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Charles in Charge: Season 2
Arguably the most prolific form a television show can take is the situational comedy or as it is more commonly referred to sit-com. It was around in the dim beginnings of the medium right through to the current programming series exploiting the particulars of the medical or legal professions may come and go but there is always room on the programming schedule for a light hearted half hour comedy featuring the wacky antics of an American family and their inevitably bizarre friends and neighbors. There was a phase that this format went through were the object was to infuse satire as a form of social commentary but for the most part the venerable sit-com is the pair of fuzzy slippers on a chilly winter’s night; hardly substantial but nice to have around. ‘Charles in Charge’ filled that social need helping people cope with the turbulence that defined the eighties. From 194 through 1990 it provided a half an hour of silly fun suitable for the entire family. In keeping with the objective of easy going entertainment the foundation of the series is a premise that is both simplistic while affording the writers a variety of potential story lines and themes to explore. Charles memorably portrayed by Scott Baio is a struggling college student. He is exceptionally resourceful who devises an imaginative solution to the two main concerns of a college student; affordable room and board and employment with flexible hours. He moves in with a middle class family to serve as housekeeper and babysitter for their three children. As a premise for a sit-com I have to say that as sit-com premises go this one had a more natural feel to it. It also allowed the writers a wide amount of latitude in their plots. They were able to range from typical household comic mayhem to college antics that will bring in the teen viewers. The age range of the children provided a fertile ground for episodes dealing with the torment of growing up and the ever popular schemes to fool the resident grown-ups. The series found its initial year consistently on the bubble of cancellation. Utilizing a fairly popular ploy the show did find a more successful time of it under the less demanding venue of first run syndication. It helped that the series included Scholastic Productions as a production along with Universal Television. After the mediocre ratings the producers did mandate a reworking of the premise; just enough to provide a little shine going forward. The first alteration was to lighten up on the uptight nerd persona originally assigned to Charles. Starting with the second season reviewed here the character is still by necessity bound by obligations that he takes seriously but the allowed him incorporate normal college endeavors such as being attracted to beautiful co-eds. Of course the extent of the involvement is usually pretty tame with a little eighties style tease now and then. In this regard Charles is usually pushed into problems by his slacker best friend, Buddy Lembeck (Willie Aames). He provides the comic counterpoint to the responsible Charles. Buddy lives to stalk the young ladies on the campus in as college that would seem to be more concerned with how attractive a perspective student is than those minor details such as grade point average or SATs. One of the biggest changes has become a humorous piece of pop culture trivia. Between the first and second seasons Charles, like most students, was on summer vacation. When he returned expecting to pick where he left off he discovers the Pembroke family that employed him picked up and moved to Seattle. Fortunately the new residents, the Powells are also in need of his services. Ellen Powell (Sandra Kerns) is raising three children; teenager Jamie (Nicole Eggert) typically studious middle child Sarah (Josie Davis) and rambunctious youngest Adam (Alexander Polinsky). As Ellen’s husband is in the military she needs Charles to help out as the only adult around is retired Navy man, her father-in-law Walter (James T. Callahan). It doesn’t seem right that a human being be considered part of a house closing and in truth the writers do work around this but I always wondered about the ad for the house; ‘3 bedrooms, two and a half baths, central air, modern kitchen, spare room complete with pre-installed college student for housework.’ The revamp worked in as much as the show did last five seasons and become part of the pop culture landscape as the epitome of the eighties sit-com. This was about the time evening television programmers gave thought to the youth demographic. The Vietnam War was over bringing an end to anti-war protesters so students had time to hang out and watch TV. During the transitional new pilot Buddy makes an attempt to get Charles
reconsider the offer to stay with the new family in favor of the freewheeling
life style of dorm life. In what quickly became the standard plot point Charles
is somewhat tempter but responsibility wind out. He is as much a slave to duty
as Fredrick in Pirates of Penzance. Just as Buddy balancers this quality in
Charles the kids reflect the same dynamic developed between Jamie and Sarah with
the younger one’s dedication to her studies and socially relevant causes with
Jamie, fully in the grip of a teen’s quest for popularity. Keeping Charles
ground but still hormonally driven to a normal extent permits a parade of young
female guest stars. A typical example is found in an episode where Charles
crushes on an art student taking a class in drawing to have something in common
with her. The problem would only be this big a deal on a sit-com is when Charles
finds out that the young lady earns her money posing nude for the class Charles
enrolled in. the difficulty arises when pre teen Adam accompanies Charles to the
class much to the chagrin of his Posted 02/25/11 | ||||||||
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