Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (TV series)

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is an American sitcom broadcast in the United States by ABC as part of its 1973 fall lineup. It was based on the 1969 movie of the same title, and produced by Frankovich Enterprises in association with Screen Gems. Only seven episodes were aired before the series was canceled.

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Main cast photo
Genre	Sitcom
Based on	Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice by Paul Mazursky & Larry Tucker
Developed by	Larry Rosen
Written by	James S. Henerson Bernard M. Kahn
Directed by	Rick Edelstein Leo Penn
Starring	Robert Urich Anne Archer David Spielberg Anita Gillette
Composer	Artie Butler
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	12 (5 unaired)
Production
Producer	James S. Henerson
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Frankovich Enterprises Screen Gems
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 26 (1973-09-26) – November 7, 1973 (1973-11-07)
Related
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice was of necessity somewhat different from the R-rated movie upon which it was based. The film involved sexual liberation, and featured the (short-lived) desire of the two title couples to engage in extramarital affairs, mate-swapping and group sex, all of which would have been unacceptable on U.S. broadcast television in 1973 under the network's Division of Standards and Practices. However, the TV series depicted skinny dipping, premarital sex, and unmarried couples cohabiting, which were still thought by many to be racy topics for network television at the time. As with the film, Ted and Alice Henderson were more conservative than the "liberated" Bob and Carol Sanders. No members of the original film cast reprised their roles in the series.

Reception

Scheduled opposite CBS's Top 10 hit The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and NBC's Top 30 hit Adam-12, the series earned very low Nielsen ratings, and was canceled less than two months after its premiere.

The show is perhaps best remembered for featuring a then eleven-year-old Jodie Foster as Ted and Alice's daughter. (This differed from the movie version where the characters had a son.)

Cast

• Robert Urich as Bob Sanders
• Anne Archer as Carol Sanders
• David Spielberg as Ted Henderson
• Anita Gillette as Alice Henderson
• Brad Savage as Sean Sanders
• Jodie Foster as Elizabeth Henderson

Episode list

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Can I Help It If She's Crazy About Me?"	Rick Edelstein	David Lloyd	September 26, 1973 (1973-09-26)
2	"Alice's Wild Oat"	Rick Edelstein	Bernie Kahn	October 3, 1973 (1973-10-03)
3	"Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice"	Leo Penn	Larry Tucker	October 10, 1973 (1973-10-10)
4	"I'm Not Jealous, Only Curious"	Rick Edelstein	James S. Henerson	October 17, 1973 (1973-10-17)
5	"Open Marriage, Closed Mind"	Rick Edelstein	David Lloyd	October 24, 1973 (1973-10-24)
6	"Nobody Wants to Talk About It"	Rick Edelstein	Rick Mittleman	October 31, 1973 (1973-10-31)
7	"The Bare Truth Hurts"	Rick Edelstein	Gene Thompson	November 7, 1973 (1973-11-07)
8	"Such Good Friends"	Rick Edelstein	Karyl Geld	Unaired*
9	"Walk a Mile in My Clogs"	Rick Edelstein	Ron Friedman	Unaired*
10	"Double, Double, Doyle & Trouble"	Rick Edelstein	David Lloyd	Unaired*
11	"Inadmissible Evidence"	Rick Edelstein	George Atkins	Unaired*
12	"My Butcher Is a Thief"	Rick Edelstein	Michael Weinberger & James Ritz	Unaired*

*These episodes finally appeared on USA Network, with the rest of the series, in 1984.

References

• Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, (2007) The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, Ballantine Books, p. 159 Retrieved July 19, 2024.

External links

• Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice at IMDb