Meego (TV series)

Meego
Genre	Science fiction sitcom
Created by	Ross Brown
Written by	Ross Brown Bill Bryan R. Lee Fleming, Jr. Allison M. Gibson Larry Kase Shelly Landau Cary Okmin Joel Ronkin
Directed by	Richard Correll Joel Zwick
Starring	Bronson Pinchot Ed Begley, Jr. Jonathan Lipnicki Michelle Trachtenberg Will Estes
Theme music composer	Jesse Frederick Bennett Salvay
Composer(s)	Jesse Frederick Bennett Salvay
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (7 unaired)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Ross Brown Thomas L. Miller Robert L. Boyett Michael Warren
Producer(s)	Karen K. Miller
Editor(s)	Jim Miley
Cinematography	Gary W. Scott
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company(s)	Miller/Boyett/Warren Productions Warner Bros. Television
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	September 1, 1997 (1997-09-01) – October 24, 1997 (1997-10-24)

Meego is an American science fiction sitcom that aired on CBS in 1997. The series starred Bronson Pinchot in the title role. It was canceled halfway through its first season.

Synopsis

Meego (Pinchot) is a 9,000-year-old shape-shifting alien from the planet Marmazon 4.0. After his spaceship crashes, he is discovered by three children; Trip (Erik von Detten, later played by Will Estes), Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg), and Alex Parker(Jonathan Lipnicki). They live with their single dad, Dr. Edward Parker (Ed Begley, Jr.) and pass Meego off as human (he does not want anyone to know that he is extraterrestrial, and tells people he is from Canada instead). Although he plans to go home as soon as his ship is repaired, he becomes attached to the children and decides to remain on Earth to care for them.

Meego was specifically commissioned for the CBS Block Party, an effort by CBS to compete with the long-established TGIF block on ABC. CBS had already picked up two of TGIF's shows, Family Matters and Step by Step, for the block. The series was produced by Miller-Boyett Productions, a producer of several of TGIF's most well-known shows (including both Family Matters and Step by Step). Pinchot was chosen for the lead due in part that he had previously been the star of a previous TGIF and Miller-Boyett series, Perfect Strangers, and the Meego character even had a similar accent to Balki Bartokomous, the character he had played on it. (He had spent the 1996-97 season as a cast member of Step by Step, portraying beautician Jean-Luc Rieupeyroux.) The show's supporting cast also included some of the most recognizable child stars of the time period; Trachtenberg was the star of the film Harriet the Spy and Lipnicki had been seen in Jerry Maguire as well as several TV shows. (Von Detten would later go on to star in his own TGIF show, Odd Man Out, and have a supporting role in another called Complete Savages.) Despite this, the show was a complete failure: it ranked at #111 in the Nielsen ratings with 8 million viewers per episode. After six weeks, it was pulled from the schedule the following week in favor of a rerun of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and was formally canceled shortly thereafter.

Cast

• Bronson Pinchot....Meego
• Ed Begley, Jr.....Dr. Edward Parker
• Erik von Detten....Trip Parker #1
• Will Estes....Trip Parker #2
• Michelle Trachtenberg....Maggie Parker
• Jonathan Lipnicki....Alex Parker

Notable guest stars

Jaleel White reprised his role as Steve Urkel for two guest spots. Three cast members of Gilligan's Island, Bob Denver, Dawn Wells, and Russell Johnson, had a guest appearance on an unaired episode titled "Mommy 'n' Meego".

Episodes

Episode #	Title	Original air date
1	"Pilot"	September 19, 1997 (1997-09-19)
Meego is made temporary babysitter for the Parker kids after his spaceship crashes in their backyard and he waits for repairs to be completed, but quickly finds himself growing attached to them and questioning his return home.
2	"Love and Money"	September 26, 1997 (1997-09-26)
Meego gets his first pay check, but still has a lot to learn about money; Maggie interrupts her studies to watch Trip and his friend play street hockey. Family Matters star Jaleel White has an uncredited cameo in his Steve Urkel character.
3	"The Truth About Cars and Dogs"	October 3, 1997 (1997-10-03)
Maggie tries to tell her dad that the family nanny is an alien. Meanwhile, Meego goes on a date with the Parkers' next door neighbor; and Edward helps Alex build a model car for a derby. Jaleel White makes a second cameo appearance.
4	"It's Good to be King"	October 10, 1997 (1997-10-10)
When Meego hears that Trip is no longer required to study to pass history now that he's the star of the basketball team, which is coached by the history teacher, he gives his own lesson. He shrinks the teacher/coach and leaves him guarded by watchdog Barkley, while he substitutes - as King George III. Meanwhile, Edward and Alex plan a fishing trip.
5	"Fatal Attraction"	October 17, 1997 (1997-10-17)
Trip learns a valuable lesson after he takes Meego's magic wrist device and uses it to trick a popular girl into believing that he's the boy of her dreams. He initially enjoys the attention but changes his mind when his new "girlfriend" Brooke begins shadowing him and hanging on his every word. Meanwhile, Meego plays poker with Edward and some interns.
6	"Halloween"	October 24, 1997 (1997-10-24)
Maggie finds out that her secret admirer will be arriving incognito at her Halloween party and enlists Meego's aid in unmasking the mystery man, while he tends to spooky tasks of his own when he sets out to give Trip a scare.
7	"Mommy 'n' Meego"	Unaired
On Meego's first attempt to phone his alien mom, he ends up reaching three Gilligan's Island castaways instead: Gilligan, Mary Ann and the Professor, still stranded after 35 years! While he continues his quest for a direct line to Marmazon 4.0, Trip, Maggie, and Alex try to keep his origins a secret from their suspicious and cranky grandmother.
8	"Magic Parker"	Unaired
Alex tricks Meego into helping him show off in front of Marcus. Maggie tries to get him to help set up Edward on a date, but while waiting for Alex to finish his martial arts lesson, he meets two other nannies (Erika & Theresa) and asks if they are available, but finds out they are "aliens." Misunderstanding them, he assumes they are from a different planet.
9	"Liar, Liar"	Unaired
When Trip lies to get a date with college girl Amanda, Meego embellishes it with his antics. He also encounters snow for the first time.
10	"I Won't Be Home for Christmas"	Unaired
It's Christmas and Meego tries helping out by doing such things as teleporting the Christmas tree into the house (still tied to the roof of the car) and helping Edward get Alex the toy he wants. It is of course the most popular one of the season and in a mad rush at the department store, his wrist device is broken.
11	"Saturday Night Fever"	Unaired
Edward has to go away for the weekend to assist an operation. Meego catches the chicken pox with strange side effects. Trip sneaks out of the house at midnight to go to a illegal rave party and Maggie is fed up with being a 'geek' when she wins the model citizen of the month award for the fifth time running so she tries changing her image.
12	"Performance Art"	Unaired
Meego tries to persuade the kids to take their school field trip to the museum rather than the ice cream parlor. Trip plays sick to get a coveted autograph.
13	"Car and Driver"	Unaired
Trip is desperate to get his driver's license in order to improve his dating prospects.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
1998	Young Artist Awards	Nominated	Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy TV Series	Jonathan Lipnicki
		Won	Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series - Supporting Young Actress	Michelle Trachtenberg

External links

• Meego (TV series) at the Internet Movie Database
• Meego (TV series) at TV.com
• Meego (TV series) at epguides.com