''Babes'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

series that aired Thursdays at 8:30 for one season on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

from September 13,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, to May 19,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

. Reruns were shown Saturdays at 9:30 from July to August 1991.Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 – Present, 7th Edition'', page 65, Ballantine Books, 1999 It was created by Gail Parent and Tracey Jackson and executive produced for

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Com ...

by Sandollar Productions, a former production company run by Sandy Gallin and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Overview

The series follows a trio of overweight sisters facing the challenges of work, relationships, popularity, and starting a family. The ladies also shared a small one-bedroom apartment in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, which added to the comic friction. The Gilbert sisters include Darlene (

Susan Peretz Susan Peretz (March 2, 1940 – August 27, 2004) was an American actress who performed in television and film. She starred for one season in the television series ''Babes'' and appeared in an episode each of TV's Barney Miller and Married.. ...

), the eldest, who was a dog groomer and recently divorced (her husband had an affair with their weight-loss counselor); Charlene ( Wendie Jo Sperber), the middle sister, who was a makeup artist for a commercial photographer and was the most active one out of the three; and Marlene (

Lesley Boone Lesley Boone (born February 25, 1968) is an American producer and television actress, best known for her roles as Marlene Gilbert on the Fox sitcom ''Babes'' (1990–1991), as Molly Hudson in the NBC comedy-drama '' Ed'' (2000–2004) and as Rose ...

), the youngest sister, a former toll collector (and later an actress in a pantyhose commercial and a soap opera), who was seen as a dreamer with a naive, yet trusting, personality. Also in the cast was Charlene's boyfriend, Ronnie Underwood (

Rick Overton Richard Overton (born August 10, 1954) is an American screenwriter, actor and comedian. His writing credits include '' Dennis Miller Live'', and his acting credits include '' Beverly Hills Cop'', ''Groundhog Day'' and '' Mrs. Doubtfire''. Life ...

), a restaurant owner. He disappeared at mid-season, as a result putting all three sisters on the dating market. At that time, the girls' landlady, Florence Newman (

Nedra Volz Nedra Volz (née Gordonier; June 18, 1908 – January 20, 2003) was an American actress. In television, she portrayed Aunt Iola on ''All in the Family'', Adelaide Brubaker on ''Diff'rent Strokes'', Emma Tisdale on '' The Dukes of Hazzard'', ...

), became a regular. All three also had physical elements in their resume and it was evidenced in most of the episodes whenever something would tick off the sisters. Among the notable examples: Charlene getting blown up in a helium dress, Darlene breaking a hockey stick while attending a

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

game that got her on probation and head-butting Ronnie over who was going to spend the night at the apartment, Marlene waking the sisters up with potato chips after they didn't hear her come in, and the sisters ganging up on a mime after he mocked them.

Cast

* Wendie Jo Sperber as Charlene Gilbert *

as Darlene Gilbert *

as Marlene Gilbert *

as Ronnie Underwood *

as Mrs. Florence Newman

Episodes

International broadcasts

The series also aired in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

under the title ''Jamais Deux Sans Trois'' (''Never Two Without Three''). In

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

the show was titled ''Nashim Gdolot'' (''Big Women'').

References

External links

* * {{epguides, Babes
"Wendie Jo Sperber's return to television"
a 1990 ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'' article about Sperber that discusses her role on the series. 1990 American television series debuts 1991 American television series endings 1990s American sitcoms Obesity in television English-language television shows Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows set in New York City