''Dave's World'' is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

television series, created by Fred Barron, that aired on CBS from September 20, 1993, to June 20, 1997. The series is based on the writing of ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Dave Barry David McAlister Barry (born July 3, 1947) is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for the ''Miami Herald'' from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comi ...

Plot

The show focuses on the daily trials and tribulations of columnist Dave Barry (

Harry Anderson Harry Laverne Anderson (October 14, 1952 – April 16, 2018) was an American actor, comedian and magician. He is best known for his role of Judge Harry Stone on the 1984–1992 television series ''Night Court''. He later starred in the si ...

) and his wife, Beth (

DeLane Matthews DeLane Matthews (born August 7, 1961) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Beth Barry in the CBS television sitcom ''Dave's World'' from 1993 to 1997. Life and career DeLane Matthews was raised in northern Florida. She mo ...

), along with their sons, Tommy (Zane Carney) and Willie (Andrew Ducote). Dave worked at the Miami ''Record-Dispatch'' (a fictionalized version of the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Shadoe Stevens Shadoe Stevens (; ) is an American radio host, voiceover actor, and television personality. He was the host of ''American Top 40'' from 1988 to 1995. He currently hosts the internationally syndicated radio show ''Top of the World,'' and co-hosts ...

) was his editor, although Dave typically worked from home, where Mia (J.C. Wendel) was his assistant. Neighbor Sheldon Baylor (

Meshach Taylor Meshach Taylor (; April 11, 1947 – June 28, 2014) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the CBS sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–93), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstan ...

) was a successful plastic surgeon and Dave's best friend from high school. Starting in the second season, the Barrys hired Eric (

Patrick Warburton Patrick Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American actor. On television, he has played David Puddy on '' Seinfeld'', the title character on ''The Tick'', Jeb Denton on ''Less Than Perfect'', Jeff Bingham on '' Rules of Engagement'' and L ...

) to do some work on their house, which led to Eric and Mia dating and eventually moving next door to the Barrys and getting married. Later in the series, Dave completes a book based on his and his friends' lives during the 1960s, and Shel loses all of his money when his business manager runs off. Kenny is also fired from the newspaper and becomes a weatherman.

Setting and background

The show was set in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

(Barry's actual base of operations), and was based on Barry's books ''Dave Barry's Greatest Hits'' and '' Dave Barry Turns 40''. The show's theme song was a version of

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since th ...

's "

You May Be Right "You May Be Right" is a song written and performed by rock singer Billy Joel, released as a single from his 1980 album '' Glass Houses''. The single reached No. 7 on the US charts and No. 6 in Canada. It failed to chart, however, in the UK unlik ...

" sung by

Southside Johnny John Lyon (born December 4, 1948), better known by his stage name Southside Johnny, is an American singer-songwriter who usually fronts his band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Southside Johnny has long been considered the Grandfather of ...

; however, it is not used in the DVD releases (see below). During the run of the show, the real Dave Barry divorced his wife, Beth.

Cast

Main

as Dave Barry *

as Beth Barry *

Shadoe Stevens Shadoe Stevens (; ) is an American radio host, voiceover actor, and television personality. He was the host of ''American Top 40'' from 1988 to 1995. He currently hosts the internationally syndicated radio show ''Top of the World,'' and co-hosts ...

as Kenny Beckett *J.C. Wendel as Mia *Zane Carney as Tommy Barry *Andrew Ducote as Willie Barry *

as Dr. Sheldon "Shel" Baylor *

as Eric (seasons 3–4)

Recurring

* Tammy Lauren as Julie (season 1) *

Eugene Roche Eugene Harrison Roche (September 22, 1928 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor and the original " Ajax Man" in 1970s television commercials. Personal life Roche was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary M. (née Finnegan ...

as Eric, Jr. (season 3) * Bea Arthur as Mel Bloom (season 4)

Episodes

Season 1 (1993–94)

Season 2 (1994–95)

Season 3 (1995–96)

Season 4 (1996–97)

Home media

CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) released the first two seasons of ''Dave's World'' on DVD in Region 1 in 2008 and 2009. The theme song for the DVD releases was replaced with a generic rock track. On July 24, 2012, Season 3 was released as a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release via Amazon.com's CreateSpace program.

Ratings

The show was originally a hit for CBS when it aired on Monday night. However, by the third season, it was moved to Wednesdays, and the ratings declined. By the fourth season, the show had moved to the "

Friday night death slot The "Friday night death slot" or "Friday evening death slot" is a perceived graveyard slot in American television. It implies a television program in the United States scheduled on Friday evenings (typically, between 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. ET) ...

" and the resulting drop in ratings led to the program's cancellation.

References

External links

* * *{{rotten-tomatoes, tv/dave_s_world 1990s American sitcoms 1993 American television series debuts 1997 American television series endings CBS original programming Television shows based on books Television series about families Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in Miami English-language television shows