| Picket Fences | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Family drama Legal drama |
| Created by | David E. Kelley |
| Starring | |
| Opening theme | "Picket Fences" byStewart Levin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 89(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 18, 1992 (1992-09-18)[1] – June 26, 1996 (1996-06-26) |
| Related | |
| Chicago Hope | |
Picket Fences is an Americanfamily drama television series about the residents of the town of Rome,Wisconsin, created and produced byDavid E. Kelley. The show ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, onCBS in the United States. It sometimes struggled to maintain a stable primetime audience and had fluctuating ratings, due in part to itsFriday night death slot. In its first season on the air, it placed 63rd in prime-timeNielsen ratings and in its second season it moved to 61st. Nonetheless, the show won critical acclaim and was a major awards winner, winning 14Primetime Emmy Awards during its run and is now regarded as acult classic. The show's exteriors were shot in the L.A. suburb ofMonrovia, California.[2]
The series follows the lives of the residents of the small town of Rome, Wisconsin, where weird things happen, including cows'udders exploding and people turning up dead in freezers. The show dealt with unusual topics for the primetime television of the period, such asabortion,incest,homophobia andLGBT adoption,transsexuality,racism,belief in God,ethics in medicine,polygamy,polyamory, adolescent sexuality,date rape,cryonics, theHolocaust,shoe fetishism,masturbation,animal sacrifice,spontaneous human combustion, andconstitutional rights. Illustrative of the subject matter is that the regular cast included a judge, two lawyers, and a medical examiner. Religious issues were frequently discussed, and the town'sCatholic andEpiscopal priests were frequently recurring characters, as well as lawyer Douglas Wambaugh's relationships in his localJewishtemple.
Struggling to maintain order in the community is Sheriff Jimmy Brock (Tom Skerritt). Sheriff Brock is 52 years old,[3] married to the town doctor, Jill (Kathy Baker), his second wife. They raise their three children, Kimberly (Holly Marie Combs) from Jimmy's first marriage to Lydia Brock (Cristine Rose), Matthew (Justin Shenkarow) and Zachary (Adam Wylie).
Maxine 'Max' Stewart (Lauren Holly) and Kenny Lacos (Costas Mandylor) are impulsive and slightly immaturesheriff's deputies. Kelly Connell playedmedical examiner Carter Pike (who regularly begged to be deputized) andZelda Rubinstein portrayedpolice dispatcher Ginny Weedon.
Bombastic lawyer Douglas Wambaugh (Fyvush Finkel) usually irritated Judge Henry Bone (Ray Walston). Wambaugh refused to hear any confessions of guilt from his clients as he feared that it would only stand in the way of adequately defending them in court; and Bone's rulings seemed to be directed more by his own moral compass than by points of law, though his decisions were almost never reversed. After several prosecutors came and went,Don Cheadle joined the cast as John Littleton.
Other actors who were in the cast includedMarlee Matlin as Mayor Laurie Bey / The Dancing Bandit,Richard Masur as Ed Lawson,Roy Brocksmith as elementary school principal Michael Oslo,Jack Murdock as ethically challenged city councilman Harold Lundstrom,Roy Dotrice as Father Gary Barrett, a Catholic priest, andDabbs Greer as the Reverend Henry Novotny, priest of the local Episcopal church.
