Robert Pastorelli
Double Rush
February 18, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Double Rush was a short-lived sitcom on CBS that aired from January to April 1995.
Stephen Nathan and Diane English created the show.
Its setting was familiar -- the workplace.
Cheers had the bar in Boston where everybody knows your name.
WKRP in Cincinnati had a rock and roll radio station in the Queen City.
And Double Rush had a bicycle messenger service in Manhattan named Double Rush.
The owner is would-be rock musician Johnny Verona, played by Robert Pastorelli.
Pastorelli earned the respect, laughter, and loyalty of fans of Murphy Brown as Eldin Bernecky, the house painter who constantly created new projects for Murphy’s home.
Corinne Bohrer plays the practical-minded Harvard Business School grad Zoe Fuller, a good complement and potential love interest for Johnny.
There is a dynamic between dreamer Johnny and intellectual yet unfulfilled Zoe that is reminiscent of Sam and Diane on Cheers.
Double Rush was funny. Its characters were well-defined. And its supporting cast was solid.
D.L. Hughley, Adam Goldberg, and David Arquette play bike messengers.
Sam Lloyd plays dispatcher Barkley. You may know him as Ted Buckland, the attorney for Sacred Heart Hospital on Scrubs.
Veteran comedic character actor Phil Leeds plays veteran bike messenger The Kid.
In the pilot, we learn that Johnny won’t sell Double Rush to a competitor because if he does, the competitor will lay off the messengers.
We also learn that Johnny’s loyalty is inherent. Twenty-five years prior, Johnny had the opportunity to sign with a record label. But the label only wanted Johnny, not his band mates.
Johnny wouldn’t sign without them, so he continued his bike messenger job to pay the bills. Eventually, he bought Double Rush.
Despite the cast and writing, Double Rush did not live to see the Fall 1995 lineup.
david@davidkrell.com
Double Rush was a short-lived sitcom on CBS that aired from January to April 1995.
Stephen Nathan and Diane English created the show.
Its setting was familiar -- the workplace.
Cheers had the bar in Boston where everybody knows your name.
WKRP in Cincinnati had a rock and roll radio station in the Queen City.
And Double Rush had a bicycle messenger service in Manhattan named Double Rush.
The owner is would-be rock musician Johnny Verona, played by Robert Pastorelli.
Pastorelli earned the respect, laughter, and loyalty of fans of Murphy Brown as Eldin Bernecky, the house painter who constantly created new projects for Murphy’s home.
Corinne Bohrer plays the practical-minded Harvard Business School grad Zoe Fuller, a good complement and potential love interest for Johnny.
There is a dynamic between dreamer Johnny and intellectual yet unfulfilled Zoe that is reminiscent of Sam and Diane on Cheers.
Double Rush was funny. Its characters were well-defined. And its supporting cast was solid.
D.L. Hughley, Adam Goldberg, and David Arquette play bike messengers.
Sam Lloyd plays dispatcher Barkley. You may know him as Ted Buckland, the attorney for Sacred Heart Hospital on Scrubs.
Veteran comedic character actor Phil Leeds plays veteran bike messenger The Kid.
In the pilot, we learn that Johnny won’t sell Double Rush to a competitor because if he does, the competitor will lay off the messengers.
We also learn that Johnny’s loyalty is inherent. Twenty-five years prior, Johnny had the opportunity to sign with a record label. But the label only wanted Johnny, not his band mates.
Johnny wouldn’t sign without them, so he continued his bike messenger job to pay the bills. Eventually, he bought Double Rush.
Despite the cast and writing, Double Rush did not live to see the Fall 1995 lineup.
Murphy Brown
December 08, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
From 1988 to 1998, Murphy Brown showed us the personal and professional lives of a fictional, accomplished, perpetually single television newswoman.
Candice Bergen stars in the title role -- a Motown-loving, Barry Manilow-detesting, alcoholic-reforming anchor of the fictional FYI prime time news program. Each FYI show begins with anchor Jim Dial saying some variation on the phrase For your information, tonight.
Bergen had the great fortune of solid writing, a strong cast, and exemplary guest stars and recurring actors.
In the guest star category, Darren McGavin and Colleen Dewhurst play Murphy’s parents, Morgan Fairchild plays an actress researching a sitcom role loosely based on Murphy, and Harry Shearer plays an image consultant.
Real-life celebrities play themselves, including Connie Chung, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Walter Cronkite, Katie Couric, and Paula Zahn.
Jane Leeves plays the recurring role of Audrey, girlfriend of FYI Executive Producer Miles Silverberg.
