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Oliver Beene

Oliver Beene is an American sitcom that aired on Fox from March 9, 2003 to September 12, 2004. The show was created by Howard Gewirtz. Set in 1962 and 1963, the show chronicled the trials and tribulations of the 11-to-12-year-old Oliver Beene (played by Grant Rosenmeyer), in first person perspective. Oliver Beene's other main characters are his parents Jerry and Charlotte Beene, his older brother Ted Beene, and his two friends Joyce and Michael. The narrator, an older Oliver reflecting on his experience, is voiced by David Cross. Often in episodes, the story is interrupted by flashbacks and flashforwards.

Oliver Beene
GenreSitcom
Created byHoward Gewirtz
StarringGrant Rosenmeyer
Grant Shaud
Wendy Makkena
Andrew Lawrence
Daveigh Chase
Taylor Emerson
Narrated byDavid Cross
Opening theme"The Future Is Now" by The Solids
ComposerPaul Buckley
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes24 (2 unaired)
Production
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time21 minutes
Production companiesSteven Levitan Productions
(ge.wirtz) Films
DreamWorks Television
20th Century Fox Television
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseMarch 9, 2003 (2003-03-09) –
September 12, 2004 (2004-09-12)

Premise

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Oliver (born c. 1951), attempts to sustain normality in an often unpredictable family. Oliver's father Jerry spends his days drilling teeth as a dentist, while his mother attempts to play the traditional homemaker. Oliver's older brother, Ted is a sports nut and a womanizer. Oliver's life is often made more bearable with friends Michael, Joyce and his crush Bonnie, who appears at his most embarrassing moments. In the second season, both brothers have a crush on a Swedish girl, Elke, who moved into their apartment building.

Cast

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Main

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Recurring

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Broadcast history

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Season Time
2002–03 Sunday at 8:30 (Episodes 1–6)
Sunday at 9:30 (Episodes 7–8)
2003–04 Wednesday at 9:30 (Episode 1)
Sunday at 7:30 (Episodes 2–6)
Sunday at 7:00 (Episodes 7–14)

Episodes

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The series first aired on March 9, 2003, as a Fox program to replace the animated series Futurama. The first season was relatively successful, and the show was brought back for a second season. However, poor ratings throughout the second season led to the show's cancellation in September 2004, with the two last episodes of the season being left unaired in America. (the last episode to air in the show's original timeslot was broadcast on September 12, 2004). In the UK and Ireland, Sky One broadcast both seasons, in their entirety. In Germany, Das Erste HD broadcast both seasons, in their entirety, twice, once in 2006, and once in 2010, dubbed in German. In The Czech Republic, ČT1 broadcast both seasons, in their entirety, dubbed in Czech.

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
18March 9, 2003 (2003-03-09)May 4, 2003 (2003-05-04)
216February 4, 2004 (2004-02-04)September 12, 2004 (2004-09-12)

