Teen Angel is an American fantasy sitcom that aired during ABC's TGIF Friday night lineup from 1997 to 1998. The series was created by The Simpsons writers/producers Al Jean and Mike Reiss.
Synopsis
Teen Angel follows a high school boy, Steve Beauchamp (Corbin Allred), and his recently deceased best friend, Marty DePolo (Mike Damus), who dies from eating a six-month-old hamburger from under Steve's bed on a dare and is then sent back to Earth as Steve's guardian angel. Marty's guide is a large, orange and disembodied head named Rod (Ron Glass), who identifies as God's cousin (a running gag throughout the series is that Rod is mistaken for God himself). Maureen McCormick, who played Steve's mother, Judy, left the series halfway through its run.
Marty, as a supernatural being, would frequently break the fourth wall; for instance, prior to the opening credits of the episode "Grumpy Young Men", Marty explained the absence of Steve's mother and the return of his father to the viewers.
Reception and cancellation
The series was created and placed in the TGIF lineup by ABC in an attempt to capitalize on the success on another ABC supernatural series, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Along with Sabrina and the also-new You Wish, Teen Angel was one of three supernatural-themed sitcoms on the TGIF block that season.
At the time of the series airing, TGIF had already begun to decline (as a result of direct competition against the CBS Block Party during that season and the new Disney ownership). You Wish was canceled after only twelve episodes, and while Teen Angel lasted more or less a full season, it was also canceled after 17 episodes.[1][2]
Cast
- Mike Damus.....Marty DePolo
- Corbin Allred.....Steve Beauchamp
- Ron Glass.....Rod, God's Cousin
- Maureen McCormick.....Judy Beauchamp
- Tommy Hinkley.....Casey Beauchamp
- Katie Volding.....Katie Beauchamp
- Jordan Brower.....Jorden Lubell
- Conchata Ferrell.....Aunt Pam
- Jerry Van Dyke.....Grandpa Jerry Beauchamp
Episodes
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Marty Buys the Farm" | Andy Cadiff | Al Jean & Mike Reiss | September 26, 1997 | T102 |
| Marty passes on after eating a 6 month old burger under Steve's bed. Steve goes into a deep depression, since not only is his best friend gone, but his father has recently left, and he's picked on constantly at school. His mother, sister, and aunt attempt to help, but God's cousin, Rod, sends Steve Marty as his guardian angel, or "Teen Angel", as Marty dubs himself. Marty helps Steve conquer his fear of talking to girls, failing tests, and being unpopular. | |||||
| 2 | "Date With an Angel" | Andy Cadiff | Michael Price | October 3, 1997 | T103 |
| Steve has a crush on one of the most popular cheerleaders, Jessica Fishman (Bridget Flanery). But Marty is afraid she'll reject him, so when Steve calls her, Marty pretends to be Jessica and sets up a date with Steve. To save face, Marty morphs into Jessica for the date, and chaos ensues when the real Jessica turns up. | |||||
| 3 | "Sings Like an Angel" | Andy Cadiff | Larry Wilmore | October 10, 1997 | T104 |
| As a joke, Marty grants Steve a beautiful singing voice for choir tryouts. Soon Steve has almost every solo or duet part and the prettiest duet partner, Edie. But during the huge talent competition, Marty is called upon to help an old woman to a better place and can't be there for Steve or his voice. | |||||
| 4 | "Wrestling with an Angel" | Gary Halvorson | Steve Leff | October 17, 1997 | T106 |
| Wishing to seem more powerful, Steve tries out for the wrestling team. Unwilling to let his friend be pummeled, Marty wins the match for him. When the whole school is counting on Steve to win, Steve is counting on Marty to help him out. | |||||
| 5 | "Honest Abe and Popular Steve" | Brian K. Roberts | Bill Freiberger | October 24, 1997 | T105 |
| Marty starts bringing in historical figures to help Steve with his life (Abraham Lincoln to write his history papers, Cleopatra to give him love advice so he can date Homecoming Queen Amy Kosover, Pablo Picasso to design "Steve for Class President" campaign posters, etc.) Rod decides that since Marty has done such a good job with Steve that it's time for him to move on to famous jerk rock star, Sammy Noah (Dee Snider). | |||||
| 6 | "I Love Nitzke" | Gary Halvorson | Michael Price | October 31, 1997 | T107 |
| In an attempt to make Aunt Pam like Mr. Nitzke, Steve's driver's ed instructor, Marty swipes some of Cupid's arrows. However, his poor aim causes Judy, Pam, and Katie to all fall for Mr. Nitzke, making Steve uncomfortable when they all insist on coming to the Halloween Dance with him. | |||||
| 7 | "One Dog Night" | Gary Halvorson | Michael Price | November 7, 1997 | T108 |
