Joseph Malone (actor)

''The Tracey Ullman Show'' is an American television sketch comedy variety show starring Tracey Ullman. It debuted on Fox on April 5, 1987, as the network's second original primetime series, following '' Married... with Children'', and ran for four seasons and 81 episodes until May 26, 1990. It was produced by Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television. The show blends sketch comedy with musical numbers and dance routines, choreographed by Paula Abdul, along with animated shorts. The show was conceived by executive producer, James L. Brooks. Brooks was determined to come up with a format that best suited his multitalented star. He likened the show to producing three television pilots a week.

The show is responsible for producing a series of shorts featuring the Simpson family, which were later spun-off into the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, ''The Simpsons''. ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' was the first Fox primetime show to win an Emmy Award, winning a total of 10 over the course of its run. Ullman was the first British woman to be offered her own television sketch show in the United States.

''Rolling Stone'' ranked ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' as the 25th-best sketch comedy show in its "40 Greatest Sketch-Comedy TV Shows of All Time" list.

Development

British actress, comedian, singer, and former dancer, Tracey Ullman, was encouraged to try breaking into American television by her husband, British television producer, Allan McKeown. McKeown was looking to station himself in the United States. Ullman, who was a household name in her native Britain, had already made the rounds in the United States promoting her film and music career in the early to mid 1980s. Unlike British audiences, Americans were unaware of her comedy background outside of her humorous appearances on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' and ''Late Night with David Letterman''. She already had three successful British comedy television programs under her belt, garnering her awards and accolades. "I didn't believe there was anything above '' Webster'' standard n America I was wrong." Her British agent put together a compilation tape of her work and began circulating it around Hollywood. It landed in the lap of Craig Kellem, vice president of comedy at Universal Television. "I could not believe my eyes. It was just about the most extraordinary piece of material I'd seen in a long time." He wanted production on a series to begin immediately for her. ''Saturday Night Live'' scribe and creator of CBS's ''Square Pegs'', Anne Beatts, was hired to write the pilot. While Universal liked the script, Ullman didn't appreciate the changes that senior executives wanted to make. Recalling the project: "We'd just hit on an idea, then some white-haired executive – very, very important – would come in from the racetrack and say, 'I don't like that idea. I think Tracey should be a caring person. I think there should be a kid in this. Now, I'm just pitching here. I don't know if this is funny. But I think Tracey should love this kid and maybe there's a moment where she tells the kid something about life.' And I'd say, 'Look – I don't want to work with little kids being cute who I eventually adopt.'"

Ullman's new agent, Martha Luttrell, sent her tape to James L. Brooks, who had a deal at Fox. Fox, dubbed America's "fourth network", was looking to create its own brand of original primetime programming. Brooks watched the tape in astonishment. "I saw original talent, and how often does that happen to you?" "I started showing er workto people like you'd show home movies." "I was just startled by the size of the talent. I got chills." Ullman explained her situation at CBS to him and also revealed that she was now pregnant. Brooks convinced her to get out of the CBS deal, and after she had her baby, they would do a show together. Brooks felt that a variety show would be the best (and the most obvious) format for her. "Why would you do something with Tracey playing a single character on TV when her talent requires variety? You can't categorize Tracey, so it's silly to come up with a show that attempted to," stated Brooks. "Variety hadn't been done for some time and we wanted to do a show that would allow me to do the things I like to do and can do," said Ullman in 1987.

To ensure that she was well-versed in American comedy, Brooks began sending her tapes of American sitcoms and variety shows to watch and study. Ullman also began visiting and spending time at the Museum of Television & Radio.

"After I made '' Plenty'', I thought it was sad that everyone left London to go home to Hollywood. Thought I'd join 'em. ..I thought of myself as a Peter Sellers-type. No one does American accents better than him. Look at ''Dr. Strangelove'' and ''Lolita''." As one critic noted, Sellers had American director Stanley Kubrick as his visionary and Ullman would get American television and film director James L. Brooks, the man behind such hit television shows as ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', and ''Rhoda'', as well as the films ''Terms of Endearment'' and '' Broadcast News''. "I came to America in 1985 and James made me stay. If I had a mentor like him in Great Britain, I would've stayed there."

