Silver Spoons

Silver Spoons is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the first four seasons, until Embassy Communications moved the series to syndication.[1]

Silver Spoons
GenreSitcom
Created by
Developed by
Directed by
Starring
Theme music composer
  • Rik Howard
  • Bob Wirth
Opening theme"Together"
Ending theme"Together" (Instrumental)
Composer(s)Ray Colcord
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes116 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • David W. Duclon (1982–1984)
  • Robert Illes
  • James Stein (1984–1985)
  • Steve Pritzker (1985–1986)
  • Jack Humphrey (1986)
  • George Burditt (1987)
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time22 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor
Release
Original network
Picture format480i (SDTV)
Audio format
  • Monaural (1982–1985)
  • Stereo (1985–1987)
Original releaseSeptember 25, 1982 (1982-09-25) –
May 30, 1987 (1987-05-30)

Silver Spoons was created by Martin Cohan,[2] Howard Leeds and Ben Starr.

Synopsis

In the pilot episode, Ricky Stratton (Ricky Schroder) arrives at the mansion of the father he has never met to introduce himself, move in, and get to know him better. Edward Stratton III (Joel Higgins) epitomizes the phrase "overgrown child"; he has never taken responsibility for anything in his life, including his toy business, Eddie's Toys. Ricky recognizes that his father needs to grow up; Edward thinks his son is too uptight and needs to have more fun while he's still young.

Edward's father is played by John Houseman as the intelligent, well-to-do patriarch and industrialist whose demeanor starkly contrasts with Edward's and seems more similar to Ricky's (at first). Throughout the series, the comic tension arises between Grandfather Stratton's belief that people with money are obligated to make more money and Edward's belief that money should be used to make people happy. Ricky is often caught between the two, wishing only for peace and harmony within the family.

Ricky's mother is Evelyn Bluedhorn (Christine Belford). Edward and Evelyn's romantic relationship led to a week-long marriage. Now Evelyn has remarried and placed Ricky in a military boarding school. When Ricky arrives at the Stratton residence, Edward is stunned to discover that his long-ago brief marriage produced a son (when he expressed incredulousness because he "wasn't married that long," Ricky pointed out, "It doesn't take that long"). At first he sends Ricky right back to the boarding school; later he dresses up as a swamp monster to take Ricky out of the school and back to the mansion to live with him. The mansion is stocked with arcade games and a scale-model freight train runs through it.

Edward exhibits his childishness and playfulness in many ways, such as performing a little dance while the Pac-Man plays its theme song. Stratton's personal assistant, Kate Summers (Erin Gray), is often the voice of reason. Kate's role adds tension to the show and provides incentive for Edward to act more maturely (at least sometimes). Edward and Kate's will-they-or-won't-they relationship gives way to a third-season wedding.

During the series' early years, Ricky befriends "bad boy" Derek Taylor (Jason Bateman, seasons 1–2), smooth-talking "cowboy" J.T. Martin (Bobby Fite, seasons 1–2), and "nerdy" Freddy Lippincottleman (Corky Pigeon, seasons 1–4). They get into a lot of trouble and learn many childhood lessons along the way.

Edward's original attorney was Leonard Rollins (Leonard Lightfoot), who departed after the first season, and was replaced by the aptly named business manager Dexter Stuffins (Franklyn Seales), who was somewhat stuffier and more erudite than Leonard had been. Dexter remained through the rest of the series and was joined in fall 1984 by his hip, breakdancing nephew Alfonso Spears (Alfonso Ribeiro, seasons 3–5), who became Ricky's new best friend. Once Ricky, Freddy and Alfonso were in high school in season four, their circle was completed by Brad (Billy Jacoby, seasons 4–5), a reintroduction of the type of "bad boy"-character similar to that of Derek during the show's early years. That year, as Kate and Edward adjusted to married life, Kate's doddering uncle, Harry Summers (Ray Walston), moved into the Stratton mansion.

