The Charmings
Encyclopedia
The Charmings is an American fantasy
sitcom
that aired from March 1987 to February 1988 on ABC
.
The premise of the series' plot was that fairy tale characters Snow White
and Prince Charming
were magically transported to a 20th century suburb in California
. Each episode shows the Charmings trying to adapt to their new life while Lillian, the wicked stepmother, and her wise cracking Magic Mirror watch from upstairs. After the first season, Caitlin O'Heaney
(who portrayed Snow White), was replaced by Carol Huston.
After mild success as part of ABC's Friday night lineup, the series was moved to Thursday nights for its second season, in a head to head battle with NBC's The Cosby Show
. Due to low ratings, the series was canceled after twenty episodes. One episode remains unaired in the US, though it was shown during the show's run in the UK.
: Played by Caitlin O'Heaney
(1987) and Carol Huston (1987-1988).
Prince Eric Charming
: Played by Christopher Rich
.
Thomas and Cory Charming: The two Charming children. Played by Brandon Call
and Garette Ratliff Henson
.
Queen Lillian White: The wicked stepmother. Played by Judy Parfitt
.
Luther: Lillian's dwarf. Played by Cork Hubbert.
The Magic Mirror
: Played by Paul Winfield
.
Don "King of Carpets" Miller and Sally Miller: The Charmings' neighbors who found their new neighbors' penchant for medieval fairy tale
style odd but never figured out they were the real Prince Charming and Snow White. Played by Paul Eiding
and Dori Brenner.
Fantasy television
Fantasy television is a genre of television programming featuring elements of the fantastic, often including magic, supernatural forces, or exotic fantasy worlds. Fantasy television programs are often based on tales from mythology and folklore, or are adapted from fantasy stories in other media...
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...
that aired from March 1987 to February 1988 on 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...
.
Synopsis
The opening voice-over set-up the premise:The premise of the series' plot was that fairy tale characters Snow White
Snow White
"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...
and Prince Charming
Prince Charming
Prince Charming is a stock character who appears in a number of fairy tales. He is the prince who comes to rescue of the damsel in distress, and stereotypically, must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell...
were magically transported to a 20th century suburb in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Each episode shows the Charmings trying to adapt to their new life while Lillian, the wicked stepmother, and her wise cracking Magic Mirror watch from upstairs. After the first season, Caitlin O'Heaney
Caitlin O'Heaney
Caitlin O'Heaney is an American TV, film and stage actress. O'Heaney has worked extensively in live theater, but is best known for playing Sarah Stickney White, the female lead on the ABC series Tales of the Gold Monkey in the early 1980s...
(who portrayed Snow White), was replaced by Carol Huston.
After mild success as part of ABC's Friday night lineup, the series was moved to Thursday nights for its second season, in a head to head battle with NBC's The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
. Due to low ratings, the series was canceled after twenty episodes. One episode remains unaired in the US, though it was shown during the show's run in the UK.
Characters
Snow WhiteSnow White
"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...
: Played by Caitlin O'Heaney
Caitlin O'Heaney
Caitlin O'Heaney is an American TV, film and stage actress. O'Heaney has worked extensively in live theater, but is best known for playing Sarah Stickney White, the female lead on the ABC series Tales of the Gold Monkey in the early 1980s...
(1987) and Carol Huston (1987-1988).
Prince Eric Charming
Prince Charming
Prince Charming is a stock character who appears in a number of fairy tales. He is the prince who comes to rescue of the damsel in distress, and stereotypically, must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell...
: Played by Christopher Rich
Christopher Rich (American actor)
Christopher Rich Wilson is an American actor, best known for his roles on Murphy Brown and Reba .-Career:...
.
Thomas and Cory Charming: The two Charming children. Played by Brandon Call
Brandon Call
Brandon Spencer Lee Call is an American television and film actor.-Early life and career:Born in Torrance, California, Call began his career as a child actor in 1984 appearing in guest roles on Simon & Simon and Hotel. In 1985, he landed a recurring role on the NBC daytime drama, Santa Barbara...
and Garette Ratliff Henson
Garette Ratliff Henson
Garette Patrick Henson is an American actor, best known for his role as Guy Germaine in The Mighty Ducks trilogy.- Biography :...