The key to getting Ullman ready for primetime was "assembling the right people" according to Brooks. He, along with co-executive producers Jerry Belson, Ken Estin, and Heide Perlman, went on a retreat in Northern California to think through the show. "We wanted to tell a story, to be involved in character. We did not want to do spoofs or takeoffs. You define a show by what you don't want to do as well as by what you do. We rushed on the air and have been finding the show while we're on the air. You lose a lot of sleep that way, but it's great. Now, we have five or six characters that we repeat from time to time, and new ones are candidates for repetition." When it came to Fox, Brooks stated, "It was helpful for us to do the show without any preconceived context. Not only were we new, but so was Fox. There was no notion of something to fit into." Fox was reportedly backing the show with nearly $1,000,000 per broadcast. The series landed an initial 26-episode commitment deal, unheard of for a television comedy; Fox ordered a further 30 episodes in October 1987. Describing the show proved difficult; creator Ken Estin dubbed it a "skitcom".

An array of original and diverse characters were created for Ullman to portray. Extensive makeup, wigs, teeth, and body padding were used, sometimes rendering her completely unrecognizable. One original character created solely by Ullman back in England was uprooted for the show: long-suffering British spinster Kay Clark. Kay was based on a real woman who worked in a Midland Bank that Ullman kept in touch with over the phone long after leaving Britain for the United States. "Kay" would ask her questions about Hollywood. Ullman began mimicking the voice she heard on the other end of the line to her dog. She had been obsessed with spinsters ever since she was a child. She never saw "Kay" and liked to imagine what she looked like. ''The Tracey Ullman Shows costume designer, Jane Ruhm, suggested a drooping bust and cellulite-covered hips for the character. Ruhm created a costume complete with "hydraulic pistons". "Tracey is really, really interested in what her characters look like. She is constantly going around collecting pictures of people and coming to me saying, 'I want to do a character dressed like this!' I file that in my memory, and then we'll get a script and I'll say, 'That character that you wanted to do, can we use it on this?' She'll say, 'Yeah!' And we'll go," revealed Ruhm. "It's a real thrill to me that someone like Kay can be famous in America," said Ullman.

For other characters, she drew upon people she personally knew, or celebrities she had watched or encountered. "I based one character on Maggie Smith, which the script supervisor suggested. I remember her in ''California Suite'' saying, 'Well, I don't care if I didn't win the fucking Oscar.'... It sounded good. It made me laugh, and then I felt that I could do the character." She based the character Francesca on a neighbor, an awkward teenaged girl, who would come to visit her in her kitchen and would sheepishly stand in the corner. "I wanted to portray painful adolescence, but not an adolescent that was spoiled. I'd seen so many that were just, 'Like I really want to go to the movies, and you're totally stupid.' I didn't want to play a horrible kid." Ullman believed in progressing the characters so that they didn't stagnate. "You have to advance the characters ..you have to find new situations for them ..They have to do something or say something or grow as people. And they have to be unusual." Like Kay, another character created and performed by Ullman first for British television ('' Three of a Kind'') and then later on ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' was impoverished housewife, Betty Tomlinson.

Producers decided to add animated segments when they had trouble figuring out a way to end one sketch and go into the next. They had considered talking animals, specifically a talking bear. "I don't know why we were so into a bear. Nobody was in love with that idea, but we just couldn't think of how else to do it. In most variety shows, it was just sketches that were so short that they didn't have to worry about going from one to the next. Nobody had ever really done this before," explained Ken Estin. Estin was given a drawing of ''Life in Hell'' by Matt Groening from Richard Sakai. "It was very different. It was smart. It was unusual. It was drawn poorly, which I thought added the charm ..I said, 'What if we have this guy do these little cartoons in between the scenes? Is that possible? Does anybody like that idea?' They all said they liked the idea. This is how Matt ended up being our guy." James L. Brooks was also familiar with Groening's work. Polly Platt, producer of his film ''Terms of Endearment'', had given him a cartoon called "Success and Failure in Hollywood" drawn by Groening as a gift. Platt suggested that he do a special on the characters.

