Just Our Luck
Encyclopedia
Just Our Luck was a short-lived American
sitcom
which aired on the American Broadcasting Company
in the fall of 1983. Created by brothers Lawrence and Charles Gordon, it was considered a modernized version of the classic 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie
. The series starred Richard Gilliland
as a mild-mannered TV weatherman for KPOX-TV, and T. K. Carter
as a hip, fun-loving 3,000-year-old genie
who is freed by Gilliland after being imprisoned in his bottle for nearly two centuries.
The series was produced by Lorimar Productions
, and initially promoted by ABC as one of its new ambitious comedies along with Webster
. Just Our Luck was created to compete against The A-Team
on NBC
but earned low ratings for much of its run. It was poorly received by critics, however, and was the subject of controversy when the NAACP charged the show with promoting negative stereotypes of African-Americans. The NAACP originally campaigned to have the show removed but later settled for a degree of creative control
in the show's development. This included changes to Carter's dialogue, the hiring of black staff writers and the addition of Leonard Simon to the cast. The show was cancelled after three months.
) is a young TV weatherman working at KPOX-TV Channel 6 in Venice, California. One day while jogging on the boardwalk, he passes a flea market
and bumps into one of the tables causing an old green bottle to fall off and crack. Burrows is forced to buy the bottle and brings it home with him. Later that night, his cat breaks the bottle and releases Shabu, a 3,000 year-old genie. The genie tells Burrows that he had been imprisoned in the bottle for 196 years and offers to serve Burrows for 2,000 years or until his death, in Shabu's words, "whichever comes first".
Although the grateful Shabu decides to abide by the traditional role of a genie, he is somewhat disappointed by Burrows' modest lifestyle, having lived in royal palaces with historical figures such as Cleopatra, King Arthur
and Napoleon Bonaparte. Much of the show's humor came from Shabu using his powers to play practical jokes on Burrows and generally causing him embarrassment in daily life. He did, however, sometimes help Burrows with social and work related problems. In one episode, he helps liven up a party thrown to impress the station manager so Burrows could keep his job. At times, Shabu's efforts would backfire. In the episode "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Burrows", for example, Shabu gives Burrows "a jolt of self confidence", causing him to become extremely egotistical, self-centered and obnoxious.
The pair would frequently interact with Burrows co-workers at KPOX-TV; program director Meagan Huxley (Ellen Maxted), her fiancee and station manager Nelson Marriot (Rod McCary), weatherman Professor Bob (Hamilton Camp
) and Burrows' neighbor Chuck (Richard Schaal
). Jim Dexter (Leonard Simon), a news anchorman, was introduced later in the season.
. The two were both experienced television producers and, in association with Lorimar, were supported by the American Broadcasting Company
hoping for a viable challenger to run against rival network NBC
's The A-Team
.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, ABC had dominated Tuesday nights with children's-themed shows such as Happy Days
, Laverne & Shirley
and similar programming. When The A-Team debuted in the spring of 1983, however, the network was forced to regroup. Happy Days, then in its final season, was moved back half an hour to 8:30 p.m. and a new series, Just Our Luck, took its place. It was one of two shows starring an African-American lead, the other being Webster
, to make its debut in the 1983 fall season. Just Our Luck was promoted by the network as one of its new ambitious comedy series and was the focus of memorable and humorous advertisements. In one of these, Shabu appeared with Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli
of Happy Days
and shrunk a Mr. T
look-alike
to the size of a midget.
Just Our Luck was T. K. Carter
's first starring role in a television series. Carter was very enthusiastic about the series and at a later press conference told journalists that he wanted Shabu to be seen, in regards to younger viewers, as "the first black superhero". He later objected to comparisons of I Dream of Jeannie
and responded to critics charges of racial stereotyping,
His co-star Richard Gilliland
, who had appeared in a string of failed sitcoms from McMillan & Wife to Little Women, was optimistic about the show's chances. After the cancellation of Little Women, he was reluctant to audition for the show at first but agreed to read for the part of Keith Burrows at the last minute. John Astin
, a fellow cast member from Operation Petticoat, directed the pilot episode. In regards to the relationship between the two characters, Gilliland commented "I think the two characters will have a dual dependency. In the future, Keith will become more magical and Shabu more mortal. Figuratively, Shabu is the master. I want to get rid of him but I can't. I'm stuck with him."
in a cameo appearance
. Almost immediately after its first episode, it was panned by many TV critics.