| Actor | Character | Seasons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| Main characters | ||||||
| Tom Skerritt | Jimmy Brock | Main | ||||
| Kathy Baker | Jill Brock | Main | ||||
| Lauren Holly | Maxine Stewart | Main | ||||
| Costas Mandylor | Kenny Lacos | Main | ||||
| Holly Marie Combs | Kimberly Brock | Main | ||||
| Justin Shenkarow | Matthew Brock | Main | ||||
| Adam Wylie | Zachary Brock | Main | ||||
| Fyvush Finkel | Douglas Wambaugh | Recurring | Main | |||
| Kelly Connell | Carter Pike | Recurring | Main | |||
| Zelda Rubinstein | Ginny Weedon | Main | ||||
| Don Cheadle | John Littleton | Recurring | Main | |||
| Marlee Matlin | Laurie Bey | Guest | Main | |||
| Ray Walston | Henry Bone | Recurring | Main | |||
| Recurring characters | ||||||
| Dabbs Greer | Reverend Henry Novotny | Recurring | ||||
| Roy Dotrice | Father Gary Barrett | Recurring | ||||
| Roy Brocksmith | Michael Oslo | Recurring | ||||
| Denis Arndt | Franklin Dell | Recurring | ||||
| Sam Anderson | Donald Morrell | Recurring | ||||
| Michael Keenan | Bill Pugen | Recurring | ||||
| Robert Cornthwaite | Howard Buss | Recurring | ||||
| Elisabeth Moss | Cynthia Parks | Recurring | ||||
| Leigh Taylor-Young | Rachel Harris | Recurring | ||||
| Paul Eiding | Jason Steinberg | Recurring | ||||
| Richard Masur | Ed Lawson | Guest | Recurring | |||
| Amy Aquino | Joanna Diamond | Recurring | ||||
| Matthew Glave | Bud Skeeter | Recurring | ||||
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 23 | September 18, 1992 (1992-09-18) | May 6, 1993 (1993-05-06) | |
| 2 | 22 | October 22, 1993 (1993-10-22) | May 13, 1994 (1994-05-13) | |
| 3 | 22 | September 23, 1994 (1994-09-23) | May 12, 1995 (1995-05-12) | |
| 4 | 22 | September 22, 1995 (1995-09-22) | June 26, 1996 (1996-06-26) | |
The series has two crossover episodes with anotherDavid E. Kelley series,Chicago Hope, one occurring in each series. In the first, onPicket Fences, Dr. Jill Brock accompanies Douglas Wambaugh to Chicago Hope Hospital over concerns of his heart. In the second, Wambaugh is back at Chicago Hope Hospital causing trouble for the doctors.Lauren Holly later joined the cast ofChicago Hope as Dr. Jeremy Hanlon andTom Skerritt appeared in a different role as a guest star.
| Show | Episode # | Episode Name | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Picket Fences | 3–7 | "Rebels with Causes" | November 11, 1994 |
| Chicago Hope | 1–13 | "Small Sacrifices" | January 23, 1995 |
David E. Kelley andChris Carter (creator ofThe X-Files) were talking in a parking lot on the Fox lot one day and thought it might be interesting to have Mulder and Scully visit Rome, Wisconsin for anX-Files episode. Originally, the two shows would be shot with different viewpoints – one from theX-Files perspective and the other fromPicket Fences'. The official approval was never given by Fox and CBS, so the only remnants remaining of this effort are theX-Files episode "Red Museum" and thePicket Fences episode "Away in the Manger" having similar plotlines involving cows. Every reference toPicket Fences has been purged from theX-Files episode, but there still are some small details left in thePicket Fences episode referring to the happenings atThe X-Files and some minor characters there.[4]
| Season | U.S. ratings | Network | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1992-93 | 9.49 million | CBS | #63 |
| 2 | 1993-94 | 9.49 million | CBS | #61 |
| 3 | 1994-95 | 9.50 million | CBS | #64 |
| 4 | 1995-96 | 7.00 million | CBS | #98 |
The series was adapted in India in Hindi language and aired onStarPlus asKehta Hai Dil from 2002 to 2005 produced by UTV Software Communications.[5] However, the Indian version in between deviated entirely from the story ofPicket Fences.[6]
On June 19, 2007,20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the first season ofPicket Fences on DVD in Region 1. In the United States, the entire series was available to stream onHulu from Thanksgiving 2021 to Thanksgiving 2023. On August 20, 2014, Season 1 was released in Australia.[7] Season 2 was released in Australia in December 2014.[8] Season 3 was released in Australia in March 2016.[9]
Picket Fences won fourteenEmmy Awards (including "Outstanding Drama Series" twice) and oneGolden Globe Award in its four-year run. In 1997, the episode "Heart of Saturday Night" was ranked #96 onTV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time.[10] In 2002, the character of Douglas Wambaugh was ranked 47th onTV Guide's 50 Greatest Television Characters of All Time list.[11]
