View Full Version : "Life...and Stuff" (1997)


TMC
07-07-2022, 04:40 AM
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This may have been, for all intent and purposes, Pam Dawber (https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1997-01-10-9701100042-story.html)'s last significant (https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/06/arts/his-so-called-life-days-of-whine-and-neuroses.html) starring vehicle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life..._and_Stuff) or acting project (https://morkandmindy.fandom.com/wiki/Life..._and_Stuff) before her semi-retirement (https://rare.us/people/pam-dawber-mork-mindy/) from acting (https://bestlifeonline.com/mork-mindy-pam-dawber-now-news/#:~:text=Dawber%20kept%20acting%20throughout%20the%20'80s%20and%20'90s.&text=Dawber%20then%20stepped%20away%20from,I%20had%20my%20own%20deal.). Only three episodes (https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/jun/06/life-missteps-with-obsession-episode/) aired (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-06-06-ca-544-story.html) on CBS (https://variety.com/1997/tv/reviews/life-and-stuff-1117432641/) in June (https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1997/06/06/new-series-serves-up-the-same-old-stuff/) 1997 (https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Rick-Reynolds-Big-Chance-His-CBS-sitcom-starts-2837404.php) (three more were left unaired (https://books.google.com/books?id=GqRWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT307&lpg=PT307&dq=pam+dawber+retired+from+acting&source=bl&ots=eItjaj-AzT&sig=ACfU3U15by8zcqVksCmnUdv7puPp-fTLyw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjJ46C2sOb4AhUnnGoFHeFeDZk4ChDoAXoECBAQAw#v=onepage&q=pam%20dawber%20retired%20from%20acting&f=false)).

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Rick (Rick Reynolds) and Ronnie (Pam Dawber) had been married for ten years and the wear and tear was showing. With his high-stress job as an advertising executive and her long hours running the household and caring for their two boys, Jerry (Tanner Lee Prairie) and Shawn (Brandon Allen/Kevin Keckeisen), there wasn't much time for romance - or even meaningful talk. So they yelled a lot, and Rick frequently devolved into fantasies about how life should be. Christine (Andrea Martin) was Ronnie's best friend. Jordan Emery (Anita Barone) and Bernie Skabinsky (Fred Applegate) worked with Rick. Andy (David Bowe), Rick's unemployed, slightly spaced-out brother, lived in a trailer which was parked in the family's suburban driveway.

Adapted from Reynolds' cynical stand-up act, the show (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118385/reference/) got minuscule ratings (http://www.tvtango.com/series/life_and_stuff/episodes) and CBS canceled it after 3 episodes. At least 5 were produced, though "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows" (https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Complete+Directory+to+Prime+Time+Network+and+Cable+TV+Shows&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjfv9W8seb4AhV8lWoFHX4PBJQQ6AF6BAgKEAI#v=onepage&q=Life...and%20Stuff&f=false) claims 6 episodes were shot (though this same book inaccurately claimed that 4 episodes were broadcast).