Heide Perlman found another artist to do animated segments – M. K. Brown, who worked for '' National Lampoon''. She agreed to do a cartoon based around a female psychiatrist, Dr. N!Godatu. Producers stopped hearing from Groening when Fox wanted to take over ''Life in Hell'' merchandising as part of the deal; this resulted in his passing on the project. Estin asked Sakai to ask Groening if he had any other characters that he would be willing to allow Fox to merchandise. Groening said that he did and that he would send them over for consideration. "Well, two, maybe three days after I spoke to Richard, Matt sends us a drawing of the Simpsons exactly as–well, not exactly–almost exactly as they are. Anyhow, everybody said, 'Fine. That's fine. We like them.' And Matt made his deal with Fox." Eventually, producers found that Groening's work suited the show better than Brown's and her segments were no longer used. Tracey Ullman was approached to do one of the voices of the Simpsons, but with already spending up to three hours in the makeup chair, adding voice-over work was simply not feasible. Fellow cast member Julie Kavner then agreed to do it. Groening approached Ullman sporadically about providing a guest voice for the shorts but, yet again, she was unable to do so due to her heavy workload.

Early reports regarding the show's premise were as follows: The focal point would be Ullman starring in one, 12-minute-long "playlet", a shorter sketch, some music, and a weekly lecture from Harry Shearer. The show would start with no pilot and a 26-episode commitment, and would be produced by Brooks along with some of the top writers from ''Cheers''. Shearer's weekly lecture never materialized.

When it came time to go out and promote the show, Fox only set up appearances in Los Angeles and New York. In 1988, Ullman insisted that she be allowed to tour Middle America. "I want to see America a bit, I really do. I've only been to LA and New York, and they make very disparaging remarks about Middle America there. I mean, Des Moines, Iowa, is the place network executives always talk about, like, 'Would they like this in Des Moines?' They think you just want ''Facts of Life'' and ''She's the Sheriff'', that you really want that type of television, and I don't really believe that you do. There's no intelligence, no truth in anything like that. I think you want something a bit smarter. ..We take pictures everywhere n this promotional tour we're taping people's voices. I'm taking it all in, and it's great. Some journalist once said that I was a 'social satirist,' and I thought, 'That sounds quite intelligent, doesn't?' So that's what I'm doing, I'm meeting people from a social satirist's point of view." Whenever she was stuck on particular voice or accent, she would open a phone directory. "If I wanted to do somebody from Brooklyn, I would call the library in Brooklyn and listen to their voice and tape them surreptitiously so they didn't know."

Production

Casting

Dan Castellaneta, a relative unknown, was asked to read for the show after he was spotted by Ullman at Chicago's The Second City. Castellaneta's portrayal of a blind man who wants to be a comedian brought her to tears instead of making her laugh. Ullman told producers that she wouldn't do the show if Castellaneta wasn't hired. He gave up the opportunity to appear in the short-lived sitcom version of the film ''Nothing in Common'', in which he appeared, so as to star in the ''Ullman'' show. "Tracey always says, 'You're so lucky, Dan. You can always go back to ''Nothing in Common''," joked Castellaneta in a 1988 interview. Describing the show, Castellaneta stated, "Essentially what dictates it is that there are no parodies and even if it's an unusual situation, Tracey and (executive producer) Jim Brooks try to keep things as believable and real. You've got to be honest." He would continue to stay true to his Second City philosophy when playing comedy and characters. "Don't ever do what's expected. Always try to find a different way of doing something. ...Always play to the top of your intelligence. A character should be as smart as you are. And if the character isn't as smart as you are, you can't make a comment about it, you can't make fun of the character." Castellaneta felt that audiences could see right through a character that wasn't done honestly and that ''The Tracey Ullman Shows audience were both pretty demanding, as well as intelligent. "They're people who like something different, they're certainly an intelligent audience. And they're an audience that isn't as easily offended as other people might be."

