Good & Evilis an Americansitcomandsoap operaparody that was broadcast in the United States onABCfrom September 25 to October 30, 1991.[1]The series was created bySusan Harris,and produced byWitt/Thomas/Harris Productionsin association withTouchstone Television.
| Good & Evil | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Situation comedy |
| Created by | Susan Harris |
| Directed by | Terry Hughes |
| Starring | Teri Garr Margaret Whitton Marian Seldes Lane Davies Mark Blankfield Lane Smith Mary Gillis Seth Green Brooke Theiss Marius Weyers Sherman Howard William Shockley |
| Composer | George Aliceson Tipton |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No.of seasons | 1 |
| No.of episodes | 11 (5 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Tom Straw Bob Underwood Paul Junger Witt Tony Thomas Susan Harris |
| Producer | Gilbert Junger |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Witt–Thomas–Harris Productions Touchstone Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 25– October 30, 1991 |
Series overview
editGood & Evilwas the saga of two sisters – one "good", the other "evil" – and the backstabbing, jealously and power struggles that occurred between them.Teri Garrstarred as Denise Sandler, the evil sister, who was heir to her mother Charlotte (Marian Seldes)'s cosmetics empire Sandler Cosmetics. She was icy and cutthroat, and took great delight at work in mistreating her secretary Mary (Mary Gillis) and her flamboyant secretary Roger (Sherman Howard). Feeling slighted by her family, Denise was out to steal what she thought was rightfully hers, beginning with presidency of the company. Her mother Charlotte, vain and caught up in her own legacy, still ruled over it with an iron fist. However, she promised to give Denise the helm when she reached retirement age, but only when she "looked" 65 (her line of products made her look generations younger, in her eyes, at least). This was only the first motivation in Denise's extensive plotting. One of these plans was soon to include that of the man she felt destined to marry, dashing boyfriend Dr. Eric Haan (Lane Davies).
Meanwhile, the "good" sister, Genevieve "Genny" (Margaret Whitton), was a world-class biochemist who was putting her life together after the death of her husband, and hard at work testing new potential viruses that could be wiped out before they spread the world. A purist, Genny preferred to do lab testing on herself instead of on animals.
Genny did have her concerns, she couldn't understand why her beautiful daughter Caroline (Brooke Theiss) had been mute since the time of her father's death. In an effort to move on, Genny began seeing George (Mark Blankfield), a clumsyblindpsychiatristat her university, who soon had her fighting off his romantic advances. George's presence and his constant following of Genny was awkward to deal with, as his ineptitude with a cane caused him to demolish everything in sight.
Things became strenuous between Denise and Genny when the latter was introduced to Dr. Eric. They instantly fell for each other, and before long gave in to their temptations and struck up an affair. When Denise witnessed this unfold, she threatened to blackmail Dr. Eric with lewd photos, so that Genny would disapprove of his "seedy" behavior and dump him. This intensified the feud between the two sisters, with Denise's harsh intentions versus Genny's resilience being the core conflict. Charlotte, who still couldn't accept that she was looking closer to her actual age, decided to retire, but passed over the presidency to her newSouthernboyfriend, Harlan Shell (Lane Smith), a billionaire who just purchased the company. Denise added Harlan to her "revenge list", and eventually plotted murder against him.
In the series premiere, Denise's husband Ronald (Marius Weyers), who had been presumed dead after a fall offMount Everestfour years earlier, was found to have remained frozen on the mountain and was thawed out by mountain climbers. Remarkably, Ronald remained physically unharmed but reassimilated back into society with revenge on his mind. He gave Denise and their teenage son David (Seth Green) a surprise homecoming, but it was quickly hinted that it was Denise who had in fact pushed Ronald off the cliff. During the course of the series, she had to keep Ronald's return a secret from everyone else and went to great lengths to get rid of him. As Denise's evil plotting continued, David went on a search for the man heknewwas his real father, lawyer Sonny (William Shockley).
In the final episode to air, Denise successfully blackmailed Dr. Eric, and with his career at stake, Genny broke off their engagement. Caroline spoke for the first time since the loss of her father, as the half-hour came to a close, Denise was attempting to take Harlan's life. This cliffhanger would left unresolved asGood & Evilwas cancelled.
Similarities toSoapand controversy
editDespite being created bySusan Harris,who in the 1970s launched the wildly successfulsoap operaparodySoap,Good & Evilshared none ofSoap's success.
The ineptitude that George, the blind character, demonstrated in attempting to navigate his surroundings, frequently demolishing everything in sight with his red-tipped white cane, led to the picketing of ABC's offices by members of the Baltimore-basedNational Federation of the Blind.ABC insisted that the program was not intended to be in any way realistic but rather a "parodydone to the extremes, and there is not a single character in the show intended to be believable. "Their boycott persuaded two advertisers,UnileverUnited States, Inc., andPlaytexFamily Products Corp, to pull their advertising from the program. After airing six episodes and ranking 77 out of 101 shows,Good & Evilbecame the first cancelled series of the 1991–1992 season.
Unaired episodes
editPrior toABC's cancellation of the show, 11 full episodes ofGood & Evilhad been produced.[2]In the last five, still-unaired episodes, Denise murdered Harlan, launching a huge investigation that put everyone on edge. Imperious mother Charlotte came out of retirement and regained control of the company, while Denise continued to fight for her own control.
Cast and characters
edit- Teri Garras Denise Sandler
- Margaret Whittonas Genevieve "Genny" Sandler
- Mark Blankfieldas George
- Lane Daviesas Dr. Eric Haan
- Mary Gillis as Mary
- Seth Greenas David Sandler
- Sherman Howardas Roger
- Marian Seldesas Charlotte Sandler
- Brooke Theissas Caroline Sandler
- William Shockleyas Sonny(eps.3–6)
- Lane Smithas Harlan Shell(eps.2–5)
- Marius Weyersas Ronald Ethan
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Terry Hughes | Susan Harris | September 25, 1991 | 10.2[3] |
| 2 | "Episode 2" | Terry Hughes | Tom Straw | October 2, 1991 | 7.6 |
| 3 | "Episode 3" | Terry Hughes | Bob Underwood | October 9, 1991 | 8.3 |
| 4 | "Episode 4" | Terry Hughes | Bill Bryan | October 16, 1991 | 7.5 |
| 5 | "Episode 5" | Terry Hughes | Valerie J. Curtin | October 23, 1991 | 6.3 |
| 6 | "Episode 6" | Terry Hughes | Story by : Valerie Curtin & Bill Bryan Teleplay by : Bob Underwood & Tom Straw | October 30, 1991 | 7.0 |
| 7 | "Episode 7" | unaired | unaired | unaired | unaired |
| 8 | "Episode 8" | unaired | unaired | unaired | unaired |
| 9 | "Episode 9" | unaired | unaired | unaired | unaired |
| 10 | "Episode 10" | unaired | unaired | unaired | unaired |
| 11 | "Episode 11" | unaired | unaired | unaired | unaired |
Sources
editBrooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle,The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows
References
edit- ^Cotter, Bill (1997).The Wonderful World of Disney Television.Hyperion Books. pp. 428–429.ISBN0-7868-6359-5.
- ^Cerone, Daniel (October 25, 1991)."ABC Drops 'Good & Evil,' Irks Series Creator".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved23 March2011.
- ^Bruce B. Morris,Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993,McFarland and Company, 1997.