Mr. Smith (partially found NBC sitcom; 1983): Difference between revisions

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'''''Mr. Smith''''' is a sitcom aired on NBC from September 23 up until December 16 in 1983. It only aired for 13 episodes after NBC executives cancelled it due to having low ratings from television viewers and critics alike, also reported to rank 47th out of the 52 shows that aired that few months.<ref>[https://themoviedb.org/tv/10316-mr-smith TheMovieDB page for ''Mr. Smith]</ref><ref name="wiki">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Smith_(TV_series) Wikipedia page for Mr. Smith]</ref><ref>[https://tvobscurities.com/articles/10outlandish/ TVObscurities article on shows with outlandish premises, that includes Mr. Smith, giving additional information on it.]</ref>
'''''Mr. Smith''''' is a sitcom aired on NBC from Sept 23 to De16 1983, for a total of 13 episodes. The premise follows a talking orangutan, named "Mr. Smith", who develops superintelligence and subsequently becomes a top-level political advisor in Washington D.C. (hence his name, a play on the classic movie ''Mr Smith Goes to Washington''). The series was executive produced by Ed Weidenberger<ref name="cast">[https://imdb.com/title/tt0085059/?ref_=ttmc_mc_tt Cast for Mr. Smith]</ref>, who also provided the voice for the lead character.


The show follows a talking orangutan, named "Mr. Smith", who possesses a human intellectual quotient of 256, living his life as a top-level political advisor in Washington D.C.. The series was executively produced by Ed Weidenberger<ref name="cast">[https://imdb.com/title/tt0085059/?ref_=ttmc_mc_tt Cast for Mr. Smith]</ref>, who provided the voice for the orangutan, "Mr. Smith".
It has become notorious in the years since as its premise was not only very silly but very poorly executed. Critics roasted it for being altogether too dependent on its single not-very-funny gimmick, and viewers apparently agreed; it eventually ranked 47th out of the 52 new shows that aired in that time period.<ref>[https://themoviedb.org/tv/10316-mr-smith TheMovieDB page for ''Mr. Smith]</ref><ref name="wiki">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Smith_(TV_series) Wikipedia page for Mr. Smith]</ref><ref>[https://tvobscurities.com/articles/10outlandish/ TVObscurities article on shows with unusual premises, that includes Mr. Smith, giving additional information on it.]</ref> Thanks largely to these factors, '''no full episodes of the show have resurfaced online'''.


==Premise==
==Premise==
Being initially an entertainment and travel act going on in various states, the orangutan who was originally called ChaCha was taken captive by a government research team in Washington D.C. after ChaCha causes a commotion on the streets after escaping its owner, Tommy Atwood, (played by Tim Dunigan<ref name="tomimdb">[https://imdb.com/name/nm0242313/?ref_=tt_ov_st Tim Dunigan's filmography]</ref>) who was knocked down unconscious.  Having escaped the research lab weeks later, ChaCha ended up in a different research lab where he finds a concoction, which could increase human intelligence, and consumes it.<ref name="wiki />
Former street performer ChaCha the orangutan is taken into custody by a government research team in Washington D.C. after after escaping his owner Tommy Atwood, (played by Tim Dunigan<ref name="tomimdb">[https://imdb.com/name/nm0242313/?ref_=tt_ov_st Tim Dunigan's filmography]</ref>) In the course of bouncing between labs, ChaCha comes across a serum designed to increase human intelligence.<ref name="wiki />After drinking the entire concoction, ChaCha develops an IQ of 256 (far beyond even genius-level human intelligence) and acquires speech along with other human attributes and customs (wearing clothes, for example).


Hence after drinking said concoction, ChaCha was able to talk and had risen his intelligence I.Q. to 256. He was then called "Mr. Smith", and due to his intelligence and skill, was made a political advisor in the United States government who solves various political issues and controversies, in secret to the public eye. His previous owner, Tommy Atwood, was then placed charged as his assistant to keep him company. <ref name="wiki />
The newly-renamed Mr. Smith is installed as a top-secret advisor to the White House (strongly implied to be the then-current Reagan administration<ref>[https://washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/09/23/flat-mr-smith/491b1678-a59f-4ec0-8215-2da10c838050/ Washington Post Article about ''Mr. Smith'']</ref>) handling various political issues and controversies. His erstwhile owner Atwood is appointed as his assistant and companion. <ref name="wiki /> At least one episode featured Mr. Smith imitating then-president, Ronald Reagan.
 
