''What a Country!'' 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 Garrett M. Brown and

Yakov Smirnoff Yakov Naumovich Pokhis (russian: Яков Наумович Похис; born 24 January 1951), better known as Yakov Smirnoff (russian: Яков Смирнов; ), is a Ukrainian-American comedian, actor and writer. He began his career as a stan ...

that aired in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 23, 1987. The series is based on the British sitcom ''

Mind Your Language ''Mind Your Language'' is a British sitcom that premiered on ITV in 1977. It was produced by London Weekend Television and directed by Stuart Allen. Three series were made by the London Weekend Television between 1977 and 1979 and briefly re ...

'' and was intended as a showcase for

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

-American comedian Yakov Smirnoff, whose catchphrase provided the show's title.

Synopsis

''What a Country!'' is set in a class of recent immigrants to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

who are trying to pass the citizenship test. Their teacher, Taylor Brown (played by Garrett M. Brown), is a part-time substitute teacher looking for a high school soccer coaching job, while the students are: # Nikolai (a Russian taxi driver), # Laszlo (a retired Hungarian doctor), # Ali (a Pakistani), # Robert (the son of a deposed African king), # Maria (a housekeeper working for a rich Beverly Hills family), # Victor (a Hispanic in love with Maria), and # Yung Hi (a shy Chinese woman).

Gail Strickland Gail Strickland is an American actress who had prominent supporting roles in such films as ' (1975), '' Bound for Glory'' (1976), ''Who'll Stop the Rain'' (1978), ''Norma Rae'' (1979), and ''Protocol'' (1984), and appeared regularly on various ...

initially played the character of Principal Joan Courtney, though she was replaced by Don Knotts during the series' run.

Cast

* Garrett M. Brown as Taylor Brown *

as Nikolai Rostopovich *

George Murdock George Peter ("Pete") Murdock (May 11, 1897 – March 29, 1985), also known as G. P. Murdock, was an American anthropologist who was professor at Yale University and University of Pittsburgh. He is remembered for his empirical approach to ethn ...

as Laszlo Gabo *

Vijay Amritraj Vijay Amritraj (born 14 December 1953) is an Indian sports commentator, actor and retired professional tennis player from Madras. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's 4th highest civilian honour, in 1983.In 2022, he was honored for his cont ...

as Ali Nadim * Harry Waters, Jr. as Robert Muboto *

Ada Maris Ada Maris (born June 13, 1957) is an American actress known for her starring roles in the sitcoms ''Nurses'' and ''The Brothers Garcia''. Maris was born in East Los Angeles and grew up there. Her college education came at Boston University and UCL ...

as Maria Conchita Lopez * Julian Reyes as Victor Ortega * Leila Hee Olsen as Yung Hi *

as Principal Joan Courtney (episodes 1–10) * Don Knotts as Principal F.J. "Bud" McPherson (episodes 11–26)

Episodes

References

External links

* 1986 American television series debuts 1987 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms American television series based on British television series English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series by Tribune Entertainment Television series by CBS Studios {{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub