Stand By Your Man (TV Series)
Encyclopedia
Stand By Your Man was an American
sitcom that aired on FOX
from April 5, 1992 until May 17, 1992. The series was created by Nancy Steen
and Neil Thompson
, who also wrote some of the episodes. It is notable for being Melissa Gilbert
's return to series television after the conclusion of Little House on the Prairie
nine years earlier, and the first lead sitcom role for Rosie O'Donnell
, who was then on the verge of breaking into major fame.
The series was based on the British
sitcom Birds of a Feather
, which was still in production at the time.
in a deadpan comical fashion, was that two sisters, sensible, down-to-earth Rochelle Dunphy (Gilbert) and loud, crass, pushy Lorraine Popowski (O'Donnell) agreed to live together for emotional and moral support while their husbands were doing time in prison for robbery. It was hard to tell these two were even related, much less sisters. Rochelle was an elegant, cultured woman who had married wealthy Roger Dunphy (Sam McMurray
), who was supposedly a successful manufacturer of sunroom and patio furniture. She thought her life of luxury was near perfect until her husband was discovered to have committed a series of major bank robberies with her brother-in-law. (Roger had in fact owed much of his wealth, and the money he spoiled Rochelle with, to robbing banks.) Lorraine, on the other hand, had limited aspirations in life, and no class whatsoever. She had married blue-collar slob Artie Popowski (Rick Hall) in a shot-gun ceremony in Vegas
, and together they shared marital bliss in the trailer park. However, once Roger and Artie were convicted of the crime and carted away from their wives, Lorraine had no choice but to move into Rochelle's palatial home in the suburbs of Franklin Heights, New Jersey
; surprisingly, this wasn't so much to the consternation of Rochelle.
The sisters tried to become closer as they learned to adapt to each other's differing lifestyles, and went on crazy adventures ribbed with humor that bordered between classic Vaudeville
and the toilet. Since most of Roger's wealth was re-claimed by their respective banks upon his and Artie's sentencing, Rochelle and Lorraine were suddenly faced with financial problems. The former was reluctant to find a job, after living off Roger for so long; the latter worked at Bargain Circus, a retail store, helping the two get by. Gloria (Rusty Schwimmer
) and Sophie (Ellen Ratners) were Lorraine's co-workers at the store, while Adrienne Stone (Miriam Flynn
) was the status-conscious next door neighbor who resented everything having to do with the sisters' living arrangement. Adrienne was convinced that Lorraine was helping to bring down the value of the neighborhood, never missed an opportunity to make the imprisoned husbands a subject of conversation, and on top of all that, had something hypocritical to hide. She was having an affair with Lorraine's illiterate biker friend Scab (Don Gibb), a member of the "bad element" Lorraine was dragging into the community. This was openly revealed to everyone before the end of the series' short run.
In every episode, Rochelle and Lorraine also visited their husbands in jail. Much of the key conflict between the sisters occurred here; Rochelle could not be apart from Roger for too long, since they were still madly in love; Lorraine, who still stood by Artie, vented much of her anger towards both her sister and especially to Roger, since she blamed him for getting naive Artie involved in his schemes and in jail.
, Get A Life
, et al.). At this time, Fox still scheduled Sunday programming as late as the 10/9c hour, and hoped that the broad, somewhat raunchy nature of Stand By Your Man would draw an audience at that hour and finally give the network their "next big Married..." (many critics claimed the show outdid the older series with the style of its writing). For the show's original episode run, and for two weeks beyond, it aired at 10/9c on Sundays; after it was not renewed for a second season, Stand By Your Man moved into the 10:30/9:30c slot on the same evening, in mid-June: after two more months of summer reruns, the show had its last network airing on August 9, 1992.
song of the same name; the song itself, or a variation of it was not used in the series, however.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sitcom that aired on FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
from April 5, 1992 until May 17, 1992. The series was created by Nancy Steen
Nancy Steen
Nancy Steen American television producer, writer and actress.Steen began her career as an actress at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She then began appearing the television series Charlie's Angels, Taxi, Mork & Mindy and M*A*S*H.Her television producing and writing...
and Neil Thompson
Neil Thompson
Neil Thompson is an English former footballer who played in defence, chiefly on the left side of the pitch, for Scarborough, Ipswich Town and Barnsley amongst others. Thompson subsequently became a football coach and had spells at York City, Scarborough and Boston United as player-manager...
, who also wrote some of the episodes. It is notable for being Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Ellen Gilbert is an American actress, writer, and producer, primarily in movies and television. Gilbert is best known as a child actress who co-starred as Charles Ingalls's second daughter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, on the dramatic television series Little House on the Prairie...
's return to series television after the conclusion of Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie (TV series)
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
nine years earlier, and the first lead sitcom role for Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
, who was then on the verge of breaking into major fame.
The series was based on the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
sitcom Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather was a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1989 until 1998. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers.The first episode sees sisters...