The series would continue to receive generally poor reviews from many TV critics throughout the season. These were mostly complaints of the writing being uninteresting or cliched as well as unfavorable comparisons to the 1960s series I Dream of Jeannie
. Some noted Carter's character as being similar to the type of "streetwise" character acting
often played by African-Americans on television and the racial nature of the relationship between the two main characters. One reviewer, Kathryn Olney of Mother Jones Magazine, compared it to a 1980s version of Amos 'n' Andy
. A few, however, were more supportive such as Stuart Bykofsky of The Day
who reported "an occasional spark of wit that is very easy to take". Richard Corliss from Time
also wrote Just Our Luck "scores as hip, underplayed farce".
Chuck Gordon, one of the show's four executive producers, said "When we wrote the script, there was no dialect. T.K. designed the role. He was allowed to play himself." The show's star, T.K. Carter, supported the producer's and commented on his character at an October 22 press conference.
The NAACP objected to the series, claiming a black character being portrayed as a thankful servant to a white male was offensive, and called for a national boycott
of ABC until it was taken off the air. Willis Edwards, president of the Beverly Hills-Hollywood NAACP, stated Shabu was "an embarrassing and degrading portrayal of a black male in the 80s." In October 1983, the organization announced that ABC had conceded to their demands and allowed the NAACP partial creative control
over the series. Among the changes they made included removing the term of "master" and "servant" in the show dialogue, restricting so-called "jive talk
" from Carter, the hiring of African-American writers and actor Leonard Simon to play anchorman Jim Dexter.
Just Our Luck attempted to recover from the bad publicity and brought in Roy Orbison
, Dr. Joyce Brothers
and Wink Martindale
as guest stars. Though it did find some appeal among children, particularly for its special effects, it failed to win the 18-45 demographic and was consistently beaten in head-to-head competition by The A-Team
throughout its run. In spite of its efforts, ABC canceled the series after eleven episodes.
The series was broadcast overseas in late-1984 and 1985 in countries as far away as Malaysia and Australia
. The show was unable to escape its reputation as The Age
's Philippa Hawker found the main characters unappealing referring to Shabu as "your standard irritating genie" and Burrows as "a rat". Just Our Luck was featured in TV Turkeys (1987) by Kevil Allman.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sitcom
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...
which aired on the American Broadcasting Company
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...
in the fall of 1983. Created by brothers Lawrence and Charles Gordon, it was considered a modernized version of the classic 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
. The series starred Richard Gilliland
Richard Gilliland
Richard Gilliland is an American television and movie actor.Gilliland was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He appeared onscreen in the 1970s. Notable appearances include Thirtysomething, Party of Five, Little Women, and a recurring role on Designing Women...
as a mild-mannered TV weatherman for KPOX-TV, and T. K. Carter
T. K. Carter
Thomas Kent Carter better known as T. K. Carter, is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Michael "Mike" Fulton, an elementary school teacher, on the NBC series Punky Brewster and Mylo Williams on the Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss as a supervisor, whose...
as a hip, fun-loving 3,000-year-old genie
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
who is freed by Gilliland after being imprisoned in his bottle for nearly two centuries.
The series was produced by Lorimar Productions
Lorimar Productions
Lorimar, later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American television production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993...
, and initially promoted by ABC as one of its new ambitious comedies along with Webster
Webster (TV series)
Webster is an American situation comedy that premiered on ABC on September 16, 1983, and ran on that network until September 11, 1987, but continued in first-run syndication until 1989...
. Just Our Luck was created to compete against The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
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...
but earned low ratings for much of its run. It was poorly received by critics, however, and was the subject of controversy when the NAACP charged the show with promoting negative stereotypes of African-Americans. The NAACP originally campaigned to have the show removed but later settled for a degree of creative control
Artistic control
Artistic control or Creative Control is a term commonly used in media production, such as movies, television, and music production. A person with artistic control has the authority to decide how the final product will appear. In movies, this commonly refers to the authority to decide on the final...
in the show's development. This included changes to Carter's dialogue, the hiring of black staff writers and the addition of Leonard Simon to the cast. The show was cancelled after three months.
Main plot
Keith Burrows (Richard GillilandRichard Gilliland
Richard Gilliland is an American television and movie actor.Gilliland was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He appeared onscreen in the 1970s. Notable appearances include Thirtysomething, Party of Five, Little Women, and a recurring role on Designing Women...
) is a young TV weatherman working at KPOX-TV Channel 6 in Venice, California. One day while jogging on the boardwalk, he passes a flea market
Flea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...
and bumps into one of the tables causing an old green bottle to fall off and crack. Burrows is forced to buy the bottle and brings it home with him. Later that night, his cat breaks the bottle and releases Shabu, a 3,000 year-old genie. The genie tells Burrows that he had been imprisoned in the bottle for 196 years and offers to serve Burrows for 2,000 years or until his death, in Shabu's words, "whichever comes first".
