Delta

[Party Boi]

Does anyone remember this show that starred Delta Burke(92-93 i think)I haven't seen the show and was wondering what the feel was like.

[HuntingtonM15]

I remember watching it, but I was pretty young back then so I don't remember too much about it.

[Party Boi]

I was noticing your pic of Michelle Stafford as Phyllis,gotta love her.I was 8/9 when Delta was on so i more then likely wouldn't have payed attention to it anyway.lol

[HuntingtonM15]

Yep, I love Michelle! She's such a great actress and very deserving of the Emmy this year! Anyway, I'd really like to see some episodes of Delta again someday. I recall liking the show at the time.

[Kazza]

Isn't it 'Designing Women'??I never watched it

[Glampire]

Are you talking about the show where she became a politican? Because I do remember that one.

[Party Boi]

No,this is the show where she becomes a country singer and moves to Nashville.Your thinking of Women of the House(1995)

[TVFactFan]

Originally posted by Party Boi
No,this is the show where she becomes a country singer and moves to Nashville.Your thinking of Women of the House(1995)

I think the only reason Delta existed was because the producers of designing women felt delta burke was getting too heavy and they no longer wanted her on the show. The producers wanted her to lose weight and she never did and then they well you know the rest.

[Tyler77]

"Delta" was a series that dealt with Delta Burke as a sometimes lounge singer in Las Vegas (mostly impersonated Patsy Cline songs). From what I remember, Delta originally had platinum blonde hair, and eventually she grew it out back to her original color during the run of the show. She mostly hung out in a corner bar tryng to get work...wow, no wonder it was cancelled fast. I think ABC gave her an exclusive deal with the seres and allowed her to executive produce/write it.

[funnyguylaughs]

Does anyone have theses episodes?

[Dean Winchester]

I remember ABC really hyped Delta up, if I recall, the initial few episodes ran right after Roseanne, ratings were good, then they moved it to another night and it died a fast death.

[MrMike898]

I loved Delta! It was such a fun show. Delta looked strange with blonde hair, but still! Yes, Delta Burke played a woman who moves to Nashville to become a country singer, and ends up working in a bar. Interestingly, Reba McEntire sang the theme song. Hmmm... I think I have some episodes on tape somewhere...

[TMC]

ONE SEASON WONDERS: Delta

Brief Pilot Review:

Delta Burke is definitely a comedic force. She was the breakout star of Designing Women thanks in part to her snappy line deliveries and larger than life presence. It's interesting to see her here as the center of a show because even as a breakout, she was still part of an ensemble with pretty even-sized roles on Women. What's especially interesting is that she seems to be lacking that bravado that was her hallmark. Although there are lots of elements that are very broad (the setting, the premise, Delta Burke's hair), Burke was playing everything in a surprisingly understated way that didn't really work. It seems like they were trying to ground the character and create a sympathetic figure but it played against type for Burke and the whole pilot felt low energy.

I thought this was a decent premise but I just didn't buy Burke as a country singer. It didn't help that her performing skills in the pilot weren't anything special either. The other problem was even though Burke was not playing to her strengths, she was still the strongest member of the cast. The rest of the cast did not make much of an impression at all. They weren't even caricatures, which would have probably annoyed me but at least been more interesting. They were just bland. Too much of the pilot was focused on Delta's on-screen ex-husband (guest star Kevin Scannell) who was not a series regular and he too was bland. The whole thing was a snoozefest.

What Went Wrong:

Delta existed due to the misfortunes of another series. As mentioned, Delta Burke was a breakout star on Designing Women before she had a very, very publicized falling out with the showrunners. The feud played out in tabloids, magazines, TV interviews and everything else it could in 1991 and Burke was released from her contract at the end of the 1990-91 season. After one year off, she was ready to come back to TV and prove that she was ready to carry a show on her own and free from the grips of her previous show. Country music was becoming a major force at the time so coupling a show set in Nashville about an aspiring country singer with the star power of Burke seemed like a good bet for ABC.

ABC gave Delta a preview after Roseanne, it's #1 show, on Tuesday nights. But its actual slot was Thursdays at 8pm. A few years earlier, that would have been a likely death knell for any network not named NBC but NBC itself was in a bit of a transition on the night with The Cosby Show having ended the previous season and its spinoff, A Different World, tasked with leading off the night for the first time. While the NBC lineup struggled, it was not due to Delta. It tanked in the ratings and was pulled off the night in December. It resurfaced on Tuesdays much later and Burke even switched back to her trademark brunette but the damage was done. The series was cancelled after one season and Burke shockingly reconciled with the Designing Women characters to play her old character in 1995's Women of the House, which also lasted just one season.