| Empty Nest | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Susan Harris[1] |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | |
| Opening theme | "Life Goes On" performed byBilly Vera |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 170(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | October 8, 1988 (1988-10-08) – June 17, 1995 (1995-06-17)[2] |
| Related | |
Empty Nest is an American televisionsitcom that aired for seven seasons onNBC from October 8, 1988, to June 17, 1995. The series, which was created as aspin-off ofThe Golden Girls by creator and producerSusan Harris, starredRichard Mulligan as recently widowedpediatrician Dr. Harry Weston, whose two adult daughters return home to live with him. The series was produced byWitt/Thomas/Harris Productions in association withTouchstone Television.[3][4]
An early version of the series initially appeared in the 1987Golden Girls episode "Empty Nests" which was intended to act as abackdoor pilot for the spin-off, which was to begin during the fall 1987 TV season.
In the episode, George and Renee Corliss (played byPaul Dooley andRita Moreno), were introduced as the Girls' neighbors, a middle-aged couple suffering fromempty nest syndrome. Their teenage daughter Jenny (Jane Harnick), who had left for college, and Renee's brother Chuck (Geoffrey Lewis), also appeared. The Corlisses also had an annoying neighbor played byDavid Leisure (although in this version his character was named Oliver). The series was, in part, conceived as astar vehicle for Leisure, whose portrayal of car salesmanJoe Isuzu had made him a national celebrity.[5][6]
Rita Moreno later criticized theEmpty Nest pilot, calling it a "very, very bad show."[7] She explained that the script desperately needed rewrites from creator Susan Harris, but she was very sick the week of shooting so it was left to other writers to fix. According to Moreno, "every day they kept changing my character, to the extent that by the time we got to do it in front of an audience I couldn't remember Line 1 because the attitudes had changed so many times. That was the most embarrassing experience...we must have done, I would guess, about 15 takes in front of an audience."[7]
Ultimately, the series did not go ahead as planned and the premise was later extensively revamped with a new cast beforeEmpty Nest debuted in 1988. The set of the Corlisses' house, however, was exactly the same as the one that later became the Weston residence.
The show's story revolves aroundMiamipediatrician Dr. Harry Weston, whose life is turned upside down when his wife, Libby, dies and two of his adult daughters move back into the family home. Later estranged daughter Emily returns to the nest (Lisa Rieffel). Early episodes establish that theGolden Girls characters are neighbors of the Westons. OriginalGolden Girls actors,Bea Arthur,Rue McClanahan,Betty White andEstelle Getty all guest-star as theirGolden Girls characters, and Mulligan appears occasionally onThe Golden Girls.
In the show, eldest daughter Carol is a highly-strung recent divorcée, while middle daughter Barbara is a tough undercover police officer. The two sisters frequently bicker and vie for the attention of their father, whom they call "Daddy", while their father occasionally expresses regret at never having had a son. The Westons' large dog Dreyfuss also prominently features as a member of the household.
In 1992, Kristy McNichol, who played Barbara, left the show, andLisa Rieffel joined the cast as the third Weston daughter, Emily. Her character had previously not been shown onscreen, but had been mentioned as being away at college. Rieffel left after one season, and for the show's final two seasons only eldest daughter Carol remained of the Weston children. Kristy McNichol returned for the series finale in 1995.
Another main character is the Westons' neighbor and friend, Charley Dietz (David Leisure), a womanizing cruise ship employee who frequently enters the house uninvited and takes food or makes sexist comments. Charley has a father-son relationship with Harry and a love-hate relationship with Carol. Charley's role increased in later seasons after Leisure's other role as Joe Isuzu was discontinued.[6][5]
Harry Weston's job is another major focus for the show. For the first five seasons, he works at a hospital, where he is assisted by wisecrackingSouthern nurse Laverne, played throughout the series byPark Overall. Laverne and Harry are shown to be good friends. In season six, Harry retires, eventually going to work for a struggling inner-city medical clinic run by the tough-talking Dr. Maxine Douglas. Nurse Laverne, having been fired by Dr. Weston's replacement, comes to work there as well.
Another character who appears is Carol's boyfriend, Patrick, an artist who is almost as eccentric as she is. Patrick convinces the Westons to let him use their empty garage as his new painting studio and, when his relationship with Carol becomes serious, he eventually moves into the house. Carol and Patrick's romantic bliss is short-lived, and they break up at the beginning of season six. Carol then finds she is pregnant with Patrick's child, and chooses to raise the baby, Scotty, on her own.