A Washington Post article published on September 23rd, 1983, took note of an episode that featured Mr. Smith imitating and spoofing the then-president, Ronald Reagan.<ref>[https://washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/09/23/flat-mr-smith/491b1678-a59f-4ec0-8215-2da10c838050/ Washington Post Article about ''Mr. Smith'']</ref>


==Cast==
==Cast==
The main star of the show, an orangutan named ''Mr. Smith'', was played by a real-life orangutan named "C.J.", which has previously worked on various films beforehand, such as the 1978 film, ''Every Which Way But Loose'', and its sequel, ''Any Which Way You Can'' starring with Clint Eastwood, ''Hillstreet Blues'', and ''Tarzan''. <ref name="cjimdb">[https://imdb.com/name/nm3718205/ IMDB page for CJ the Orangutan]</ref><ref>[https://dbpedia.org/page/Mr._Smith_(TV_series) dbpedia page for ''Mr. Smith'', with CJ The Orangutan's previous film roles.]</ref>. C.J. is commonly dressed in a tuxedo and eyeglasses for his appearance as "Mr. Smith". C.J. had unfortunately died due to cerebral hemorrhage, with reports stating that the company that he belongs to, Gentle Animal, has a poor reputation for looking after animals they took care of, and other reports stating how the orangutan was badly treated by and harmed while misbehaving in films starring him such as ''Any Way Which You Can'' and died shortly after.<ref>[https://animalrightsandwrongs.uk/tag/cj-the-orangutan/ Animal Rights&Wrongs page about the life and death of C.J. the Orangutan]</ref>
Mr. Smith was played by veteran orangutan performer "C.J.", best-known for starring alongside Clint Eastwood in 1978's ''Every Which Way But Loose'' and its sequel, ''Any Which Way You Can''. [https://imdb.com/name/nm3718205/ IMDB page for CJ the Orangutan]</ref><ref>[https://dbpedia.org/page/Mr._Smith_(TV_series) dbpedia page for ''Mr. Smith'', with CJ The Orangutan's previous film roles.]</ref>. C.J. is commonly dressed in a tuxedo and eyeglasses for his appearance as "Mr. Smith". Other cast included:


*C.J. the Orangutan and Ed Weidenberger (voice) as Mr. Smith / ChaCha<ref name="cjimdb" /><ref name="cast" />
*Ed Weidenberger (voice) as Mr. Smith / ChaCha<ref name="cjimdb" /><ref name="cast" />
*Leonard Frey as Raymond Holyoke<ref name="cast" />
*Leonard Frey as Raymond Holyoke<ref name="cast" />
*Tim Dunigan as Tommy Atwood<ref name="tomimdb" /><ref name="cast" />
*Tim Dunigan as Tommy Atwood<ref name="tomimdb" /><ref name="cast" />
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*Stuart Margolin as Dr. Klein<ref name="cast" />
*Stuart Margolin as Dr. Klein<ref name="cast" />
*Delores Cantú as Laraine Sanchez<ref name="delores">[https://twitter.com/CanduManagement/status/1289291037664350209 Delores posting clips of her role as Laraine Sanchez in "Mr. Smith"]</ref><ref name="cast" />
*Delores Cantú as Laraine Sanchez<ref name="delores">[https://twitter.com/CanduManagement/status/1289291037664350209 Delores posting clips of her role as Laraine Sanchez in "Mr. Smith"]</ref><ref name="cast" />
==Pilot & DVD Release==
A blog post archived from the Wayback Machine by ReverseShot announced that they had put on DVD the whole 13 episodes of ''Mr. Smith''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070208081430/http://blogs.indiewire.com/reverseshot/archives/012005.html Archived ReverseShot blogpost about the DVD release]</ref>, and had been shared on forums<ref>[https://criterionforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5607 CriterionForums comment about the DVD release, redirecting from the archived ReverseShot blog post.]</ref>. Although the blog post claims that they had put it on a DVD Release, no supporting claims of this can be found.
An eBay listing however of the script for the pilot of the series [https://ebay.com/itm/125040593759 is available online].


==Availability==
==Availability==
With the supposed DVD release, however, '''no episodes has fully resurfaced online'''. Albeit, footages of the series are available from resurfaced NBC bumpers that include footage of the series, and a handful of series credits can be found online as well.  
Given the series' notoriously poor reception and quick cancellation, it is not surprising that it has never been re-released in any official format, and while home recordings were defeinitely becoming mainstream by 1983, no full episodes of ''Mr. Smith'' have resurfaced online to date. Some clips are preserved in resurfaced NBC bumpers and other promotional materials of the period, and Delores Cantú has posted some additional clips of the series featuring her character on her Twitter account.<ref name="delores" />


The actress, Delores Cantú, who starred as Laraine Sanchez, has posted clips of the series on her Twitter account, which features her role as Sanchez.<ref name="delores" />
A blog post by ReverseShot, archived from the Wayback Machine, announced that they had the entire series of 13 episodes on DVD.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070208081430/http://blogs.indiewire.com/reverseshot/archives/012005.html Archived ReverseShot blogpost about the DVD release]</ref>This was shared on various forums<ref>[https://criterionforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5607 CriterionForums comment about the DVD release, redirecting from the archived ReverseShot blog post.]</ref> but ultimately has never surfaced, and no support for the claim can be found.


No episodes has resurfaced as of November 2022, and given the poor reception and cancellation, is very unlikely we will ever receive a proper DVD release.
An eBay listing of the script for the pilot of the series[https://ebay.com/itm/125040593759 is available online].


==Episode Listing==
==Episode Listing==

Revision as of 17:37, 29 November 2022

MrSmithPOSTER.jpg

Promotional poster for Mr. Smith.