Although the grateful Shabu decides to abide by the traditional role of a genie, he is somewhat disappointed by Burrows' modest lifestyle, having lived in royal palaces with historical figures such as Cleopatra, King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
and Napoleon Bonaparte. Much of the show's humor came from Shabu using his powers to play practical jokes on Burrows and generally causing him embarrassment in daily life. He did, however, sometimes help Burrows with social and work related problems. In one episode, he helps liven up a party thrown to impress the station manager so Burrows could keep his job. At times, Shabu's efforts would backfire. In the episode "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Burrows", for example, Shabu gives Burrows "a jolt of self confidence", causing him to become extremely egotistical, self-centered and obnoxious.
The pair would frequently interact with Burrows co-workers at KPOX-TV; program director Meagan Huxley (Ellen Maxted), her fiancee and station manager Nelson Marriot (Rod McCary), weatherman Professor Bob (Hamilton Camp
Hamilton Camp
Hamilton Camp was an English-American singer, songwriter, actor and voice actor.-Early life:Camp was born in London, England, and was evacuated during World War II to the United States as a child with his mother and sister. He became a child actor in films and onstage...
) and Burrows' neighbor Chuck (Richard Schaal
Richard Schaal
Richard Schaal is an American television actor.He was married to actress Valerie Harper from 1964 to 1978. His daughter is actress Wendy Schaal by his first marriage to Lois née Treacy....
). Jim Dexter (Leonard Simon), a news anchorman, was introduced later in the season.
History
The series was initially conceived by brothers Lawrence and Charles Gordon as an modern-day television adaptation of Aladdin and the Magic LampAladdin
Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....
. The two were both experienced television producers and, in association with Lorimar, were supported by the American Broadcasting Company
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...
hoping for a viable challenger to run against rival network 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...
's The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, ABC had dominated Tuesday nights with children's-themed shows such as Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
, Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
and similar programming. When The A-Team debuted in the spring of 1983, however, the network was forced to regroup. Happy Days, then in its final season, was moved back half an hour to 8:30 p.m. and a new series, Just Our Luck, took its place. It was one of two shows starring an African-American lead, the other being Webster
Webster (TV series)
Webster is an American situation comedy that premiered on ABC on September 16, 1983, and ran on that network until September 11, 1987, but continued in first-run syndication until 1989...
, to make its debut in the 1983 fall season. Just Our Luck was promoted by the network as one of its new ambitious comedy series and was the focus of memorable and humorous advertisements. In one of these, Shabu appeared with Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli
Fonzie
Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom Happy Days . He was originally a secondary character, but eventually became the lead...
of Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
and shrunk a 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,...
look-alike
Look-alike
A look-alike is a person who closely resembles another person. In popular Western culture, a look-alike is a person who bears a close physical resemblance to a celebrity, politician or member of royalty. Many look-alikes earn a living by making guest appearances at public events or performing on...
to the size of a midget.
Just Our Luck was T. K. Carter
T. K. Carter
Thomas Kent Carter better known as T. K. Carter, is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Michael "Mike" Fulton, an elementary school teacher, on the NBC series Punky Brewster and Mylo Williams on the Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss as a supervisor, whose...
's first starring role in a television series. Carter was very enthusiastic about the series and at a later press conference told journalists that he wanted Shabu to be seen, in regards to younger viewers, as "the first black superhero". He later objected to comparisons of I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
and responded to critics charges of racial stereotyping,
His co-star Richard Gilliland
Richard Gilliland
Richard Gilliland is an American television and movie actor.Gilliland was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He appeared onscreen in the 1970s. Notable appearances include Thirtysomething, Party of Five, Little Women, and a recurring role on Designing Women...
, who had appeared in a string of failed sitcoms from McMillan & Wife to Little Women, was optimistic about the show's chances. After the cancellation of Little Women, he was reluctant to audition for the show at first but agreed to read for the part of Keith Burrows at the last minute. John Astin
John Astin
John Allen Astin is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters.-Early years:...
, a fellow cast member from Operation Petticoat, directed the pilot episode. In regards to the relationship between the two characters, Gilliland commented "I think the two characters will have a dual dependency. In the future, Keith will become more magical and Shabu more mortal. Figuratively, Shabu is the master. I want to get rid of him but I can't. I'm stuck with him."
Reception
Just Our Luck premiered on September 20, 1983, as part of ABC's Tuesday night lineup and featured Tab HunterTab Hunter
Tab Hunter is an American actor, singer, former teen idol and author who has starred in over forty major films.-Background:...
in a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
. Almost immediately after its first episode, it was panned by many TV critics.
The series would continue to receive generally poor reviews from many TV critics throughout the season. These were mostly complaints of the writing being uninteresting or cliched as well as unfavorable comparisons to the 1960s series I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
. Some noted Carter's character as being similar to the type of "streetwise" character acting
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
often played by African-Americans on television and the racial nature of the relationship between the two main characters. One reviewer, Kathryn Olney of Mother Jones Magazine, compared it to a 1980s version of Amos 'n' Andy
Amos 'n' Andy
Amos 'n' Andy is a situation comedy set in the African-American community. It was very popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s on both radio and television....
