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Chicago Sons aired from January until July 1997 on CBS.

The testosterone flowed freely in this lightweight sitcom about 3 skirt-chasing brothers living in a bachelor dream pad overlooking Chicago's Wrigley Field. Harry ( Jason Bateman), the most responsible ( relatively speaking), worked as a junior architect and had the hots for co-worker Lindsay ( Paula Marshall). She,unfortunately, already had a boyfriend of 5 years. In the spare bedroom was Harry's dumb, insensitive older brother Mike( D.W. Moffett), who had been kicked out of his house by his fed-up wife, but nevertheless had babes hanging on him. On the couch was dropout Billy ( David Krumholtz), the wise-cracking, boyish looking youngest of the clan. They all hung out at Murphy's bar, when not drinking milk right out of the carton or watching a Cubs game from the roof.

Episode Guide

Airdates:
13 30-minute episodes aired on NBC from January 8th, 1997 through July 2nd, 1997.

The Episodes:
"Pilot" gs: Scott Bryce [ Unknown ], Stephanie Erb [ Lisa ], Steve Witting [ Unknown ], Marc Grapey [ Unknown ], Gillian Holt [ Unknown ], Anastasia Sakelaris [ Unknown ] Harry drafts a blueprint for wooing an attractive co-worker, while recently separated eldest brother Mike moves in with Harry and youngest brother Billy, a get-rich-quick schemer. b: 8 Jan 97 pc: 465592 w: Ed Decter & John J. Strauss d: James Burrows -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A Foursome is Not Necessarily a Good Thing" gs: Katy Selverstone [ Kristen ], Michael Stoyanov [ Barry ], Timi Paulmiere [ Elizabeth ], Gary Anthony Sturgis [ Waiter ] Harry plans an accidental meeting between Mike and his old high-school sweetheart. "Take-charge" Mike learns that his estranged wife, Lisa, has been seeing another man, so he decides to a wade into the dating pool with Kristen, the woman he courted before he met his wife. b: 15 Jan 97 pc: 465552 w: Laura Perkins Brittain d: James Burrows -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Butkus, Live!" gs: Dick Butkus [ Himself ], Reno Wilson [ Stan ], Charles Walker [ Coach Gray ], Pat Crawford Brown [ Woman ] Normally close-mouthed Mike opens up to Lindsay about a private matter, which makes Harry feel like he's been "left out in a lonely rowboat---like Fredo Corleone." b: 22 Jan 97 pc: 465558 w: J.J. Paulsen d: Michael Lembeck -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "To Have and to Hold" gs: Casey Siemaszko [ Frank ], Jennifer Grant [ Jane ], John Webber [ Jerry ], Marci Brickhouse [ Anna ], Wendy Buboltz [ Heather ], Sandra Kinger [ Organist ] b: 29 Jan 97 pc: 465556 w: Nancy Neufeld d: Gil Junger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Things We Do for Love" gs: Cindy Ambuehl [ Amy ], Corinne Bohrer [ Unknown ], Shelley Berman [ McGlashan ] The brothers rethink their strategy concerning "that mysterious creature called woman," with old-fashioned Mike trying some newfangled approaches to romancing his latest steady (Ambuehl). Then smooth operator Harry shows remarkable patience in courting a comely surgeon (Bohrer). b: 5 Feb 97 pc: 465560 w: ______________ d: Alan Rafkin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Infrequent Flyers" gs: Scottie Pippen [ Unknown ], Brenda Strong [ Nina ], Matt Landers [ Mr. Singer ], Bruno Campos [ Raoul ], Gregg Daniel [ Croupier ], Symba Smith [ Stewardess ] NBA star Scottie Pippen (in a recurring role as the guys' landlord) joins the cast in an outing about Mike taking his brothers and Lindsay to the Bahamas. While there, Mike is wooed by Bahama sugar mama Nina; Harry has a go-round with the roulette wheel; can-do Billy goes condo; and "elitist snob" Lindsay has a fling with a cabana boy. b: 12 Feb 97 pc: 465562 w: Tad Quill d: Steve Zuckerman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Love in the Time of Cicadas" gs: Kirsten Nelson [ Unknown ], Gabrielle Reece [ Herself ], John Webber [ Jerry ], Michelle Clunie [ Kelly ], Seth Jaffe [ The Colonel ] The love bug bites Mike, who trysts with his estranged wife (Nelson); and Harry, who finally has a close encounter with Lindsay. b: 19 Feb 97 pc: 465559 w: ______________ d: Gil Junger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Belligerent Waitress and the Surly Fry Cook" gs: b: 5 Mar 97 pc: 465557 w: ______________ d: Gil Junger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Kolchak Swings ... and Kiss That One Goodbye" gs: Scott Bryce [ Derek ], Michael Stoyanov [ Barry ], Lisa Thornill [ Giselle ], John Webber [ Jerry ], Jonathan Slavin [ Sandwich Guy ] Co-workers Harry and Lindsay try not to mix pleasure with business; and entrepreneur Billy thinks he's on to a real moneymaking scheme. b: 12 Mar 97 pc: 465551 w: ______________ d: James Burrows -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Running Interference" gs: Brigid Brannagh [ Melinda ], John Webber [ Jerry ], Kevin Farley [ Kevin ], Charles Stevenson [ Mr. Ripps ] While Harry and Mike argue about meddling in love struck Billy's private life, their little brother puts his foot down and takes a big step on his own. So, it's up to the older Kuchaks to save their impetuous sibling from the mess he's gotten himself into. b: 19 Mar 97 pc: 465561 w: Michael Poryes d: Steve Zuckerman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Beauty and the Butt" gs: Scottie Pippen [ Unknown ], Fabiana Udenio [ Gabriella ], David Starzyk [ Dan Forester ], Ali Larter [ Angela ], Brad Naso [ Walter ] The unthinkable happens: an attractive sculptress prefers to get sad-sack Billy in the sack instead of his hunky brother Mike, which leads to "a family crisis of Biblical proportions." b: 18 Jun 97 pc: 465555 w: Mark LaVine & Eddie Ring d: Gil Junger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "It's a Mezzner" gs: Catherine Silvers [ Sharon ], Milton James [ Pecha ], Benjamin Lum [ Mr. Lee ], Larisa Miller [ Woman ] b: 25 Jun 97 pc: 465553 w: Tom Burkhard d: Michael Lembeck -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Mothers, Lost Fullbacks, and Other Soft Things" gs: Barbara Feldon [ Lindsay's Mother ], Reno Wilson [ Stan ], John Webber [ Jerry ], Brigid Brannagh [ Melinda ], John Capodice [ Roy ] When her designing mother comes to town to see her receive an architecture award, Lindsay frets that the woman is there to steal the spotlight from her. Meanwhile, Mike and his macho pals engage in a contest to see who can keep from crying during Brian's Song. b: 2 Jul 97 pc: 465554 w: ______________ d: Rod Daniels

