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Blossom (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Blossom is an American sitcom
broadcast on NBC
from January 3, 1991 to May 22, 1995. The series stars Mayim Bialik
as Blossom Russo, a teenage girl living with her father and two brothers. It was created by Don Reo
.
. Her oldest brother Anthony (Michael Stoyanov
) is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who eventually became a paramedic. Joey (Joey Lawrence
), the other brother, is a fairly stereotypical "dumb jock
," known for the drawn-out delivery of his catchphrase, "Whoa!" Her mother, Maddy Russo, was played by Melissa Manchester
.
Blossom's best friend Six LeMeure (Jenna von Oÿ
) also plays a significant part in her life. Six, an especially fast talker, was best known for her tendency to ramble. Blossom also frequently received advice from celebrities in fantasy scenes, such as Mr. T
, Hugh Hefner
, Phylicia Rashad
, David Schwimmer
, ALF
, and Will Smith
.
Bill Bixby
became a frequent director on the series in its third season, a role he continued for several episodes into the fourth, despite his ongoing battle with prostate cancer
. On November 15, 1993, shortly after learning that his illness was terminal, Bixby collapsed on the Blossom set and was hospitalized. He died six days later.
was "My Opinionation" by Mike Post
and Steve Geyer and performed by recording artist Dr. John
. The opening sequence featured Blossom filming herself in her bedroom on home video dancing, performing aerobics, making silly faces, pretending to talk on the phone, etc.
Season two switched exclusively to a sequence of dance moves by the title character, this time on film and in front of a pastel blue/pink background. Blossom's outfit changed in each dancing scene, and a variety of dance moves were performed, from belly dancing to voguing. The second season added Barnard Hughes to the show and opening credits, under the "With" heading, preceding Ted Wass.
In the third season, the dancing concept was expanded upon in the opening sequence. Core cast members Lawrence, Stoyanov, von Oÿ and Wass joined Bialik as she danced. They each appeared one at a time as their credit was shown around Blossom's dancing. With Barnard Hughes relegated to occasional status, his name no longer appeared in the opening credits, but Portia Dawson and David Lascher were added. This version of the intro lasted through the end of season four. Also beginning in season three, most segments of the show opened and closed with the first frame of a scene being frozen in a multi-colored watercolor effect. The watercolor stills lasted through the end of the series.
The fifth and final season dropped a full-fledged intro, instead displaying the Blossom logo over the watercolor effect that opened and closed segments, while a short piano remix of the first few notes of "My Opinionation" played to open the show. The opening credits ran over the prologue of the episode. During the 1994-95 season, NBC began running their credits in the squeeze-screen format.
(under license from rights-holders ABC
and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) released Seasons 1 & 2 of Blossom on DVD in Region 1. The 6-disc boxset includes all-new interviews with cast members, the original pilot episode (unaired), featurettes and audio commentaries.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
broadcast on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from January 3, 1991 to May 22, 1995. The series stars Mayim Bialik
Mayim Bialik
Mayim Hoya Bialik is an American actress who also holds a PhD in neuroscience.Her most notable TV roles have been as Blossom Russo on NBC's Blossom and as Amy Farrah Fowler on CBS's The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:...
as Blossom Russo, a teenage girl living with her father and two brothers. It was created by Don Reo
Don Reo
Don Reo is an American television writer and producer. He created such shows as Blossom and The John Larroquette Show for NBC and My Wife and Kids for ABC....
.
Synopsis
The series began with Blossom's mother having left the family to pursue her own life and career; the show concentrated on the family's attempts to adjust. Blossom's father, Nick, a session musician who was frequently between gigs and tours, was played by Ted WassTed Wass (actor)
Ted Wass , is an American actor and director. Goodman School of Drama graduate Wass made his Broadway debut in the 1976 production Grease...
. Her oldest brother Anthony (Michael Stoyanov
Michael Stoyanov
Michael Stoyanov is an American actor and television writer.Stoyanov was born in Chicago, Illinois. He is probably best known for his role in the situation comedy Blossom as oldest brother Anthony Russo. He left the show after several years to write for Late Night with Conan O'Brien, a move he...
) is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who eventually became a paramedic. Joey (Joey Lawrence
Joey Lawrence
Joseph "Joey" Lawrence is an American actor, R&B-singer, and TV-host. He is known for his roles in the TV-series Gimme a Break!, Blossom, and Melissa & Joey.- Early life :...
), the other brother, is a fairly stereotypical "dumb jock
Jock (subculture)
The term jock, when used primarily in the United States, refers to the classic stereotype of a male athlete. It is generally a negative stereotype, and is attributed mostly to high school and college athletics participants who form a distinct youth subculture. In sociology, the jock is thought to...
," known for the drawn-out delivery of his catchphrase, "Whoa!" Her mother, Maddy Russo, was played by Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
.
