Carter Country

Carter Country is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 15, 1977 to August 23, 1979. It starred Victor French and Kene Holliday. A young Melanie Griffith appeared in two episodes.

Not to be confused with Carter County.
Carter Country
Victor French and Kene Holliday.
GenreSitcom
Created byPhil Doran
Douglas Arango
Developed byBud Yorkin
Saul Turteltaub
Bernie Orenstein
Written byDouglas Arango
Phil Doran
David Garber
Kevin Hartigan
Barry Meadow
Directed byPeter Baldwin
Bud Yorkin
StarringVictor French
Kene Holliday
Richard Paul
Harvey Vernon
Barbara Cason
Vernee Watson
ComposerPete Rugolo
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes44
Production
Executive producersAustin Kalish
Irma Kalish
Bernie Orenstein
Saul Turteltaub
Bud Yorkin
ProducerDouglas Arango
Production companyTurteltaub-Orenstein-Yorkin Productions (TOY)
DistributorColumbia Pictures Television
Release
Original networkABC
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseSeptember 15, 1977 (1977-09-15) –
August 23, 1979 (1979-08-23)

Synopsis

Carter Country is set in the fictional small town of Clinton Corners in Georgia (presumably near the part of the state from which U.S. President Jimmy Carter hailed, thus the title) and features French as police chief Roy Mobey and Holliday as city-bred, college-educated, Sergeant Curtis Baker.

Richard Paul as Mayor Teddy Burnside, Harvey Vernon as racist officer Jasper DeWitt, and Barbara Cason as town employee Cloris Phebus rounded out the cast. DeWitt was shown to be a member of the local branch of the Ku Klux Klan and he often made disparaging comments against minorities, but was still a loyal and honest law enforcement officer. In several episodes it is hinted that his racist attitude is an act and that he joined the KKK in order to keep an eye on their activities. Additional comic support was provided by Texas-born actor Guich Koock who played the part of goofy deputy Harley. Vernee Watson rounded out the cast as the mayor's educated secretary and a love interest for Baker. The plot centered around the stereotypical racism of the Deep South, and was often characterized as being an irreverent, comedic version of the movie In the Heat of the Night, especially with the aspect of an educated, African American man coming to a small, southern town to work as a police officer.[1]

The character of Mayor Burnside coined a minor catchphrase with his manic "Handle it, Roy, handle it!", used when delegating various details to Chief Mobey such as fixing a parking ticket. If Mobey protested or asked any further questions, Burnside would stifle further discussion with a dismissive hand gesture and a further "Handle it, handle it, handle it!"

Burnside often introduced himself to members of the public as "Teddy Burnside, your mayor by a landslide."

Ratings

The first season ranked 32nd out of 104 shows, and averaged a 19.6 rating.[2] The second season ranked 70th out of 114 shows, with an average 15.6/27 rating/share.[3]

In Pop Culture

Mayor Burnside's catchphrase "Handle it, Roy, handle it!" was repeated by rapper Greg Nice for the 1992 Gang Starr/Nice & Smooth hip hop song DWYCK.[4]

Episodes

Season 1: 1977–78
Nº Ep Title Directed by Written by Original air date
11"Hail to the Chief"Bud YorkinDouglas Arango & Phil DoranSeptember 15, 1977 (1977-09-15)
22"Beating the Pounds"Peter BaldwinAl Gordon & Jack MendelsohnSeptember 22, 1977 (1977-09-22)
33"Out of the Closet"Peter BaldwinDouglas Arango & Phil DoranSeptember 29, 1977 (1977-09-29)
44"The Fireside Burnside Budget Chat"Peter BaldwinGeorge Arthur BloomOctober 6, 1977 (1977-10-06)
55"Baker Buys a House: Part 1"Peter BaldwinS : Mark Fink;
T : Al Gordon & Jack Mendelsohn		October 20, 1977 (1977-10-20)
66"Baker Buys a House: Part 2"Peter BaldwinS : Mark Fink;
T : Al Gordon & Jack Mendelsohn		October 27, 1977 (1977-10-27)
77"Bye, Bye Baker"Peter BaldwinKevin Hartigan & David GarberNovember 3, 1977 (1977-11-03)
88"Senior Citizen Siege"Peter BaldwinKevin Hartigan & David GarberNovember 17, 1977 (1977-11-17)
99"Chicks and Turkeys"Peter BaldwinDavid Pollock & Elias DavisNovember 24, 1977 (1977-11-24)
1010"Chief to Chief"Peter BaldwinTBADecember 1, 1977 (1977-12-01)
1111"Union vs. the Confederacy"Peter BaldwinTBADecember 8, 1977 (1977-12-08)
1212"A-Hunting We Will Go"Peter BaldwinTBADecember 15, 1977 (1977-12-15)
1313"By the Light of the Moonlight"Peter BaldwinTBADecember 22, 1977 (1977-12-22)
1414"The Physical"Peter BaldwinTBAJanuary 5, 1978 (1978-01-05)
1515"Roy's Separation"Peter BaldwinTBAJanuary 12, 1978 (1978-01-12)
1616"Red Armstrong, Goodbye"Peter BaldwinTBAJanuary 19, 1978 (1978-01-19)
1717"Ballots for Burnside"Peter BaldwinTBAJanuary 26, 1978 (1978-01-26)
1818"The Chief's Dressing Down"Peter BaldwinTBAFebruary 2, 1978 (1978-02-02)
1919"All About Floyd"Peter BaldwinTBAFebruary 9, 1978 (1978-02-09)
2020"Roy Pays His Taxes"Peter BaldwinTBAFebruary 23, 1978 (1978-02-23)
2121"Roy's Encounter"Peter BaldwinAlan Eisenstock & Larry MintzMay 9, 1978 (1978-05-09)
2222"Baker Saves a Life"Peter BaldwinMort Scharfman & Harvey WeitzmanMay 16, 1978 (1978-05-16)

