Life's Work

US

Comedy
English     6     1996     US

Overview

Life's Work is an American situation comedy series that aired from September 1996 to June 1997 on the ABC channel; the show stars Lisa Ann Walter as Lisa Ann Minardi Hunter, an assistant district attorney in Baltimore. Lisa Ann always wanted to practice law since she was young because she always argued with her parents. She also had a basketball coach husband named Kevin Hunter who served as the patriarch of the family. Together, they raised a 7-year-old daughter Tess and a toddler son named Griffin. During the entire run of the series, a simple electric guitar instrumental solo was used as the show's opening theme. Laugh tracks were used in all episodes in the sitcom as it was filmed "live before a studio audience." During the 1990s, it was common to give stand-up comedians their own sitcom on TV; even if their first one had flopped. Lisa Ann Walter was a stand-up comedian who played a mouthy feminist who could stand up to her mother in addition to her superiors at work. While Lisa Ann's character had plenty of zingers to her, there was still a sense of "been-there-done-that" with her character. In one of the episodes, Lisa Ann claimed to have a sexual affair with then-current American President Bill Clinton.

Similar

The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept, but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife, a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee, and a precocious young son, Opie. Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Andy Griffith stated in a Today Show interview, with respect to the time period of the show: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was when we were doing it, of a time gone by." The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. It has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best show in American television history. Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show titled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", spawned its own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D., and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry. The show's enduring popularity has generated a good deal of show-related merchandise. Reruns currently air on TV Land, and the complete series is available on DVD. All eight seasons are also now available by streaming video services such as Netflix.

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The Andy Griffith Show
1960