Actress Julie Kavner had co-starred in Brooks' spin-off series to ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Rhoda'', starring Valerie Harper. Kavner played Harper's younger, socially awkward sister Brenda, a role for which she won an Emmy Award. Kavner was at the top of the list of people Brooks wanted to be part of the show. Brooks on Kavner: "When somebody's intrinsically funny – you know, in-their-bones funny – they never have to work at (being funny), so they're free to work on other things. We were all nuts about her work. She was the person we most wanted to work with Tracey."

Actor Sam McMurray read for a guest spot on the show playing William, lover of 13-year-old valley girl Francesca's (Ullman) father. McMurray recalled his casting: "The first Francesca sketch, they said, 'Play the guy not so gay.' And I said 'I disagree.' I had a big mouth then – still do. I said, 'I think he's more the woman. I think he's more out there.' So I read and I read it big, and they cast me. It was just a one-off, and then we were on hiatus. I did the one week, and I had a friend coincidentally who used to write, a guy named Marc Flanagan, and he was on the show as a staff guy. He called me up and said, 'Did they call your agent?' I said, 'No, why?' He said, 'They wanna make you a regular.'" McMurray, who did not become a full-fledged cast member until the sixth episode, did not find himself feeling terribly comfortable at first with the show. McMurray: " e social dynamic of the show is an odd one. I spoke with (executive producer) Jim Brooks about this later and I said, 'You know, it's like we're all square pegs, aren't we?' And he said, 'Yeah,' and that the same thing occurred on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''. Everybody was from a different discipline on that show, – somebody had been from sitcoms, somebody came from the stage, and somebody had been a stand-up comic, and yet whatever the dynamic that was forged from it, it's singular and it works."

The last to be cast was dancer Joseph Malone. He was originally hired for a guest shot, acting as a cop who dances with a possible jumper out on a ledge. His performance led to him being cast as a series regular. Malone had worked with Michael Jackson, Lily Tomlin, and Barbara Mandrell. The show now had its cast. During the 1987–1988 season (the show's 2nd season), Julie Kavner asked to be let out of her contract in order to concentrate on making movies. Kavner had been living in New York while ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' taped in Los Angeles. Actress Anna Levine was subsequently cast, with Kavner putting in special appearances. Kavner returned as a permanent cast member in season 3, with Levine staying on albeit in a diminished role.

Writing

James L. Brooks knew the importance of good writers and quickly assembled a team for the show, most notably Heide Perlman and Ken Estin of ''Cheers'' fame. Perlman and Estin would also serve as executive producers of the show. Joining them was comedy writer Jerry Belson, who had an extensive career writing for television comedies such as ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' and ''The Odd Couple'', the latter he co-developed with his writing partner, Garry Marshall. He was the writer Ullman warmed to immediately. In an interview with ''The Nerdist Podcast'', she recalled Belson saying, "'Leave her alone, Jim, she's tired.' ..He was one of those funny writers hoif you said that you didn't like a joke in the room, he'd say, 'What is this, Nazi, Russia?'" When they won an Emmy, Belson's response was, "This is my first Emmy in color." Sam Simon, like Estin, wrote for ''Taxi'' (co-created by Brooks), as well as executive produced the show. Brooks discovered writer Marc Flanagan after watching a piece performed by Meryl Streep and Kevin Klein at a benefit. He asked to speak to the writer, Flanagan, and kept him in mind as he began assembling the show. '' SCTV'' writers Dick Blasucci and Paul Flaherty were hired to write and co-produce as well.

For each show, a table read would take place on Monday mornings in the presence of the writers and producers. It wasn't unusual for rewrites to go on past midnight. What worked in the writers' room would sometimes fall flat once in the hands of the actors. The best readings were the result of numerous rewrites. "I love cracking a run-through," said Ullman in 1989. "It's like a drug. If I can get them looking at me and respecting me, and thinking, 'She's done it!' – it's the best feeling.'" But she knew that the only performance that truly mattered was the one recorded in front of a live studio audience. "You just gotta pray you hit that happy, energetic mood on Friday." The cast would usually rehearse under the guidance of director Ted Bessell. Around 3:30 pm each day, writers and producers, led by Brooks and Belson, would arrive for a run-through. They would observe, shout out suggestions, make additions and subtractions, and work out any kinks in the production. The show would then be ready to tape by Friday at 7:00 pm. One writer frequently credited on the show, Bonita Carlisle, was in actuality a ''nom de plume'' chosen by the writers' room indicating that the writing had been a group effort. Guest stars such as Steve Martin and Mel Brooks got heavily involved in the writing of their sketches.

