''Good Sports'' is an American

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 that aired on the CBS network from January 10 to July 13, 1991, starring

Farrah Fawcett Farrah Leni Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett; February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she played ...

and

Ryan O'Neal Ryan O'Neal (born April 20, 1941) is an American actor and former boxer. He trained as an amateur boxer before beginning his career in acting in 1960. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC nighttime soap opera '' Peyton Place ...

. It was Fawcett's only scripted TV series after ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by ...

''.

Synopsis

The show features the two main characters, Bobby Tannen (O'Neal), a once-famous former football player for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

gone to seed and Gayle Roberts (Fawcett), an ex-Miss America, as mismatched anchors on an all-sports cable network, Mr. Downtown Bobby Tannen and Ms. Gayle Roberts. Bobby is a self-obsessed jock, constantly worried about himself and his image. Gayle is the more down to earth and level-headed of the two. Both characters were concerned with the ratings of their sports show, outwardly disliking each other but nonetheless mutually attracted.

Supporting cast

Brian Doyle-Murray Brian Murray (born October 31, 1945), known professionally by his stage name as Brian Doyle-Murray, is an American actor, voice-actor and screenwriter. He has appeared with his younger brother, actor/comedian Bill Murray, in several movies, i ...

as John "Mac" MacKinney, the sport show's obsequious producer *

Lane Smith Walter Lane Smith III (April 29, 1936 – June 13, 2005) was an American actor. His well-known roles included newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', Walter Warner in ''Son in Law'', coll ...

as R.J. Rappaport, the huffy cable channel owner * Cleavant Derricks as Jeff Mussberger *

Paul Feig Paul Samuel Feig (; born September 17, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is known for directing films starring frequent collaborator Melissa McCarthy, including '' Bridesmaids'' (2011), '' The Heat'' (2013), '' Spy'' (20 ...

as Leash * Lois Smith as Mrs. Tannend The premiere installment also included: * William Katt as Nick Calder * Viveka Davis as Risa Braun *

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

as himself * Arthur Burghardt as Stu Ramsey *

Lyle Alzado Lyle Martin Alzado (April 3, 1949 – May 14, 1992) was an American professional All Pro football defensive end of the National Football League (NFL), famous for his intense and intimidating style of play. Alzado played 15 seasons, splitting hi ...

as himself *

Fred Travalena Frederick Albert Travalena III (October 6, 1942 – June 28, 2009) was a U.S. entertainer, specializing in comedy and impressions. Early life Bronx, New York-born and Long Island-raised, Travalena moved to Los Angeles and developed a mult ...

as himself * Christine Dunford as Missy Van Johnson

Reception and cancellation

''Good Sports'' premiered as a mid-season replacement on January 10, 1991. Reviews were generally mixed and ratings were low. After the ratings failed to improve, CBS canceled the series. The final episode, "A Class Act", aired on July 13, 1991.

Production notes

The 30-minute Brillstein-Grey production was created by

Alan Zweibel Alan Zweibel (born May 20, 1950) is an American television writer, author, playwright, and screenwriter whom ''The'' ''New York Times'' says has “earned a place in the pantheon of American pop culture." An original ''Saturday Night Live'' ...

and directed by

Stan Lathan Stan Lathan (born July 8, 1945) is an American television and film director and television producer. He is executive producer and director of BET's '' Real Husbands of Hollywood''. He has produced and directed numerous stand-up comedy specials ...

. The series' theme song was performed by

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

Episodes

References

External links

* {{imdb title, id=0101111
Video Clip: ''Good Sports'' introduction featuring music by Al Green
(at min. 2:06) 1991 American television series debuts 1991 American television series endings 1990s American sitcoms CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series about television Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series by Brad Grey Television Cultural depictions of Vlade Divac