American television sitcom
Benson
is an American television
sitcom
that originally aired on
ABC
from September 13, 1979, to April 19, 1986. The show stars
Robert Guillaume
in the title role of Benson DuBois, the head of the household for Governor Eugene X. Gatling, played by
James Noble
. The show focused on the conflicts and relationships within the Governor's household, with Benson generally providing the sarcastic voice of reason.
Inga Swenson
,
Missy Gold
,
Didi Conn
,
Ethan Phillips
, and
Rene Auberjonois
all played long-term supporting roles.
The series was a
spin-off
of
Soap
in which the character Benson first appeared as the wise-cracking yet level-headed African-American butler for the highly dysfunctional Tate family. However,
Benson
avoided the soap opera format of its parent series for a more conventional sitcom structure, and the lead character eventually moved from his service position to a role as lieutenant governor. The series was created by
Susan Harris
, and produced by
Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions
. In 1985, Guillaume won an Emmy Award for
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
for his role in the series.
[2]
Plot
[
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]
Benson DuBois (
Robert Guillaume
) is hired to be the head of household affairs for widowed Governor Eugene X. Gatling (
James Noble
) and his daughter Katie (
Missy Gold
). Governor Gatling was a cousin of Jessica Tate (
Katherine Helmond
) from
Soap
.
[3]
Benson faces housekeeping dilemmas and interacts with German cook Gretchen Wilomena Kraus (
Inga Swenson
) and John Taylor (
David Hedison
; later
Lewis J. Stadlen
) who assists Governor Gatling as chief of staff. After Season 1, John Taylor leaves and the governor's new chief of staff is Clayton Endicott III (
Rene Auberjonois
).
The governor's press secretary Pete Downey (
Ethan Phillips
) is introduced in Season 2, and Benson's secretary Denise Stevens (
Didi Conn
) is introduced in Season 3. They later marry, having a child in the show's fifth season. Both were then written out, with the reason given that Denise secured a job with
NASA
.
Benson works his way up the ladder during the series, going from head of household affairs to state budget director and eventually is elevated to the position of Lieutenant-Governor. Finally, Benson runs for governor against Gatling.
Series finale
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]
The
term-limited
Governor Gatling runs for re-election as an
independent
candidate with Benson securing the party nomination, setting the stage for the two to go head-to-head in the general election.
At the end of the series' final episode, Benson and Gatling?who had strained relations due to the race?make peace with each other and watch the tight election returns together on television. As the broadcaster begins to announce that a winner is at last being projected, the episode ends on a freeze frame of Benson and Gatling, leaving the series with an unresolved
cliffhanger
. Coincidentally, Guillaume's previous series (
Soap
, from which
Benson
spun off) was also cancelled with unresolved cliffhangers.
In 2007,
Benson
executive producer
Bob Fraser
said that the season ended on a cliffhanger at the request of the network. The show was cancelled after the cliffhanger had already aired. Fraser indicated that, if the show had been renewed for another season, Gatling would have won the election and Benson would have become a
United States senator
.
[4]
According to Gary Brown who directed the finale and 20 other episodes of
Benson
, three different outcomes were filmed: with Benson winning, Gatling winning, and a tie. The intent was to decide over summer break which outcome to use. Brown also stated that regardless of the outcome, the long-term intent for the next season was for Benson to become the governor.
[5]
Cast and characters
[
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]
Main
[
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]
- Robert Guillaume
as Benson DuBois, the main character, hired as head of household affairs for Governor Gatling and his daughter Katie. Quick-witted and quick-thinking, Benson has helped the governor on several issues, bailing him out of tight political and public situations.
- James Noble
as Eugene X. Gatling, the widowed and scatterbrained (but well-meaning) governor. Gatling has a penchant for telling off-the-wall stories, which Benson (and everyone else in the household) dreads.
- Inga Swenson
as Gretchen Kraus, the governor's chef. A fiercely proud German immigrant, she is often at odds with Benson and trades insults with him. A running gag in the series was whenever she would walk out of the room, under his breath, Benson would cast one last barb toward Kraus, to which she shouted from off-stage, "I He-e-e-ear You-u-u-u!". Despite their rivalry, Benson and Kraus become close friends. She later becomes Benson's strongest supporter when he runs for governor against Gatling.
- Missy Gold
as Katie Gatling, the governor's pre-teen daughter.
- Lewis J. Stadlen
as John Taylor, Governor Gatling's chief of staff (season 1 only), played by
David Hedison
in the pilot episode.
- Caroline McWilliams
as Marcy Hill, the governor's personal secretary (seasons 1 and 2, first three episodes of season 3). She is Benson's closest friend in the mansion and often confides in him. Frequently unlucky in love, Marcy eventually marries and leaves the governor's employ very early in season 3.
- Didi Conn
as Denise Stevens, Marcy's sweet-natured, cheerfully naive replacement (from season 3, episode 3 through season 5, with guest appearances in season 6).
- Ethan Phillips
as Pete Downey, Gatling's frequently high-strung press secretary (seasons 2 through 5, with guest appearances in season 6).
- Rene Auberjonois
as Clayton Endicott III; he replaced Taylor as Gatling's chief of staff beginning in season 2. Clayton is very snobbish and high-handed?even more so than his predecessor, Taylor. He is also a hypochondriac.
- Billie Bird
as Rose Cassidy; she becomes Gatling's chef partway through season 6 when Kraus is promoted to Benson's administrative assistant.