While the Fox network was quite permissive when it came to the material it would allow on the air, by 1989, following controversy over an episode of '' Married... with Children'', the network's standards and practices department began closely monitoring the show's scripts. A sketch consisting of a nun (played by Ullman), a priest, and the last rites, was pulled mid-production. Producers were given the option to either water down the skit or not do it at all. Ullman had no problem with the piece. Brooks responded: "They're smart enough to know that they can't have a bland network that responds to every pressure and be successful ... If we really believe a piece should be broadcast, then we will take a stand. We do care about doing characters accurately and in them taking a comic view of life, but when censorship interferes with that, we've got to scream."

Format

A typical episode of ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' consists of two or three sketches (or playlets) featuring Ullman playing an array of characters, along with her supporting cast: Julie Kavner, Dan Castellaneta, Sam McMurray, Joseph Malone, and in season three, Anna Levine. The final sketch of each episode usually includes a musical or dance number performed solely by Ullman or with the rest of the cast. Paula Abdul was responsible for choreographing all of the show's dance routines. Interstitial cartoon shorts ("Dr. N!Godatu", "The Simpsons") were featured before and after each commercial break.

The show's producers toyed with the format during the show's first season. A variety act was added and then scrapped by the third episode. Ullman began opening the show as herself by episode five; this was dropped altogether by season three in favor of an elaborate opening title sequence.

The final segment of all four seasons has Ullman, clad in a pink terrycloth bathrobe, delivering a closing monologue to the studio audience before shouting her signature catchphrase, "Go home!"

Opening title sequence

George Clinton was hired to write and perform the show's funk-infused theme song, "You're Thinking Right". Brooks hired animation and graphic-design company Klasky Csupo to design the show's title sequence. It would become the studio's big break. In addition to handing the show's opening, they also produced the show's animated bumpers. The opening title sequence in seasons one and two followed a brief introduction by Ullman to the studio audience. For season three, however, the opening was scrapped, and in its place, a live-action farce was used: Ullman pulls up to the 20th Century Fox studio lot in her car and hits a pedestrian. She attempts CPR in front of onlookers and revives her victim. She then rushes into the studio and meets George Clinton; a person tries to get her opinion on a costume; Paula Abdul attempts to go over choreography with her. Next, she visits the makeup room and greets her fellow castmates – this includes the Simpson family. She then looks at a pushpin board with stills (presented in the form of Polaroid photos) of the sketches that will air in this week's episode, along with their titles. Season four featured a title sequence similar to the first two seasons.

Ending

After four seasons, Ullman decided to end the show stating that she was "constantly challenged and happily tortured by a unique group of people." She also thanked Fox "for letting somebody no one ever heard of do a show on a network that didn't exist." Brooks stated that ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' was "the hardest work any of us ever did, and we would have continued forever if she had wanted us to ..I'm just glad I appreciated it as it was happening and not just in retrospect ... Tracey is one of the most talented people alive." The show, which earned Fox its first Emmy Award, received a total of 33 nominations, winning a total of 10.

Brooks didn't mince words when it was announced that Fox chairman Barry Diller was stepping down in 1992. "I thought ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' should have stayed on as long as she wanted to do it." Diller had been dragging his feet in renewing the show. Tired of waiting, Ullman decided to pull the plug herself. When Ullman and the show won at the 1990 Primetime Emmy Awards, ''The Los Angeles Times'' remarked, "Tracey Ullman gets last laugh." Later, Ullman admitted that she would have liked an additional year to try out all the characters she wanted to play. She was proud, though, of what they achieved: "no compromises, no giving up, always wanting the best."