Season 1 (2003)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
11"A Day at the Beach"Michael SpillerStory by : Eric Abrams & Matthew Berry
Teleplay by : Howard Gewirtz		March 9, 2003 (2003-03-09)10313.79[1]
The Beenes hope to join a popular country club, while Oliver has a crush on a girl named Bonnie.
22"Home, a Loan"Jeff MelmanBill Callahan & Philip WenMarch 16, 2003 (2003-03-16)10610.97[2]
Jerry and Charlotte visit Jerry's old college friend, Mitch (Kurt Fuller), While Ted's friend Harvey (A. J. Trauth), gets him and Oliver in trouble with a creepy neighbor.
33"Space Race"Michael SpillerSteven LevitanMarch 30, 2003 (2003-03-30)10510.19[3]
Oliver finds himself in trouble after accidentally hurting a new black student at school.
44"The Nudie Mag"Jeff MelmanCarter Bays & Craig ThomasApril 6, 2003 (2003-04-06)1048.32[4]
Oliver may get in big trouble when he and Michael go looking for something in Michael's closet. They end up finding a porno mag belong to Michael's dad.
55"Lord of the Bees"Matt ShakmanChris HarrisApril 13, 2003 (2003-04-13)1119.37[5]
Oliver cheats on a test to beat Susan grade-wise.
66"Dancing Beene"Jeff MelmanCarter Bays & Craig ThomasApril 20, 2003 (2003-04-20)1096.80[6]
Oliver has a dream to become like Fred Astaire, so he takes a ballroom class. He later learns he can't dance at all.
77"Divorce-O-Rama"Jeff MelmanJace RichdaleApril 27, 2003 (2003-04-27)1027.87[7]
Oliver and Joyce try to get tickets to a TV show. Meanwhile, Oliver thinks his parents are getting a divorce after learning that Joyce's parents are headed for divorce.
88"Oliver's Best Friend"Lev L. SpiroJim Bernstein & Michael ShipleyMay 4, 2003 (2003-05-04)1109.25[8]
After convincing his parents to get him a dog, Oliver learns that having a dog is more trouble than he can handle.

Season 2 (2004)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
91"Dibs"Lev L. SpiroHoward Gewirtz & Steven LevitanFebruary 4, 2004 (2004-02-04)20210.62[9]
Oliver and Ted have a crush on the new girl in the neighborhood, named Elke (Maggie Grace). Meanwhile, Jerry and Charlotte try to get into an old club unaware that it's all about jazz and marijuana.
102"Soup to Nuts"Lev L. SpiroChris HarrisFebruary 8, 2004 (2004-02-08)2055.88[9]
On a school field trip Oliver loses his lunch due to the bus hitting a bump and spills on his lap with everyone thinking he's thrown up on himself.
113"Daughter for a Day"Lev L. SpiroJim Bernstein & Howard Gewirtz & Michael ShipleyFebruary 15, 2004 (2004-02-15)2084.78[10]
Oliver and Jerry do some father-and-son bonding for the day, while Charlotte feels left out and spends the day with Joyce hoping to know her better.
124"X-Ray Specs"Michael SpillerCarter Bays & Craig ThomasFebruary 22, 2004 (2004-02-22)2076.39[11]
Oliver orders X-Ray glasses from a comic book and finds out that they don't work. He decides to get revenge on Barnaby Rollins (Richard Kind) the company owner, in order to get his money back.
135"Ward Have Mercy"Matt ShakmanDavid M. SternMarch 7, 2004 (2004-03-07)2036.07[12]
Oliver creates a door knocker that Mr. Stitt (Ethan Phillips) does not approve of and instructs that it be removed. Charlotte gets help from Carl the building Superintendent (Kenneth Mars) on how to beat Mr. Stitt in the upcoming election.
146"Disposa Boy"Brent CarpenterKristofor BrownMarch 14, 2004 (2004-03-14)1075.24[13]

Oliver learns that he is going to the lowest level of the grade levels in his school because his former teacher Mrs. Heller punished him. So, Oliver tries to figure out how to get back to level one without taking the Iowa test. Meanwhile, Jerry tries to get people interested in his latest invention "The Disposa Toothbrush".

Note: This episode was originally produced for season 1.
157"Idol Chatter"Matt ShakmanStephen LloydJune 6, 2004 (2004-06-06)2062.67[14]
Jerry tries to out do his neighbors the O'Shaughnessy's by having a famous comedian entertaining the guests at the Beene party.
168"Oliver and the Otters"Michael SpillerCarter Bays & Craig ThomasJune 13, 2004 (2004-06-13)2093.33[15]
Oliver forms his own band called "Oliver and the Otters" to impress Bonnie. Meanwhile, Jerry asks Charlotte to fill in as his dental assistant after his previous one got hurt.
179"Kissing Babies"Jay ChandrasekharJim Bernstein & Michael ShipleyJune 20, 2004 (2004-06-20)2042.24[16]
Oliver is about to attend his first make-out party and seeks advice from Ted about the games that will be played there.
1810"Girly Dad"Marcos SiegaJace RichdaleJune 27, 2004 (2004-06-27)108N/A

Charlotte and Ted try to teach Jerry how to throw a ball... in a more manly fashion.

