''Greetings from Tucson'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a 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 troupe may use ne ...

television series created by

Peter Murrieta Peter Murrieta is an American television producer and writer. He is best known for his work on the Disney Channel sitcom ''Wizards of Waverly Place'', in which he served as head writer and executive producer during the first three seasons. He we ...

, which aired on

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

from September 20, 2002 to May 9, 2003, during the 2002-2003 season. The series was executive produced by Rob LaZebnik, Peter Murrieta, Howard Klein and David Miner. Though reviews were mixed, critics applauded the abilities of the mostly-Latino cast, calling the show "a welcome addition to TV's largely white landscape," and compared its premise to ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

'', ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...

'' and the thought-provoking 1970s comedies of

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning ''All in the Famil ...

Overview

''Greetings from Tucson'' focused on the Tiant family, through the eyes of 15-year-old son David. His father Joaquin was a proud, pragmatic Mexican-American; mother Elizabeth is a feisty, no-nonsense white woman of Irish descent; and older sister Maria is a popular cheerleader. Also around were Joaquin's irresponsible brother Ernesto; Ernesto's son Daniel; Joaquin's mother Magdalena; and David's friend and new neighbor Sarah Tobin. The series begins six months after Joaquin's promotion at the local copper mine enabled him to move the family to a better neighborhood. Based on the life of series creator Peter Murrieta, the series attempted to examine the themes of cultural identity, family and class. The family's former neighborhood was mentioned to be an impoverished area, where the family home had bars on the windows and was subject to frequent police helicopter flyovers. Stereotypes of Mexican-American culture are lampooned in the series, and used self-deprecatingly. The show's title was meant to imitate the caption of a postcard, and the title sequence displayed the cast and credits on a series of postcards. The same visual device was used to transition between scenes. The exterior shot of the daughter's apartment building is a photograph of a real Tucson apartment complex, Casa Royale. The show's theme song was performed by Los Lobos.

Cast

Julio Oscar Mechoso Julio Oscar Mechoso (May 31, 1955 – November 25, 2017) was an American actor who played detective Ruiz in '' Bad Boys'' and appeared in such films as ''Blue Streak'', ''Jurassic Park III'', ''The Legend of Zorro'', '' The Lost City'', ''Lit ...

as Joaquin Tiant *

Rebecca Creskoff Rebecca Creskoff (born February 1, 1971) is an American actress. Career Creskoff graduated from the University of Pennsylvania before attending New York University, where she received her master of fine arts degree. She has guest-starred in a nu ...

as Elizabeth Tiant *

Jacob Vargas Jacob Vargas (born August 18, 1971) is a Mexican-American actor and performer. Early life Vargas was born in Michoacán, Mexico, and raised in Pacoima, Los Angeles, California. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family. He attended high sc ...

as Ernesto Tiant * Pablo Santos as David Tiant *

Aimee Garcia Aimee Sandimés Garcia López de Ordóñez (born November 28, 1978) is an American actress and writer. She is known for her television roles as Veronica Palmero on the ABC sitcom ''George Lopez'', Yvonne Sanchez on the CBS period drama ''Veg ...

as Maria Tiant *

Sara Paxton Sara Paxton (born April 25, 1988) is an American actress, voice artist, and singer. She began acting at an early age, appearing in minor roles in both films and television shows, before rising to fame in 2004, after playing the title role in the t ...

as Sarah Tobin *

Lupe Ontiveros Guadalupe Ontiveros ( Moreno; September 17, 1942 – July 26, 2012) was an American actress best known for portraying Rosalita in ''The Goonies'', and Yolanda Saldívar in the film ''Selena''. She acted in numerous films and television shows, ...

as Magdalena Tiant * Bobby Chavez as Daniel Tiant

Recurring

Molly Hagan Molly Joan Hagan is an American actress. She co-starred in films ''Code of Silence'' (1985), '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' (1987), ''The Dentist'' (1996), ''Election'' (1999), and '' Sully'' (2016), and is also known for her roles in television on ...

as Karen Tobin *

James Widdoes James Widdoes (born November 15, 1953, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), sometimes billed as Jamie Widdoes, is an American actor and director. Early life Widdoes graduated from The Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut, in 1972, and is a membe ...

as Don Tobin

Notable Guest Stars

* J.C. Chasez as Jay Dugray *

Carmen Electra Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), known professionally as Carmen Electra, is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis, where she met Prince, who produced h ...

as Rosa *

Teri Garr Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...

as Helen *

Willie Garson William Garson Paszamant (February 20, 1964September 21, 2021) was an American actor. He appeared in over 75 films and more than 300 TV episodes. He was known for playing Stanford Blatch on the HBO series ''Sex and the City'', in the related ...

as Mr. Gargan * Ana Ortiz as Angela *

Martin Mull Martin Eugene Mull (born August 18, 1943) is an American actor, comedian and musician who has appeared in many television and film roles. He is also a painter and recording artist. As an actor, he first became known in his role on ''Mary Hartman, ...

as Tom *

Joe Regalbuto Joe Regalbuto (born August 24, 1949) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Frank Fontana on the CBS television sitcom ''Murphy Brown'', which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 1989. Early life Regalbuto grad ...

as Mr. Klein * Brian Scolaro as Larry Janetti

Episodes

References

Review by Steve Lutz
TeeVee.org, October 15, 2002

External links

* * {{The WB 2000s American sitcoms 2002 American television series debuts 2003 American television series endings Culture of Tucson, Arizona English-language television shows Television series about families Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in Tucson, Arizona The WB original programming Latino sitcoms