A Review from The New York Times

With These Brothers, 3 Is a Madding Crowd
By CARYN JAMES
Published: January 08, 1997

It says something about this drab television season that many of its most inventive moments come from network promos for shows. For a while there was French Smith, Harry on ''Third Rock From the Sun'' (one of the year's bright spots), dancing expressively to the ''Flashdance'' theme: ''He's a maniac, maniac on TV.'' More recently, the relentlessly promoted new sitcom ''Chicago Sons,'' about three grown brothers living together in that city, offered a clever parody of ''Bonanza,'' with the theme rewritten to show a few crucial differences between these guys and the Cart wrights: ''They don't ride, they don't rope, they don't know Hop Sing.'' (''Hop Who?'' someone sings, ignorant of the Cartwrights' cook.) The series has its premiere tonight, and it turns out that the promos are infinitely funnier than anything on this flat, predictable show.

''Chicago Sons,'' based on the premise that men are slightly advanced, good-hearted cavemen, is a more polite version of ''Men Behaving Badly.'' But what's the comic point of ''Men Almost Behaving Badly''?

The Kulchak brothers share an apartment under strained sitcom circumstances, and the family itself is a study in upward mobility. The show's star is Jason Bateman as Harry, the sweet and sensible middle brother. He is an architect, lovelorn over his work partner, Lindsay (Paula Marshall), who is already attached.

The oldest brother, Mike (D. W. Moffett), is a construction worker whose wife has kicked him out because he watches too much television sports. He moves in with Harry and their younger brother, Billy (David Krumholtz), a twerpy recent college graduate with no job but plenty of supposedly wacky get-rich-quick schemes. Those schemes (become a wedding planner!) are no more original than Mike's cliched problems with his wife.

The show's best family joke is to have all the brothers drink chocolate milk the same way: first they squirt chocolate syrup into their mouths straight from the bottle, followed by a swig of milk from the carton. Well, that proves it; men really are from Mars.

Mr. Bateman brings an endearing quality to his role and to Harry's desperate attempts to win Lindsay. Tonight he invites her to watch a Cubs game from the roof, and gets all the wrong advice from his brothers. In next week's episode he tries again; he gets more bad advice, and the show doesn't get any better. Unless these brothers learn to ride, rope and cozy up to Hop Sing, they're probably hopeless.

