Unhappily Ever After (often shortened to Unhappily... in promotional advertisements) is an American sitcom that aired for 100 episodes on The WB network from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of five seasons. The series was produced by Touchstone Television.
Synopsis
The series was initially intended to be a starring vehicle for Stephanie Hodge, whose character of Jennie was the focus of the first few episodes. However, the series concept was soon re-worked. The character of Jack (Geoff Pierson), who had been kicked out of the house and was living in an apartment, was brought back home and began living in the basement. Soon, Jack â€" a family man with schizophrenia whose only friend is a talking toy rabbit â€" became the central character of the show, along with the rabbit, Mr. Floppy. Also, in seasons one and two, storylines featured Jennie's mother, Maureen Slattery (Joyce Van Patten). When Van Patten left the show, her character was killed-off.
By the show's third season, Tiffany (Nikki Cox) was becoming a breakout character and the de facto co-star of the show along with Pierson. Stories began focusing on Tiffany and Ryan's high school (and later community college) escapades, and the producers attempted to kill-off the increasingly unnecessary character of Jennie, who returned as a ghost. After doing so, however, they quickly reversed their decision because of negative audience reaction. The character was brought back to life in a deliberately bizarre sequence in which a network executive wandered on to the set and announced Jennie's character was no longer dead. Nevertheless, Jennie was soon gone again, as several episodes later, the character abandoned her family for a lesbian lover (Hodge choosing to leave the show) and was never seen again.
Cox was already signed to star in a new series for the WB when Unhappily... ended, and the final season focused more on the character of Tiffany. A new character was added to the cast, Tiffany's rival Barbara Caufield (Wendy Benson). The series wrapped up with a final episode in which Jack finally made enough money to send Tiffany to Harvard University. Once Jack started making money, he no longer needed Floppy and his schizophrenia was cured; Floppy returned to being just a stuffed animal, dying. Jack soon went insane from drinking again, however, bringing Floppy "back from the dead".
Characters
Main
- Jack Malloy (Geoff Pierson): An alcoholic with schizophrenia, cynical and depressed man who hates his wholly unsatisfying job as a used-car salesman and his unhappy marriage. He gets little respect from his family, who think that he is insane or senile. He converses with a stuffed bunny (Mr. Floppy) that only he can hear. His daughter Tiffany is his only real hope in his otherwise depressing life, though he is unaware of how Tiffany often uses him to her own advantage. He and his wife tend to bicker over trivial things and she appears to dominate him. He doesn't really care about his family (except for Tiffany), despite the fact they are the cause of most of his woes. He is the sole source of income for the family and often tries to manage the money he makes, though it never gets to him as he has to pay for bills, food, expenses, allowances, and presents for Tiffany. He is similar to Al Bundy from Married With Children.
- Jennifer "Jennie" Malloy (née Slattery) (Stephanie Hodge): Jack's irritable and promiscuous wife, who gets along with no one in particular and is prone to jealousy. She is sarcastic, embittered and judgmental, verbally abusing Jack, and showing little compassion for her children. She particularly resents Tiffany, who is everything Jennie never was. She also despises Ryan, because in her teenage years she was fat and an outsider and hanging out people with Ryan ruined her popularity. Jennie comes across as self-centered, mean, and ill-tempered, and she is also shown to make a cuckold out of Jack. Hypocritically, Jennie is still shown to be displeased when Jack becomes involved with other women. She "dies" during season four, existing in the series as a "ghost", before coming back briefly and then leaving permanently in season 5. We hear that she divorced Jack, leaving him for another woman. She is similar to Peg Bundy.
- Ryan Malloy (Kevin Connolly): The elder son of Jack and Jennie, Ryan maintains a positive, happy-go-lucky attitude despite being stupid and disliked by virtually everyone he knows, including his parents. He occasionally acknowledges how miserable his existence is and comes across as sympathetic; in one episode, his chemistry teacher, Ms. O'Hara, blows herself up after Ryan passes her class and wins a bet where she said she'd go to a school dance with him if he did so, and Ryan is visibly distraught at both her death and what it says about how he's perceived. His inability to attract girls and his parents' overt derision of him are recurring themes throughout the show. Throughout the series Ryan manages to have a limited number of girlfriends, though the relationships are inevitably ill-fated. He is similar to Bud Bundy. The difference is he has Kelly's low IQ but Bud's personality and he is a nerd and an outsider just like him.
