Drexell's Class

Drexell's Class
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Andrew Nicholls and Darrell Vickers
Written by	Bill Boulware Eric Brand Ralph R. Farquhar Jim Herzfeld Phil Kellard Wayne Kline Robert Kurtz Tom Moore Andrew Nicholls Darrell Vickers George Zateslo
Directed by	Matthew Diamond Dick Martin Gino Tanasescu John Tracy
Starring	Dabney Coleman
Theme music composer	Kurt Farquhar
Composer(s)	Rich Eames Scott Gale
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	18
Production
Executive producer(s)	Phil Kellard Tom Moore David A. Neuman
Producer(s)	Marsha Posner-Williams
Running time	22-24 mins.
Broadcast
Original channel	Fox
Original run	September 19, 1991 (1991-09-19) – March 5, 1992 (1992-03-05)

Drexell's Class is an American sitcom aired by Fox as part of its 1991-92 lineup. The show was created by Andrew Nicholls and Darrell Vickers.

Synopsis

Drexell's Class (two working titles of the show were "Oh No, Not Drexell, and "Shut Up, Kids!") starred Dabney Coleman in the role of Otis Drexell, a fifth-grade teacher at fictional Grantwood Elementary School in Cedar Bluffs, Iowa. In the backstory, it was revealed Drexell was a famous corporate raider who lost a large amount of money on a failed venture, to which he dodged his taxes and was subsequently arrested. At his court case, he was told that he would get a suspended sentence on the basis he work as a teacher in the undermanned school until he pays his back taxes. Drexell is also a divorced man whose two daughters live with him. Besides the bevy of cute kids, the cast also included two antagonists, rival teacher Roscoe Davis (Dakin Matthews) and Principal Francine Itkin (Randy Graff), who was later succeeded by Principal Marylin Ridge (Edie McClurg).

One of Drexell's few friends at the school was school janitor George (Cleavant Derricks), who shared Drexell's love of sports and beer. Most shows revolved around Drexell's unwillingness to teach children lessons by the book or him trying to be a good father to his daughters. Occasionally, a subplot happened where Drexell's ex-wife appeared, in which Otis was hoping she would remarry so he can stop paying alimony.

Cast

• Dabney Coleman ... Otis Drexell
• Randy Graff ... Principal Francine E. Itkin
• Dakin Matthews ... Roscoe Davis
• Jason Biggs ... Willie Trancas
• Heidi Zeigler ... Nicole Finnigan
• Damian Cagnolatti ... Kenny Sanders
• Matthew Lawrence ... Walker
• A.J. Langer ... Melissa Drexell
• Brittany Murphy ... Brenda Drexell
• Edie McClurg ... Principal Marilyn Ridge
• Cleavant Derricks ... George Foster
• Phil Buckman ... Slash
• Jacqueline Donnelly ... Bernadette
• Matthew Slowik ... Lionel

Episode list

Episode #	Production Code	Episode Title	Airdate
1	8G03	"Otis' Last Day"	September 19, 1991
2	8G02	"Air Drexell"	September 26, 1991
3	8G04	"Misery Loves Drexell"	October 3, 1991
4	8G05	"Love Walked Right In and Swept Mr. Drexell Away"	October 10, 1991
5	8G01	"Convictions"	October 17, 1991
6	8G07	"Viva Lost Wages"	October 24, 1991
7	8G06	"Best Halloween Ever"	October 31, 1991
8	8G08	"Driving Drexell Crazy"	November 7, 1991
9	8G10	"Down and Out at the Out 'n In"	November 14, 1991
10	8G09	"The Best Thanksgiving Ever"	November 21, 1991
11	8G11	"Bully for Otis"	December 5, 1991
12	8G12	"Silent Night, Holy Smokes"	December 21, 1991
13	8G13	"My Own Private Iowa"	January 16, 1992
14	8G14	"Beauty and the Beast"	January 23, 1992
15	8G17	"Ashes to Ashes"	February 6, 1992
16	8G15	"Till Death Do You Part"	February 13, 1992
17	8G18	"Cruisin'"	February 20, 1992
18	8G16	"The Resentments"	March 5, 1992

Award nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
1992	Young Artist Awards	Nominated	Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Television Series	–
			Best Young Actor Guest Starring or Recurring Role in a TV Series	Michael Oliver
			Best Young Actor Guest Starring or Recurring Role in a TV Series	Brandon Quintin Adams

In popular culture

• The Simpsons made light of the show's cancellation in their 1992 "Treehouse of Horror III" episode with a "graveyard of cancelled shows". A tombstone of Drexell's Class is featured alongside tombstones of Fish Police, Capitol Critters, and Family Dog.

References

• Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows

External links

• Drexell's Class at the Internet Movie Database
• Drexell's Class at TV.com
• Drexell's Class at epguides.com