Recurring
[
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]
- Jerry Seinfeld
played a small role as Frankie, a delivery boy and unsuccessful comedian, for three episodes in 1980 (all early in season 2). He was asked to leave because of creative differences.
[6]
- Ed Peck
was seen in four episodes in seasons 2-3, as Police Captain Dennis McDermott, usually investigating strange, sometimes serious occurrences at the governor's mansion.
- Bob Fraser
, who was a writer/producer on
Benson
through its entire run, appeared occasionally in seasons 5-7 as Senator Leonard Tyler, a duplicitous sometimes-ally, sometimes-rival of both Benson and Governor Gatling.
- Donna LaBrie
played Senator Diane Hartford in four season 7 episodes. She became Benson's fiancee.
Episodes
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]
Broadcast history
[
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]
Season
|
Time slot
[15]
|
1 (
1979?1980
)
|
Thursdays at 8:30?9:00 pm ET on ABC
|
2 (
1980?1981
)
|
Fridays at 8:00?8:30 pm ET on ABC
|
3 (
1981?1982
)
|
Fridays at 8:00?8:30 pm ET on ABC
|
4 (
1982?1983
)
|
Fridays at 8:00?8:30 pm ET on ABC (October 22, 1982 ? March 25, 1983)
Thursday at 8:00?8:30 pm ET on ABC (March 31, 1983 - April 27, 1983))
|
5 (
1983?1984
)
|
Fridays at 8:00?8:30 pm ET on ABC
|
6 (
1984?1985
)
|
Fridays at 8:00?8:30 pm ET on ABC (September 21, 1984 ? February 22, 1985)
Fridays at 9:00?9:30 pm ET on ABC (March 15 ? April 5, 1985)
|
7 (
1985?1986
)
|
Fridays at 9:30?10:00 pm ET on ABC (October 4, 1985 ? January 3, 1986)
Saturdays at 8:30?9:30 pm ET on ABC (January 18 ? April 19, 1986)
|
Home media
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]
On July 24, 2007,
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
released Season 1 of
Benson
on DVD in Region 1.
On April 3, 2012, Sony released season 2 on DVD.
On August 27, 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment announced it had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including
Benson
.
[16]
They re-released the first and second seasons on DVD on September 2, 2014.
[17]
DVD name
|
Ep #
|
Release date
|
The Complete First Season
|
24
|
July 24, 2007
|
The Complete Second Season
|
22
|
April 3, 2012
|
Setting
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]
The exterior shots of the "governor's mansion" are actually of a private home located at 1365 South Oakland Avenue in Pasadena, California.
[18]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Golden Girls' Creator Adds Shows"
.
Los Angeles Times
. September 10, 1991
. Retrieved
January 19,
2022
.
- ^
"37th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners"
.
Television Academy
. Retrieved
January 19,
2022
.
- ^
O'Connor, Joh' J. (September 13, 1979).
"TV: Move To Mansion By Benson"
.
The New York Times
. p. C28.
- ^
"Benson"
.
TV Series Finale
. November 18, 2008.
Archived
from the original on November 20, 2008
. Retrieved
September 7,
2015
.
- ^
D'Addario, Daniel (March 19, 2014).
"Surprise! "Benson" filmed three endings ? find out which one was most likely"
.
Salon
. Retrieved
September 7,
2015
.
- ^
Horowitz, Alana; Vivian Giang (April 17, 2012).
"17 people who got fired before they became rich and famous"
.
Business Insider
. Archived from
the original
on May 27, 2014
. Retrieved
September 7,
2015
– via MSN Money.
- ^
1981-82 Ratings History
, archived from
the original
on March 22, 2018
, retrieved
April 4,
2018
- ^
1982-83 Ratings History
, archived from
the original
on March 18, 2018
, retrieved
April 4,
2018
- ^
1983-84 Ratings History
, archived from
the original
on January 18, 2018
, retrieved
April 4,
2018
- ^
1983-84 Ratings History
, archived from
the original
on January 18, 2018
, retrieved
April 4,
2018
- ^
1984-85 Ratings History
, archived from
the original
on March 22, 2018
, retrieved
April 4,
2018
- ^
1984-85 Ratings History
, archived from
the original
on March 22, 2018
, retrieved
April 4,
2018
- ^
1985-86 Ratings History
, archived from
the original
on April 4, 2018
, retrieved
April 4,
2018
- ^
1985-86 Ratings History
, archived from
the original
on April 4, 2018
, retrieved
April 4,
2018
- ^
Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (June 24, 2009).
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present
(Ninth ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 124?125.
ISBN
978-0-3074-8320-1
. Retrieved
January 19,
2022
.
- ^
"Site News DVD news: Mill Creek Licenses 52 TV Shows from Sony for Low-Cost DVD Release"
.
TVShowsOnDVD.com
. Archived from
the original
on October 6, 2014
. Retrieved
September 7,
2015
.
- ^
"Benson DVD news: Announcement for Benson - The Complete Seasons 1 & 2"
.
TVShowsOnDVD.com
. Archived from
the original
on September 22, 2015
. Retrieved
September 7,
2015
.
- ^
Epting, Chris (2003).
James Dean Died Here ? The Locations of America's Pop Culture Landmarks
. Santa Monica Press. p. 263.
ISBN
978-1-8916-6131-0
. Retrieved
January 19,
2022
.
External links
[
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]