All's Fair (1976 TV series)

All's Fair is an American television sitcom from Norman Lear that aired one season on CBS from 1976 to 1977. The series co-starred Richard Crenna as a conservative political columnist and Bernadette Peters as a liberal photographer, and their romantic mismatch because of age and political opinions. The program also featured Michael Keaton in an early role as Lanny Wolf. Peters was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role.

All's Fair
Crenna and Peters
Created by	Bob Schiller Bob Weiskopf Rod Parker
Developed by	Norman Lear
Starring	Richard Crenna Bernadette Peters Michael Keaton
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	24 (list of episodes)
Production
Production locations	Metromedia Square, Los Angeles, California
Running time	approx. 0:30 (per episode)
Production company	T.A.T. Communications Company
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 20, 1976 (1976-09-20) – April 30, 1977 (1977-04-30)

Plot

In Washington, D.C., an older (49) conservative columnist Richard C. Barrington (Richard Crenna) and a young (23) liberal photographer Charlotte (Charley) Drake (Bernadette Peters) become romantically involved. The complications of their politics and the age difference provide the story lines. They are "separated by politics, generation gap, manners and living styles".

Barrington is a gourmet cook who lives in a luxurious Washington townhouse, and Drake is a vegetarian. Barrington has a girl friend, a literary agent (Salome Jens), when he first meets Drake. The style of the show is "almost constant hysteria, the rapid pacing set to the sounds of argumentative shouting."

Cast and crew

Cast

Source: Nostalgia Central

• Richard C. Barrington – Richard Crenna
• Charlotte (Charley) Drake – Bernadette Peters
• Lucy Daniels, Al's girlfriend and a reporter – Lee Chamberlin
• Allen Brooks, Richard's assistant – J.A. Preston
• Ginger Livingston, Charley's roommate – Judith Kahan
• Senator Wayne Joplin, a liberal Senator and friend of Richard – Jack Dodson
• Lanny Wolf (1976), aide to President Carter – Michael Keaton

Crew

• Norman Lear – Production Supervisor
• Michael Elias – Producer
• Rod Parker – Executive Producer
• Bob Claver – Director
• Hal Cooper – Director
• Bob Schiller – Writer and Producer
• Bob Weiskopf – Writer and Producer
• Ben Stein – Consultant and writer

Episodes

L-R: Michael Keaton, Judith Kahan, Richard Crenna, and Bernadette Peters (1977)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	Tape date
1	"Strange Bedfellows"	Hal Cooper	Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf and Rod Parker	September 20, 1976 (1976-09-20)	TBA	TBA
2	"Jealousy"	Bob Claver	Albert E. Lewin	September 27, 1976 (1976-09-27)	TBA	TBA
3	"A Perfect Evening"	Bob Claver	Gy Waldron	October 4, 1976 (1976-10-04)	TBA	TBA
4	"Living Together"	Bob Claver	Sybil Adelman	October 18, 1976 (1976-10-18)	TBA	TBA
5	"Discovery Day"	Bob Claver	Michael Loman, Bob Schiller, & Bob Weiskopf	October 25, 1976 (1976-10-25)	TBA	TBA
6	"Election Eve"	Bob Claver	Bud Wiser	November 1, 1976 (1976-11-01)	TBA	TBA
7	"The Gang Leader"	Bob Claver	Karen Bachar (s), Dixie Brown Grossman, Ron Friedman	November 8, 1976 (1976-11-08)	112	November 1, 1976
8	"Happy Anniversary: Part 1"	Bob Claver	Michael Loman	November 15, 1976 (1976-11-15)	109	October 12, 1976
9	"Happy Anniversary: Part 2"	Bob Claver	Unknown	November 22, 1976 (1976-11-22)	TBA	TBA
10	"The Weekend"	Unknown	Bob Van Scoyk	November 29, 1976 (1976-11-29)	TBA	TBA
11	"The Leak"	Bob Claver	Don Hinkley, Peter Gallay	December 13, 1976 (1976-12-13)	TBA	TBA
12	"True Confessions"	Bob Claver	Sylvie Adelman (s), Bob Van Scoyk (s/t), Bud Wiser (s/t)	December 20, 1976 (1976-12-20)	114	December 7, 1976
13	"Love and Marriage: Part 1"	Bob Claver	Bob Van Scoyk	January 3, 1977 (1977-01-03)	TBA	TBA
14	"Love and Marriage: Part 2"	J.D. Lobue	Bud Wiser	January 17, 1977 (1977-01-17)	113	November 10, 1976
15	"Lucy's Job Offer"	Bob Claver	Howard Ostroff	February 7, 1977 (1977-02-07)	116	December 21, 1976
16	"President Requests: Part 1"	Bob Claver	Tom Whedon	February 14, 1977 (1977-02-14)	115	December 14, 1976
17	"President Requests: Part 2"	Bob Claver	Rod Parker	February 21, 1977 (1977-02-21)	116	December 14, 1976
18	"In Name Only"	Bob Claver	Michael Elias and Bob Van Scoyk	February 28, 1977 (1977-02-28)	TBA	TBA
19	"Save the Yak"	Bob Claver	Howard Ostroff	March 7, 1977 (1977-03-07)	TBA	TBA
20	"Remembrance"	Bob Claver	Tom Whedon	March 14, 1977 (1977-03-14)	TBA	TBA
21	"The Dick and Vanessa Show"	Bob Claver	Tom Whedon	March 28, 1977 (1977-03-28)	TBA	TBA
22	"The Jailbirds: Part 1"	Unknown	Unknown	April 23, 1977 (1977-04-23)	TBA	TBA
23	"The Jailbirds: Part 2"	Bob Claver	Rod Parker	April 30, 1977 (1977-04-30)	TBA	TBA
24	"Charley's Father"	Bob Claver	Ron Friedman	May 30, 1977 (1977-05-30)	TBA	TBA

Reception

The reviewer for Knight News Wire wrote that the show "looks like the best new comedy series of the year...The show looks sound in both writing and acting ... the characters spend a lot of time shouting. Lear seems to have decided ... that high-decibel dialogue is necessary to hold the attention of a large audience."

The critic for The New York Times wrote that "The casting is first-rate and the finger-snapping pace of the show leaves just about everything looking easy and undemanding.

The reviewer for Copley News Service wrote that he did not believe in the relationship (between Crenna and Peters). However, he wrote that "it works. It works because Crenna is an expert farceur and Peters is, well, cute and full of the old ginger. It works because the dialogue has crackle and wit. ... Peters has spunk and spirit and a bawdy and snappishly delightful wit ... a well-paced, intelligently conceived and altogether trenchant comedy and I don't see how it can miss."

Awards and nominations

• Golden Globe, 1977, Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical - Bernadette Peters (nominated)

See also

• The Powers That Be

External links

• All's Fair at IMDb
• All's Fair at epguides.com
• All's Fair at TV Guide