.
Queen Lillian White: The wicked stepmother. Played by Judy Parfitt
Judy Parfitt
Judy Parfitt is a BAFTA-nominated English theatre, film and television actress who began her career on stage in 1954.-Life and work:...
.
Luther: Lillian's dwarf. Played by Cork Hubbert.
The Magic Mirror
Magic Mirror
Magic Mirror is a lithograph print by the Dutch artist M. C. Escher which was first printed in January, 1946.It depicts a mirror standing vertically on wooden supports on a tiled surface. The perspective is looking down at an angle at the right hand side of the mirror. There is a sphere at each...
: Played by Paul Winfield
Paul Winfield
Paul Edward Winfield was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Winfield also portrayed Dr....
.
Don "King of Carpets" Miller and Sally Miller: The Charmings' neighbors who found their new neighbors' penchant for medieval fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
style odd but never figured out they were the real Prince Charming and Snow White. Played by Paul Eiding
Paul Eiding
Paul Eiding is an American voice actor, voice instructor, and actor, perhaps best known as the voice actor behind Perceptor in the original Transformers cartoon, Roy Campbell in the Metal Gear series, the narrator in Diablo, Judicator Aldaris in StarCraft, and Max Tennyson in Ben 10, Ben 10: Alien...
and Dori Brenner.
Season 1 (1987)
| № | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Charmings" (Pilot) | 1987 March 20 |
| 2 | "The Mirror Cracked" | 1987 March 27 |
| 3 | "Modern Romance" | 1987 April 3 |
| 4 | "The Charmings Buy a Car" | 1987 April 10 |
| 5 | "The Incredible Shrinking Prince" | 1987 April 17 |
| 6 | "An 80's Kind of Prince" | 1987 April 17 |
Season 2 (1987-1988)
| № | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | "Lillian Loses the Kids" | 1987 September 17 |
| 8 | "The Charmings Go Plastic" | 1987 September 24 |
| 9 | "The Witch Is of Van Oaks" | 1987 October 1 |
| 10 | "The Fish Story" | 1987 October 8 |
| 11 | "Cindy's Back in Town" | 1987 October 15 |
| 12 | "A Charming Halloween" | 1987 October 29 |
| 13 | "Trading Places" | 1987 November 12 |
| 14 | "Lillian Loses Her Powers" | 1987 November 19 |
| 15 | "The Charmings and the Beanstalk" | 1987 November 26 |
| 16 | "Yes, Lillian, There Really Is a Santa Claus" | 1987 December 17 |
| 17 | "The Charmings Get Robbed" | 1988 January 7 |
| 18 | "Birth of a Salesman" | 1988 January 14 |
| 19 | "The Man Who Came to Dinner" | 1988 January 21 |
| 20 | "The Woman of His Dreams" | 1988 February 11 |
| 21 | "Lillian's Protege" | (Unaired) |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Emmy Awards | Nominated | Outstanding Technical Direction/Electronic Camerawork/Video Control for a Series | Warren Cress, Ross Harmon, Charles T. Henry, Bud Holland, Stephen A. Jones, Art LaCombe, Bill Scott, and Dave Smith (For episode "The Incredible Shrinking Prince") |
| Outstanding Achievement in Costuming for a Series | Betsey Potter (For episode "Modern Romance") | |||
| 1988 | Outstanding Technical Direction/Electronic Camerawork/Video Control for a Series | Warren Cress, Ross Harmon, Charles T. Henry, Joe Talosi, Harriet Uhl, Dave Smith, and Dale Walsh (For episode "Trading Places") | ||
| Won | Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Comedy Series | Mark Buxbaum (For episode "The Witch Is of Van Oaks") | ||
| 1988 | Young Artist Awards | Nominated | Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor in a Television Comedy Series | Brandon Call |
See Also
- Once Upon a TimeOnce Upon a Time (TV series)Once Upon a Time is an American fairy tale drama television series that premiered on Sunday October 23, 2011, on ABC. New episodes air Sunday nights at 8:00 pm ET/7:00 pm CT....
, a Fantasy Drama that will air on ABC in 2011 that is also based around the Snow White theme and the second series with this theme to air on ABC's prime time lineup.