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Foley Square (TV series)

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Foley Square
Foley Square title
GenreSitcom
Created byDiane English
StarringMargaret Colin
Héctor Elizondo
Vernee Watson-Johnson
Michael Lembeck
Cathy Silvers
Sanford Jensen
Israel Juarbe
Jon Lovitz
Richard C. Sarafian
Theme music composerGordon Lustig
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes14
Production
Executive producersSaul Turteltaub
Bernie Orenstein
ProducerDiane English
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesShukovsky English Entertainment
CBS Productions
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseDecember 11, 1985 (1985-12-11) –
April 8, 1986 (1986-04-08)

Foley Square is an American sitcom starring Margaret Colin which centers on an assistant district attorney in New York City. Original episodes aired from December 11, 1985, until April 8, 1986.[1][2]

Cast

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Synopsis

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Clockwise from top: Cast members Michael Lembeck, Margaret Colin, and Héctor Elizondo in a promotional photograph for Foley Square.

Alex Harrigan is a perky, dedicated, unmarried assistant district attorney who works in a District Attorney's office located in New York City on Foley Square in Manhattan. Her boss, District Attorney Jesse Steinberg, is a veteran prosecutor who has seen it all and who she feels overlooks her when assigning the office's important cases to its staff of prosecutors. She also works with Assistant District Attorney Carter DeVries, who is overbearing and ambitious, and young Assistant District Attorney Molly Dobbs, who has just graduated from law school. Alex's secretary is Denise Willums, and the office's messenger is Angel Gomez, a young ex-convict. Mole is the office's investigator. When on break and after work, the co-workers gather across the street from the office at a coffee shop owned and operated by Spiro Papadopolis.[1][2]

Alex lives in an apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Peter Newman, a schoolteacher, is her neighbor in the building and a good friend. Alex's social life is prone to ups and downs.[1][2]

Production

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Creator and producer Diane English intended Foley Square and its scripts to reflect what she considered to be the "women's viewpoint."[1]

Cast members Cathy Silvers and Michael Lembeck held the unusual distinction of being the second generation of their respective families to appear together in a television show: Their fathers, Phil Silvers and Harvey Lembeck, had acted together in The Phil Silvers Show from 1955 to 1959.[1]

Writers involved in Foley Square were Dennis Danziger, Diane English, Karyl Geld Miller, Bernie Orenstein, Ellen Sandler, Korby Siamis, and Saul Turteltaub. Episode directors were Peter Baldwin, Peter Bonerz, and Ellen Gittelsohn.[3]

Broadcast history and cancellation

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Foley Square aired on Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m., paired with Mary Tyler Moore's sitcom Mary at 8:00 p.m. Both shows premiered on December 11, 1985, and languished near the bottom of the Nielsen ratings in the weeks that followed. After the tenth episode of Mary was broadcast on February 19, 1986, Mary went into hiatus as did Foley Square after its eleventh episode aired a week later on February 26, 1986. CBS rescheduled the shows to appear on Tuesdays, with Mary at 9:00 p.m. and Foley Square at 9:30 p.m., hoping that this change would improve their ratings, and telecasts of the two shows resumed on March 25, 1986. Despite the change of day and time, ratings remained low, and both shows were cancelled after only three-episode runs in their new times, with Foley Square's fourteenth and last episode airing on April 8, 1986, right after Mary's thirteenth and last episode.[1][2]

During the summer of 1986, CBS aired prime-time reruns of Foley Square at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays from June 11 to July 23.[1][2]

Episodes

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No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Personals"Peter BonerzBernie Orenstein & Saul TurteltaubDecember 11, 1985 (1985-12-11)
Alex feels that her boss, Jesse, is giving her too many cases to prosecute that are beneath her, such as that of an 85-year-old man who attacked a grocer, even though there are a number of murder cases that he could have assigned to her. Meanwhile, her friends pressure her into placing a personal ad to try to get some romance into her life.
2"Make My Day"Peter BonerzDiane EnglishDecember 18, 1985 (1985-12-18)
Alex cancels her date with Mark so that she can convince a witness to testify in the murder case she is working.
3"Hey, Landlord"Peter BonerzBernie Orenstein & Saul TurteltaubDecember 25, 1985 (1985-12-25)
After a series of assaults occur in her building, Alex suspects her landlord.
4"Court-ship"Peter BonerzDiane EnglishJanuary 8, 1986 (1986-01-08)
Alex finally starts dating a man, but has to put the relationship on hold because he is a reporter covering a case she is prosecuting.
5"The Star"Peter BonerzBernie Orenstein & Saul TurteltaubJanuary 15, 1986 (1986-01-15)

Alex develops a love interest in a movie star who is trying to sue his dishonest business manager.

Guest star: Andy Garcia
6"The Longest Weekend"Peter BonerzDiane EnglishJanuary 22, 1986 (1986-01-22)
Alex is on call and the only one without plans for the weekend.
7"The Prosecution Never Rests"Peter BonerzKorby Siamis & Karyl MillerJanuary 29, 1986 (1986-01-29)
Jesse finally grants Alex her wish and assigns her to an important case, but she feels undervalued and underappreciated as it progresses.
8"Nobody's Perfect"Peter BaldwinDiane EnglishFebruary 5, 1986 (1986-02-05)
Stressed out at work, Alex sees a doctor who recommends that she take some time off work and relax – but she ignores his advice out of a fear that she would be letting her co-workers down if she did.
9"Where Angel Goes"Ellen GittelsohnBernie Orenstein & Saul TurteltaubFebruary 12, 1986 (1986-02-12)
After Angel is arrested for a robbery he did not commit, Alex bails him out of jail– but she needs him to tell her the truth for her to keep him out of prison.
10"Kid Stuff"Peter BonerzDiane EnglishFebruary 19, 1986 (1986-02-19)
Alex must convince a pregnant teenager to testify against the man who raped her.
11"Jack's Back"Peter BonerzBernie Orenstein & Saul TurteltaubFebruary 26, 1986 (1986-02-26)
Alex receives presents from a secret admirer, then discovers that he is a paroled ex-convict who she had prosecuted and put in jail.
12"Judgment Call"Ellen GittelsohnDennis Danzinger & Ellen SandlerMarch 25, 1986 (1986-03-25)
The judge in Molly's first felony case makes an indecent proposal to Alex.
13"24 Hours"Ellen GittelsohnDiane EnglishApril 1, 1986 (1986-04-01)
A reporter writing a story watches the District Attorney's office closely, and Alex is frightened when she comes home and walks in on a burglar.
14"Someone to Watch Over Me"Peter BaldwinBernie Orenstein & Saul TurteltaubApril 8, 1986 (1986-04-08)
After Alex gets a letter threatening her life, Jesse hires a bodyguard to protect her.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g McNeil, Alex, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 293.
  2. ^ a b c d e Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition, New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, ISBN 0-345-39736-3, p. 364.
  3. ^ tv.com Foley Square
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