Cast and crew

Cast

*Tracey Ullman
*Julie Kavner
*Dan Castellaneta
*Sam McMurray
*Joseph Malone
*Anna Levine (Season 3)

Voice acting

*Nancy Cartwright (The Simpsons, Seasons 1–3)
* Julie Payne (Dr. N!Godatu, Season 1)
*Yeardley Smith (The Simpsons, Seasons 1–3)

Directors

* Ted Bessell
* Stuart Margolin
* Penny Marshall
* Sam Simon
* Art Wolff

Writers

* Jeff Baron
* Manny Basanese
* Jerry Belson
* Tony Berg
* Dick Blasucci
* Rob Bragin
* Holly Holmberg Brooks
* James L. Brooks
* Dan Castellaneta
* Cameron Crowe
* Ken Estin
* Paul Flaherty
* Marc Flanagan
* Kim Fuller
* Susan Gauthier
* Howard Gewirtz
* Matt Groening (''The Simpsons'' shorts only)
* Paul Haggis
* Craig Heller
* Susan Herring
* David Isaacs
* James P. Kocot
* Jay Kogen
* Debra Korbel
* Deb Lacusta
* Jane Lancellotti
* Michael Leeson
* Ken Levine
* Joseph Malone
* Harvey Miller
* Marilyn Suzanne Miller
* David Mirkin
* Heide Perlman
* Ian Praiser
* Lisa-Maria Radano
* Michael Sardo
* Richard Sakai
* J.C. Scott
* Mike Short
* Guy Shulman
* Sam Simon
* Doug Steckler
* Miriam Trogdon
* Tracey Ullman
* Ellis Weiner
* Michael J. Weithorn
* Wallace Wolodarsky

Guest stars

* Paula Abdul
* Judith Barsi
* Mel Brooks
* Michael Cerveris
* George Clinton
* Clarence Clemons
* Glenn Close
* Tim Curry
* Fran Drescher
* Doris Grau
* Kelsey Grammer
* Matt Groening
* Marilu Henner
* Carole King
* Cheech Marin
* Andrea Martin
* Kellie Martin
* Steve Martin
* Maureen McGovern
* Frank Patterson
* Matthew Perry
* Jim Piddock
* Billy Preston
* Bill Pullman
* Keanu Reeves
* Cesar Romero
* Isabella Rossellini
* Nick Rutherford
* Martin Short
* Steven Spielberg
* Betty Thomas
* Michael Tucker

Episodes

Recurring characters

Over the course of four seasons, Ullman played upwards of 100 characters; some were repeated, but not on a weekly basis. The show's supporting cast also played a variety of characters, usually opposite Ullman's, but in some instances without her. The following is a list of recurring characters performed by Tracey Ullman, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, and Sam McMurray. They are listed in order of appearance.

;The Downeys
''Played by Tracey Ullman and Dan Castellaneta''

:Sara and Greg Downey are two yuppies who care for their son Max (Nick Rutherford) only when they absolutely have to.

;Kay Clark
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:Originally from England, Kay works in Rhode Island for a paper-products distribution company. She's always the target of her co-workers' (and even her boss) practical jokes. Kay takes care of her invalid mother who she frequently talks to on the phone from work.

;Dr. Alexander Gibson
''Played by Dan Castellaneta''

:A psychiatrist who analyzes many of Ullman's characters (e.g. Kay Clark, Brenda, Kiki Howard-Smith).

;Brenda
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:A neurotic and ditzy valley girl and a patient of Dr. Alexander Gibson.

;Francesca McDowell
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:A 14-year-old girl who is being raised by her father David (Dan Castellaneta) and his partner William (Sam McMurray).

;David McDowell and William
''Played by Dan Castellaneta and Sam McMurray''

:A gay couple who are raising David's daughter Francesca from a previous marriage. William usually sides with Francesca when she gets into trouble.

;Sandra Decker
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:A faded Oscar-winning actress from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

;Tina and Meg
''Played by Tracey Ullman and Julie Kavner''

:Tina (Ullman) and Meg (Kavner) are best friends and United States postal workers.

