Mr. Smith (TV series)

Mr. Smith is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 23 through December 16, 1983. The title character was a talking orangutan. Mr. Smith was canceled after thirteen episodes had been aired.

Mr. Smith
Promotional photo for Mr. Smith
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Stan Daniels Ed. Weinberger
Written by	Dari Daniels George Kirgo David Lloyd Douglas Wyman
Directed by	Stan Daniels Ralph Helfer Gerald Hirschfeld Ed. Weinberger
Starring	Leonard Frey Tim Dunigan Terri Garber Laura Jacoby Stuart Margolin
Voices of	Ed. Weinberger
Composer	Patrick Williams
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producers	Stan Daniels Ed. Weinberger
Producer	Ralph Helfer
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Weinberger/Daniels Productions Paramount Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 23 (1983-09-23) – December 16, 1983 (1983-12-16)

The orangutan who played Mr. Smith had previously been featured in the 1978 film Every Which Way But Loose and its 1980 sequel Any Which Way You Can.^[1]

Synopsis

Originally a part of a traveling act called the Atwood Orangutans, Cha Cha and Bobo are separated from their trainer Tommy Atwood (Tim Dunigan) after he is knocked unconscious in a car accident while the act is traveling from Arizona to California. Frightened by the commotion caused by the accident, Cha Cha and Bobo both run away. Cha Cha is eventually found and sent to a government research center in Washington, D.C.. Weeks later, Cha Cha escapes from the center and ends up in a research lab where he finds an experimental mixture to increase human intelligence being developed. After drinking the mixture, Cha Cha is able to talk (his voice was provided by series executive producer Ed. Weinberger)^[2] and is later determined to have an I.Q of 256. He is then renamed Mr. Smith and, due to his high intelligence, becomes a political adviser. Mr. Smith's old trainer Tommy later becomes his assistant while Mr. Smith attempts to solve various political problems and his surrounding staff, which includes his secretary Raymond Holyoke (Leonard Frey), attempt to keep his identity hidden from the general public.

Mr. Smith's premiere episode brought in a weak 12.1/22 rating/share and ranked 47th out of 57 shows that week ^[3] and was panned by critics. Viewership decreased as the season progressed and the series was canceled (along with seven other NBC series) in December 1983.^[4][5]

Cast

• Leonard Frey as Raymond Holyoke
• Tim Dunigan as Tommy Atwood
• Terri Garber as Dr. July Tyson
• Laura Jacoby as Ellie Atwood
• Stuart Margolin as Dr. Klein

US television ratings

Season	Episodes	Start Date	End Date	Nielsen Rank	Nielsen Rating[6]	Tied With
1983-84	13	September 23, 1983	December 16, 1983	95	9.8	N/A

Episode list

Nº	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1 2	"Welcome to Washington"	Unknown	Unknown	September 23, 1983 (1983-09-23)
3	"Mr. Smith Finds His Brother"	Unknown	Unknown	September 30, 1983 (1983-09-30)
4	"Mr. Smith Operates"	Ed. Weinberger	David Lloyd	October 14, 1983 (1983-10-14)
5	"Mr. Smith Rescues Bobo"	Gerald Hirschfeld	Al Aidekman	October 21, 1983 (1983-10-21)
6	"Mr. Smith Falls in Love"	Gerald Hirschfeld	David Lloyd	October 28, 1983 (1983-10-28)
7	"Mr. Smith Gets Physical"	Unknown	Unknown	November 4, 1983 (1983-11-04)
8	"Goodbye, Mr. Smith"	Unknown	Unknown	November 11, 1983 (1983-11-11)
9	"Mr. Smith Loses a Friend"	Unknown	Unknown	November 18, 1983 (1983-11-18)
10	"Mr. Smith Plays Cyrano"	Unknown	Unknown	November 25, 1983 (1983-11-25)
11	"Mr. Smith Makes a Commercial"	Unknown	Unknown	December 2, 1983 (1983-12-02)
12	"Mr. Smith Goes Public"	Unknown	Unknown	December 16, 1983 (1983-12-16)
13	"Mr. Smith Goes to Court"	TBD	TBD	1983 (1983) or Unaired?

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
1984	Emmy Award	Nominated	Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)	Patrick Williams (For episode "Mr. Smith Falls in Love")
1984	Young Artist Awards	Nominated	Best Young Actress in a New Television Series	Laura Jacoby
		Nominated	Best New Television Series	-
1985		Nominated	Best Young Actress in a Television Comedy Series	Laura Jacoby

References

1. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 789. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
2. Brant, Marley (2006). Happier Days: Paramount Television's Classic Sitcoms, 1974-1984. Billboard Books. p. 260. ISBN 0-8230-8933-9.
3. "10 Of The Most Outlandish TV Concepts Ever - TVObscurities". Television Obscurities. 16 August 2009. Retrieved Aug 8, 2021.
4. "Television Obscurities - 10 Of The Most Outlandish TV Concepts Ever". tvobscurities.com. 2004-01-01. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
5. Shah, Diane K. (1987-10-25). "Starting Over: TV's Grant Tinker". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
6. "1983-84 Ratings History -- The Networks Are Awash in a Bubble Bath of Soaps". Archived from the original on December 5, 2017.

External links

• Mr. Smith at IMDb