MovieChat Forums > Duet (1987) Discussion > Groundbreaking series?

Groundbreaking series?

posted 13 years ago by rivieran
8 replies | jump to latest

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that Duet was probably the first mainstream network TV series in which the main characters were unmarried and living together as lovers. Racy stuff for 1987!

[–] CherDash 13 years ago

I believe that the first series to feature an unmarried couple living together was Three's A Crowd, the sequel to Three's Company.

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!

[–] rivieran 13 years ago

Thanks for the answer. It looks like that series beat Duet by a few years. I've wondered for awhile if Duet was first or not. Now I know!

[–] CherDash 13 years ago

You're welcome, any time :)

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!

[–] KinksRock 12 years ago

Was "Duet" the first show to be murdered by a lame spin-off?

Hey, you dang woodchucks! Stop chucking my wood!

[–] rivieran 10 years ago

You certainly hit that nail on the head. As much as I love Alison La Placa and Chris Lemmon (and I really do), the only reason to ever watch Open House was Ellen's portrayal of the unsettlingly surreal yet oddly ingratiating receptionist.

[–] KinksRock 10 years ago

You may be the only Alison LaPlaca fan I've heard of. Many consider her the one who shows up to kill off sitcoms, kind of like a female Ted McGinley.

Jaan Pehechan Ho

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] TMC-4 8 years ago

https://www.datalounge.com/thread/16665213-duet-tv-

It was a romantic comedy where Ben Coleman (Matthew Laurence) was in love with Laura Kelly (Mary Page Keller). Their best friends were yuppies Richard (Chris Lemmon***) and Linda Phelps (Alison La Placa), and Laura had a younger sister Jane (Jodi Thelen) who was just a little bit ditzy.

The show was hardly groundbreaking, but survived by good writing. The plots were pretty standard, but there were plenty of funny line, and the worked like all good comedy – by being unexpected.

In addition, the cast was very appealing. The two breakout characters were Linda and Jane. Alison La Placa was wonderful – self centered, controlling, and very very funny. Jodi Thelen was even better, as the ditzy comic relief. As a matter of fact, the leads of the show took a back seat to the other characters as time went by.

In the second season, Linda became pregnant. The final episode had her giving birth. Then the show did something unusual: the third season took place three years later. The baby had grown and Ben and Laura had married – unusual for a romantic sitcom in that it was not shown. Toward the end, Linda took a job in a real estate agency.

The show was cancelled, but that job was the basis for a spinoff: Open House. Alison La Placa was the star, with Lemmon and Keller (her character now divorced) joining her. Added to the new cast was a up and coming comedian named Ellen DeGeneris.****

The show didn’t catch on, but La Placa did. Or tried to. She starred in three sitcoms in the next three years, and all failed. None of the other actors fared much better, though all have worked relatively regularly since.

But the show did what it needed to do: be an entertainment that was strong enough to keep Fox afloat.

***Yes, Jack’s son.

****Who was the equivalent to Jodi Thelen in the new show, but not as good.