Dirty Dancing (1988 TV series)

Dirty Dancing is an American comedy-drama television series that ran for 11 episodes on CBS from October 29, 1988, until January 14, 1989. It was based on the 1987 film of the same name, and is the second release in the titular franchise. Despite its sourced original story, none of the original cast or crew returned for the TV adaptation. The series starred Patrick Cassidy as Johnny Castle and Melora Hardin as Frances "Baby" Kellerman.

Dirty Dancing
Based onDirty Dancing
Developed by
Starring
Opening theme"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12 (1 unaired)
Production
Producers
Running time30 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseOctober 29, 1988 (1988-10-29) –
January 14, 1989 (1989-01-14)
Related
Dirty Dancing (film)

Plot

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The television series followed the same basic premise of the film, with a few variations. The series was still set at Kellerman's during the summer of 1963, but instead of being the daughter of a resort guest, Baby became the daughter of Max Kellerman (in the film, Baby's last name was Houseman), and was put in charge of Johnny as Kellerman's talent director. Much like the movie, Baby noted that she intended to attend Mount Holyoke in the fall, so it was not clear how the series would continue once the summer ended. As was the case in the film, Baby and Johnny had an adversarial relationship, but eventually came to respect each other. As this was a weekly series, Baby and Johnny did not fall in love immediately, but as the series progressed, their feelings grew.

Cast

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  • Melora Hardin as Frances "Baby" Kellerman (in the film, Baby's last name is Houseman)
  • Patrick Cassidy as Johnny Castle
  • Constance Marie as Penny Rivera (in the film, Penny's last name is Johnson)
  • McLean Stevenson as Max Kellerman
  • Charlie Stratton as Neil Mumford (in the film, Neil's last name is Kellerman)
  • Paul Feig as Norman Bryant
  • John Wesley as Sweets Walker
  • Adam S. Bristol as Wallace Kahn
  • Mandy Ingber as Robin, Baby's cousin (credited as Amanda Ingber)

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
Rating/share
(households)
1"Baby, It's You"Tony BillRobert Rabinowitz & Barra GrantOctober 29, 1988 (1988-10-29)14.5[1]9.8/18[1]
2"Heat Wave"Michael FrescoSusan MillerNovember 5, 1988 (1988-11-05)12.9[2]8.5/15[2]
3"Save the Last Dance for Me"Jan EliasbergJan WorthingtonNovember 12, 1988 (1988-11-12)11.2[3]7.5/13[3]
4"Walk Like a Man"Kenny OrtegaVirginia BrowneNovember 19, 1988 (1988-11-19)10.8[4]7.5/13[4]
5"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"Oz ScottSusan DworkinDecember 3, 1988 (1988-12-03)10.0[5]6.8/12[5]
6"Poetry in Motion"Ed KaplanBarra GrantDecember 10, 1988 (1988-12-10)8.5[6]6.8/12[6]
7"Book of Love"Michael FrescoSusan MillerDecember 27, 1988 (1988-12-27)8.1[7]6.0/10[7]
8
9"Turn Me Loose"Michael PetersStory by : Evan Harrison
Teleplay by : Jan Worthington & Evan Harrison
December 31, 1988 (1988-12-31)9.2[7]6.5/13[7]
10"Our Day Will Come"Steve TischChristopher Ames & Carolyn ShelbyJanuary 7, 1989 (1989-01-07)10.4[8]6.6/11[8]
11"Hit the Road"Barra GrantBarra GrantJanuary 14, 1989 (1989-01-14)7.5[9]5.0/9[9]
12"Don't Make Me Over"Gabrielle BeaumontChristopher Ames & Carolyn ShelbyUnaired (Unaired)N/AN/A

References

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  1. ^ a b "Nielsen Ratings". Life. USA Today. November 2, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest 306129406.
  2. ^ a b "Nielsen Ratings". Life. USA Today. November 9, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest 306136856.
  3. ^ a b "Nielsen Ratings". Life. USA Today. November 16, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest 306140699.
  4. ^ a b "Nielsen Ratings". Life. USA Today. November 23, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest 306124674.
  5. ^ a b "Nielsen Ratings". Life. USA Today. December 7, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest 306146398.
  6. ^ a b "Nielsen Ratings". Life. USA Today. December 14, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest 306143538.
  7. ^ a b c d "'Carpenter': No. 1 hit for CBS". Life. USA Today. January 5, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306157966.
  8. ^ a b "NBC, laughing all the way". Life. USA Today. January 11, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306165080.
  9. ^ a b "NBC clinches season's ratings title". Life. USA Today. January 18, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306171627.
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