Blossom's best friend Six LeMeure (Jenna von Oÿ
Jenna von Oÿ
Jenna von Oÿ is an American actress and country music singer best known for her roles as Six LeMeure on the NBC series Blossom, and Stevie van Lowe on the UPN sitcom The Parkers.-Early life and career:...
) also plays a significant part in her life. Six, an especially fast talker, was best known for her tendency to ramble. Blossom also frequently received advice from celebrities in fantasy scenes, such as Mr. T
Mr. T
Mr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
, Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
, Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashād is an American Tony Award winning actress and singer, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show....
, David Schwimmer
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York City, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern...
, ALF
ALF (TV series)
ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
, and Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
.
Characters
- Blossom Ruby Russo (Mayim BialikMayim BialikMayim Hoya Bialik is an American actress who also holds a PhD in neuroscience.Her most notable TV roles have been as Blossom Russo on NBC's Blossom and as Amy Farrah Fowler on CBS's The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:...
) – Youngest child and only daughter of Nick and Maddy Russo. Best friend to Six. Longtime on-again off-again girlfriend of Vinnie. Learns many hard lessons from the lives of herself, her family and Six, including abuse, alcohol, drugs, divorce, and many more. Does not always get along with her stepmother Carol, but their relationship does improve over time.
- Nicholas "Nick" Russo (Ted WassTed Wass (actor)Ted Wass , is an American actor and director. Goodman School of Drama graduate Wass made his Broadway debut in the 1976 production Grease...
) – Blossom, Joey and Tony's father. The main care giver for his three children after his wife, Maddy, leaves him. He works as a piano player, playing with various gigs with a wide range of bands. He later marries Carol, and becomes stepfather to Kennedy, and grandfather to Nash. Treats Six like his own daughter.
- Anthony "Tony" Russo (Michael StoyanovMichael StoyanovMichael Stoyanov is an American actor and television writer.Stoyanov was born in Chicago, Illinois. He is probably best known for his role in the situation comedy Blossom as oldest brother Anthony Russo. He left the show after several years to write for Late Night with Conan O'Brien, a move he...
) – A recovering drug addict and alcoholic, he has difficulty remembering four years of his life. He dates Playboy bunny Rhonda. Later he marries another woman, Shelly, in Las Vegas after falling off the wagon and getting drunk. He worked at a doughnut shop for a while before becoming a paramedic. He and Shelly welcome a son, Nash Metropolitan Russo, into the world in November 1994.
- Joseph "Joey" Russo (Joey LawrenceJoey LawrenceJoseph "Joey" Lawrence is an American actor, R&B-singer, and TV-host. He is known for his roles in the TV-series Gimme a Break!, Blossom, and Melissa & Joey.- Early life :...
) – A not-so-smart baseball player and ladies man. The middle child. Can be sweet and smart when he wants to be. Gets accepted to Arizona State University, but decides to play professional baseball after graduating from high school. Makes everybody's day by saying, "Whoa!" Realizes after years that he and Six are friends.
- Six Dorothy LeMeure (Jenna von OÿJenna von OÿJenna von Oÿ is an American actress and country music singer best known for her roles as Six LeMeure on the NBC series Blossom, and Stevie van Lowe on the UPN sitcom The Parkers.-Early life and career:...
) – Best friend of Blossom. Has a crush on Joey. Parents are divorced. Goes through many hard times including becoming an alcoholic, dating a married older man, and a pregnancy scare. Thought of the Russo family as her own family. Talks really fast when she is happy, angry, or nervous. Melissa Joan HartMelissa Joan HartMelissa Joan Catherine Hart is an American actress, writer, television director, television producer, singer and businesswoman...
was originally offered the role of Six, but passed on the role to take the lead role on Clarissa Explains It AllClarissa Explains It AllClarissa Explains It All is an American teen sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon. Created by Mitchell Kriegman, it aired for five seasons for a total of 65 episodes from March 23, 1991, to December 3, 1994, and then went into reruns....
instead. Von Oÿ was credited in the pilot's opening sequence, but for the first season was moved to the closing credits as a "guest star". Between the shooting of the Blossom pilot and its pickup as a regular series, von Oÿ had earned a part on the CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
sitcom Lenny (also from Witt/Thomas/Harris and Don Reo). With the cancellation of Lenny by March 1991, von Oÿ had reclaimed her originally intended status as a regular Blossom cast member, and in season two moved back to the opening credits.
- Carol (Finola HughesFinola HughesFinola Hughes is an English actress, television host, author and former dancer, best known for role as Anna Devane on the General Hospital, All My Children and General Hospital: Night Shift , and her role as Anna Devane's identical twin sister, Doctor Alexandra Devane Marick, on All My Children...
) – English lady with a daughter named Kennedy. Marries Nick, and becomes stepmother of Blossom, Joey and Tony. Still gets along with 2nd ex-husband.
- Maddy Russo (Melissa ManchesterMelissa ManchesterMelissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
) – Ex-wife of Nick, and mother of Tony, Joey and Blossom. Leaves them to have her own life, and moves to Paris. Returns a few years later to re-connect.
