Opening credits to Open House, a Fox sitcom about real estate agents. Open House was a retooled version of Duet and starred Alison LaPlaca, Mary Page Keller, and Ellen DeGeneres. It aired from 1989-1990.
Duet was a strange show. It started Laura the caterer, her boyfriend and their romantic drama but after a season or two the entire series was based around Laura's friend (Alison LaPlaca). Then it became retooled as Open House where Alison LaPlaca officially became the top star, and the Laura character decides to abandon her life-long dream of being a caterer and suddenly decides she's rather bake cookies for open house events. Oh, and the boyfriend's gone too. WTF?
I believe that DUET's 1988-89 rating was at an all-time low,and producers did the spinoff in an attempt to raise it again with a revamped cast. Whan that proved unsuccessful,OPEN HOUSE got the Nielsen axe in July 1990.
WOW this brings back tons of memories! My bro and I used to cut a rug to this theme song and at the end when he goes "chick-a" we would hop onto our beds and pose. so old but those were the best days.
Ben Coleman eventually became Laura Kelly's husband. They had married(it was written) between the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3,and had gone on a two-year honeymoon. In the second episode of OPEN HOUSE,Laura announces her divorce from Ben. Ben and Laura didn't meet Richard's and Linda Phillips' daughter Amanda until after the honeymoon. She was born at the end of season 2. By the way,Linda was once Ben's girlfriend.
Yeah, Duet was similar to mad about you, it was about dating, engagement and newly married life...then halfway through the rich friend and crazy wife became focus, leading to open house, which focused on her as a Brocker with her husband leaving her mid-season then became the 2 leads dating again
I don't think Ellen was meant to be on a sitcom because pretty much every one she did got axed after 1 season. This only lasted one season. Then she was on one in the fall of 1992 that lasted a month. Her 1994-1998 show was the most successful, but then she did another in 2001 that only lasted one season. I think her now 12 season talk show definitely makes up for that. The same thing happened with Fran Drescher. The Nanny was her only successful show, and it was on during the exact same years as Ellen. Every other sitcom she was on got cancelled after a few episodes or only a year or so. Bob Saget too. Full House was his only successful show. When this was on, I was only a baby.
Typecasting is the best answer for this. They were so tailor-made for the shows they were successful in, it ruined them for other roles. While some succeed going from show to show while others are a one-hit wonder isn’t the easiest to explain, with many variables involved in the equation; writing, timing, style of acting, era of the shows, relationships with people on the set, relationship with the media, mental and physical coping skills. There’s a lot involved and it would be very difficult to boil it down to a science. Since the dawn of entertainment, the powers that be have been trying to hit on that very formula. That’s why you see more misses than hits.
Bob Saget hosted America's funniest Home Videos for 8 seasons and only left to retire as the host. The show was immensely popular. And is still on decades later.
Ben and Laura once split up before they got married. They had differences and Laura started drinking. I remember one episode where Ben showed at one of Laura's Alcoholics Anonymous meeting saying,"I'm Ben Coleman,and I'm not an alcoholic,but I am in love with one." That was after Ben dumped Laura after a nasty argument. Ben and Laura reconciled after that AA meeting,but unbelievably,they divorced after a short marriage. Looks like Ben himself pulled the plug again.