Note: Originally produced for season 1, this episode was seen only on West Coast stations as the 7:00 timeslot was pre-empted by NASCAR coverage on Fox.
1911"Fallout"Jeff MelmanHoward GewirtzAugust 15, 2004 (2004-08-15)1012.35[17]

Oliver tries out for the annual talent show hoping he can impress Bonnie. Meanwhile, Jerry turns the basement into a fallout shelter as a 15-anniversary present for Charlotte.

Note: This is the pilot episode of the series.
2012"Catskills"Michael SpillerJim Bernstein & Michael ShipleyAugust 22, 2004 (2004-08-22)2132.40[18]
Charlotte is desperate for some time with her family so she decides to take her family to the Catskills Mountains.
2113"A Trip to Coney Island"Jeff MelmanCarter Bays & Craig ThomasAugust 29, 2004 (2004-08-29)2012.89[19]
Jerry and his family decide to take a trip to Coney Island. The vacation causes a feud to spark between Jerry and his neighbor over a parking spot. Meanwhile, Oliver gets his dream job of being a paper boy, But realizes that it's not all that it's cracked up to be.
2214"Babysitting"Howard GewirtzBrenda HsuehSeptember 12, 2004 (2004-09-12)211N/A

Oliver is conned into baby-sitting for Joyce, but she gets more than she bargained for when Oliver steals her steady job.

Note: This episode was seen only on West Coast stations as the 7:00 timeslot was pre-empted by NFL coverage on Fox.
2315"Superhero"Joe PennellaDavid M. Stern & Chris HarrisUnaired (Unaired)210N/A
Oliver can never seem to take a good photo and therefore hates picture day. This year he is determined to take control of the situation and do things on his terms, so he wears a superhero costume as a method of protest. Meanwhile, Ted learns that his baseball coach (Sam Horrigan) is dating Elke.
2416"The King & I"Fred SavageStephen LloydUnaired (Unaired)212N/A
The owner of a sports store offers Ted all that he wants from the store. But to get it, he must go out with the owner's daughter.

References

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  1. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (March 3–9)". The Los Angeles Times. March 12, 2003. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. 
  2. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (March 10–16)". The Los Angeles Times. March 19, 2003. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. 
  3. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (March 24–30)". The Los Angeles Times. April 2, 2003. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. 
  4. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (March 31-April 6)". The Los Angeles Times. April 9, 2003. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. 
  5. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (April 7–13)". The Los Angeles Times. April 23, 2003. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. 
  6. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (April 14–20)". The Los Angeles Times. April 23, 2003. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. 
  7. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (April 21–27)". The Los Angeles Times. April 30, 2003. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. 
  8. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (April 28-May 4)". The Los Angeles Times. May 7, 2003. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. 
  9. ^ a b "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 2-8)". The Los Angeles Times. February 11, 2004. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. 
  10. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 9-15)". The Los Angeles Times. February 20, 2004. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. 
  11. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings (Feb. 16-22)". ABC Medianet. February 24, 2004. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  12. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings (Mar. 1-7)". ABC Medianet. March 9, 2004. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  13. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings (Mar. 8-14)". ABC Medianet. March 16, 2004. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  14. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings (May 31-Jun. 6)". ABC Medianet. June 8, 2004. Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  15. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (June 7–13)". The Los Angeles Times. June 16, 2004. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
  16. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (June 14–20)". The Los Angeles Times. June 23, 2004. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
  17. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Aug. 9–15)". The Los Angeles Times. August 18, 2004. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
  18. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Aug. 16–22)". The Los Angeles Times. August 25, 2004. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
  19. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Aug. 23–29)". The Los Angeles Times. September 1, 2004. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
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