| Sabrina Spellman (played by Melissa Joan Hart) tracks down her cat, Salem, who has swallowed her magic "time ball" to blast everyone back to 1976. Meanwhile, Judy is bemoaning the lack of a man in her life, but when Marty turns the family dog into the loyal and loving "Bob", she gets more than she asked for. And, Marty tries to create his own magic with Sabrina. | |||||
| 8 | "Jeremiah was a Bullfrog" | Brian K. Roberts | Steve Baldikoski & Bryan Behar | November 14, 1997 | T109 |
| Marty gives Steve's science class frog the power of speech -- with a British accent (Tim Curry) -- and the two become attached to their amphibian friend. But when his new biology teacher (Yeardley Smith) insists he must dissect his frog or fail the class, Steve is put into a very tight situation. | |||||
| 9 | "Feather's Day" | Brian K. Roberts | William B. Keating | November 28, 1997 | T110 |
| Katie's troop is camping, and she has lost her required tribal feather. Steve snags one of Marty's wing feathers when Marty's not looking to give Katie. What he doesn't know is the feather grants the holder anything they desire. Zachery Ty Bryan appears as himself, when Katie's friend wishes for it. | |||||
| 10 | "Steve & Marty & Jordan & Uncle Lou" | Mark Cendrowski | Steve Baldikoski & Bryan Behar | December 5, 1997 | T113 |
| Marty wants to tag along wherever Steve goes with new best pal, Jordan. But when Steve insists he not, Marty reunites with his Uncle Lou (Robert Costanzo) in Heaven. | |||||
| 11 | "Living Doll" | Mark Cendrowski | Mark J. Gordon | December 19, 1997 | T112 |
| Marty brings Katie's doll to life to babysit her when Steve has a date, but there's trouble when Katie's doll is over-affectionate with Steve in front of his girl. | |||||
| 12 | "Grumpy Young Men" | Mark Cendrowski | Steve Leff & Saladin K. Patterson | January 9, 1998 | T114 |
| Steve's mom has left, and Steve's dad, Casey (Tommy Hinkley), has rejoined the family, bringing along his father (Jerry Van Dyke). Steve tries to sneak into a dance club, with the help of a Marty-grown mustache, but in the morning the mustache continues to expand, and Steve ages considerably. Meanwhile, Marty discovers that Grandpa can see him. | |||||
| 13 | "Who's the Boss" | Mark Cendrowski | Steve Leff | January 16, 1998 | T115 |
| When Katie, Pam, and Casey are gone for the weekend, Steve throws a 16th birthday party for Marty, inviting friends, and Marty inviting dead celebrities. The family, however, comes home early to a mess, and Steve learns a lesson about telling the truth. | |||||
| 14 | "The Play's the Thing" | Mark Cendrowski | Saladin K. Patterson | January 23, 1998 | T111 |
| Life gets tenser for those around Steve, as they are seeing more of him appearing to talk to thin air, when Marty helps Steve get the lead in the school play. | |||||
| 15 | "Back to DePolo" | Mark Cendrowski | Bill Freiberger | January 30, 1998 | T117 |
| Marty discovers he can time travel and attempts to stop himself from eating the "Death Burger". But when he doesn't, Steve calls him a chicken, and eats the burger himself. Repeated attempts to keep the burger away fail, and soon everyone in the whole house has eaten it once. | |||||
| 16 | "The Un-Natural" | Mark Cendrowski | Mark J. Gordon & Saladin K. Patterson | February 6, 1998 | T118 |
| Marty gives Casey a perfect pitch at a carnival toss, convincing the former pitcher erroneously that he's still got "the gift" and leading him to try out for a pro baseball team. Marty also reunites Grandpa with Grandma (Beverly Garland), who's in heaven, so Grandpa can finally move on. | |||||
| 17 | "Look Ma, No Face" | Mark Cendrowski | Jim Patterson | February 13, 1998 | T116 |
| Marty finds out that Nia (Irene Ng), the girl he liked when he was living, liked him back. He devises a scheme to call himself Vlad from Bulgaria, puts on makeup, a wig, and sunglasses, and pretends to be alive for just one date with Nia. However, Rod has forbidden him from this outing. |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Young Artist Award | Nominated | Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series - Leading Young Performer | Mike Damus |
| Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series - Leading Young Performer | Corbin Allred | |||
| Best Family TV Comedy Series |
See also
- Out of the Blue (1979 TV series) - one of many spin-off sitcoms connected to the sitcom Happy Days.
- Teen Angel (1989 TV series) - teen drama, aired by The Disney Channel.
References
- Jump up ^ Lowry, Brian (2000-04-14). "‘TGIF’? Well, ABC's Not So Sure Anymore". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
- Jump up ^ Houran, James; Lange, Rense (2001). Hauntings and Poltergeists: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Beloff, John. McFarland. p. 90. ISBN 0-7864-0984-3.