Status: Partially Found

Mr. Smith is a sitcom aired on NBC from Sept 23 to De16 1983, for a total of 13 episodes. The premise follows a talking orangutan, named "Mr. Smith", who develops superintelligence and subsequently becomes a top-level political advisor in Washington D.C. (hence his name, a play on the classic movie Mr Smith Goes to Washington). The series was executive produced by Ed Weidenberger[1], who also provided the voice for the lead character.

It has become notorious in the years since as its premise was not only very silly but very poorly executed. Critics roasted it for being altogether too dependent on its single not-very-funny gimmick, and viewers apparently agreed; it eventually ranked 47th out of the 52 new shows that aired in that time period.[2][3][4] Thanks largely to these factors, no full episodes of the show have resurfaced online.

Premise

Former street performer ChaCha the orangutan is taken into custody by a government research team in Washington D.C. after after escaping his owner Tommy Atwood, (played by Tim Dunigan[5]) In the course of bouncing between labs, ChaCha comes across a serum designed to increase human intelligence.[3]After drinking the entire concoction, ChaCha develops an IQ of 256 (far beyond even genius-level human intelligence) and acquires speech along with other human attributes and customs (wearing clothes, for example).

The newly-renamed Mr. Smith is installed as a top-secret advisor to the White House (strongly implied to be the then-current Reagan administration[6]) handling various political issues and controversies. His erstwhile owner Atwood is appointed as his assistant and companion. [3] At least one episode featured Mr. Smith imitating then-president, Ronald Reagan.

Cast

Mr. Smith was played by veteran orangutan performer "C.J.", best-known for starring alongside Clint Eastwood in 1978's Every Which Way But Loose and its sequel, Any Which Way You Can. IMDB page for CJ the Orangutan</ref>[7]. C.J. is commonly dressed in a tuxedo and eyeglasses for his appearance as "Mr. Smith". Other cast included:

  • Ed Weidenberger (voice) as Mr. Smith / ChaCha[8][1]
  • Leonard Frey as Raymond Holyoke[1]
  • Tim Dunigan as Tommy Atwood[5][1]
  • Terri Garber as Dr. July Tyson[1]
  • Laura Jacoby as Ellie Atwood[1]
  • Stuart Margolin as Dr. Klein[1]
  • Delores Cantú as Laraine Sanchez[9][1]

Availability

Given the series' notoriously poor reception and quick cancellation, it is not surprising that it has never been re-released in any official format, and while home recordings were defeinitely becoming mainstream by 1983, no full episodes of Mr. Smith have resurfaced online to date. Some clips are preserved in resurfaced NBC bumpers and other promotional materials of the period, and Delores Cantú has posted some additional clips of the series featuring her character on her Twitter account.[9]

A blog post by ReverseShot, archived from the Wayback Machine, announced that they had the entire series of 13 episodes on DVD.[10]This was shared on various forums[11] but ultimately has never surfaced, and no support for the claim can be found.

An eBay listing of the script for the pilot of the seriesis available online.

Episode Listing

Pilot

# Episode Title Air Date Status Notes
n/a Pilot n/a Lost Script can be found here.

Episodes

# Episode Title Air Date Status
1 Welcome To Washington Part 1 September 23, 1983 Lost
2 Welcome To Washington Part 2 September 23, 1983 Lost
3 Mr. Smith Operates September 30, 1983 Lost
4 Mr. Smith Finds His Brother October 14, 1983 Lost
5 Goodbye, Mr. Smith October 21, 1983 Lost
6 Mr. Smith Rescues Bobo October 21, 1983 Lost
7 Mr. Smith Falls In Love October 28, 1983 Lost
8 Mr. Smith Gets Physical November 4, 1983 Lost
9 Mr. Smith Loses A Friend November 11, 1983 Lost
10 Mr. Smith Makes A Commercial November 18, 1983 Lost
11 Mr. Smith Plays Cyrano November 25, 1983 Lost
12 Mr. Smith Goes Public December 2, 1983 Lost
13 Mr. Smith Goes To Court December 16, 1983 Lost

Gallery

Images

  • A newspaper clipping, featuring the series.

    A newspaper clipping, featuring the series.

  • A newspaper clipping, featuring a synopsis for the series.

    A newspaper clipping, featuring a synopsis for the series.

  • C.J. the orangutan as Mr. Smith

    C.J. the orangutan as Mr. Smith

Videos

One of the opening credits for the show.

One of the opening credits for the show.

A bumper to promote the show, starring Mr. Smith himself.

A promo for the show (0:00-0:10)

External Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Cast for Mr. Smith
  2. ↑ TheMovieDB page for Mr. Smith
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wikipedia page for Mr. Smith
  4. ↑ TVObscurities article on shows with unusual premises, that includes Mr. Smith, giving additional information on it.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tim Dunigan's filmography
  6. ↑ Washington Post Article about Mr. Smith
  7. ↑ dbpedia page for Mr. Smith, with CJ The Orangutan's previous film roles.
  8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named cjimdb
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Delores posting clips of her role as Laraine Sanchez in "Mr. Smith"
  10. ↑ Archived ReverseShot blogpost about the DVD release
  11. ↑ CriterionForums comment about the DVD release, redirecting from the archived ReverseShot blog post.
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