- Buzz Richman (Barnard HughesBarnard HughesBernard Aloysius Kiernan “Barnard” Hughes was an American actor of theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder.-Personal life:Hughes was born in Bedford...
) – Father of Maddy. Grandfather of Tony, Joey and Blossom. A war veteran, and has been married multiple times, but Ruby was his first and Maddy's mother. Loves women, cigars, jokes, and alcohol. Moves in with Nick for a while.
- Vinnie Bonitardi (David LascherDavid LascherDavid Scott Lascher is an American actor best known for his roles in Blossom, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and the Nickelodeon show Hey Dude, in which he starred with Christine Taylor.- Life and career :...
) – On-again Off-again boyfriend of Blossom. Nick did not always like him, but their relationship improves over time. Gets along with her family for the most part. Thought of as a tough guy, but can be quite sweet at times.
- Sharon LeMeure (Gail EdwardsGail EdwardsGail June Edwards is a retired American actress best known for her roles as Dot Higgins in ABC's It's a Living, Sharon Lemure in NBC's Blossom, and Vicky Larson in ABC's Full House.-Early life and career:...
) – Mother of Six. Divorced. Dated Nick at one time. Tries to be a good mother, although Six gets in some trouble at times. Is almost identical to her daughter in several ways, including her knack of talking very fast when nervous, upset, or happy. She and her daughter have been known to mirror each other on several occasions.
- Shelly Lewis Russo (Samaria Graham) – Wife of Tony, and mother of Nash. She is an illustrator. She planned to get married to her boyfriend Roscoe in Vegas when she got drunk, married Tony, and fell in love. Gave birth to son Nash in the backseat of a vintage Nash Metropolitan.
- Kennedy (Courtney Chase) – A young, precocious English girl about 8 years old. Daughter of Carol and her Scottish ex-husband Graham. Has puppy love for Joey for a little while. Takes a little while but finally gets along with Tony and Blossom. Is best friend of Frank.
Production
Five seasons of Blossom were produced, with a total of 114 episodes.Bill Bixby
Bill Bixby
Wilfred Bailey Everett “Bill” Bixby III was an American film and television actor, director, and frequent game show panelist.His career spanned over three decades; he appeared on stage, in motion pictures and TV series...
became a frequent director on the series in its third season, a role he continued for several episodes into the fourth, despite his ongoing battle with prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
. On November 15, 1993, shortly after learning that his illness was terminal, Bixby collapsed on the Blossom set and was hospitalized. He died six days later.
Opening sequences
The theme musicTheme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
was "My Opinionation" by Mike Post
Mike Post
Mike Post is an American multi-Grammy and Emmy Award winning composer best known for scoring some of the most popular TV theme songs in the United States, for primetime series such as Law & Order, NYPD Blue, The Rockford Files, LA Law, Quantum Leap, Magnum, P.I., Hill Street Blues, among numerous...
and Steve Geyer and performed by recording artist Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
. The opening sequence featured Blossom filming herself in her bedroom on home video dancing, performing aerobics, making silly faces, pretending to talk on the phone, etc.
Season two switched exclusively to a sequence of dance moves by the title character, this time on film and in front of a pastel blue/pink background. Blossom's outfit changed in each dancing scene, and a variety of dance moves were performed, from belly dancing to voguing. The second season added Barnard Hughes to the show and opening credits, under the "With" heading, preceding Ted Wass.
In the third season, the dancing concept was expanded upon in the opening sequence. Core cast members Lawrence, Stoyanov, von Oÿ and Wass joined Bialik as she danced. They each appeared one at a time as their credit was shown around Blossom's dancing. With Barnard Hughes relegated to occasional status, his name no longer appeared in the opening credits, but Portia Dawson and David Lascher were added. This version of the intro lasted through the end of season four. Also beginning in season three, most segments of the show opened and closed with the first frame of a scene being frozen in a multi-colored watercolor effect. The watercolor stills lasted through the end of the series.
The fifth and final season dropped a full-fledged intro, instead displaying the Blossom logo over the watercolor effect that opened and closed segments, while a short piano remix of the first few notes of "My Opinionation" played to open the show. The opening credits ran over the prologue of the episode. During the 1994-95 season, NBC began running their credits in the squeeze-screen format.
Nielsen ratings
- Season 1: #44-11,283,720
- Season 2: #34-12,074,310
- Season 3: #27-12,568,500
- Season 4: #32-12,520,000
- Season 5: #55-9,921,600
DVD release
On January 27, 2009, Shout! FactoryShout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
(under license from rights-holders ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) released Seasons 1 & 2 of Blossom on DVD in Region 1. The 6-disc boxset includes all-new interviews with cast members, the original pilot episode (unaired), featurettes and audio commentaries.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Blossom: Seasons 1 & 2 | 38 | January 27, 2009 |