- Tiffany Malloy (Nikki Cox): The "favorite" child of Jack, Tiffany is the middle child, who is seemingly perfect: smart, ambitious, popular, attractive, and still a virgin. However, Tiffany is less than virtuous; she tends to be self-indulgent, self-serving, and manipulative, often taking advantage of Jack's special treatment. Typically she will use Ryan or Ross as a scapegoat whenever she gets in trouble. She is also shown to be a practicing gold digger. Tiffany's figure has been repeatedly alluded to as a result of her suffering from some kind of an eating disorder. Tiffany is an overachiever, coveting success and frequently achieving it. She's extremely opinionated and can be very sarcastic, speaking with deadpan humor. Tiffany is similar to Kelly Bundy, except she has Bud's High Intelligence and Kelly's personality and can attract a million hot guys.
- Ross Malloy (Justin Berfield): The "forgotten child". The youngest and arguably the most normal member of the family, Ross is often the voice of reason, common sense, and enlightenment in an otherwise dysfunctional family. However, it becomes clear from certain episodes that Ross has issues of his own. As a result of indifferent parenting, Ross craves attention, though his attempts usually fail. In one episode, he even attempts arson. Ross is shown to adore his father despite Jack's lack of concern for him, Ross was the one who gave Jack the stuffed rabbit Mr. Floppy. He also gets the least airtime, which is the joke of some episodes. Ross dislikes his siblings Tiffany and Ryan, Tiffany for being cruel and selfish and an attention-craver and Ryan for being stupid and annoying. It is mentioned in the Halloween episode of the final season that he once had a twin named Roz. However, in a flashback to a decade earlier, they, along with Tiffany were left in the care of Ryan for the weekend. And it is alluded to that due to Ryan's carelessness, something unfortunate likely happened to Roz.
Recurring
- Mr. Floppy (voice of Bobcat Goldthwait, puppeteer Allan Trautman): A smoking, drinking, and perverted gray stuffed bunny who lives in the Malloy basement, often discussing his life in "the toy bin", his success stories with women, or ranting about cynical topics. A large part of the show revolves around Jack consulting Mr. Floppy for advice (and Mr. Floppy speaks as a stand-up comic), as only Jack can hear him. While both Jack and Mr. Floppy often have differing views on things, they have similar mindsets and thus Mr. Floppy is best seen as a sort of alter-ego of Jack. He has a crush on Drew Barrymore. He is similar to Jefferson D'Arcy and Steve Rhodes who is the straight man and the guy is into Jack's schemes.
- Maureen Slattery (Joyce Van Patten) (seasons 1â€"2): Jennie's alcoholic, overbearing, and somewhat delusional mother who despises Jack, a feeling that is more than mutual. But she seems to have even more contempt for her daughter. She has an addiction to prescription drugs. She only appeared in the first two seasons of the series. It was stated by Jack in the episode "The Old West" that she was dead and they buried her in the backyard (after looting the corpse).
- Barbara Caulfield (Wendy Benson) (recurring Season 4, starring in Season 5): Tiffany's chief rival and one of Ryan's love interests. She attends Northridge Junior College along with Tiffany and Ryan. She first appears in the fourth season.
- Barry Wallenstein (Ant) (seasons 1â€"5): Tiffany's openly gay friend at Priddy High.
- Amber Moss (Dana Daurey) (seasons 1â€"3): Tiffany's vacuous best friend at Priddy High. She is an underachiever and is very promiscuous.
- Patty McGurk (Elisabeth Harnois) (season 2): Tiffany's rival who dresses just as scantily, but is not as bright as Tiffany.
- Muffy (Deborah Kellner) (season 5): Tiffany's best friend at Northridge Junior College.
