''Meego'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

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 ...

television series that ran for six episodes from September 19 to October 24, 1997 on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television network as part of its Friday night ''

Block Party A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...

'' program block; after its cancellation, seven additional episodes that were produced but left unaired in the United States were aired in some international markets (such as on Sky1 in the United Kingdom). Created by Ross Brown, and developed by Thomas L. Miller, Robert L. Boyett, and Michael Warren, the series starred Bronson Pinchot in the title role as an alien masquerading as a human being who, after his spaceship crashlands on Earth, unexpectedly becomes the nanny to a single father's three children.

Synopsis

Meego (Pinchot) is a 9,000-year-old shape-shifting alien from the planet Marmazon 4.0. After his spaceship crashes, he is discovered by three children; Trip ( Erik von Detten, later played by

Will Estes William Estes (; born October 21, 1978) is an American actor known for his role on CBS police drama '' Blue Bloods'' as Jameson "Jamie" Reagan, a New York City Police Department officer and the youngest son of the police commissioner, played by ...

), Maggie (

Michelle Trachtenberg Michelle Trachtenberg (; born October 11, 1985) is an American actress and model. Trachtenberg began her career at age three, appearing in a number of commercials, films, and television series as a child. Her starring role on the Nickelodeon tel ...

) and Alex Parker ( Jonathan Lipnicki). They live with their single father, Dr. Edward Parker ( Ed Begley Jr.) and pass Meego off as human (he does not want anyone to know that he is extraterrestrial, and tells people he is from Canada instead). Although he plans to go home as soon as his ship is repaired, he becomes attached to the children and decides to remain on Earth to care for them.

Cast

Main

* Bronson Pinchot as Meego * Ed Begley Jr. as Dr. Edward Parker *

as Maggie Parker * Erik von Detten (pilot episode only) and

(episodes 2–13) as Trip Parker * Jonathan Lipnicki as Alex Parker

Notable guest stars

* Jaleel White in the episodes "Love and Money" and "The Truth About Cars and Dogs" (though seen wearing Urkel's eyeglasses, he appears here in uncredited, non-speaking roles as a disgruntled repossessor and a man who blows a whistle at a pinewood derby race). * Three cast members of '' Gilligan's Island'',

Bob Denver Robert Osbourne Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor who portrayed Gilligan on the 1964–1967 television series ''Gilligan's Island'', and beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 series ''The Ma ...

, Dawn Wells, and

Russell Johnson Russell David Johnson (November 10, 1924 – January 16, 2014) was an American actor. He played Professor Roy Hinkley in ''Gilligan's Island'' and Marshal Gib Scott in '' Black Saddle''. Early life Johnson was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, o ...

, had a guest appearance on the episode "Mommy 'n' Meego", which was unaired in the United States.

Home exteriors

The exteriors of the Parker family home on ''Meego'' had been recycled from an earlier Miller-Boyett series, '' On Our Own''. The footage of the home was filmed in a suburb of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, where ''On Our Own'' was set; however, in episode "Magic Parker", reference is made to "the greater Chicago area".

Episodes

Broadcast

''Meego'' was commissioned specifically for the CBS Block Party, an effort to compete with TGIF, the long-running family comedy block on ABC. Incoming CBS head

Leslie Moonves Leslie Roy Moonves (; born October 6, 1949) is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2003 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and ...

saw an opportunity to take advantage of an ownership change at ABC (then being acquired by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

, which was reshaping TGIF into a more teen-oriented block) and offered

Miller-Boyett Productions Miller-Boyett Productions (or simply Miller-Boyett) is an American television production company that mainly developed television sitcoms from the 1970s through the 1990s. It was responsible for family-oriented hit series such as '' Happy Days'' ...

US$40 million to bring two of TGIF's programs, ''

Family Matters ''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of '' Perfect Strangers, ...

'' and '' Step by Step'', to CBS. As part of the deal, Miller-Boyett also received the right to produce a new show, which became ''Meego''. ''Meego'' was unusual among the shows in the CBS Block Party in that it was targeted mainly at children, instead of the whole family. This was a factor in the show's failure; by this point, the show's lead-in, ''Family Matters'', consisted mostly of a cast of young adults, and its lead-out, ''

The Gregory Hines Show ''The Gregory Hines Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS. The series premiered on Monday, September 15, 1997, before airing on September 19, 1997, as a part of the network's Block Party Friday night lineup. It ended its run o ...

'' (the only show on the block to be produced by CBS and

Columbia TriStar Television Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company that was active from 1994 to 2002. It was operated as the third name of the early television studio Screen Gems and the fourth ...

and with no ties to either Warner Bros. or Miller-Boyett), was also a mostly adult-oriented sitcom. Another factor in the show's failure was its direct competition; ''

Boy Meets World ''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September1993 and May2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his friends and fami ...

'', the program that aired on TGIF opposite ''Meego'', reached its peak in number of viewers during the 1997–98 season. ''Meego'' was pulled from the air after six episodes. After holiday specials filled the slot for the next several weeks, '' Kids Say the Darndest Things'' replaced ''Meego'' on the CBS schedule in January 1998.

Critical reception

The show received mixed to negative reviews.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meego (Tv Series) 1997 American television series debuts 1997 American television series endings 1990s American comic science fiction television series 1990s American sitcoms CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series about alien visitations Television series about single parent families Television series about shapeshifting Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows set in Missouri