Cast
The cast of Silver Spoons, season 4

Main cast

Recurring cast
  • Jason Bateman as Derek Taylor (Seasons 1–2)
  • Bobby Fite as J.T. Martin (Seasons 1–2)
  • Corky Pigeon as Fredrick March "Freddy" Lippincottleman (Seasons 1–4)
  • Billy Jacoby as Brad Langford (Seasons 4–5)
  • John Houseman as Grandfather Edward Stratton II (Seasons 1–5)
  • Christine Belford as Evelyn Bluedhorn Stratton (Seasons 1–5)
  • Ray Walston as Uncle Harry Summers (Season 4)

Broadcast history
SeasonTime
1Saturday at 8:30–9:00 on NBC
2
3Sunday at 7:00–7:30 on NBC
4Sunday at 7:30–8:00 on NBC (September 15, 1985 – March 16, 1986)
Sunday at 7:00–7:30 on NBC (May 4–11, 1986)
5In first-run syndication

Episodes
Main article: List of Silver Spoons episodes

Production notes

Theme song

The show's theme song titled "Together" was written by Rik Howard and Bob Wirth.[3] The original version was accompanied mostly by guitar with vocals by Ron Dante. Two other versions of the theme were used during the show's run. A synthesized version was used in 1985 with a different vocalist. The third version of the theme, a rock version, was introduced in January 1986 and began in use during the second half of season 4 with vocals again by Ron Dante and composed by Ray Colcord.

The Stratton mansion

The brick Tudor period mansion shown in the opening credits is actually a private residence located in Warwickshire, England. The elaborate home, named Compton Wynyates, was built in 1481. Before Silver Spoons, it was used in the 1977 Disney film Candleshoe, starring Helen Hayes, Jodie Foster and David Niven.[4]

Reruns and syndication

Reruns of Silver Spoons aired on NBC's daytime schedule from July 1, 1985 to September 20, 1985 at 10:00am (EST).[5]

The show was also rerun on WWOR EMI Service from December 28, 1992 to September 3, 1993. Select episodes were also aired on Nick at Nite in 2001 and 2005. The show is also available on Xfinity digital cable's On Demand service as of September 19, 2006. Chicago's WWME ("Me TV") currently airs two episodes back to back on Saturday afternoons. The first season is also available for purchase by episode or season on iTunes. In 2008, video on demand sites Hulu and Crackle began airing the syndicated version of the first season of Silver Spoons.

FamilyNet (now The Cowboy Channel) aired reruns of the series nightly with back-to-back episodes at 9pm Eastern (and noon ET Mondays-Saturdays), until June 30, 2017, when the network underwent a programming format change the following day. Antenna TV began airing reruns of the series starting in January 2018.[6]

Syndicated stations
City Station
Atlanta WATL 36[7]
Baltimore WBFF 45[8]
Bloomington WYZZ 43
Boston WFXT 25[9]
Charlotte WCCB 18[10]
Chicago WPWR 50[11]
Dayton WRGT 45[12]
Detroit WKBD 50[13]
Greenville WYFF 4[14]
Greeneville WEMT 39[15]
Houston KTXH 20[16]
Huntsville WZDX 54[17]
Indianapolis WXIN 59[18]
Kansas City KZKC 62[19]
Lexington WKYT 27[20]
Los Angeles KTLA 5[21]
Miami WDZL 39[22][23]
Milwaukee WCGV 24[24]
Philadelphia WPHL 17[25]
Poland Spring WMTW 8[26]
Providence WNAC 64[27]
Oakland KTVU 2[28][29][30][31]
Seattle KSTW 11[32]
Secaucus WWOR 9[33]
St. Louis KPLR 11[34]
Washington, D.C. WTTG 5[35]

Home media

On June 19, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season of Silver Spoons on DVD in Region 1.[36] As of 2015, this release has been discontinued and is out of print. It is unknown if the remaining 4 seasons will be released.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 22 June 19, 2007

