The Jimmy Stewart Show

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File:Cast of The Jimmy Stewart Show.PNG
A publicity photo of cast members of The Jimmy Stewart Show: Back row, left to right: Ellen Geer, Jonathan Daly and Kirby Furlong. Front row, left to right: Julie Adams, Dennis Larson, and James Stewart.

The Jimmy Stewart Show is an American sitcom starring James Stewart as a college professor in a small town who shares his home with three generations of his family. Twenty-four episodes of the show were broadcast during the 1971–72 season on NBC.

Synopsis

Dr. James K. Howard, known as Jim, is an anthropology professor at Josiah Kessel College, the small-town institution of higher learning founded by his grandfather Josiah Kessel in the fictional town of Easy Valley in Northern California. Jim — whose middle name is Kessel — lives with his wife of 30 years, Martha, and their eight-year-old son Teddy. Jim also has a 29-year-old son, Peter J. Howard, Sr., known as "P.J.," who owns the Easy Valley Construction Company, where his pretty and perky wife Wendy assists him. P.J. and Wendy also have an eight-year-old son, Peter J. "Jake" Howard, Jr., who is Teddy's nephew but finds it strange to refer to Teddy as his uncle; the two boys often bicker over what to call one another and who should show greater respect to whom.<ref name="brooks"/><ref name=ctva/><ref name=barrett>Barrett, Michael, "The Jimmy Stewart Show Emerges From TV's Never-Never Land," Pop Matters, 24 February 2015 Accessed 30 April 2021</ref> Jim's easygoing life becomes complicated when he inadvertently burns down P.J. and Wendy's house and he and Martha invite P.J., Wendy, and Jake to move in with them temporarily. Jim is good-natured, and the two families do the best they can to get along in the overcrowded house, but conflicts are inevitable.<ref name="brooks"/><ref name=ctva/><ref name=barrett/>

Dr. Luther Quince, a Nobel Prize-winning chemistry professor, is a faculty colleague of Jim's at the college<ref name="brooks"/><ref name=ctva/><ref name=barrett/> and quite a contrast to Jim — Luther drives a Rolls-Royce while Jim rides a bicycle to class, and Luther thinks of himself as having refined tastes, while Jim plays the accordion.<ref name=hofstede>Hofstede, David, "Peace, Love, and Laughter: The Jimmy Stewart Show," Comfort TV, 9 September 2014</ref> Nonetheless, the two men are good friends.<ref name="brooks"/><ref name=ctva/><ref name=barrett/><ref name=hofstede/> One of Martha's projects is a portrait of Luther, which she has been painting for a long time but never seems to finish.<ref name=barrett/> Woodrow Yamada is the Howards' talkative milkman.<ref name=barrett/>

In the show's opening credits, Stewart (as Professor Howard) bicycles through the community. Stewart speaks directly to the camera and out of character at the beginning of each episode, introducing himself as "Jim Stewart" and telling the audience the title of the episode. At the end of each episode, he again speaks to the viewers, expressing the hope that they will return for the following week's show and wishing them "peace and love and laughter".<ref name=barrett/> In some episodes, he speaks to the viewers at other times as well, in character as Jim Howard, with any other actors in the scene behaving as if Jim is talking to himself.<ref name=barrett/>

Episodes occasionally include flashbacks depicting Jim Howard's grandfather, Josiah Kessel.<ref name=barrett/> In these flashbacks, Stewart portrays Kessel and Stewart's real-life wife, Gloria Stewart, plays Kessel's wife.<ref name=barrett/>

Cast

Production

The show is notable as the only television or film production in which Stewart allowed himself to be billed on-screen as "Jimmy."<ref name=nd>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In all of his movies, he was billed as "James Stewart" (although he also used "Jimmy" for his book Jimmy Stewart and His Poems<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>).

The Jimmy Stewart Show had no laugh track.<ref name=barrett/> Procter & Gamble sponsored the show.Template:Citation needed

In the episode "The Identity Crisis," Beulah Bondi portrayed James Stewart's mother.<ref name=ctva/> She also played his mother in four films: It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Of Human Hearts, and Vivacious Lady.Template:Citation needed

According to series producer Hal Kanter, Stewart objected to a scene where African American actor Hal Williams played a police officer who would "lash out" at Stewart's character. Kanter claimed Stewart did not like the idea of an African American police officer "lecturing him" and threatened to dismiss Williams. However, once Kanter explained that Williams was to play an FBI agent in a different episode, Stewart felt "chagrined" by the mistake.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Allen">Template:Cite web</ref> However, historian Shannon Allen disputes Kanter's account, noting that no FBI agent ever appeared on The Jimmy Stewart Show, that Williams does play a police officer in Episode 6, and the two interactions that Stewart has with white police officers on the show do not fit Kanter's description of the scene.<ref name="Allen" />

Reception

The show fared poorly critically, was also a ratings disappointment, and was cancelled after only one season. It finished 44th out of 78 shows that season with a 17.7 rating.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Broadcast history

The Jimmy Stewart Show premiered on September 19, 1971.<ref name="brooks"/><ref name=ctva/> Its 24th and last original episode was broadcast on March 12, 1972.<ref name=ctva/> Reruns of the show then aired in its regular time slot until August 27, 1972.<ref name="brooks"/><ref name=ctva/> It was broadcast on NBC on Sundays from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time throughout its run.<ref name="brooks"/><ref name=ctva/>

Episodes

SOURCES:<ref name=ctva/><ref name=barrett/><ref>IMDb The Jimmy Stewart Show Episode List</ref><ref>1970-1982 Ultimate70s.com: Episode Guide for 'The Jimmy Stewart Show'</ref> Template:Episode table

Home release

On January 21, 2014, Warner Home Video released The Jimmy Stewart Show: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1, via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release, available via WBShop.com and Amazon.com.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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