, which was still in production at the time.
Synopsis
The show's premise, as narrated in the opening credits by Fox network's chief announcer Joe CiprianoJoe Cipriano
Joe Cipriano is an American voice over actor.-Career:Joe Cipriano began his career as a broadcaster in Waterbury, Connecticut , while still in high school. Since then he has worked for the NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS TV and radio networks...
in a deadpan comical fashion, was that two sisters, sensible, down-to-earth Rochelle Dunphy (Gilbert) and loud, crass, pushy Lorraine Popowski (O'Donnell) agreed to live together for emotional and moral support while their husbands were doing time in prison for robbery. It was hard to tell these two were even related, much less sisters. Rochelle was an elegant, cultured woman who had married wealthy Roger Dunphy (Sam McMurray
Sam McMurray
Sam McMurray is an American television, film and voice actor.-Early life:McMurray was born in New York City, the son of Jane and Richard McMurray, both actors...
), who was supposedly a successful manufacturer of sunroom and patio furniture. She thought her life of luxury was near perfect until her husband was discovered to have committed a series of major bank robberies with her brother-in-law. (Roger had in fact owed much of his wealth, and the money he spoiled Rochelle with, to robbing banks.) Lorraine, on the other hand, had limited aspirations in life, and no class whatsoever. She had married blue-collar slob Artie Popowski (Rick Hall) in a shot-gun ceremony in Vegas
Vegas
Vegas may refer to a variety of entities. In English, it is almost always a reference or an allusion to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada or the region of Las Vegas Valley in Nevada or to the gambling activities associated with it....
, and together they shared marital bliss in the trailer park. However, once Roger and Artie were convicted of the crime and carted away from their wives, Lorraine had no choice but to move into Rochelle's palatial home in the suburbs of Franklin Heights, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
; surprisingly, this wasn't so much to the consternation of Rochelle.
The sisters tried to become closer as they learned to adapt to each other's differing lifestyles, and went on crazy adventures ribbed with humor that bordered between classic Vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and the toilet. Since most of Roger's wealth was re-claimed by their respective banks upon his and Artie's sentencing, Rochelle and Lorraine were suddenly faced with financial problems. The former was reluctant to find a job, after living off Roger for so long; the latter worked at Bargain Circus, a retail store, helping the two get by. Gloria (Rusty Schwimmer
Rusty Schwimmer
Rusty Schwimmer is an American film and television actress and singer. Her most prominent role so far is that of Barbara Ludzinski on The Guardian.Among her movie appearances are those as Joey B in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Mrs...
) and Sophie (Ellen Ratners) were Lorraine's co-workers at the store, while Adrienne Stone (Miriam Flynn
Miriam Flynn
Miriam Flynn is an American voice actress and character actress. She is best known as Cousin Catherine in the National Lampoon's Vacation franchise. As a voice artist, she has been featured in The Land Before Time series, Taz-Mania as the title character's mother, Jean, Poil in The Spooktacular...
) was the status-conscious next door neighbor who resented everything having to do with the sisters' living arrangement. Adrienne was convinced that Lorraine was helping to bring down the value of the neighborhood, never missed an opportunity to make the imprisoned husbands a subject of conversation, and on top of all that, had something hypocritical to hide. She was having an affair with Lorraine's illiterate biker friend Scab (Don Gibb), a member of the "bad element" Lorraine was dragging into the community. This was openly revealed to everyone before the end of the series' short run.
In every episode, Rochelle and Lorraine also visited their husbands in jail. Much of the key conflict between the sisters occurred here; Rochelle could not be apart from Roger for too long, since they were still madly in love; Lorraine, who still stood by Artie, vented much of her anger towards both her sister and especially to Roger, since she blamed him for getting naive Artie involved in his schemes and in jail.
Scheduling
Stand By Your Man was Fox's attempt to finally add power to the latter half of their Sunday night lineup, building upon the success of the shows that aired earlier that night (Married...With Children, The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Get A Life
Get a Life (TV series)
Get a Life is a television sitcom that was broadcast in the United States on the Fox Network from September 23, 1990, to March 8, 1992. The show starred Chris Elliott as a 30-year-old paperboy named Chris Peterson. Peterson lived in an apartment above his parents' garage...
, et al.). At this time, Fox still scheduled Sunday programming as late as the 10/9c hour, and hoped that the broad, somewhat raunchy nature of Stand By Your Man would draw an audience at that hour and finally give the network their "next big Married..." (many critics claimed the show outdid the older series with the style of its writing). For the show's original episode run, and for two weeks beyond, it aired at 10/9c on Sundays; after it was not renewed for a second season, Stand By Your Man moved into the 10:30/9:30c slot on the same evening, in mid-June: after two more months of summer reruns, the show had its last network airing on August 9, 1992.
Title
The show's title was obviously taken from the popular Tammy WynetteTammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
song of the same name; the song itself, or a variation of it was not used in the series, however.