See also

References
  1. Silver Spoons, retrieved July 6, 2016
  2. Dore, Shalini (May 20, 2010). "Sitcom scribe Martin Cohan dies: Creator of 'Silver Spoons,' 'Who's the Boss?" was 77". Variety. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  3. Terrace, Vincent (1993). Television Character and Story Facts: Over 110,000 Details from 1,008 Shows, 1945–1992. McFarland & Company. p. 419. ISBN 0-899-50891-X.
  4. Higgins, Shriley; Higgins, Jim (March 26, 1978). "Hunting treasure in new Disney film". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. p. C11.
  5. http://www.daytimetvarchive.com/grids/1985.html
  6. "Antenna TV Adding Nine New Shows to the Mix"
  7. "Atlanta TV - September 18, 1990". Radio Discussions. March 22, 2014.
  8. "Retro: Baltimore/DC/Lancaster, Saturday, October 20, 1990". Radio Discussions. June 17, 2017.
  9. "Retro: Hartford/Springfield Mon, Oct 3, 1988". Radio Discussions. October 3, 2011.
  10. "Retro: North Carolina, 9/14/91". Radio Discussions. August 25, 2005.
  11. December 1987 - Chicago Promo for 'Silver Spoons' & 'Webster' on YouTube
  12. "Retro:Cincinnati, Wednesday, January 4, 1989". Radio Discussions. August 8, 2011.
  13. "Retro: Detroit- Thursday, May 26, 1988". Radio Discussions. February 20, 2019.
  14. "Retro: Spartanburg, SC, Friday, April 6, 1990". Radio Discussions. June 30, 2018.
  15. "Retro: Harlan, KY, Monday, December 21, 1987". Radio Discussions. April 28, 2017.
  16. "Retro: Houston Saturday, February 28-Sunday, March 1, 1987". Radio Discussions. March 6, 2010.
  17. Silver Spoons - Television Commercial - 1987 - WZDX 54 - Huntsville Alabama on YouTube
  18. "Retro: Indianapolis/Terre Haute/Lafayette, IN - Monday, June 19, 1989". Radio Discussions. March 15, 2018.
  19. "Retro: Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., May 18, 1988". Radio Discussions. April 17, 2006.
  20. "Retro: Lexington/Knoxville/Bristol/Huntington Monday March 9th, 1987". Radio Discussions. March 3, 2013.
  21. KTLA Weeknights Promo 1987 on YouTube
  22. WDZL Break / Promo November 1987 C on YouTube
  23. "Silver Spoons" On WDZL on YouTube
  24. ""Silver Spoons" in syndication". Radio Discussions. August 27, 2007.
  25. "RETRO: PHILADELPHIA (09/25/1989)". Radio Discussions. August 27, 2007.
  26. "Retro: Montreal/Southern Quebec Fri, July 7, 1989". Radio Discussions. July 7, 2010.
  27. "Retro: Boston/New Hampshire Tues, Aug 23, 1988". Radio Discussions. August 23, 2010.
  28. KTVU FALL '86 PROMO on YouTube
  29. KTVU 2 THREE'S COMPANY PROMO (1989) on YouTube
  30. KTVU Promo | Silver Spoons (1989) on YouTube
  31. "Retro: Eugene, OR with some cable channels, September 13, 1988". Radio Discussions. July 8, 2009.
  32. "Retro: Seattle/Tacoma, Friday, March 27th, 1987". Radio Discussions. September 30, 2012.
  33. "NEW YORK TV- Monday September 18, 1989". Radio Discussions. February 9, 2006.
  34. "Retro: Western Illinois Wed, Mar 16, 1988". Radio Discussions. September 16, 2010.
  35. "Retro: DC/Baltimore/Delmarva Sat, Sept 5, 1987". Radio Discussions. February 3, 2006.
  36. "Silver Spoons – Here We Are: Sony Sez Silver Spoons in June!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-14.
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