Ed (TV series)


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Ed
Format comedy-drama
Created by Jon Beckerman
Rob Burnett
Starring Tom Cavanagh
Julie Bowen
Rachel Cronin
Josh Randall
Jana Marie Hupp
Lesley Boone
Michael Ian Black
Justin Long
Daryl "Chill" Mitchell
Mike Starr
Country of origin USA
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 83 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 42 mins
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Original run October 8, 2000 – February 6, 2004
External links
IMDb profile

Ed is an NBC television program produced by David Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated that aired from 2000 to 2004.

The hour-long comedy-drama starred Tom Cavanagh as Edward Jeremy Stevens, the protagonist, Julie Bowen as his love interest Carol Phyllis Vessey, Josh Randall as his friend Dr. Mike Burton, Jana Marie Hupp as Mike's wife Nancy, Lesley Boone as their friend Molly Hudson, and Justin Long as awkward high-school student Warren Cheswick. Other supporting cast members included Michael Genadry and Ginnifer Goodwin as Warren's friends Mark and Diane, and Michael Ian Black, Mike Starr, Rachel Cronin, and (later) Daryl Mitchell as the employees of Stuckeybowl, Ed's bowling alley. Long term guest stars included John Slattery as Dennis Martino and Sabrina Lloyd as Frankie Hector. The show was created by executive producers Jon Beckerman and Rob Burnett.[1] David Letterman is also credited as one of the show's executive producers.[2]

Ed received casting, writing, and directing Emmy nominations in 2001. Tom Cavanagh received a Golden Globe nomination and a TV Guide Award for his work on the program.

In 2004, despite a campaign by fans to keep the series on the air, NBC cut the show from their lineup because of poor ratings.

Contents

Premise

The show revolved around Cavanagh's Ed Stevens, a hotshot New York lawyer who on the same day is both fired from his job (for a misplaced comma that cost the firm $1.6 million) and discovers that his wife is sleeping with a mailman[2] (the wife makes a point that it is not their mailman in particular, but another mailman).

Deciding to spend some time in his home town of Stuckeyville, Ohio, he is reunited with friends that he has missed, as well as Carol Vessey, a woman he had a crush on in high school.[3] Determined to win Carol's heart, he decides to stay, buying a rundown bowling alley and setting up a new law firm in the process, being nicknamed the "Bowling-Alley Lawyer" ("I am a lawyer, I own a bowling alley. Two separate things").[4]

Ed also had a number of running gags, such as Phil (Michael Ian Black) hatching ludicrous schemes usually to gain fame and/or fortune, and ten-dollar bets between Ed and Mike that would require one of them to do something extremely embarrassing.

Episodes

Main article: List of Ed episodes

Production

The pilot

While the premise of the show hinges on the changes in Ed's life in New York and his initial return to Stuckeyville, the pilot which illustrated these events was not aired as part of the series. A summary using footage from the pilot, however, did appear at the beginning of the first regular episode.[3]

In addition, the pilot also contained some notable casting choices, with Donal Logue portraying Phil and Janeane Garofalo guest-starring as Ed's ex-wife Liz. Michael Ian Black replaced Logue as Phil in re-shot scenes of the first episode and for the entire series, and a number of different actresses played Liz in her few appearances (for example, Lea Thompson played the character in several episodes near the end of the series).

The show was originally called Ed, then titled Stuckeyville when in development at CBS, and then renamed Ed again when it was picked up by NBC.[5]

Locations

Although set in the fictitious town of Stuckeyville, Ohio, the majority of the series was actually shot in various towns in northern New Jersey including Hillsdale, Haworth, Westfield, Cranford, Nutley, Ridgewood , Harrington Park and Northvale. Many of the street names and towns mentioned on the show are real New Jersey street and town names.

Stuckeybowl was actually the former Country Club Lanes in Northvale, NJ, and also served as the show's headquarters. Many of the show's other sets were built in a cleared out portion of the bowling alley such as the interiors of Stuckeyville High School, the courtroom, and The Smiling Goat. Country Club Lanes went out of business several years ago, and was completely demolished in the late Spring of 2006, to make room for new housing.

Theme song

The opening credits theme song for the majority of the show's run was "Next Year" by Foo Fighters[6], except during the entire second season when Clem Snide's "Moment in the Sun" was used. Season three reverted back to "Next Year" in the United States, after resolving the "complicated business reasons" that prevented its use the previous year.[7] "Moment in the Sun" continued to be used outside the U.S., although the end credits list "Next Year" as the opening theme.

A framed Foo Fighters poster hung on the wall of Stuckeyville High School principal Molly Hudson's office.

References

  1. ^ Sullivan, Brian Ford (2007-03-07). "On the Futon with... "The Knights of Prosperity" creators Rob Burnett & Jon Beckerman", The Futon Critic. 
  2. ^ a b Owen, Rob (2000-10-08). "It's prime time for 'Late Show' writers", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 
  3. ^ a b Frost, Bill (2000-11-30). "Dog Boy Saves NBC! Believe the hype: Ed is a good, weird time.", Salt Lake City Weekly. 
  4. ^ Blackman, Lori (2000-11-17). "Tom Cavanagh of 'Ed'", CNN. 
  5. ^ Iorio, Paul (2000-09-24). "`Ed' Has That Letterman Touch", San Francisco Chronicle. 
  6. ^ Fries, Laura (2000-10-02). "Ed (review)", Variety. 
  7. ^ Vancheri, Barbara (2002-09-25). "TV Preview: 'Ed' creators hope to keep show fresh", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

External links

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