''Fresno'' is a 1986 American television

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

that parodied

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

s of the time such as ''

Falcon Crest ''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the California ...

'', ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'', and ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

''. ''Fresno'' was directed by

Jeff Bleckner Jeff Bleckner (born August 12, 1943) is an American theatre and television director. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Bleckner made his directorial debut off-Broadway with ''The Unseen Hand/Forensic and the Navigators'', an evening of one-a ...

. The series featured high production values, including lavish ''haute couture'' gowns by leading costume designer

Bob Mackie Robert Gordon "Bob" Mackie (born March 24, 1939) is an American fashion designer and costumier, best known for his dressing of entertainment icons such as Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Diahann Carroll, Carol Channing, Cher, Doris Day, Marlene D ...

, a main cast including Carol Burnett, Teri Garr, Charles Grodin and Dabney Coleman, and supporting cast including

Charles Keating Charles Humphrey Keating Jr. (December 4, 1923 – March 31, 2014) was an American sportsman, lawyer, real estate developer, banker, financier, conservative activist, and convicted felon best known for his role in the savings and loan sca ...

Pat Corley Pat Corley (June 1, 1930 – September 11, 2006) was an American actor. He was known for his role as bar owner Phil on the CBS sitcom '' Murphy Brown'' from 1988 to 1996. He also had a recurring role as Chief Coroner Wally Nydorf on the tel ...

, Louise Latham,

Tom Poston Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

and Henry Darrow. It was noted at the time as being the first American satirical TV comedy to be made in the then-popular

format.

Plot

In 1581

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

s exploring California name a valley "Fresno" after the bitter taste of its grapes. In present-day Fresno, the raisin-growing empire of the once-wealthy Kensington family are locked in a struggle with their former business partner Tyler Cane. The Kensingtons are pinning their hopes on a new grape variety they have developed. Foreman Juan is charged with getting the prototype raisins to the patent office in Sacramento, but on the way is ambushed by Cane's men, who destroy the shipment. Juan is saved by a stranger, Torch. He accompanies Juan back to the ranch, and is hired as a ranch-hand. As Charlotte shows Torch around the ranch, she explains how, 20 years earlier, her late husband Yancey fell out with Cane, and then died in a "bizarre dehydrator accident". Torch begins to investigate the Kensingtons' affairs, awakening suspicions in Charlotte about Yancey's death, and her interest in finding her real parents. Attempting to save the business, Cane Kensington strikes a deal with Mr. Acme, owner of Acme Toxic Waste. He pays Cane to allow him to dump toxic waste into Duke Lake, a private dam owned by Cane's neighbor Ethel Duke, and main water source for both the ranches. Suspecting that their meeting may have been overheard by the maid, Bobbi Jo Bobb, Cane decides to get send her to

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

. However, Cane's patronage upsets Bobbi Jo's husband Billy Joe, leading to tragic consequences. Duke's water rights are crucial to Cane and the Kensingtons. Cane visits Duke, offering to buy the water rights, but she refuses. Later that day, in Fresno, Charlotte is outmaneuvered by Cane, who takes control of the annual Raisin Festival and vows to erase the Kensington name from Fresno forever. That night, Billy Joe listens to Bobbi Jo on the radio, and becomes enraged when she makes a dedication to Cane. He shoots the radio, but the bullet ricochets off it, killing Ethel Duke. Billy Joe is arrested and charged with murder. Public defender Desiree DeMornay is assigned the case. Nature-loving Kevin finds dead fish floating in Duke Lake, and soon discovers a leaking Acme Toxic Waste drum at the bottom of the river. Kevin confronts Mr. Acme, who orders his henchmen to kill Kevin, but they blow up Acme's truck by mistake. Juan confronts Charlotte and demands a raise at gunpoint, but instead Charlotte cuts his wages in half. Cane makes an anonymous phone call to the police, implicating Kevin in the death of Duke, and Kevin is also arrested and charged with murder. Duke's death triggers a struggle between Cane and the Kensingtons to buy the water rights from Duke's husband, Earl. Tyler bribes Earl, but Cane learns of Tyler's bid, and outbids him. That night, Charlotte goes to Earl's to seduce him, but her plan is ruined when she discovers that Tyler has sent Candy Cane, who emerges from Earl's bathroom clad only in a towel. Charlotte visits Kevin in jail, where she learns his bail has been set at $250,000. Cane blackmails Mr. Acme into paying him an additional $300,000, so he can buy the water rights. He rushes to the bank to clear the check, but Charlotte arrives just after he leaves, and withdraws most of the money. Tiffany meets Torch at a Fresno restaurant and asks for his help in finding her real parents. Back at the jail, Kevin and Billy Joe deduce that Cane is behind the entire conspiracy. Bobbi Jo arrives, but when she learns of Talon's attempt to seduce her husband, she suspects the worst and rejects him. Rushing back to Earl's, Cane tries to stop Tyler from buying the water rights, but when Earl phones the bank to verify Cane's check, he learns it is worthless because Charlotte withdrew money to pay Kevin's bail. Ethel's attorney arrives: he explains that Earl cannot sell the water rights because Earl will not inherit Ethel's estate until the reading of the will at 2pm tomorrow.

