Tanner '88

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Tanner '88
Format Comedy-drama
Created by Garry Trudeau
Starring Michael Murphy
Pamela Reed
Cynthia Nixon
Kevin J. O'Connor
Daniel Jenkins
Jim Fyfe
Matt Malloy
Ilana Levine
Veronica Cartwright
Country of origin USA
No. of episodes 11
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Robert Altman
Garry Trudeau
Camera setup Multiple camera
Running time 1-hour premiere, other eps. approx. 30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel HBO
Original run February 15, 1988 – August 22, 1988
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Tanner '88 was a groundbreaking HBO television series. Written by Garry Trudeau and directed by Robert Altman, it went behind the scenes of the fictional campaign of former Michigan Congressman Jack Tanner in his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic party's nomination for the United States presidential election, 1988.

Congressman Tanner (played by Michael Murphy) is an obscure liberal Democratic politician who struggles to find a voice in the early Democratic primaries until his campaign manager T.J. Cavenaugh (Pamela Reed) masterminds an advertising push highlighting Tanner's authenticity and integrity. Using the slogan 'For real,' Congressman Tanner manages to emerge from a wide field of contenders to battle for the nomination against two high profile and better funded candidates, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and eventual nominee Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis.

Along for the ride are Tanner's college student daughter Alex (Cynthia Nixon) and girlfriend Joanna Buckley (Wendy Crewson, the real-life wife of Michael Murphy), a high level member of the rival Dukakis presidential campaign.

The series lasted for 11 episodes, scheduled irregularly over the real-life 8-month campaigning period from February through August of 1988. The series followed Congressman Tanner from the New Hampshire primary to his unsuccessful challenge for the nomination at the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. In 2004 the Sundance Channel revived the series with a four-episode sequel, Tanner on Tanner. The series was also released on DVD as part of the Criterion Collection in 2004.

The series is notable for cameo appearances from real life political figures of the 1988 primary season, including Jesse Jackson, Bob Dole, Gary Hart, Kitty Dukakis, Bruce Babbitt, and Pat Robertson.

Robert Altman has always contended that this was his most creative work, along with Short Cuts. Altman won the Emmy Award for best Directing, Drama for the Tanner '88 episode The Boiler Room. Reed won a Cable Ace Award for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series.

Contents

[edit] Cabinet

Jack Tanner's proposed cabinet (quotes from their appearances on the show):

[edit] Song

The show's theme song, drawn from Altman's 1979 film Health, became a continuing part of the series, appearing in multiple incarnations throughout Congressman Tanner's bid for the presidency.

[edit] Episodes

The following is a chronological episode list for the television series Tanner '88 which ran for eleven episodes on HBO in 1988.

Currently, the entire series is available on DVD from the Criterion Collection.

[edit] Season One (1988)

# Airdate Prod. Code Title
1 February 15, 1988 1A/1B The Dark Horse (60 min.)
2 March 14, 1988 2A For Real
3 April 12, 1988 2B The Night of the Twinkies
4 May 2, 1988 3A Moonwalker and Bookbag
5 May 16, 1988 3B Bagels with Bruce
6 June 6, 1988 4A Child's Play
7 June 20, 1988 4B The Great Escape
8 July 11, 1988 5A The Girlfriend Factor
9 July 17, 1988 5B Something Borrowed, Something New
10 August 11, 1988 6A The Boiler Room
11 August 22, 1988 6B The Reality Check

[edit] External links