CHICAGO SONS

NBC, tonight at 8:30

(Channel 4 in New York)

John J. Strauss and Ed Decter, creators and executive producers; Kim Friese, co-executive producer; J. J. Paulsen, supervising producer; Don Rhymer, consulting producer; Tom Burkhard, producer; produced by Tim Berry; pilot directed by James Burrows. A production of Frontier Pictures and Three Sisters Entertainment in association with Warner Brothers Television.

WITH: Jason Bateman (Harry Kulchak), D. W. Moffett (Mike Kulchak), David Krumholtz (Billy Kulchak) and Paula Marshall (Lindsay Sutton).

A Review from The New York daily News

A Tale Of 2 Cities - And Series
BY DAVID BIANCULLI
Wednesday, January 08, 1997

THE FIRST two new prime-time series of 1997 are unveiled tonight, and both feature cities as such prominent settings that they're featured in the titles: NBC's "Chicago Sons" sitcom and the CBS drama series "Orleans."

"Orleans" is the better show, and the one with the better pedigree.

The star of the series besides the Cajun city, that is is Larry Hagman, who as J.R. Ewing personified another Southern city in "Dallas." In "Orleans," Hagman doesn't circumvent the law; he upholds it, by playing a quirky-yet-principled judge named Luther Charbonnet. And somehow, just by letting his eyebrow hairs run wild and point to the skies, he creates a completely different TV persona something between a crafty old owl and a dirty old man.

Judge Charbonnet's grown kids, also living in New Orleans, bring other TV genres to the table. Eldest son Clade (Brett Cullen) is an undercover cop, younger son Jesse (Michael Reilly Burke) is a deputy district attorney, and daughter Paulette (Colleen Flynn) is a rebellious handful.

She's also the alter ego of Toni Graphia, the daughter of a Louisiana judge and the co-creator, writer and co-executive producer of "Orleans."

Graphia's partner in this venture is John Sacret Young, for whom she once wrote a "China Beach" script.

Young, who also oversaw the ambitious "VR5," has made sure that "Orleans" has flavor to spare, in both the scenery (the entire series is shot on location) and the central and guest casting.

One upcoming episode, for example, features Mary Crosby as a mysterious snake wrangler a delicious bit of casting, once you recall that it was Crosby, as Kristin, who shot Hagman's J.R. in that most-famous episode of "Dallas."

As for mood, the courtroom scenes in "Orleans" could be pulled straight from "Picket Fences," but the action and romance scenes outside are more traditional and dark.

"Orleans" definitely is a show worth sampling, and a show that easily could get addictive especially with Hagman, and his eyebrows, stealing so many scenes.

In "Chicago Sons," meanwhile, the scene-stealers are D.W. Moffett and Jason Bateman as two of three grown brothers (David Krumholtz completes the troika) living and working in the Windy City. Paula Marshall plays the co-worker to whom Bateman's middle brother is hopelessly attracted, and is quite charming.

Though this is the best series by far from John J. Strauss and Ed Decter ("Boy Meets World," "Too Something," "Me and the Boys"), it's still not as funny or clever as NBC's on-air promos for it. Think of "Friends" without the women, and with a rooftop overlooking Wrigley Field instead of Central Perk, and you've got "Chicago Sons."

If you want it.

Here's a brief mention of Chicago Sons from Entertainment Weekly-Published on February 7, 1997.

The Batemans are back, and NBC's got 'em! But when did Jason become the more interesting sibling? As the middle brother on CHICAGO SONS (NBC, Wednesdays, 8:30-9 p.m.), the former Hogan Family stud-puppy displays an engaging comic presence. In earlier incarnations, Jason always seemed like a Michael J. Fox lite (not for nothing did he replace Fox in Teen Wolf Too). Now his pinpoint timing rivals Fox's; he's able to wring laughs out of even the most generic material (and Chicago Sons is about as generic as you can get). But as Ron Eldard's nurse girlfriend on MEN BEHAVING BADLY (NBC, Wednesdays, 9:30-10 p.m.), sister Justine seems to have lost the spirit that made her such an endearing foil for Fox on Family Ties. She saps the life out of every scene she's in. Maybe Jason can give his sis some tips in a Chicago Sons/Men Behaving Badly crossover -- it'd be Must See Bateman TV!

To watch some clips from Chicago Sons go to http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chicago+sons+jason+bateman&aq=f