Cast

;Starring * Carol Burnett as Charlotte Kensington * Dabney Coleman as Tyler Cane * Gregory Harrison as Torch * Teri Garr as Talon Kensington * and Charles Grodin as Cane Kensington ;Also starring *

Luis Avalos Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

as Juan *

as Earl Duke *

Valerie Mahaffey Valerie Mahaffey (born June 16, 1953) is an American character actress and producer. She began her career starring in the NBC daytime soap opera '' The Doctors'' (1979–81), for which in 1980 she was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outst ...

as Tiffany Kensington * Anthony Heald as Kevin Kensington * Teresa Ganzel as Bobbi Jo Bobb * Bill Paxton as Billy Joe Bobb *

Jerry Van Dyke Jerry McCord Van Dyke (July 27, 1931 – January 5, 2018) was an American actor and comedian. He was the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke. Van Dyke had a long and successful career mostly as a character actor in supporting and guest roles on pop ...

as Tucker Agajanian *

as Charles *

Melanie Chartoff Melanie Barbara Chartoff (born December 15, 1948) is an American actress and comedian. She first became famous for her comedy work on the ABC series '' Fridays'' (1980–82), and in the 1990s Fox sitcom ''Parker Lewis Can't Lose''. She voiced bot ...

as Desiree DeMornay *

Michael Richards Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor, writer, television producer, and comedian best known for playing Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom '' Seinfeld''. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first enterin ...

J. E. Freeman James E. Freeman (February 2, 1946 – August 9, 2014) was an American actor and poet. He was often cast in menacing roles, such as the evil mobster Marcello Santos in David Lynch's '' Wild at Heart'' (1990), the terrifying henchman Eddie ...

as Henchmen ;Special guest appearance by * Jeffrey Jones as Mr. Acme ;Guest starring * Louise Latham as Ethel Duke * Henry Darrow as Commandant * Tammy Lauren as Candy Cane *

Natalie Gregory Natalie Lynn Gregory is an American former child actress. Career She starred as Alice in the 1985 television film ''Alice in Wonderland''. Gregory is the youngest actress (age 9 years when she filmed the miniseries) to have played the role in ...

as China Kensington *

as Doc Parseghian *

George D. Wallace George Dewey Wallace (June 8, 1917 – July 22, 2005) was an American stage and screen actor. Wallace co-starred with Mary Martin in the Broadway musical ''Jennie'' and was nominated for a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for playing the m ...

as Judge Henry Bejajian * Dakin Matthews as Prosecutor * Raye Birk as Mr. Loats * Thomas Hill as Mr. Crowther * Jack Kehler as Sgt. Cooper * Todd Susman as Sgt. Dobbs

Production

''Fresno'' was created and co-written by Barry Kemp, Mark Ganzel, and Michael Petryni, and was produced for CBS by Mary Tyler-Moore's MTM Productions. The miniseries was directed by

, who had previously directed episodes of some of the shows parodied in ''Fresno'', including ''

'', ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives of ...

'', and ''

''. The miniseries starred Carol Burnett and Dabney Coleman, with Charles Grodin, Teri Garr,

, Bill Paxton, Anthony Heald, Gregory Harrison,

, and Jeffrey Jones. The production shot for two days in the city of

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

, in July 1986, completing its remaining 53 days in Los Angeles. The music was composed by John Morris, and the Emmy-nominated gowns worn by the female leads were designed by

. It was executive produced by Barry Kemp. ''Fresno'' was screened three times in the United States in 1986, 1987 and 1989. It premiered at 8 pm on Sunday 16 November 1986 with a two-hour series opener, followed by four further one-hour episodes over the next four days.

Episodes

Awards and nominations

* 1987

Casting Society of America The Casting Society, formerly known as Casting Society of America (CSA), was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1982 as a Professional association, professional society of about 1,200 Casting (performing arts), casting directors and associate ...

Artio Award for Best Casting for TV Miniseries * 1987 Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special * 1987 Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special * 1987 Emmy Award for Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special * 1987 Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special * 1987 Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries or a Special

References

External links

* {{MTM Enterprises 1980s American comedy television series 1986 American television series debuts 1986 American television series endings 1980s American television miniseries Television shows set in Fresno, California Television soap opera parodies Television series by MTM Enterprises