Charles in Charge

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Charles in Charge

Title screen for Charles in Charge
Format Sitcom
Created by Michael Jacobs
Barbara Weisberg
Starring Scott Baio
Willie Aames
Julie Cobb (1984-1985)
James Widdoes (1984-1985)
April Lerman (1984-1985)
Jonathan Ward (1984-1985)
Michael Pearlman (1984-1987)
Jennifer Runyon (1984-1987)
Lisa Donovan (1986-1987)
Sandra Kerns (1987-1990)
Nicole Eggert (1987-1990)
Josie Davis (1987-1990)
Alexander Polinsky (1987-1990)
Ellen Travolta (1987-1990)
James T. Callahan (1987-1990)
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 126
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Al Burton
Jane Startz (1984-1988)
Running time 24:30 (CBS); 22:30 (first-run syndication)
Broadcast
Original channel CBS (1984-1985)
first-run syndication (1987-1990)
Original run October 3, 1984 - July 24, 1985 (CBS) – January 3, 1987 - December 8, 1990 (first-run syndication)
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Charles in Charge is an American sitcom series broadcast on CBS which starred Scott Baio as Charles, a 19-year-old college student working as a live-in babysitter in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

It was first broadcast from October 3, 1984 until July 24, 1985, and then syndicated from January 3, 1987 until December 8, 1990. 126 original episodes were aired in total. It was produced by Scholastic Productions and Universal Television.

Charles first worked for the Pembroke family: wife Jill, husband Stan, and their three children Lila; Douglas; and Jason. When the show ended its run on CBS, and entered syndication in 1987, the story was explained so that the Pembrokes moved away, and the Powells moved into their house, allowing Charles to live downstairs yet again. This time, the family consisted of grandfather Walter, mother Ellen (whose husband was in the military and could only visit his family sporadically), and her three kids Jamie, Sarah, and Adam.

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Main Cast

Actor Role
Scott Baio Charles
Willie Aames Buddy Lembeck
1984–1985
Jennifer Runyon Gwendolyn Pierce
James Widdoes Stan Pembroke
Julie Cobb Jill Pembroke
April Lerman Lila Pembroke
Jonathan Ward Douglas Pembroke
Michael Pearlman Jason Pembroke
1987–1990
James T. Callahan Mr. Walter Powell
Sandra Kerns Mrs. Ellen Powell
Nicole Eggert Jamie Powell
Josie Davis Sarah Powell
Alexander Polinsky Adam Powell
Ellen Travolta Lillian
Justin Whalin Anthony Swenson (1988)

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The theme song was composed by David Kurtz, Michael Jacobs, and Al Burton.
  • Shandi Sinnamon sang the theme song for the series.
    • The theme song was one of the songs Brian Griffin and Stewie Griffin sang in their TV medley on the Family Guy Live in Vegas album. In the episode "The Thin White Line", it was also sung by Peter Griffin during a cutaway scene, in which he was a security guard at the estate of George Harrison. Peter sang it, staring at the television, while George Harrison's attacker climbed the fence and entered the house.
    • The theme song was recorded by Australian band Smudge on their debut album, Manilow.
    • The theme song was one of the songs on the Christian rock band Relient K's debut, self-titled album, which also included a new verse about Buddy, the girl from Baywatch (referring to Jamie), and hanging out with Charles at the pizza parlor with Jesus.
    • The theme song was performed by The Blanks on the episode "My Nightingale" (2.02) of the sitcom Scrubs and appears on their debut album, Riding the Wave.
    • Conan O'Brien often breaks into the chorus when discussing TV themes, his own singing voice, or Scott Baio. O'Brien sings the theme song in an operatic tone.
    • Electric_Hellfire_Club did a gothic cover of the theme song on the compilation cd "TV Terror: Felching a Dead Horse"
  • Charles' mother was played by Ellen Travolta, John Travolta's sister. She had previously played the mother of Chachi Arcola, Scott Baio's character on Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi. Chachi's real name, incidentally, was also Charles.
  • Charles' last name was never revealed in the series; in fact, the writers sometimes went out of their way to avoid revealing it.
  • Nicole Eggert went on to star in Baywatch as Summer Quinn. Another actress who appeared on this show, and later went on to star in Baywatch was Erika Eleniak. Baio reportedly dated both actresses during the late-1980s and 1990s; however, both he and Eggert, though admitting they were attracted to each other, have denied that they ever dated.[1] Both Charles in Charge and Baywatch were TV shows that began on network TV, before moving to first-run syndication.
  • Scott Baio directed many episodes of the show, and is credited with his full name 'Scott Vincent Baio'.
  • The house depicted in the title screen is actually located on George Street in New Brunswick, NJ, in the Rutgers University district.
  • Meg Ryan guest starred as "Meagan Parker" in two episodes of the show's first season: "War" on October 24, 1984[2] and "Charles 'R' Us" on February 13, 1985[3].

[edit] DVD Releases

Universal Studios Home Entertainment released a 3-disc set of the first season of Charles in Charge on DVD in Northern America for the very first time in February 2006. Due to poor sales, Universal licensed the rights to release the remaining four seasons to Arts Alliance America during the summer of 2007. To date, they have released the second and third season.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 22 February 14, 2006
The Complete Second Season 26 November 20, 2007
The Complete Third Season 26 May 20, 2008
The Complete Fourth Season 26 TBA
The Complete Fifth Season 26 TBA

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Charles in Charge". Scott Baio, Nicole Eggert, Willie Aames, Josie Davis, Erika Eleniak, Alexander Polinsky, Elizabeth Koopman, Elena Miliaresis, Timothy Kelley. The E! True Hollywood Story. E! Entertainment Television. 2006-05-21.
  2. ^ Charles in Charge. "War." IMDb. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
  3. ^ Charles in Charge. "Charles 'R' Us." IMDb. Retrieved 30 June 2007.

[edit] External links