party and seeks advice from Ted about the games that will be played there. | ||||||
| 18 | 10 | "Girly Dad" | Marcos Siega | Jace Richdale | June 27, 2004 | 108 |
|
Charlotte and Ted try to teach Jerry how to throw a ball... in a more manly fashion. Note: This episode was originally produced for season 1. | ||||||
| 19 | 11 | "Fallout" | Jeff Melman | Howard Gewirtz | August 15, 2004 | 101 |
|
Oliver tries out for the annual talent show hoping he can impress Bonnie. Meanwhile, Jerry turns the basement into a fallout shelter as a 15-anniversary present for Charlotte. Note: This is the pilot episode of the series. | ||||||
| 20 | 12 | "Catskills" | Michael Spiller | Jim Bernstein & Michael Shipley | August 22, 2004 | 213 |
| Charlotte is desperate for some time with her family so she decides to take her family to the Catskills Mountains. | ||||||
| 21 | 13 | "A Trip to Coney Island" | Jeff Melman | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas | August 29, 2004 | 201 |
| Jerry and his family decide to take a trip to Coney Island. The vacation causes a feud to spark between Jerry and his neighbor over a parking spot. Meanwhile, Oliver gets his dream job of being a paper boy, But realizes that it's not all that it's cracked up to be. | ||||||
| 22 | 14 | "Babysitting" | Howard Gewirtz | Brenda Hsueh | September 12, 2004 | 211 |
| Oliver is conned into baby-sitting for Joyce, but she gets more than she bargained for when Oliver steals her steady job. | ||||||
| 23 | 15 | "Superhero" | Joe Pennella | David M. Stern & Chris Harris | Unaired | 210 |
| Oliver can never seem to take a good photo and therefore hates picture day. This year he is determined to take control of the situation and do things on his terms, so he wears a superhero costume as a method of protest. Meanwhile, Ted learns that his baseball coach (Sam Horrigan) is dating Elke. | ||||||
| 24 | 16 | "The King & I" | Fred Savage | Stephen Lloyd | Unaired | 212 |
| The owner of a sports store offers Ted all that he wants from the store. But to get it, he must go out with the owner's daughter. | ||||||
External links
- Oliver Beene on IMDb
- Oliver Beene at TV.com