Baby... I'm Back!: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:12, 19 May 2016

Revision as of 04:49, 1 June 2016

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The pilot was video taped in September 1977. CBS picked the pilot up as a mid season replacement, going into production at the [[CBS Studio Center]] lot in November 1977, for airing in January 1978.

In the book "Funny You Should Ask: Oral Histories of Classic Sitcom Storytellers by Scott Lewellen, Garrett created the show to address the social issue of the time of black males not being able to get jobs to provide for their families. Many had abandoned their families because of it and in this case, the lead character did abandoned but once he found work and got his act together, he came back, hence the name of the show. In the show, the mother had a great government job at the Pentagon and lived in a nice apartment. With the casting as Wilson just completed Sanford and Son and Nicholas was a hot commodity, Garrett saw the chemistry. Nicholas said in a summer 1978 edition of Jet Magazine that she was surprised at the cancellation of the series despite decent ratings.

The initial 13 episodes were aired, then rerun during the summer of 1978. Surprisingly, the ratings over the rerun summer schedule improved with increased ratings numbers. However, on the first day rehearsal script read of the eleventh episode, Wilson demanded a stronger input into the show's projected development. Over a casting decision, Wilson walked off the stage, and production shut down for one and a half weeks. Wilson refused to work with an actress who was cast as for a minor one-episode appearance;{{who|date=April 2014}} he demanded casting approval since he would not work with her. After negotiations between CBS, Charles Fries, Lila Garrett, and Wilson, the series resumed production to complete the episode, but with a new actress.{{who|date=April 2014}}

Garrett stated the show was cancelled due to Norman Lear wanting Good Times to come back for another season and told CBS, he'll create them another show in exchange for it.

On April 17, 1978 at the final taping of the last episode of the season, the cast and crew were officially informed that ''Baby, I'm Back'' was cancelled, and would not be coming back. The decision was made by CBS after the network refused to give in with Wilson's demands. CBS executives had complimented the production's "look" after the initial show's airing because the series writing, cast, and visual production values set the show apart from the current networks' comedy series in their schedule, including programs produced by [[Norman Lear]].

==Cast==