"Oliver Beene" (2003)TV series 2003-2004

Creator:

Howard Gewirtz

Seasons:

1 | 2 | unknown

Release Date:

9 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Adventure

Plot:

Set in 1962, Oliver Beene follows the hilarious adventures of a young 11 year old boy and his wacky family.

Plot Keywords:

Dysfunctional Family | Brother | Friend | Affection | 1960s

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Grant Rosenmeyer	...	Oliver David Beene (23 episodes, 2003-2004)
Grant Shaud	...	Dr. Jerrimiah 'Jerry' Beene (23 episodes, 2003-2004)
Wendy Makkena	...	Charlotte Caraline Beene (23 episodes, 2003-2004)
Andrew Lawrence	...	Tayler 'Ted' Mark Beene (23 episodes, 2003-2004)
Daveigh Chase	...	Joyce (23 episodes, 2003-2004)
Taylor Emerson	...	Michael (23 episodes, 2003-2004)
Ben Bookbinder	...	Neal (23 episodes, 2003-2004)
Annie Korzen	...	Mrs. Heller (23 episodes, 2003-2004)
David Cross	...	Narrator (23 episodes, 2003-2004)

Runtime:

30 min (24 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks Television

Trivia:

After FOX renewed the show for a second season, 16 episodes were made for the second season but only 14 were aired.

Quotes:

Narrator - Adult Oliver: An old proverb goes, "bring me the boy at ten and I'll show you the man he will one day become."

So what? It's a good show!

Ok, it DOES seem like 'Oliver Beene' is 'Malcolm' meets 'The Wonder Years', but so what? In a world of scarily crappy reality shows, and 50+ years of TV history, isn't better to venture 2 GOOD TV shows, rather than extend ideas from bad ones?

I agree that this show will probably be canned shortly, only because producers don't give shows enough of a chance to improve ratings anymore. I loved Family Guy, and wish it was still on, but it is like the original Star Trek was 35 years ago: a mass cult following formed, but not enough of an overall appeal, like American Idol (joy).

Comedies are a dying breed outside of FOX. CBS focuses on dramas, ABC invokes reality shows and 'family comedies' (which is producer slang for targeted middle-aged audience). WB wants the teenagers, and NBC rounds up the 'intellectual 18-29 who live in New York' (Is Fraiser even funny anymore, or was it REALLY EVER? I mean if you're gonna spin-off Cheers, get George Wendt or John Ratzenberger, not Fraiser Crane). Friends is still funny, but not fresh. And their 'target' audience is not ethnic, so we don't see any NBC leading roles filled by etnicity, only supporting. What happened to Cosby, Fresh Prince, Different World?

Is UPN still even a prime-time station??

But at least FOX, albeit focusing on the dyfunctional slice-of-life, has funny comedies. The Simpsons. Malcolm. That 70's Show. Bernie Mac. King Of The Hill. Family Guy (defunct). Futurama (soon-to-be defunct). Oliver Beene.

And hey, we'd be able to give all these new shows half a fighting chance if they weren't being filled with reality shows (which producers LOVE because they're short, and by now, a guaranteed lock in viewership) like Married By America (the most degrading yet) or until Mr. Personality airs. One day, reality shows will be so ugly, we'll see a televised version of Russian Roulette. I swear we will.

And while Grant Rosenmeyer is no Frankie Muniz, he tries to be real. After all, we all can't be scary bullsh*t like V.I.C.I. in Small Wonder can we?

So to sum up, Oliver Beene is cool. Cherish it now, because you might miss it when it's gone, kinda like Family Guy. And for whoever earlier said Family Guy is much better than The Simpsons, he obviously haven't seen more than 2 episodes. Simpsons still rule.