. A few, however, were more supportive such as Stuart Bykofsky of The Day
The Day
The Day is the fifth album by R&B artist, Babyface. Was produced by the artist himself, and includes a handful of guest artist like Mariah Carey, Jody Watley, Stevie Wonder, Kenny G, LL Cool J, among others....
who reported "an occasional spark of wit that is very easy to take". Richard Corliss from Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
also wrote Just Our Luck "scores as hip, underplayed farce".
Chuck Gordon, one of the show's four executive producers, said "When we wrote the script, there was no dialect. T.K. designed the role. He was allowed to play himself." The show's star, T.K. Carter, supported the producer's and commented on his character at an October 22 press conference.
The NAACP objected to the series, claiming a black character being portrayed as a thankful servant to a white male was offensive, and called for a national boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of ABC until it was taken off the air. Willis Edwards, president of the Beverly Hills-Hollywood NAACP, stated Shabu was "an embarrassing and degrading portrayal of a black male in the 80s." In October 1983, the organization announced that ABC had conceded to their demands and allowed the NAACP partial creative control
Artistic control
Artistic control or Creative Control is a term commonly used in media production, such as movies, television, and music production. A person with artistic control has the authority to decide how the final product will appear. In movies, this commonly refers to the authority to decide on the final...
over the series. Among the changes they made included removing the term of "master" and "servant" in the show dialogue, restricting so-called "jive talk
African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English —also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular , or Black Vernacular English —is an African American variety of American English...
" from Carter, the hiring of African-American writers and actor Leonard Simon to play anchorman Jim Dexter.
Just Our Luck attempted to recover from the bad publicity and brought in Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, Dr. Joyce Brothers
Joyce Brothers
Joyce Brothers is an American psychologist, television personality and advice columnist, publishing a daily syndicated newspaper column since 1960.-Personal life:...
and Wink Martindale
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...
as guest stars. Though it did find some appeal among children, particularly for its special effects, it failed to win the 18-45 demographic and was consistently beaten in head-to-head competition by The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
throughout its run. In spite of its efforts, ABC canceled the series after eleven episodes.
The series was broadcast overseas in late-1984 and 1985 in countries as far away as Malaysia and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The show was unable to escape its reputation as The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
's Philippa Hawker found the main characters unappealing referring to Shabu as "your standard irritating genie" and Burrows as "a rat". Just Our Luck was featured in TV Turkeys (1987) by Kevil Allman.
Characters
- Shabu (T. K. CarterT. K. CarterThomas Kent Carter better known as T. K. Carter, is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Michael "Mike" Fulton, an elementary school teacher, on the NBC series Punky Brewster and Mylo Williams on the Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss as a supervisor, whose...
) - a 3,000-year-old genie - Keith Burrows (Richard GillilandRichard GillilandRichard Gilliland is an American television and movie actor.Gilliland was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He appeared onscreen in the 1970s. Notable appearances include Thirtysomething, Party of Five, Little Women, and a recurring role on Designing Women...
) - a good-natured, earnest but somewhat dull television weatherman. - Meagan Huxley (Ellen Maxted) - the station's program director
- Nelson Marriott (Rod McCary) - station manager
- Chuck (Richard SchaalRichard SchaalRichard Schaal is an American television actor.He was married to actress Valerie Harper from 1964 to 1978. His daughter is actress Wendy Schaal by his first marriage to Lois née Treacy....
) - Keith's neighbor - Professor Bob (Hamilton CampHamilton CampHamilton Camp was an English-American singer, songwriter, actor and voice actor.-Early life:Camp was born in London, England, and was evacuated during World War II to the United States as a child with his mother and sister. He became a child actor in films and onstage...
) - weatherman - Jim Dexter (Leonard Simon) - news anchor
Episodes
| # | Title | Writers | | Original airdate | | Series No. |
|---|
Further reading
- Bogle, Donald. Blacks in American films and Television: An Encyclopedia. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989. ISBN 0-671-67538-9
- Castleman, Harry and Walter J. Podrazik. Harry and Wally's Favorite TV Shows. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1989. ISBN 0-13-933250-2
- Lentz, Harris M. Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits Supplement: Through 1987. Vol. 1. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1989. ISBN 0-89950-364-0
- MacDonald, J. Fred. Blacks and White TV: African Americans in Television Since 1948. 2nd ed. Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers, 1992. ISBN 0-8304-1326-X
- Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 Through 2007. Vol. 1. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2008. ISBN 0-7864-3305-1