Alan Oppenheimer and Garry Marshall play the recurring roles of network executives Eugene Kinsella and Stan Lansing, respectively.
The central cast gives Murphy a strong quasi-family.
Charles Kimbrough plays veteran television newsman Jim Dial.
Grant Shaud plays the young, eager, and initially inexperienced executive producer, Miles Silverberg.
Faith Ford plays beauty queen turned television journalist Corky Sherwood.
And Joe Regalbuto plays Murphy’s best friend and investigative journalist Frank Fontana.
One hallmark of Murphy Brown is the constant changing of Murphy’s secretaries.
One secretary ran a phone sex line from her desk!
Another hallmark is Murphy’s house painter Eldin Bernecky, played by Robert Pastorelli. Eldin is Murphy’s sounding board at home because he always finds new work to do in Murphy’s elegant house.
In 1992, art met life on Murphy Brown.
Murphy got pregnant by an old flame. But he did not stick around because his passion is traveling the world to help less fortunate people.
Murphy decides to have the baby. And Vice President Dan Quayle criticizes the Murphy Brown character for having a child out of wedlock and calling it just another lifestyle choice.
Quayle’s comments reflect the importance of a father in a child’s life. But it triggered a media firestorm.
Murphy Brown incorporated Quayle’s comments into the show. In the Murphyverse, Quayle criticizes the real-life Murphy Brown rather than a fictional character.
Murphy Brown responded to the vice president’s criticism by saying that families come in all shapes and sizes.
In a later season, Kay Carter-Shepley replaces Miles Silverberg as Executive Producer of FYI. Lily Tomlin plays Carter-Shepley.
In the final season, Murphy battles and defeats breast cancer.
Murphy Brown. For your information, she’s America’s favorite fictional television news superstar.
david@davidkrell.com
From 1988 to 1998, Murphy Brown showed us the personal and professional lives of a fictional, accomplished, perpetually single television newswoman.
Candice Bergen stars in the title role -- a Motown-loving, Barry Manilow-detesting, alcoholic-reforming anchor of the fictional FYI prime time news program. Each FYI show begins with anchor Jim Dial saying some variation on the phrase For your information, tonight.
Bergen had the great fortune of solid writing, a strong cast, and exemplary guest stars and recurring actors.
In the guest star category, Darren McGavin and Colleen Dewhurst play Murphy’s parents, Morgan Fairchild plays an actress researching a sitcom role loosely based on Murphy, and Harry Shearer plays an image consultant.
Real-life celebrities play themselves, including Connie Chung, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Walter Cronkite, Katie Couric, and Paula Zahn.
Jane Leeves plays the recurring role of Audrey, girlfriend of FYI Executive Producer Miles Silverberg.
Alan Oppenheimer and Garry Marshall play the recurring roles of network executives Eugene Kinsella and Stan Lansing, respectively.
The central cast gives Murphy a strong quasi-family.
Charles Kimbrough plays veteran television newsman Jim Dial.
Grant Shaud plays the young, eager, and initially inexperienced executive producer, Miles Silverberg.
Faith Ford plays beauty queen turned television journalist Corky Sherwood.
And Joe Regalbuto plays Murphy’s best friend and investigative journalist Frank Fontana.
One hallmark of Murphy Brown is the constant changing of Murphy’s secretaries.
One secretary ran a phone sex line from her desk!
Another hallmark is Murphy’s house painter Eldin Bernecky, played by Robert Pastorelli. Eldin is Murphy’s sounding board at home because he always finds new work to do in Murphy’s elegant house.
In 1992, art met life on Murphy Brown.
Murphy got pregnant by an old flame. But he did not stick around because his passion is traveling the world to help less fortunate people.
Murphy decides to have the baby. And Vice President Dan Quayle criticizes the Murphy Brown character for having a child out of wedlock and calling it just another lifestyle choice.
Quayle’s comments reflect the importance of a father in a child’s life. But it triggered a media firestorm.
Murphy Brown incorporated Quayle’s comments into the show. In the Murphyverse, Quayle criticizes the real-life Murphy Brown rather than a fictional character.
Murphy Brown responded to the vice president’s criticism by saying that families come in all shapes and sizes.
In a later season, Kay Carter-Shepley replaces Miles Silverberg as Executive Producer of FYI. Lily Tomlin plays Carter-Shepley.
In the final season, Murphy battles and defeats breast cancer.
Murphy Brown. For your information, she’s America’s favorite fictional television news superstar.