Too Close for Comfort

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ABC (ended 1987)
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Show Summary

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Too Close for Comfort first aired in November of 1980 on ABC at a time when sitcoms were not popular. The series was based on the British sitcom, Keep it In the Family which had premiered in January 1980.''''Too Close for Comfort starred television veteran, Ted Knight as Henry Rush, a middle-aged professional illustrator who's claim to fame was penning "Cosmic Cow" a kiddie cartoon. Muriel was Henry's wife and successful free-lance photographer. The series began when their two daughters, Jackie and Sara moved into the downstairs apartment of the San Francisco town house.''''Jackie was the brunette who worked at a bank and the somewhat more sensible one while Sara was the sexy blond who was a freshman at San Francisco State College. Also in the cast, included Monroe Ficus, Sara's friend who was constantly a source of annoyance for Henry and seemed to always get under his feet.''''As the years went by, April, Henry's hippie niece dropped in and out, Muriel became pregnant at 42 and gave birth to a son, Andrew, and Muriel's nagging, mother, Iris was seen adding more grief to Henry's life.''''ABC canceled the series in 1983 but it soon was picked up for first-run syndication (a trend that sitcoms began to follow in the mid-80s). ''''In 1986, the series changed names and went by The Ted Knight Show and ran for one additional season with minor changes. Henry, Muriel, and Andrew moved north of San Francisco to Mill Valley where Henry now owned 49% of a weekly newspaper, The Marin Bugler. Monroe was still seen working at the newspaper, but Sara and Jackie had been dropped from the cast. Hope Stinson owned the other 51% of the newspaper and soon became Henry's new thorn in the side.''''The series was schedule to go on for another season when Ted Knight suddenly passed away during the summer of 1986 (August 26, 1986). The series continued airing in syndication until the final week of March 1987. ''''First Telecast: November 11, 1980 ''Last Telecast: March 1987''''Episodes: 129 Color Episodes''''Theme Song:''''"Too Close for Comfort"'' ''Written by: Johnny Mandel''''Performed by: Johnny Mandel''(Instrumental)''''ABC Broadcast History''''November 1980-September 1982----Tuesdays----9:30 p.m.''September 1982-June 1983----Thursdays----9:00 p.m.''August-September 1983----Thursdays----8:30 p.m.''September 1983----Thursdays----8:00pm.''''Syndication Broadcast History''''April 1984-December 1985''April 1986-March 1987 (as The Ted Knight Show)''''''Nielsen Ratings:''(Top 30 or Better)''''#16 in the 1980-1981 Season''#7 in the 1981-1982 Season''moreless
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Episode Guide

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S 6 :  Ep 22 Aired 2/7/87
S 6 :  Ep 21 Aired 1/31/87
S 6 :  Ep 20 Aired 11/22/86
S 6 :  Ep 19 Aired 11/15/86
S 6 :  Ep 18 Aired 11/8/86

Too Close for Comfort News

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  • ABC orders three drama pilots, one comedy 6

    ABC orders three drama pilots, one comedy

    By Reuters, Jan 19, 2006

    ABC has given the green light to three drama pilots, Sixty Minute Man, Day Break, and Brothers & Sisters. Sixty Minute Man centers on a suburban family man who begins to suspect he might be the key player in a… more

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Fan Reviews (1)

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  • Once A Great Show Turned Into A Train Wreck

    8.6
    "Great"
    By aesgaard41, Oct 14, 2006 Report Abuse
    This was a break out hit for its time. Fans of the old Mary Tyler Moore Show knew that Ted Knight was a valuable and underappreciated talent, and changing him from an unbearable idiot newsman to an over-protective likeable father of two gorgeous daughters was a great stretch for him. One made even more likeable by making him a cartoonist for the fictional Cosmic Cow cartoon, which was funny enough in itself that it could have spun off its own cartoon which would have worked considering Knight once voiced cartoons. Making the series even more enjoyable was the casting of sexy Lydia Cornell and adorable Deborah Van Valkenburgh as his daughters who tried to prove that they could live on their own in the bottom half of their duplex. The jokes ran rampant over Cornell's incredible figure: "Don't overload the washing machine again." "It was Jackie's blue jeans that did it." "It wasn't my jeans; it was your bra !" The series probably would have worked equally as well as a vehicle more for the daughters than Knight as Jackie contemplated cosmetic surgery for herself and Copley turned out to be smarter than her character, but then in walked one annoyingly grating actor named Jm J. Bullock. Hired for a one-shot performance as an idiot who followed Cornell home, he stayed and stayed and stayed and stayed..... The jokes got worse instead of better, and the show was given the final nail in the coffin by having the mom, played by Nancy Dussault, get pregnant. Reworking the show for syndication didn't help. The girls vanished, the baby became five years old and Bullock stayed to get in the way and ruin the show. What a lousy end to a once good show!moreless

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