A Fine Romance (1989 TV series)
| A Fine Romance | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy drama |
| Created by | Peachy Markowitz |
| Starring | |
| Composer | John Du Prez |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (5 unaired) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Phoenix Entertainment Group |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | January 18 – March 2, 1989 |
A Fine Romance is an American comedy-drama television series that aired from January 18, 1989, to March 2, 1989 on ABC. The series was filmed on location at various places in Europe.[1]
Premise
[edit]A divorced couple work together as hosts of a travel show called Ticket to Ride.[2] The locations they traveled to included Paris, Dublin, Budapest, and Malta.
Cast
[edit]- Christopher Cazenove as Michael Trent
- Margaret Whitton as Louisa Phillips
- Ernie Sabella as George Shipman
- Kevin Moore as Miles Barrish
- Dinah Lenney as Friday Forrester
Broadcast
[edit]The series was originally slated to air as a part of ABC's fall 1988 schedule, Sundays at 8/7c. However, the 1988 Writers Guild of America Strike had officially taken hold by the time of network upfronts in May, and A Fine Romance, along with all other scripted network shows, was affected. Although still featured in ABC's official fall preview reel as airing on Sundays in the fall, the series was soon announced to be on midseason status by the time the fall schedule was released, due to the strike delaying production. To fill the Sunday slot in the fall, ABC commissioned the revival of Mission: Impossible, one of many inexpensive programming alternatives the network was using to fill time during the strike.
The new M:I filled the Sunday 8 p.m. slot for several episodes until being moved to Saturdays in December 1988. Despite the Sunday slot becoming available, A Fine Romance instead premiered in January 1989 on Thursdays at 8/7c, where it replaced the cancelled freshman series Knightwatch. As was the case with the series it replaced, A Fine Romance lost out to The Cosby Show and A Different World on NBC and 48 Hours on CBS, and was pulled after barely two months. Five episodes remain unaired in the US, although the entire run was broadcast in the UK.
Episodes
[edit]| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Desperately Seeking Louisa" | Thomas J. Wright | Peachy Markowitz and Jane Petteway | January 18, 1989 | 13.3[3] | |
|
In Paris, Louisa tries to convince Michael to return to the show. Anne is kidnapped and Michael and Louisa work together to find her. | ||||||
| 2 | "A Horse is a Horse, Of Course, Of Course" | Stan Lathan | Ian Gurvitz | January 26, 1989 | 8.6[4] | |
|
In Dublin, Louisa steals Michael's paycheck in order to buy a racehorse. Miles suspects his wife of having an affair with a butcher. | ||||||
| 3 | "Absence of Chalice" | Gabrielle Beaumont | Bill Froelich | February 2, 1989 | 7.6[5] | |
| 4 | "Below Suspicion" | Reza Badiyi | John Amodeo | February 9, 1989 | 6.9[6] | |
|
In Malta, both Michael and Louisa are preparing for dates. George tries to work a product placement into the show. | ||||||
| 5 | "The Day of the Third, Thin, Wrong Woman Who Knew All Too Much About Eve" | Gene Reynolds | Michael Aitkens | February 16, 1989 | 7.8[7] | |
|
Michael and Louisa bet on who will be the first to start an argument. Louisa gets an assistant when she breaks her foot. George tries to cut the budget. | ||||||
| 6 | "A Yank and the RAF" | Kevin Hooks | Mark Lisson | February 23, 1989 | 6.8[8] | |
|
Suffering the effects of a minor auto accident in France, Louisa dreams about herself and Michael in World War II. | ||||||
| 7 | "It's Just the Gypsy in My Soul" | Reza Badiyi | Peachy Markowitz and Kathy McCormick | March 2, 1989 | 6.3[9] | |
|
In Budapest, Louisa tries to make up with Michael after she destroys his prized possession, a first edition book. She is also told she has only a week or two to live, causing an unexpected reaction from Michael. | ||||||
| 8 | "South by Southeast" | David Tucker | Ian Gurvitz | Unaired | N/A | |
|
Michael is mistaken for a man named Rappaport. Louisa tries to talk Michael into doing a Japanese dog food commercial. | ||||||
| 9 | "Double Indignity" | Harry Harris | Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham | Unaired | N/A | |
|
In London, Louisa refuses to wear glasses. The show is filming at an old house owned by Michael's old girlfriend, and there is a rumor that the house is haunted by a ghost. | ||||||
| 10 | "School Daze" | Ray Austin | Peter Spence | Unaired | N/A | |
|
In England, Michael is invited back to his old school to accept an award. A mink coat falls out of the sky and lands on Louisa, but she is chased by the coat's owner and a thief. | ||||||
| 11 | "The Tomas Crown Affair" | Ray Austin | Terry Nation | Unaired | N/A | |
|
Michael breaks a tooth in Madrid after Louisa forces him to try some candy. Michael and Louisa are pursued by agents in San Francisco who try to get the diamond in Michael's tooth. Friday loses her luggage. | ||||||
| 12 | "Th-The-That's All, Folks!" | Harry Harris | Ian Gurvitz and Kathy McCormick | Unaired | N/A | |
|
In Santa Cruz, California, there is a rumor that the travel show will be cancelled. Louisa does not know that she has valuable baseball in her purse. | ||||||
References
[edit]- ^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 410. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
- ^ "A Fine Romance (1989)". TV.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "NBC scores super ratings". Life. USA Today. January 25, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306147740.
- ^ "Midseason entries boost NBC". Life. USA Today. February 1, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306144802.
- ^ "Comedies sweep up for NBC". Life. USA Today. February 8, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306179902.
- ^ "CBS gallops to a tie with NBC". Life. USA Today. February 15, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306163263.
- ^ "NBC's back alone on top". Life. USA Today. February 22, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306175741.
- ^ "CBS up despite Grammy drop". Life. USA Today. March 1, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306152931.
- ^ "Hit-and-miss program changes". Life. USA Today. March 8, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306184202.
External links
[edit]- A Fine Romance at IMDb
- TV.com Archived 2018-07-14 at the Wayback Machine