Season 2: 1978–79
Nº Ep Title Directed by Written by Original air date
231"One of Our Chiefs Is Missing"Peter BaldwinAustin & Irma KalishSeptember 23, 1978 (1978-09-23)
242"The Tracy Report"Peter BaldwinMort Scharfman & Harvey WeitzmanSeptember 30, 1978 (1978-09-30)
253"The Selling of the Mayor: Part 1"Peter BaldwinPhil Doran & Douglas ArangoOctober 21, 1978 (1978-10-21)
264"The Selling of the Mayor: Part 2"Peter BaldwinPhil Doran & Douglas ArangoOctober 28, 1978 (1978-10-28)
275"Poor Butterfly"Peter BaldwinMarty Brill & Barry MeadowNovember 11, 1978 (1978-11-11)
286"Gambler's Unanimous"Peter BaldwinMark FinkNovember 25, 1978 (1978-11-25)
297"Roy Makes the Grade"Peter BaldwinHaskell BarkinDecember 2, 1978 (1978-12-02)
308"Hurricane Jasper"Peter BaldwinS : Jack Turley;
S/T : Martin Rips & Joseph Staretski		December 16, 1978 (1978-12-16)
319"Firing of a Harley"Peter BaldwinSaul Turteltaub & Bernie OrensteinDecember 23, 1978 (1978-12-23)
3210"Owed to Billy Joe"Peter BaldwinMichael S. Baser & Kim WeiskopfJanuary 6, 1979 (1979-01-06)
3311"The Russians Are Coming"Gary ShimokawaDavid Braff & Nick ThielJanuary 13, 1979 (1979-01-13)
3412"Happy Anniversary"Peter BaldwinBruce Kalish & Philip John TaylorMarch 29, 1979 (1979-03-29)
3513"Teddy the Tiger"Peter BaldwinPhil Doran & Douglas ArangoApril 5, 1979 (1979-04-05)
3614"New Kid in Town"Peter BaldwinAustin & Irma KalishApril 12, 1979 (1979-04-12)
3715"Baker's First Day"Peter BaldwinMort Scharfman & Harvey WeitzmanApril 19, 1979 (1979-04-19)
3816"The Last Dinosaur"Peter BaldwinMichael S. Baser & Kim WeiskopfApril 26, 1979 (1979-04-26)
3917"The Big Move: Part 1"Peter BaldwinMark FinkMay 10, 1979 (1979-05-10)
4018"The Big Move: Part 2"Peter BaldwinMichael S. Baser & Kim WeiskopfMay 17, 1979 (1979-05-17)
4119"The Big Move: Part 3"Peter BaldwinRichard PowellMay 24, 1979 (1979-05-24)
4220"Teddy's Folly"Peter BaldwinPhil Doran & Douglas ArangoMay 31, 1979 (1979-05-31)
4321"The Prisoner of Clinton Corners"Peter BaldwinMort Scharfman & Harvey WeitzmanJune 7, 1979 (1979-06-07)
4422"The Abominable Showman"Peter BaldwinMort Scharfman & Harvey WeitzmanJune 21, 1979 (1979-06-21)

References
  1. "Carter Country". TV Guide. OpenGate Capital(magazine) CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  2. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/78-OCR/1978-05-01-BC-OCR-Page-0036.pdf
  3. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/79-OCR/BC-1979-06-18-OCR-Page-0056.pdf#search=%22rounding%20up%20the%20ratings%22
  4. https://www.whosampled.com/sample/623193/Gang-Starr-Nice-%26-Smooth-DWYCK-Carter-Country-Handle-It,-Roy/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.