''What's Alan Watching?'' was a 1989
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
television series pilot.
Overview
Produced by
Eddie Murphy and his company, Eddie Murphy Television, ''What's Alan Watching?'' starred
Corin Nemec
Joseph Charles Nemec IV (born November 5, 1971), known professionally as Corin Nemec, is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He was billed as Corin "Corky" Nemec or Corky Nemec until 1990.
Nemec is known for playing the title characte ...
as Alan, a 17-year-old
couch potato
Sedentary lifestyle is a lifestyle type, in which one is physically inactive and does little or no physical movement and or exercise. A person living a sedentary lifestyle is often sitting or lying down while engaged in an activity like socia ...
who views life, and his family, as if they were on television. Libby (
Barbara Barrie
Barbara Barrie (born Barbara Ann Berman; May 23, 1931) is an American actress and author.
Her film breakthrough came in 1964 with her performance as Julie in the landmark film ''One Potato, Two Potato'', for which she won the Best Actress Awar ...
) and Leo (
Peter Michael Goetz
Peter Michael Goetz (born December 10, 1941) is an American actor.
Early life and education
Goetz was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Esther L. and Irving A. Goetz, a construction engineer.[Fran Drescher
Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an American actress, comedian, writer, activist, and trade union leader. She is known for her role as Fran Fine in the television sitcom '' The Nanny'' (1993–1999), which she created and prod ...]
) is his sister, Jeff (
David Packer) is his brother and Alyssa (
Cheryl Pollak
Cheryl Pollak (born August 31, 1967) is an American actress, director and producer. Biography
Pollak was born in Scottsdale, Arizona and grew up in Greenville, Texas. She graduated from Eisenhower High School in 1985.
She got her start in the ...
) is his girlfriend. Murphy also had a cameo in the episode, playing a protester decrying
James Brown's incarceration, as well as Brown himself.
The episode was directed by
Thomas Schlamme
Thomas David Schlamme (; born ) is an American television director, known particularly for his collaborations with Aaron Sorkin. He is known for his work as executive producer on ''The West Wing'' and ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,'' as well as ...
and aired on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
on February 27, 1989. The network passed on making it a regular series,
but ''What's Alan Watching?'' did win the
Television Critics Association
The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canada, Canadian television television criticism, critics, journalists and columnists who cover television television programme, programming for newspapers, ...
's
.
See also
* ''
Dream On'' (1990)
* ''
Remote Control
In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such a ...
'' (1987)
In Popular Culture
TV Critic
Alan Sepinwall
Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...
named his personal television blog "What's Alan Watching?" after the television program. The blog was used to recap, and review television programs after they had aired the night before. Alan Sepinwall is credited with being one of the television reviewers who popularized the recap and review format for post-air television discussions in the blogosphere.
References
External links
*
1989 American television episodes
1989 in American television
1980s American comedy television series
1980s American television specials
CBS original programming
Television pilots not picked up as a series
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