''The Waverly Wonders'' 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 ...

starring Joe Namath that aired Fridays at 8:00 pm on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from September 7 to October 6, 1978.

Premise

Conceived as a vehicle for Namath (who had retired from the Los Angeles Rams after the 1977 NFL season), the show focused on the misadventures of Joe Casey, a washed-up professional basketball player who now taught history at Waverly High School (in Eastville, Wisconsin) and coached the school's basketball team, the Waverly Wonders. Casey wasn't much of a teacher (he knew nothing about history) and his team wasn't much on the court (they hadn't won a game in three years); about the only decent player they had was a girl, Connie (

Kim Lankford Kim Lankford (born June 14, 1954) is an American businesswoman and retired actress, best known for her role as Ginger Ward on ''Knots Landing'' from 1979 to 1983. Life and career Lankford was born in Montebello, California. She made her screen ...

). Other "Wonders" included Tate (Charles Bloom), Faguzzi (Joshua Greenrock) and Parks (Tierre Turner). Ben Piazza co-starred as stodgy former coach George Benton, who served as a foil to Casey.

Cast

* Joe Namath as Joe Casey *

as Connie Rafkin * Charles Bloom as John Tate * Joshua Greenrock as Tony Faguzzi * James Staley as Alan Kerner * Tierre Turner as Hasty Parks * Gwynne Gilford as Linda Harris * Ben Piazza as George Benton

Episode list

Ratings

Up against '' Donny and Marie'' on ABC and ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' on

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 ...

, ''The Waverly Wonders'' drew poor ratings. A total of nine episodes were produced. However, only three were shown from September 22 through October 6, 1978.McNeil, Alex. ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present''. 4th ed. New York: Penguin, 1996. (4 October 1978)
ABC Racks Winnings In Latest Nielsens
''Fort Walton Beach Playground Daily News'' (Associated Press) (The show was in the basement of the Nielsen rating for the week of September 25-October 1, 1978: "The six programs at the bottom of the ratings were new this season — NBC’s "Waverly Wonders” and CBS' "American Girls,” tied for 62nd") Hanauer, Joan (12 October 1978)
NBC juggles lineup as ratings booster
''Salina Journal'' (Associated Press) (episode which aired the week of October 2–8, 1978 was the fourth-least watched prime time program of the week) Less than two months after ''The Waverly Wonders'' failed, a new show with a similar premise -- '' The White Shadow''—started its three-year run as a 60-minute comedy-drama on CBS. Meanwhile, at NBC, its time slot was replaced by a more successful TV series, ''

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackso ...

'', which in its first year, got to Number 27 of 114 prime time shows that year. Namath never starred in another TV series, although he did do guest spots on such programs as ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

'' and ''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. ...

''. Larry Hagman was originally offered the role of Joe Casey, but instead chose to play J.R. Ewing on ''

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 ...

''.A Few Facts About Larry Hagman

Eddie Deezen Edward Harry Deezen (born March 6, 1957) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his roles as "nerd" characters in films including '' Grease'', ''Grease 2'', '' Midnight Madness'', ''I Wanna Hold Your Hand'', ''1941'', and ''WarGames''. ...

, Neatorama.com, 27 November 2012

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waverly Wonders 1978 American television series debuts 1978 American television series endings 1970s American high school television series 1970s American sitcoms 1970s American workplace comedy television series Basketball television series NBC original programming Television series about educators Television series by Lorimar Television Television shows set in Wisconsin