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A Year in the Life is an American television drama series that began as a three-part miniseries which was first broadcast in December 1986 and later ran as a weekly series on NBC from September 16, 1987 to April 13, 1988. It was created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, who had previously created the critically acclaimed series St. Elsewhere, also for NBC.
| A Year in the Life | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Joshua Brand John Falsey |
| Developed by | Stu Kreiger |
| Starring | Richard Kiley Jayne Atkinson Adam Arkin David Oliver Sarah Jessica Parker Amanda Peterson Wendy Phillips Morgan Stevens Diana Muldaur |
| Composer | David McHugh |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 22 + miniseries |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | Falahey/Austin Street Productions Universal Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | December 15, 1986 – April 13, 1988 |
As suggested by the title, the miniseries followed the various members of the Gardner family of Seattle during the course of one year. The major event of that year was the sudden and unexpected death of wife and mother Ruth Gardner (Eva Marie Saint). Following the success of the miniseries, NBC decided to launch a one-hour drama series the following fall.
Richard Kiley played Joe Gardner, owner of a successful plastics business and father of four adult children. The children were twice-divorced daughter Anne (Wendy Phillips), who had returned home with her two teenaged children; daughter Lindley (Jayne Atkinson) and husband Jim (Adam Arkin), parents of a newborn baby daughter; black sheep son Jack (Morgan Stevens); and conservative youngest son Sam (David Oliver), married to free-spirited Kay (Sarah Jessica Parker). Diana Muldaur was a later addition to the cast as Dr. Alice Foley, Joe Gardner's new romantic interest. Amanda Peterson played Joe Gardner's granddaughter Sunny Sisk and Trey Ames played Gardner's grandson, David Sisk.
The miniseries was the third-highest rated miniseries of the 1986–87 US television season with a 16.9/27 rating/share.[1]
The series ran for one complete season, but brought in low ratings and was not renewed for a second season, ranking 63rd with an average 11.9 rating.[2]
- Richard Kiley as Joe Gardner
- Eva Marie Saint as Ruth Gardner (although the family matriarch, she only appears in the first episode of the miniseries)
- Wendy Phillips as Anne Gardner Maxwell
- Jayne Atkinson as Lindley Gardner Eisenberg
- Adam Arkin as Jim Eisenberg
- Morgan Stevens as Jack Gardner
- David Oliver as Sam Gardner
- Sarah Jessica Parker as Kay Ericson Gardner
- Diana Muldaur as Dr. Alice Foley
- Amanda Peterson as Sunny Sisk
- Trey Ames as David Sisk
Miniseries (1986)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part–1 | "The First Christmas" | Thomas Carter | Joshua Brand & John Falsey | December 15, 1986 |
| Part–2 | "Springtime/Autumn" | Thomas Carter | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey (Autumn) Teleplay by : Stu Krieger Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey (Springtime) Teleplay by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey and Bruce Franklin Singer | December 16, 1986 |
| Part–3 | "Christmas '86" | Thomas Carter | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Stu Krieger | December 17, 1986 |
Series
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Don't I Know You From Somewhere?" | Thomas Carter | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Robin Green | September 16, 1987 |
| 2 | "Things You Should Know Before and After" | Michael Toshiyuki Uno | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Stu Krieger | September 23, 1987 |
| 3 | "What Do You Think Love Is?" | Michael Ray Rhodes | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Josef Anderson | September 30, 1987 |
| 4 | "What Do People Do All Day?" | Jack Bender | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Pamela Douglas | October 21, 1987 |
| 5 | "Dixie Chicken" | Michael Toshiyuki Uno | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Frederick Rappaport | October 28, 1987 |
| 6 | "EM7, Raiders Minus 3 and a Half for a Nickel" | Unknown | Unknown | November 4, 1987 |
| 7 | "Acts of Faith" | Kevin Hooks | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : David Chisholm | November 11, 1987 |
| 8 | "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities" | Kevin Hooks | Teleplay by : Barbara Hall Television Story by: Joshua Brand & John Falsey (Suggested from a Story by Debra McConnell) | November 18, 1987 |
| 9 | "So Much Water So Close to Home" | Helaine Head | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Jeff Baron | November 25, 1987 |
| 10 | "I Think You Know Something I Don't Know" | Arthur Allen Seidelman | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Barbara Hall | December 2, 1987 |
| 11 | "While Someone Else is Sleeping or Opening a Window" | Rob Cohen | Teleplay by : James Kearns Television Story by: Joshua Brand & John Falsey (Suggested from a Story by Andre Dubus) | December 16, 1987 |
| 12 | "The Little Disturbance of Man" | Mimi Lender | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Robin Green | January 6, 1988 |
| 13 | "Sometimes It's Hard to Remember" | Stephen Cragg | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : James Kearns | January 13, 1988 |
| 14 | "At the Last Moment, Enormous Changes" | Gabrielle Beaumount | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey and Barbara Hall Teleplay by : Barbara Hall | January 20, 1988 |
| 15 | "Goodbye to All That" | Helaine Head | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Nick Harding | February 3, 1988 |
| 16 | "The Go-Between" | Michael Ray Rhodes | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Doris Silverton | February 10, 1988 |
| 17 | "Fathers and Other Strangers" | Kim Friedman | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Thom Thomas | February 17, 1988 |
| 18 | "Common Ground" | Gabrielle Beaumount | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Susan Black | March 9, 1988 |
| 19 | "Glory Days" | Mimi Lender | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : Nick Harding | March 16, 1988 |
| 20 | "The Politics of Being" | Joel Oliansky | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey Teleplay by : David Assael | March 23, 1988 |
| 21 | "Peter Creek Road" | Michael Ray Rhodes | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey & Robin Green Teleplay by : Robin Green | April 6, 1988 |
| 22 | "Love Mother" | Joshua Brand | Story by : Joshua Brand & John Falsey & Barbara Hall Teleplay by : Barbara Hall | April 13, 1988 |
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