- Sable O'Brien (Kristanna Loken) (season 3): A strikingly beautiful and extremely popular girl at Priddy High, Sable is the arch-nemesis of Tiffany Malloy. Though Tiffany and Sable are usually antagonistic toward each other, occasionally they cooperate if it's to their mutual advantage. Both share a number of common enemies, including Tiffany's own brother Ryan (who at one point "dates" Sable).
- Mr. Dunn (Allan Trautman) (seasons 1â€"3): The principal of Priddy High.
- Joe Slattery: Jennie's father and Maureen's ex-husband. He owns Joe's Used Car Lot, the place where Jack is employed. He is never seen but is often referred to.
- Emily, Jasper and Annie: The family's pet dogs that are seen in the early seasons. Jasper is a bloodhound that makes the most appearances.
- Mr. Monteleone (Oliver Muirhead) (seasons 3â€"4): Tiffany and Ryan's rude, arrogant English teacher who makes frequent appearances in the later episodes. He hates Tiffany and loves to watch her fail.
- Chelsea (Shonda Whipple) (season 1): Tiffany's nemesis in Season 1.
- Beau (Benjamin Shelfer) (season 1): Tiffany's love interest.
- Eddie the Neuter Boy (Tal Kapelner) (season 4): A pathetic nerd boy who is often the victim of physical harm.
- Stoney (Jamie Kennedy) (season 1): a stoner at Priddy High.
Episodes
Production notes
The series was created by Ron Leavitt and Arthur Silver, who also worked on Married... with Children. Unhappily was often compared to Married... with Children as both series had similar themes.
Unhappily Ever After was one of the four sitcoms that aired as part of the original Wednesday night two-hour lineup that helped launch The WB network (along with The Wayans Bros., The Parent 'Hood and the short-lived Muscle).
Theme song and opening sequence
When the show first began its run, the original opening started with the "wedding photo" (even though they are moving in it) of the Malloys, with their smiles fading, and showed clips of the father leaving and walking through the slum to his new place. While walking, a man runs by him holding a TV, chased by another man who stops, takes a shooting stance, and fires a gun at the thief. The next clip shows the father as he walks past the first man lying face down, TV near his hands, as he enters his apartment. The theme song played over the opening was Bobcat Goldthwait (and possibly others) singing "We married young, because of cupid. And had three kids, but we were stupid. She kicked me out, she's not my honey. But she still wants me, when she needs money. Now I'm alone, come rain or sunny. But who needs love? I've got my bunny." In the final scene of the final episode, this is the song Jack sings with Mr. Floppy, but with slightly modified lyrics. "I married young, because of cupid. And had three kids, but you were stupid. I could've been rich, instead I'm a loser. But at least we're happy, 'cause you're a boozer. Now I'm alone, come rain or sunny. But who needs love? I've got my bunny."
Beginning with the second season, the series' theme song was "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles; the song is a reference to Jennie kicking Jack out of the house. The opening is a sequence of bizarre events from the first season and the male vocals are lip-synched by Floppy while the female vocals are lip-synched by Jennie, Tiffany and Maureen for Seasons 1 & 2, Jennie and Tiffany for Seasons 3 & 4, and Tiffany, Jack, Ryan and Ross for Season 5. In reruns and syndication, the Season 1 opening was replaced with the "Hit The Road Jack" opening with clips from the show.
Syndication and international airings
The show was sold into syndication for the 1999â€"2000 and the 2000â€"01 seasons, but was not re-offered the following fall due to lackluster clearance rates and low ratings. It has been off the air in America ever since.
In the United Kingdom, it was shown on ABC1 between 2004 and 2005.
In Canada, it was seen on Omni Television during the 2006/2007 season.
As of October 2007, it airs on the TV3 network in Estonia as Armastuseta sinu (Yours Without Love).
In Germany, the show first aired on RTL Television in November 1997, was since rerun on RTL II and currently (as of June 2007) airs on Comedy Central on a daily basis. It is titled Auf schlimmer und ewig ("For worse and ever"), a pun on the phrase "Auf immer und ewig" ("Forever and ever").
References
External links
- Unhappily Ever After on IMDb
- Unhappily Ever After at TV.com
- Unhappily Ever After fansite
