''Phenom'' 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 ...

about a

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

wunderkind A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...

that aired on ABC from September 14, 1993 to May 10, 1994. The series stars

Angela Goethals Angela Bethany Goethals ( ) is an American film, television and stage actress. Goethals made her acting debut in the Broadway production of ''Coastal Disturbances'' in 1987, and later played the sister of Macaulay Culkin's character in '' Home ...

Judith Light Judith Ellen Light (born February 9, 1949) is an American actress. She made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''A Doll's House''. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap opera ...

, and

William Devane William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera ''Knots Landing'' (1983–1993) and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas '' 24'' (2001–2010) and '' ...

. ''Phenom'' was placed in the time slot of Tuesdays at 8:30/7:30c, between ''

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television Situation comedy, sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best ...

'' and '' Roseanne''. The series did well in the ratings, ranking in the Top 20 and maintaining 95% of its ''Full House'' lead-in. ABC cancelled the show after one season and replaced it with '' Me and the Boys'', which was also cancelled after one season.

Synopsis

Fifteen-year-old Angela Doolan (Goethals) has the potential to be a sports superstar but worries about losing her normality and severing her family ties. Angela's father has deserted the family to rediscover his youth and dally with younger women, leaving her mother Dianne (Light) to raise her children (including older son Brian and youngest daughter Mary Margaret) and try to keep a lid on her bitterness. Added to the fray is Angela's obsessive tennis coach Lou (Devane), who is determined to bring out the champion in Angela regardless of the cost to her growth as a person.

Cast

Main cast

– Angela Doolan *

– Dianne Doolan * Ashley Johnson – Mary Margaret Doolan * Todd Louiso – Brian Doolan *

– Lou Della Rosa (uncredited) * Jennifer Lien – Roanne

Recurring cast

Sara Rue Sara Rue (born January 26, 1979) is an American actress. She is known for her performances as Carmen Ferrara on ''Popular'', as Claude Casey on ''Less than Perfect'', and as the Attorney General in ''Idiocracy''. In 2011, she hosted The CW realit ...

– Monica * Randy Josselyn – Jesse *

Beverley Mitchell Beverley Ann Mitchell is an American actress and country music singer. She portrayed Lucy Camden on the television series '' 7th Heaven''. Early life After graduating from Chaminade College Preparatory School in 1999, Mitchell enrolled at Lo ...

– Clara *

Marianne Muellerleile Marianne Muellerleile (born November 26, 1948) is an American actress. Early life Muellerleile was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Margaret (née Keaney) and Cecil E. Muellerleile, an American football player, coach, and college a ...

– Sister Felicia *

Debra Jo Rupp Debra Jo Rupp (born February 24, 1951) is an American actress best known for her roles as Kitty Forman on the Fox sitcom ''That '70s Show'' and its sequel series ''That '90s Show'', and Alice Knight-Buffay on the third through fifth seasons o ...

– Sister Mary Incarnata *John Christian Graas – Tony Lenchenko

Production notes

The series was created by Dick Blasucci, Marc Flanagan, and

Sam Simon Samuel Michael Simon (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American director, producer, writer, animal rights activist and philanthropist, who co-developed the television series ''The Simpsons''. While at Stanford University, Simon w ...

. Blasucci also served as executive producer of the series, alongside Emmy Award-winner James L. Brooks and Danny Kallis, who previously worked alongside Judith Light as a writer/producer on ''Who's The Boss?'' Despite being one of the show's main stars, William Devane did not receive on-screen credit in any of the episodes. Devane was originally slated to get second billing in the cast, between Judith Light and Angela Goethals. He reportedly fought to have top billing, or at least shared top billing with Light, in response to his '' Knots Landing'' fame. Both the producers and ABC refused to move Devane's billing, believing that Judith Light having sole first billing would draw in more of the female 18-49 demographic that is attractive to advertisers and would bring back ABC viewers who had made Light's previous series, '' Who's the Boss?'', a success. Devane ultimately told the producers that if he couldn't get a billing change, he would rather not be credited at all.Phenom's' William Devane Gets No Credit
'' South Florida Sun-Sentinel'', May 15, 1994. ''Phenom'''s theme song, "The Promise and the Prize," was written and performed by Carly Simon. Two versions of the song were used during the program's run, a one-minute version as well as a 30-second version that appeared in select episodes that ran over their allotted time. U.S. Open women's singles and Wimbledon mixed doubles champion

Tracy Austin Tracy Ann Austin Holt (born December 12, 1962) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. She won three Grand Slam titles: the women's singles titles at the 1979 and 1981 US Opens, and the mixed doubles title at the 1980 Wimbledon ...

served as the technical consultant for the series. (Austin also appeared in a cameo in the series' pilot episode.)

Episodes

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{Gracie Films 1993 American television series debuts 1994 American television series endings 1990s American sitcoms American sports television series English-language television shows Television series by Gracie Films Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Los Angeles