Me and the Chimp
1972 American TV series or program
Me and the Chimp is an American sitcom which aired for one season during 1972 on CBS. It was created by Garry Marshall and Thomas L. Miller and produced by Alan Rafkin for Paramount Television.
01Premise
Mike Reynolds is a dentist who lives with his wife, two children, and a chimpanzee named Buttons, who is a washout from the space program (a fact unknown to Mike and his family until an old army sergeant visits).
Episodes revolve around Buttons' doings or undoings, such as extending the line Mike drew on a map (to mark their driving route) onward to a ghost town, and stealing an alarm clock which gets Mike arrested for public indecency (in his pajamas).
02Cast
- Ted Bessell as Mike Reynolds
- Anita Gillette as Liz Reynolds
- Scott Kolden as Scott Reynolds
- Kami Cotler as Kitty Reynolds
- Jackie as Buttons
03Production
The series was created by Garry Marshall and Thomas L. Miller, both of whom are better known for their later work on Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. Bessell originally refused to participate when the title was first given as the "grammatically incorrect" (sic) "The Chimp and I".
The chimpanzee who portrayed Buttons was owned by veteran animal expert Lou Schumacher and was trained by Bob Rydell who was responsible for teaching the chimpanzee to perform its "acting" tasks on cue by responding to various hand and voice signals.
04Episodes
| No. | Title | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Mike's Day With Buttons" | Garry Marshall | January 13, 1972 (1972-01-13) | |
| Mike's life as a dentist becomes more complicated when his daughter brings home a chimpanzee named Buttons. | ||||
| 2 | "My Pet, The Thief" | Garry Marshall & Thomas L. Miller | January 20, 1972 (1972-01-20) | |
| Mike fights a losing battle trying to convince his wife and children that they cannot keep Buttons. | ||||
| 3 | "Mike's Burglar Alarm" | Garry Marshall & Thomas L. Miller | January 27, 1972 (1972-01-27) | |
| The effort of Mike to train Buttons to ring a bell when a stranger enters the house backfires when a burglar offers Buttons candy. | ||||
| 4 | "Mike the Matchmaker" | Garry Marshall & Thomas Miller | February 3, 1972 (1972-02-03) | |
| Buttons meets a female chimpanzee named Mildred that he's attracted to, but when Mike attempts to discuss the situation with the other chimpanzee's owner, he's distracted by the chimpanzee's baby sitter, a beautiful Swedish blonde. | ||||
| 5 | "Mike's Big Act" | Mickey Rose | February 17, 1972 (1972-02-17) | |
| Mike reluctantly agrees to use Buttons during his magic act before the PTA, which results in him trying to teach Buttons some entertaining tricks. | ||||
| 6 | "The Lost Flashlight" | Garry Marshall & Thomas L. Miller | February 24, 1972 (1972-02-24) | |
| After Buttons loses his flashlight at a drive-in movie theater, the chimpanzee keeps the neighborhood in turmoil while the item is missing. | ||||
| 7 | "One Romantic Evening" | Garry Marshall & Thomas L. Miller | March 2, 1972 (1972-03-02) | |
| Mike and Liz are all set to celebrate their wedding anniversary alone, but Buttons ends up causing havoc while Liz's mother watches the children. | ||||
| 8 | "Tennis Anyone?" | Garry Marshall & Thomas L. Miller | March 16, 1972 (1972-03-16) | |
| Buttons helps Mike cure a small case of bigotry at the local country club. | ||||
| 9 | "The Paint Job" | Garry Marshall & Thomas L. Miller | March 23, 1972 (1972-03-23) | |
| The Reynolds are chosen by a paint manufacturer as the ideal family to demonstrate their product on television, but Buttons ends up causing chaos. | ||||
| 10 | "The Ghost Town" | Garry Marshall & Thomas L. Miller | March 30, 1972 (1972-03-30) | |
| A planned weekend trip to the snow country ends up in a deserted ghost town. | ||||
| 11 | "Mike's Night-In" | Garry Marshall & Thomas Miller | April 6, 1972 (1972-04-06) | |
| The Reynolds family learn that Buttons was once part of the US space program and the government retains ownership. Mike is determined to fight to keep their beloved chimpanzee. | ||||
| 12 | "Hoop-Lah Gary Nelson" | Ron Friedman | April 13, 1972 (1972-04-13) | |
| After Mike squabbles with his son's basketball coach, he takes over the coaching of the team, which eventually involves Buttons. | ||||
| 13 | "Liz's Allergy" | Garry Marshall & Thomas L. Miller | April 27, 1972 (1972-04-27) | |
| While Mike is out of town at a dentists' convention, Liz develops an allergy that appears to be connected to the presence of Buttons. | ||||
05Reception
TV Guide listed the show at #46 on its 2002 list "The 50 Worst Shows of All Time".
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Me and the Chimp”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Me and the Chimp Ted Bessell Buttons 1972.jpg by CBS Television Network, Public domain
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