;Kiki Howard-Smith
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:An Australian professional golfer.

;Ginny Tillman
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:Ginny is a bitter divorcée. Her husband is Dr. Lawrence Tillman (Dan Castellaneta), a Beverly Hills proctologist. Lawrence goes on to remarry Meg (Isabella Rossellini).

;Summer Storm
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:A burnt out hippie disc jockey.

;Gulliver Dark
''Played by Sam McMurray''

:A lounge singer, nicknamed "The Velvet Bulge". Gulliver's fans (consisting mainly of middle-aged women) become "Dark Ladies" once they've watched him perform in person 1,000 times or more, and have given him gifts equal to 10% of their income. The character went on to appear in ''The Simpsons'', voiced by both Sam McMurray and George Balmaseda.

;Angel and Marty Tish
''Played by Tracey Ullman and Dan Castellaneta''

:Angel and Marty are a husband-and-wife entertainment duo who dub themselves "America's Sweethearts".

;Margaret/Hans Neeman
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:Psychiatrist and mentor to Dr. Alexander Gibson. Margaret reunites with her former student, Dr. Gibson, as a patient, and admits to having been a fraud. She reappears in a later sketch after having transitioned into Hans.

;Roz and Leonard
''Played by Julie Kavner and Sam McMurray''

:Ginny Tillman's sister Roz (Kavner), who is married to the perpetually unenthusiastic Leonard (McMurray), cares for their ailing mother.

;Gigi
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:A woman who is put through the paces no matter where she goes (e.g. a job interview where she is given 60 seconds to come up with an elaborate tap dance routine, and a therapy session where she is forced to figure out who's the therapist and who's a patient).

;The Sours
''Played by Sam McMurray and Tracey Ullman''

:Gary and Joanie Sours are a newlywed couple.

;Maria
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:A maid.

;Jinx Haber
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:A woman who can fly.

;Ann B. Cooper
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:An eccentric cat lady. Ann is on the co-op apartment's board of directors and is responsible for getting the McDowells' (David and William) application approved.

;Rosaria and Big Tony Manetti
''Played by Tracey Ullman and Robert Costanzo''

:Rosaria and her husband Big Tony are an Italian-American couple who live in Jersey City. They constantly argue with one another.

;Miranda Kenton
''Played by Tracey Ullman''

:A narcissistic Hollywood actress.

Animated segments

''The Tracey Ullman Show'' regularly featured short animated interstitials in the first three seasons.

''Dr. N!Godatu''

"Dr. N!Godatu" was a series of animated shorts created by M.K. Brown, and animated by Klasky-Csupo. It was seen during season one only, and was the first cartoon seen on Ullman's show. The shorts followed the somewhat surreal life of Dr. Janice N!Godatu, who calmly and cheerfully addressed the camera as she detailed her latest misadventure. The character was voiced by Julie Payne.

The feature appeared in the first two ''Ullman'' episodes, then alternated more-or-less every other week with the "Simpsons" shorts (see below). After appearing six times, ''Dr. N!Godatu'' was dropped at the conclusion of the first season. Two additional "Dr. N!Godatu" cartoons that were prepared for the show never aired.

"The Simpsons"

The Simpson family debuted in short animated cartoons on ''The Tracey Ullman Show'', beginning with episode three of the first season. The shorts originally were presented on an occasional basis, alternating episodes with "Dr. N!Godatu", but the reaction to the Simpsons shorts was very positive, and after appearing seven times during season one, the feature was quickly promoted to full-time status, appearing in almost every episode of seasons two and three, before being spun off into a half-hour series. These shorts, also called " bumpers", aired before and after commercial breaks during the first and second seasons of the show. They eventually had their own full segments between the live-action segments during season three. Except for a repeat airing of the short "Simpson Xmas", they did not appear in the fourth and final season of ''The Tracey Ullman Show'', as they had their own half-hour TV series by then.

