Benson (TV series)
Benson is an American sitcom television series that originally aired on ABC from September 13, 1979, to April 19, 1986. The series was a spin-off of Soap in which the character Benson, portrayed by Robert Guillaume, first appeared as the wise-cracking yet level-headed African-American butler for the highly dysfunctional Tate family. However, Benson avoided the soap opera format of its parent series for a more conventional sitcom structure, and the lead character eventually moved from his service position to a role as lieutenant governor. The series was created by Susan Harris, and produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions. In 1985, Guillaume won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in the series.
Plot
Benson DuBois is hired to be the head of household affairs for widowed Governor Eugene X. Gatling and his daughter Katie. Governor Gatling was a cousin of Jessica Tate from Soap.The series revolved around Benson's housekeeping dilemmas and his interactions with German cook Gretchen Wilomena Kraus and John Taylor, who assisted Governor Gatling as chief of staff. After the first season, Taylor's job was filled by Clayton Endicott III.
Benson's secretary Denise Stevens and the governor's press secretary Pete Downey were introduced in Season 2. They later married, having a child in the show's fifth season. However, both were written out, with the reason given that Denise secured a job with NASA.
Benson worked his way up the ladder during the series, going from head of household affairs to state budget director, and eventually was elevated to the position of lieutenant governor. During the final episodes of the 1985–86 season, Benson ran for governor against Gatling.
Series finale
The term-limited Governor Gatling ran for reelection as an independent candidate, with Benson securing the party nomination, setting the stage for the two to go head-to-head in the general election.At the end of the series' final episode, Benson and Gatling, who had strained relations due to the race, made peace with each other and watched the tight election returns together on television. As the broadcaster began to announce that a winner was at last being projected, the episode ended on a freeze frame of Benson and Gatling, leaving the series with an unresolved cliffhanger. Coincidentally, Guillaume's previous series, and the one from which Benson spun off, Soap, was also canceled with unresolved cliffhangers, though Guillaume had moved on to Benson by that point.
In 2007, Benson showrunner Bob Fraser said that the season ended on a cliffhanger at the request of the network. The show was cancelled after the cliffhanger had aired. Fraser indicated that, had the show continued, Gatling would have won the election and Benson would have become a United States senator.
According to Gary Brown, who directed the finale and 20 other episodes of Benson, three outcomes were filmed, with Benson winning, Gatling winning, and a tie. The intent was to decide over summer break which outcome to use. Brown also stated that, regardless of the outcome, the long-term intent for the next season was for Benson to become the governor.
Cast and characters
Main
- Robert Guillaume as Benson DuBois, the main character, hired as head of household affairs for Governor Gatling and his daughter Katie. Quick-witted and quick-thinking, Benson has helped the governor on several issues, bailing him out of tight political and public situations.
- James Noble as Eugene X. Gatling, the widowed and scatterbrained governor. Gatling has a penchant for telling off-the-wall stories, which Benson dread.
- Missy Gold as Katie Gatling, the governor's pre-teen daughter.
- Inga Swenson as Gretchen Kraus, the governor's chef. A fiercely proud German immigrant, she is often at odds with Benson and trades insults with him. A running gag in the series was whenever she would walk out of the room, under his breath, Benson would cast one last barb toward Kraus, to which she shouted from off-stage, "I He-e-e-ear You-u-u-u!". Despite their rivalry, Benson and Kraus become close friends. She later becomes Benson's strongest supporter when he runs for governor against Gatling.
- Lewis J. Stadlen as John Taylor, Governor Gatling's chief of staff, played by David Hedison in the pilot episode.
- Caroline McWilliams as Marcy Hill, the governor's personal secretary. She is Benson's closest friend in the mansion and often confides in him. Frequently unlucky in love, Marcy eventually marries toward the end of Season 2.
- Didi Conn as Denise Stevens, Marcy's replacement
- Ethan Phillips as Pete Downey, Gatling's press secretary.
- René Auberjonois as Clayton Endicott III; he replaced Taylor as Gatling's chief of staff beginning in season 2. Clayton is very snobbish and high-handed--even more so than his predecessor, Taylor. He is also a hypochondriac.
- Billie Bird as Rose Cassidy; she becomes Gatling's chef in season 6 when Kraus is promoted to Benson's administrative assistant.
Recurring
- Jerry Seinfeld played a small role as Frankie, a delivery boy and unsuccessful comedian, for three episodes in 1980; he was asked to leave because of creative differences.
Episodes
Home media
On July 24, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released Season 1 of Benson on DVD in Region 1.On April 3, 2012, Sony released season 2 on DVD.
On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including Benson. They re-released the first and second seasons on DVD on September 2, 2014.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release date |
| The Complete First Season | 24 | July 24, 2007 |
| The Complete Second Season | 22 | April 3, 2012 |
Setting
The exterior shots of the "governor's mansion" are actually of a private home located at 1365 South Oakland Avenue in Pasadena, California. The same house was seen in the movie The Beverly Hillbillies, in a 2006 U.S. television commercial for the RE/MAX real estate company, and in the Columbo episode "Etude in Black", as well as in Season One, Episode 11 of Barnaby Jones, entitled, "To Denise, with Love and Murder", in which it was used as the outside view of the mansion belonging to the married couple played by Louise Troy and Bill Bixby.The home has some Palladian and Neoclassical features.