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The Trouble with Tracy is a Canadian television series produced by CTV for the 1970–1971 television season, with intended distribution by the U.S.-based National General Pictures. The series was based on scripts from the American radio comedy Easy Aces (1930–1945), written by Goodman Ace.[1] It is considered by some to be one of the worst situation comedies ever produced.[1]
| The Trouble with Tracy | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Goodman Ace |
| Directed by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Composers | |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| No. of episodes | 130 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Murray Chercover |
| Producer | Seymour Berns |
| Production location | CFTO-TV Toronto Studios |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | CTV National General Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | CTV |
| Release | 1970 – 1971 |
The series was produced as a daily show and aired on weekday afternoons at 3:30 pm, beginning September 14, 1970.[2]
130 episodes—seven episodes filmed every five days—were produced. The series was notable for its low production values. Errors, including flubbed lines and bloopers, often appeared in the final broadcasts due to the lack of budget for retakes. The series used a laugh track instead of a live studio audience.
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The Trouble with Tracy was filmed in Toronto at the studios of CFTO-TV. The series was set in New York City and centered on a newlywed couple, Tracy Sherwood Young (Diane Nyland)[3] and Doug Young (Steve Weston). Tracy, portrayed as cheerful and prone to malapropisms, often wore mini-skirts and was portrayed as naive and literal-minded. Doug was an advertising executive who frequently found himself exasperated by Tracy’s well-intentioned but often problematic attempts to be helpful.
Episodes typically took place in the Youngs' apartment or Doug's workplace, often narrated by Doug. The storylines usually revolved around the complications caused by Tracy’s behavior, which affected Doug at home, work, or in social settings. Despite these challenges, the couple always reconciled by the end of each episode.
Other regular characters included:
- Paul Sherwood (Franz Russell) - Tracy's hippie brother, known for his schemes to make money, often involving Tracy, and for frequently borrowing from Doug.
- Mrs. Sherwood (Sylvia Lennick) - Tracy's critical mother.
- Tony Marshall (Arch McDonnell) - The Youngs' friendly neighbor and a writer.
- Mr. Jonathan Norris (Ben Lennick) - Doug's demanding boss.
- Sally Anderson (Bonnie Brooks) - Tracy's ditsy cousin and Doug's often irritating secretary.[4]
Initially, the show's pilot was titled The Married Youngs as a wordplay on The Young Marrieds, referencing the couple's surname. The title was later changed to The Trouble with Tracy by producer Seymour Berns, inspired by his daughter, Tracy.[1]
The show aired Monday to Friday, producing 130 episodes during its original run. These episodes were later rerun in afternoon time slots well into the 1970s.
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 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2023) |
The Trouble with Tracy is often considered to have been produced solely to fulfill the requirements of the Canadian content regulations. Cultural critics, including Geoff Pevere, have noted that despite its lack of success, the series represents one of the early attempts to produce a scripted television program within the financial limitations of Canadian television production at the time.[1]
At the time of the series’ production, American television networks had the financial resources and diverse programming portfolios to absorb losses by canceling underperforming shows early. CTV, facing financial challenges and limited national reach compared to CBC Television, was compelled to air the full series to recover its investment. The network had only recently emerged from near-bankruptcy in 1965 and operated as a cooperative of its affiliated stations. This structure required network programming to be funded and produced by individual stations, akin to models seen in PBS in the United States or ITV in the United Kingdom, rather than the centralized approach of modern commercial networks.
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In his book TV North: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Canadian Television, Peter Kenter described The Trouble with Tracy as "universally considered the worst Canadian TV show of all time, especially by those who have never seen it." Despite its reputation, the show gained a cult following, particularly among viewers who discovered it as teenagers, with reruns continuing into the 1990s. These reruns often aired in early morning time slots, such as before Canada AM, as a cost-effective way to fill broadcast schedules.
The Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies featured a song called "The Trouble With Tracy" on one of their early demo tapes in 1988. Apart from the title, the song had no connection to the television show.
In March 2003, The Comedy Network announced plans to air a pilot for a new version of The Trouble with Tracy, based on the original scripts.[5] The pilot, scheduled for April 1, 2003, was intended to lead to a 13-episode series starring Laurie Elliott as Tracy and David Lipovitch as Doug.[6] A press conference was held, during which Elliott, Lipovitch, and Diane Nyland participated in interviews and other promotional activities.[7]
The entire campaign was revealed to be an April Fools' Day prank. The "pilot" consisted only of a brief introduction leading into an episode of The Gavin Crawford Show.[7] The prank caught some media outlets by surprise, including the Toronto Star and Canada AM, which had reported on the revival plans as if they were genuine.
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- The Starlost – another Canadian-produced series that faced similar budgetary and production challenges.
- List of sitcoms notable for negative reception
- Old time radio
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