Joshua Goodwin Movies
- 1986
After ABC cancelled the genial sitcom Too Close for Comfort in the fall of 1983, production actually continued beyond its fourth season. A fifth season, spanning January 1984 through September 1985, aired under the same title as the original series, in first-run syndication; then, in spring 1986, a spin-off (of sorts) appeared, also in first-run syndication. While not officially a sixth season of Comfort, it did feature several of the same principals and characters, yet all were transferred to a new setting and premise. The late Ted Knight returned as cartoonist Henry Rush (the creator of 'Cosmic Cow'), and Nancy Dussault as his photographer wife Muriel, the venerable Jm. J. Bullock as the goofball Monroe Ficus, and Joshua Goodwin as Muriel and Henry's young son, Andrew. But gone were the two Rush daughters, Jackie and Sara (Deborah Van Valkenburgh and Lydia Cornell left the cast)). As this series opened, The Rushes had moved out of San Francisco. Henry, it seems, had abandoned his job as an illustrator to purchase 49% of 'The Marin Bugler,' a weekly newspaper in Mill Valley, California, north of Frisco; Muriel took on work as a staff photographer for the paper, while former security guard Monroe - having graduated from college - assisted Henry at the Bugler. On hand for the first time were Lisa (Lisa Antille), the Rushes' Hispanic maid, and Hope Stinson, the publisher of the newspaper.
This program ran in syndication from April 1986 through September 1986, and a second season was all scripted and set to go into production. Sadly, this never occurred, as Ted Knight (who had been seriously ill for some time) died during the summer of 1986. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
This program ran in syndication from April 1986 through September 1986, and a second season was all scripted and set to go into production. Sadly, this never occurred, as Ted Knight (who had been seriously ill for some time) died during the summer of 1986. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Knight, Nancy Dussault, (more)
- 1985
Despite its cancellation by ABC at the end of the 1982-1983 TV season, the Britain-inspired sitcom Too Close for Comfort proved immensely successful when it was retooled as a first-run syndicated program and sold to individual stations and sponsors rather than telecast by a single network. As a result, the series was renewed for another season's worth of "syndie" episodes -- and that still wasn't the end of the story. The basic premise remains as ever: a conservative newspaper cartoonist named Henry Rush agonizes over the well-being of his toothsome daughters Jackie and Sara, who live in the lower apartment in the townhouse owned by Henry and his wife Muriel. Also, the familiar cast remains intact: Ted Knight as Henry, Nancy Dussault as Muriel, Deborah Van Valkenburgh as Jackie, Lydia Cornell as Sara, Joshua Goodwin as the Rushes' youngest child Andrew, and Audrey Meadows as Henry's termagant mother-in-law Iris, who now resides in the attic apartment above Henry and Muriel. With the announcement that series regulars Deborah Van Valkenburgh and Lydia Cornell would exit the series at the end of its second syndicated season (and fifth year on the air), the climactic episodes of Too Close for Comfort work overtime to prepare audiences for the series' major format change, coming up the following year. As the result of the cancellation of Henry's comic strip "Cosmic Cow," he and Muriel will soon forsake San Francisco, along with their longtime "house guest" Monroe Ficus (Jim J. Bullock), and move to Marin County, where Henry is destined to assume co-ownership of a small weekly newspaper. Armed with this premise, Too Close for Comfort would reemerge as The Ted Knight Show, beginning in April of 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Knight, Nancy Dussault, (more)
- 1984
Cancelled by ABC at the end of its third season, Too Close for Comfort was revived in off-network syndication beginning April 2, 1984. This move was part of a concerted effort by the Metromedia station group to create a "fourth network," an alternative to the established webs ABC, NBC, and CBS. Although Too Close for Comfort did not result in the fulfillment of this ambition, a few years later Metromedia would be folded into the new Fox network. Substantially, the "new" Too Close for Comfort is the same mixture as before. Ted Knight still heads the cast as San Francisco-based newspaper cartoonist Henry Rush, with Nancy Dussault as his level-headed wife Muriel and Audrey Meadows as his insufferable mother-in-law Iris. Conservative to the bone and an inveterate worrier, Henry still continues to fret over his pretty twenty-something daughters Jackie (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) and Sara (Lydia Cornell), who live in the lower apartment in Henry and Muriel's two-story townhouse. Also on hand is Henry and Muriel's youngest child, Andrew, who has aged considerably since his birth two seasons earlier and who is now played by Joshua Goodwin; and the Rushes' semi-permanent house guest, the neurotic Monroe Ficus (Jim J. Bullock). As a "syndie," Too Close for Comfort posted surprisingly good ratings, even higher than the series had enjoyed during its terminal ABC season. This fact not only insured Too Close for Comfort an additional season of new episodes, but also proved to be a major shot in the arm for the entire "off-network sitcom" genre, spawning new versions of such popular ex-network efforts as Charles in Charge and Mama's Family. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Knight, Nancy Dussault, (more)
