Sparks (TV series)

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For other uses, see Sparks (disambiguation) .
Sparks
Genre Sitcom
Created by Ed. Weinberger
Directed by Wendy Charles Acey
Mark Corry
Stan Daniels
Kim Friedman
Leonard R. Garner Jr.
Bob Moloney
Ed. Weinberger
Starring James Avery
Robin Givens
Terrence Howard
Miguel A. Nunez Jr.
Arif S. Kinchen
Kym Whitley
Theme music composer Billy Preston
Composer Billy Preston
Country of origin United States
Original language English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 40
Production
Executive producers Rob Dames
Bob Moloney

Lenny Ripps
Ed. Weinberger
Producers Greg Giangregorio
Bruce Bayley Johnson
Miguel A. Nunez Jr.
Alison Taylor
Running time 22?24 minutes
Production companies The Weinberger Company
MTM Enterprises
(1996-1997)
(season 1)
20th Century Fox Television
(1997-1998)
(season 2)
Original release
Network UPN
Release August 26, 1996  ( 1996-08-26 )  ?
March 2, 1998  ( 1998-03-02 )
Related
Good News

Sparks is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from August 26, 1996, to March 2, 1998. The series stars James Avery , Robin Givens , Terrence Howard , Miguel A. Nunez Jr. , Kym Whitley and Arif S. Kinchen. The sitcom is set in Los Angeles, California , and is about the everyday lives of a family of lawyers running a family-owned law practice. Reruns of the show aired on BET in the late 1990s.

Content [ edit ]

The show stars James Avery as Alonzo Sparks, a lawyer running a family law firm with his sons Maxey ( Miguel A. Nunez Jr. ) and Greg ( Terrence Howard ) in inner-city Los Angeles, California . [1] [2]

Cast [ edit ]

Main [ edit ]

Recurring [ edit ]

Special guest appearances [ edit ]

Episodes [ edit ]

Series overview [ edit ]

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 22 August 26, 1996  ( 1996-08-26 ) May 19, 1997  ( 1997-05-19 )
2 18 August 25, 1997  ( 1997-08-25 ) March 2, 1998  ( 1998-03-02 )

Season 1 (1996?97) [ edit ]

No.
overall 		No. in
season 		Title Directed by Written by Original air date Viewers
(millions)
1 1 "Pilot" Ed. Weinberger Ed. Weinberger August 26, 1996  ( 1996-08-26 ) 5.2 [3]
2 2 "Palimony Suit" Unknown Unknown September 2, 1996  ( 1996-09-02 ) 3.3 [4]
3 3 "How Papa Got His Groove Back" Unknown Unknown September 9, 1996  ( 1996-09-09 ) 3.0 [5]
4 4 "A Day in the Life" Unknown Unknown September 16, 1996  ( 1996-09-16 ) 3.6 [6]
5 5 "Sid, Lies and Videotape" Unknown Unknown September 23, 1996  ( 1996-09-23 ) 3.3 [7]
6 6 "Penal Envy" Unknown Unknown September 30, 1996  ( 1996-09-30 ) 3.2 [8]
7 7 "No Sweat" Unknown Unknown October 14, 1996  ( 1996-10-14 ) 4.3 [9]
8 8 "Pillow Talk" Unknown Unknown November 4, 1996  ( 1996-11-04 ) 4.3 [10]
9 9 "One on One" Unknown Unknown November 5, 1996  ( 1996-11-05 ) 4.3 [10]
10 10 "Goode for the Gander" Unknown Unknown November 11, 1996  ( 1996-11-11 ) 3.1 [11]
11 11 "Porky's Revenge" Bob Moloney Ed. Weinberger November 18, 1996  ( 1996-11-18 ) 3.1 [12]
12 12 "Maxey Gets the Bird" Unknown Unknown November 25, 1996  ( 1996-11-25 ) 2.9 [13]
13 13 "It's the Gospel" Unknown Unknown January 13, 1997  ( 1997-01-13 ) 4.21 [14]
14 14 "I, Spy" Unknown Unknown January 20, 1997  ( 1997-01-20 ) 4.25 [15]
15 15 "Won't You Be My Neighbor" Unknown Unknown February 3, 1997  ( 1997-02-03 ) 3.93 [16]
16 16 "Love Conquers All" Unknown Unknown February 10, 1997  ( 1997-02-10 ) 4.45 [17]
17 17 "Self Defense" Unknown Unknown February 17, 1997  ( 1997-02-17 ) 4.39 [18]
18 18 "Hoop Schemes" Unknown Unknown February 24, 1997  ( 1997-02-24 ) 4.63 [19]
19 19 "The Great Indoors" Unknown Unknown April 28, 1997  ( 1997-04-28 ) 4.02 [20]
20 20 "Love in a Cup" Bob Moloney Mark E. Corry May 5, 1997  ( 1997-05-05 ) 3.86 [21]
21 21 "Too Hot Not to Cool Down" Unknown Unknown May 12, 1997  ( 1997-05-12 ) 3.65 [22]
22 22 "A Day in the Life II" Unknown Unknown May 19, 1997  ( 1997-05-19 ) 3.68 [23]

Season 2 (1997?98) [ edit ]

