Buddies (TV series)
| Buddies | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Carmen Finestra David McFadzean Matt Williams |
| Directed by | Paul Lazarus John Pasquin Andrew Tsao |
| Starring | Dave Chappelle Christopher Gartin Tanya Wright Richard Roundtree |
| Theme music composer | Derrick Perkins |
| Composer | Brian Bennett |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Carmen Finestra David McFadzean Matt Williams |
| Producer | Gayle S. Maffeo |
| Production location | Burbank, California |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Wind Dancer Productions Touchstone Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | March 5 – May 29, 1996 |
| Related | |
| Home Improvement | |
Buddies is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from March 5 to May 29, 1996.[1] It was created by Carmen Finestra, David McFadzean, and Matt Williams and starred Dave Chappelle, Christopher Gartin, Tanya Wright, Jeff Rawluk and Richard Roundtree.
History[edit]
Home Improvement connection[edit]
Comedians Dave Chappelle and Jim Breuer attracted the attention of TV network executives with their guest appearance on the (4th season) March 14, 1995, episode of ABC's highly rated sitcom Home Improvement.[2] The storyline had Chappelle and Breuer play friends who appear together on Tool Time to ask Tim Taylor advice on their girlfriends. The characters' single outing on the episode proved so popular that ABC decided to give Chappelle and Breuer their own half-hour sitcom.
Cast changes[edit]
After subsequent rehearsals, Breuer was replaced with Christopher Gartin as Chappelle's "buddy". The unique comic timing and chemistry that Chappelle had with Breuer, his real-life friend, was not present with Gartin, and Breuer's abrupt firing exacerbated ill will. This prevented Chappelle and Gartin from developing the rapport and chemistry necessary for the characters' believability and likeability.[3]
Broadcast[edit]
Buddies premiered on Tuesday, March 5, 1996. The show garnered disappointing ratings. Buddies was cancelled on April 3 after airing only five out of the 13 produced episodes.[4][5] Chappelle himself was not proud of his involvement with Buddies in retrospect:
It was a bad show. It was bad. I mean when we were doing it, I could tell this was not gonna work.[6]
Cast[edit]
- David Chappelle as Dave Carlisle
- Christopher Gartin as John Bailey
- Tanya Wright as Phyllis Brooks
- Paula Cale as Lorraine Bailey
- Judith Ivey as Maureen DeMoss
- Richard Roundtree as Henry Carlisle
Episode list[edit]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Andrew Tsao | Carmen Finestra & David McFadzean & Matt Williams | March 5, 1996 |
| 2 | "A Room with a Pyew" | John Pasquin | Trish Baker | March 13, 1996 |
| 3 | "Regarding Henry" | Andrew Tsao | Sharon D. Johnson | March 20, 1996 |
| 4 | "Famous Last Words" | John Pasquin | Mark St. Germain | March 27, 1996 |
| 5 | "Marry Me...Sort Of" | Paul Lazarus | Daphne Pollon | April 3, 1996 |
| 6 | "Lights, Camera...Yuck!" | Paul Lazarus | Peter Tolan | April 10, 1996 |
| 7 | "Pet Peeves" | John Pasquin | Robert Zappia | April 17, 1996 |
| 8 | "The Content of Their Character" | John Pasquin | Lisa DeBenedictis & Daryl Rowland | April 24, 1996 |
| 9 | "There Goes the Groom" | John Pasquin | Richey Jones & Todd Jones | May 1, 1996 |
| 10 | "The PSA Story" | John Pasquin | Bob Burris & Michael Ware | May 8, 1996 |
| 11 | "John, I've Been Thinking" | John Pasquin | Art Everett | May 15, 1996 |
| 12 | "Engagement Hell" | Andrew Tsao | Steve Gabriel | May 22, 1996 |
| 13 | "Whack and Blight" | Andrew Tsao | Peter Tolan | May 29, 1996 |
Home media[edit]
Best Buy released an exclusive DVD on May 15, 2005, that contained 10 episodes of Buddies, including all 8 unaired episodes.[7][8]
References[edit]
- ^ Cotter, Bill (1997). The Wonderful World of Disney Television. Hyperion Books. pp. 477–478. ISBN 0-7868-6359-5.
- ^ Home Improvement episode listing for "Talk to Me." IMDB.com.
- ^ "Spin Off: Buddies and Home Improvement. Poobala.com. Last accessed November 10, 2007.
- ^ Buddies page at TV.com. Last accessed November 14, 2007
- ^ Arnold, Thomas (August 26, 2005). "Disney Gifts Wal-Mart Holiday DVD Exclusive". hive4media.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2005. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
- ^ "Chappelle: An Act Of Freedom." CBS News December 29, 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2022
- ^ "Best Buy to get exclusive release of Dave Chappelle's 1996 series." Archived 2007-12-05 at the Wayback Machine TvShowsOnDVD.com. April 25, 2005.
- ^ Best Buy ad for DVD release. Archived 2007-11-23 at the Wayback Machine Best Buy. Last accessed November 10, 2007.
External links[edit]
- 1990s American black sitcoms
- 1990s American multi-camera sitcoms
- 1996 American television series debuts
- 1996 American television series endings
- American television spin-offs
- American English-language television shows
- Television series by ABC Studios
- Television shows set in Chicago
- Home Improvement (TV series)
- Hispanic and Latino American sitcoms
- American Broadcasting Company sitcoms