''Rocky Road'' is an American

situation comedy 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 ...

that was originally broadcast on the

Superstation WTBS TBS (an abbreviation for Turner Broadcasting System) is an American pay television network owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It carries a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy, alo ...

cable network from September 3, 1984 to March 13, 1987. Produced by

Arthur Annecharico Arthur L. Annecharico is a producer, director and writer. He is known for having produced revivals of popular 1960s television series in the 1990s, namely ''The Munsters'', ''Dragnet'', and ''Adam-12''. Annecharico's involvement in the enter ...

, the series follows three young siblings who run a beach-front ice cream parlor, and aired Monday nights as part of WTBS' line-up of original "family programming", which also included '' Down to Earth'' and '' Safe at Home''. During its three-season run, the series underwent several cast changes and starred Maylo McCaslin, Desiree Boschetti, Georg Olden,

Lilly Moon Lilly may refer to: * an archaic spelling of lily, a flowering plant Arts and entertainment * Lilly (film), ''Lilly'' (film), a 1958 Malayalam film * Lilly (album), ''Lilly'' (album), by Antonello Venditti, 1975 * "Lilly", a song by Pink Martin ...

, and Marcianne Warman.

Premise

The series centers on the three young Stuart siblings who live and work in a

Pismo Beach Pismo Beach (Chumash: ''Pismuʔ'') is a city in the southern portion of San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast area of California, United States. The estimated population was 8,072 at the 2020 census, up from 7,655 in the 2010 census. It ...

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bridge ...

ice cream parlor that they inherit from their recently deceased parents. The Stuart kids – Jessica, the 22-year-old eldest and legal guardian of her two younger siblings; Robbie, the 17-year-old middle sibling and self-appointed "idea man"; and Cindi, the 12-year-old youngest sibling – somehow find a way keep the struggling ice cream parlor afloat with the help (and interference) of their neighbors on the beach. Jessica struggles to keep the family together while balancing a life of her own. Robbie is a typical teenager whose "bright ideas" have a tendency to backfire. And Cindi consistently finds adventures amidst a world of eccentric adults. Suzie Quartermain, the boardwalk's young lifeguard, is a fun-loving "party girl" whose antics always keep things interesting. Sandy Bradshaw, the boardwalk's police officer, is a bumbling young rookie who often finds himself in some mix-up. Lucas Buchanan, who owns the boardwalk's bait shop, watches over the Stuart kids and reminisces about the escapades of his younger days, before eventually selling the bait shop to retired Marine officer, Frank Wilson, Sr. and his teenage son, Frank, Jr.

Characters

*Jessica Stuart (Maylo McCaslin, season 1; Desiree Boschetti, seasons 2–3) *Robbie Stuart ( Georg Olden) *Cindi Stuart (

, season 1; Marcianne Warman, seasons 2–3) *Suzie Quartermain (Kelly Ann Conn) *Sandy Bradshaw (Jim Menza, seasons 1–2) *Lucas Buchanan (

Lewis Arquette Lewis Michael Arquette (December 14, 1935 – February 10, 2001) was an American film actor, writer, and producer. Arquette was known for playing J.D. Pickett on the television series ''The Waltons'', on which he worked from 1978 to 1981. Life ...

, seasons 1–2) *Frank Wilson, Sr. (Fred Morsell, season 3) *Frank Wilson, Jr. (Joey Green, season 3)

Production

''Rocky Road'' was created by Arthur Annecharico and was produced by his production company The Arthur Company for TBS. An attempt at producing sitcoms on a budget, each episode of ''Rocky Road'' was estimated to cost $100,000 to produce, approximately ¼ the cost of network sitcoms of the time. The series was filmed at

Hollywood Center Studios Sunset Las Palmas Studios, formerly General Service Studios and Hollywood Center Studios, is an American independent entertainment production lot located at 1040 North Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, providing stage facil ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and premiered in its 7:05 pm time-slot on September 3, 1984 as part of TBS's Monday night line-up of its original shows '' Down to Earth'' (airing at 6:05 pm) and '' Safe at Home'' (airing at 6:35 pm) which, at the time, were both also produced by The Arthur Company. The theme song was penned and performed by melodic rocker

Guthrie Govan Guthrie Govan (; born 27 December 1971) is an English guitarist and guitar teacher, known for his work with the bands the Aristocrats, Asia, GPS, the Young Punx and the Fellowship, as well as his solo project Erotic Cakes. More recently, he ha ...

Episodes

Season 1 (1984)

Season 2 (1985–86)

Season 3 (1986–87)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
''Rocky Road''
at RetroJunk.com {{TBSNetwork Shows 1984 American television series debuts 1987 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms English-language television shows TBS (American TV channel) original programming Television shows set in California Television series by Studio T