No.
overall 		No. in
season 		Title Directed by Written by Original air date Viewers
(millions)
23 1 "To the Maxey" Unknown Unknown August 25, 1997  ( 1997-08-25 ) 4.27 [24]
24 2 "Maxey Loses His Spark" Unknown Unknown September 1, 1997  ( 1997-09-01 ) 3.63 [25]
25 3 "Rehearsal of Fortune" Unknown Unknown September 8, 1997  ( 1997-09-08 ) 3.78 [26]
26 4 "Dog Gone" Unknown Unknown September 15, 1997  ( 1997-09-15 ) 3.63 [27]
27 5 "When a Man is a Woman" Stan Daniels Lenny Ripps & Rob Dames September 22, 1997  ( 1997-09-22 ) 3.63 [28]
28 6 "Defending Claude" Unknown Unknown September 29, 1997  ( 1997-09-29 ) 4.36 [29]
29 7 "Don't Get Hooked on Me" Kim Freidman Allison Taylor October 13, 1997  ( 1997-10-13 ) 4.67 [30]
30 8 "Bad Reception" Unknown Unknown October 27, 1997  ( 1997-10-27 ) 4.58 [31]
31 9 "A Bride for Alonzo" Unknown Unknown November 3, 1997  ( 1997-11-03 ) 3.91 [32]
32 10 "Brotherly Love" Unknown Unknown November 10, 1997  ( 1997-11-10 ) 4.35 [33]
33 11 "Roots III" Bob Moloney Ron Nelson & Mark Steen November 17, 1997  ( 1997-11-17 ) 4.83 [34]
34 12 "It's Good to Be Negative" Unknown Unknown November 24, 1997  ( 1997-11-24 ) 4.21 [35]
35 13 "Silent Night" Stan Daniels Lenny Ripps & Rob Dames December 16, 1997  ( 1997-12-16 ) 2.64 [36]
36 14 "Flirting with Disaster" Wendy Acey Ron Nelson & Mark Steen January 12, 1998  ( 1998-01-12 ) 3.79 [37]
37 15 "She's Having My Baby" Wendy Acey Gisele Sanchez Rochet January 19, 1998  ( 1998-01-19 ) 3.81 [38]
38 16 "Cain and Abel Sparks" Unknown Unknown February 16, 1998  ( 1998-02-16 ) 3.23 [39]
39 17 "Till Your Well Runs Dry" Unknown Unknown February 23, 1998  ( 1998-02-23 ) 2.73 [40]
40 18 "Blind Justice" Unknown Unknown March 2, 1998  ( 1998-03-02 ) 3.54 [41]

Reception [ edit ]

Kevin D. Thompson of The Palm Beach Post gave the show a mostly-negative review, criticizing Avery's performances and the "normal cardboard cutout characters". [1] Frederic M. Biddle of the Boston Globe also criticized the performances of the lead actors and thought that Nunez' and Howard's characters were "silently perpetuating stereotypes equating character with Caucasian features". [2]

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ a b "Comic 'Sparks' has life but doesn't catch fire" . Palm Beach Post. August 26, 1996 . Retrieved May 16, 2022 .
  2. ^ a b Frederic M. Biddle (August 26, 1996). "Givens is good, but 'Sparks' fizzles" . Boston Globe . Retrieved May 16, 2022 .
  3. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . September 4, 1996. p. 3D.
  4. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . September 11, 1996. p. 3D.
  5. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . September 18, 1996. p. 3D.
  6. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . September 25, 1996. p. 3D.
  7. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . October 2, 1996. p. 3D.
  8. ^ Graham, Jefferson (October 9, 1996). "Baseball on NBC helps CBS". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
  9. ^ DeRosa, Robin (October 23, 1996). "Fox gets major league boost to No. 3". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
  10. ^ a b "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . November 13, 1996. p. 3D.
  11. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . November 20, 1996. p. 3D.
  12. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . November 27, 1996. p. 3D.
  13. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today . December 4, 1996. p. 3D.
  14. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 13-19)" . The Los Angeles Times . January 22, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  15. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 20-26)" . The Los Angeles Times . January 29, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  16. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 3-9)" . The Los Angeles Times . February 12, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  17. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 10-16)" . The Los Angeles Times . February 20, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  18. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 17?23)" . The Los Angeles Times . February 26, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  19. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 24-March 2)" . The Los Angeles Times . March 5, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  20. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (April 28?May 4)" . The Los Angeles Times . May 7, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  21. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (May 5?11)" . The Los Angeles Times . May 14, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  22. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (May 12?18)" . The Los Angeles Times . May 21, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  23. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (May 19?25)" . The Los Angeles Times . May 29, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  24. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Aug. 25-31)" . The Los Angeles Times . September 4, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  25. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Sept. 1-7)" . The Los Angeles Times . September 10, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  26. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Sept. 8?12)" . The Los Angeles Times . September 17, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  27. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Sept. 15?21)" . The Los Angeles Times . September 24, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  28. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Sept. 22?28)" . The Los Angeles Times . October 1, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  29. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Sept. 29-Oct. 5)" . The Los Angeles Times . October 8, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  30. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 13-19)" . The Los Angeles Times . October 22, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  31. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 27-Nov. 2)" . The Los Angeles Times . November 5, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  32. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 3-9)" . The Los Angeles Times . November 12, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  33. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 10-16)" . The Los Angeles Times . November 19, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  34. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 17-23)" . The Los Angeles Times . November 26, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  35. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 24-30)" . The Los Angeles Times . December 3, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  36. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 15-21)" . The Los Angeles Times . December 24, 1997 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  37. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 12-18)" . The Los Angeles Times . January 21, 1998 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  38. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 19-25)" . The Los Angeles Times . January 28, 1998 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  39. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 16-22)" . The Los Angeles Times . February 25, 1998 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  40. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 23-March 1)" . The Los Angeles Times . March 4, 1998 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon
  41. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (March 2?8)" . The Los Angeles Times . March 11, 1998 . Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . Free access icon

External links [ edit ]

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