All of them were written by Matt Groening and animated at Klasky Csupo by a team of animators consisting of David Silverman, Wes Archer, and Bill Kopp. ''Tracey Ullman Show'' cast members Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner provided the voices of Homer and Marge Simpson, respectively. In the beginning, the drawings appeared very crude because the animators were more or less just tracing over Groening's storyboards, but as the series developed, so did the designs and layouts of the characters and the "Simpsons drawing style" was ultimately conceived. At first, they just established the basics; clothes, hair, distinctive features etc. This style evolved even more throughout the first few seasons of ''The Simpsons'', and would later be used on ''Futurama'' and ''Disenchantment'', which were also created by Groening.

Reception

Critical response

While the show was a critical darling, it was never a ratings juggernaut; although none of the early Fox network primetime shows generated a significant return (Fox did not crack the top 30 in the Nielsen ratings until 1990 with ''The Simpsons''). On the show's ratings, Fox president Jamie Kellner was quoted in 1988 as saying, "We're too new new to be discouraged by ratings ..It's true that it's harder to discover Tracey on Fox than on NBC." As critic Howard Rosenberg of ''The Los Angeles Times'' and ''The Washington Post'' pointed out, though, it was probably easier for her to survive, as the show she was producing was probably too "rule-bending" for NBC to be interested in, in the first place.

The show faced practical obstacles reaching viewers, one of which was the network broadcasting via a UHF signal in many areas. Ullman was personally critical of Fox messing with the show's timeslot, something network chairman Barry Diller later conceded. "I think there was real anger about the shifting time a lot, and that was legitimate. Networks do many things that are not necessarily in the interests of a particular show, and those things are not always smart. We had a very large audience for a very special show-but it wasn't large enough. Certain things take time. As the world speeds up, the rhythm of this show will become consistent with the rhythm of the audience. But it might take 10 years. I think the 80-something shows they did will be like ''The Honeymooners''. I don't know when. But it's going to be pure, driven gold. We expect to get every nickel back. Plus, plus, plus." "It should've been on Sunday night. I think a great lineup would've been ''The Simpsons'' followed by Tracey, on Sunday night.", said Matt Groening in 1991. Despite its issues with the ratings, the show retained a devoted fan base and became a cult hit right up until the end. It also helped the Fox network gain credibility within the industry. ''Married... with Children'', the series that launched the same night as the ''Ullman'' show, was mired in controversy and soon became branded low-brow humor.

Accolades

The show won a total of 10 Primetime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program in 1989 and 1990, and Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program in 1990. Also in 1989, choreographer Paula Abdul won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for her work on the show.

Distribution

International

When ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' first appeared on British television, the BBC aired the first seven episodes unedited. The broadcaster then decided to cut six minutes from the show, specifically the Simpsons shorts. "The BBC said the only thing they didn't like about the show was those weird little animated characters and suggested maybe they could get rid of them because they would never catch on," Ullman later recalled. Despite their aversion to the cartoon shorts, she attempted to convince the broadcaster to buy the rights to ''The Simpsons'' television series, saying that it would be a mistake not to. Sky ended up buying the show. When the last batch of episodes were screened in 1991, the episodes were aired in full. ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' aired on BBC Two in the UK, Network 10 in Australia, and TVNZ in New Zealand.

Syndication

Reruns of the show appeared on Lifetime and Comedy Central throughout the 1990s in the United States.

Home media

, ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' has never been commercially released through any home media platform. In a 2017 interview, Tracey Ullman theorized that music clearance issues may be to blame. A selection of the Simpsons shorts were released from 1997 through 1999 on ''The Simpsons'' VHS home video releases. The first Simpsons short called "Good Night" was included as a special feature on ''The Simpsons: The Complete First Season'' DVD box set released on September 25, 2001. The sketch "Due Diligence" featuring actor-comedian Mel Brooks was released as an extra on ''The Incredible Mel Brooks: An Irresistible Collection of Unhinged Comedy'' DVD in 2012.

Notes

References

Further reading

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External links

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1987 American television series debuts
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1980s American musical comedy television series
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1990s American variety television series
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1990s American LGBTQ-related comedy television series
American television series with live action and animation
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