Estelle Getty reprised herGolden Girls characterSophia Petrillo duringEmpty Nest's final two seasons (after the cancellation ofThe Golden Palace). In the show, it is explained that Sophia has moved back into the nearby Shady Pines retirement home.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | Rank | Rating | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||||
| 1 | 22 | October 8, 1988 (1988-10-08) | April 1, 1989 (1989-04-01) | 9 | 19.2 | |
| 2 | 24 | September 30, 1989 (1989-09-30) | April 28, 1990 (1990-04-28) | 9 | 18.9 | |
| 3 | 24 | September 22, 1990 (1990-09-22) | May 11, 1991 (1991-05-11) | 7 | 16.7 (Tied withAmerica's Funniest Home Videos) | |
| 4 | 24 | September 21, 1991 (1991-09-21) | May 2, 1992 (1992-05-02) | 23 | 14.3 | |
| 5 | 26 | September 19, 1992 (1992-09-19) | May 22, 1993 (1993-05-22) | 48 | 10.8 | |
| 6 | 26 | September 25, 1993 (1993-09-25) | May 21, 1994 (1994-05-21) | 66[8] | 9.8 (Tied with Sisters, Byrds of Paradise, Angel Falls) | |
| 7 | 24 | September 24, 1994 (1994-09-24) | June 17, 1995 (1995-06-17) | 118 | 6.9 | |
In 1991,Empty Nest spawned its own spinoff,Nurses, a sitcom about a group of nurses working in the same hospital as Dr. Weston. The three series (Empty Nest,The Golden Girls andNurses) represented one of the few times in American television history that three shows from the same producer, all taking place in the same city and explicitly set up with the characters knowing each other from the very beginning, aired on the same network in one night. On at least two occasions, Harris wrote storylines which carried through all three series asfictional crossovers.
Richard Mulligan andDinah Manoff (who depict father Harry and daughter Carol inEmpty Nest) had previously appeared as onscreen father-in-law and daughter-in-law characters in the showSoap, created by the same production team.Jay Johnson, who had appeared onSoap as Mulligan's son, also made a guest appearance.
The show's theme song is "Life Goes On", written byJohn Bettis andGeorge Tipton and performed byBilly Vera. For the first three seasons, the song is presented in a slower, more melancholy yet comical arrangement. The original opening titles sequence shows Harry Weston taking Dreyfuss for a walk around town, with still images of the other regular cast members shown as they are credited.
When the third season began, a new opening sequence debuted, made up of footage from the series' episodes and showing each of the regular cast members.
For the final four seasons the theme song is presented in a higher, more upbeat arrangement with female backup singers, and the same title sequence introduced in the third season.
The following is a list ofEmpty Nest episodes featuring characters fromThe Golden Girls orNurses.
Episode 4: "Fatal Attraction" –Blanche Devereaux fromThe Golden Girls
Episode 10: "Libby's Gift" –Sophia Petrillo fromThe Golden Girls
Episode 14: "Strange Bedfellows" –Rose Nylund fromThe Golden Girls
Episode 17: "Dumped" –Dorothy Zbornak fromThe Golden Girls
Episode 6: "Rambo of Neiman Marcus" – Rose Nylund fromThe Golden Girls
Episode 8: "Windy" – Sophia Petrillo from The Golden Girls
Episode 20: "Dr. Weston and Mr. Hyde" – Rose Nylund fromThe Golden Girls
Episode 20: "Love and Marriage" – Jack Trenton fromNurses
Episode 2: "Bye-Bye, Baby... Hello: Part 1" – Casey MacAfee fromNurses
Episode 7: "Mother Dearest" – Casey MacAfee fromNurses
The series was unsuccessful when it was firstsyndicated, running in local syndication from September 1993 to September 2000, shortly before the death of starRichard Mulligan. During this time,Empty Nest aired onTBS from September 9 to December 6, 1996, and onWGN from September 9, 1996, to March 26, 1999, with both stations airing the series as part of the regular syndication run (both TBS and WGN weresuperstations).[9][10][11]
In the subsequent decade, the series did not air on American television.Hallmark Channel, which also licenses the rights toThe Golden Girls, picked up the rights to the show in early 2011 and aired it from February 26 to June 26 of that year, but eventually removed it altogether.
Upon its launch on April 15, 2015, the new digital sub-channelLaff began airing the series and continued until March 30, 2018.
In Canada, the series was rerun onCBC Television during the 1990s.
In Italy, the series aired onRai Uno (or Rai 1) under the nameIl cane di papà [it] (Daddy's Dog) during the 1990s.
In the UK, the series was shown onChannel 4 during the 1990s.
In 1989, Richard Mulligan won both anEmmy Award and aGolden Globe Award for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The series received a number of other Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations over the years, especially for Mulligan and forPark Overall, who was nominated three times for a Golden Globe Award.
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