Ned & Stacey

Ned & Stacey
Main cast of Ned & Stacey.
Format	Sitcom
Created by	Michael J. Weithorn
Starring	Thomas Haden Church Debra Messing Greg Germann Nadia Dajani
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	46
Production
Running time	22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	FOX
Original run	September 11, 1995 – January 27, 1997

Ned & Stacey is a US television sitcom that aired on the FOX network from 1995 to 1997. It starred Thomas Haden Church and Debra Messing. The major thread of the series was that the two were brought together in a marriage of convenience—Ned Dorsey (Church) needed to be married to get a promotion at work, while Stacey Colbert (Messing) desperately needed a place to live and Ned had a very good apartment.

Ned and Stacey often socialized with Stacey's sister, Amanda (Nadia Dajani) and her husband, Eric (Greg Germann). Other recurring characters included Stacey's parents and Ned's boss.

Main cast

• Ned Dorsey, played by Thomas Haden Church
• Stacey Colbert, played by Debra Messing
• Eric "Rico" Moyer, played by Greg Germann
• Amanda Colbert, played by Nadia Dajani

Intro dialogue

(Spoken during the opening theme)

Ned: Why Stacey?
Stacey: Why Ned?
Ned: It was business.
Stacey: Strictly business.
Ned: Here's the deal - to get a promotion, I needed a wife.
Stacey: To get a life, I needed his apartment.
Ned: So what the hell, we up and got married.
Stacey: The only thing we have in common? We irritate each other.
Ned: Right! Enjoy the show.

Characters

Ned Dorsey

An obsessive-compulsive advertising executive, he marries Stacey in order to get a promotion. On the surface Ned is a self-absorbed egomaniac who uses anything and anyone to get ahead. However, Ned also showed compassion and empathy for his friends, especially Stacey.

Eventually, Ned falls in love with Stacey, but the series was cancelled before this was further developed.

According to Stacey, Ned achieved a rapid rise to the top by breaking in and writing complimentary reports on his performance at work. He is normally well-dressed and has an almost obsessive love for the TV series Mr. Belvedere. Ned also loves loganberries.

Stacey Colbert Dorsey

In the pilot, Stacey (Debra Messing), a beautiful, red-haired journalist with a degree from Brandeis, is living at home. To get away from her parents, she "marries" her brother-in-law's best friend—the cynical, cantankerous Ned. She covets his apartment with a view of Central Park. He needs to appear settled and stable (i.e. married) to get a promotion. Eventually, Stacey falls in love with Ned; but the series was cancelled before this was further developed.

Stacey constantly struggles to land a decent job in journalism, freelancing before landing a job writing for a freebie airline journal.

Stacey's parents are Ellen (Dori Brenner) and Saul (Harry Goz). She has one sister, Amanda. She is variously referred to (including by herself) as Stacey Colbert and Stacey Dorsey.

Amanda Colbert Moyer

Stacey's sister, Amanda (Nadia Dajani) is openly critical of the fake marriage, in general, and Ned, in particular, especially as her husband is Ned's best friend. During Season 1, Amanda was working as a high-end real estate agent. After a property investment with Ned goes wrong, she finds herself running a muffin store, "Amanda's Amuffins," during Season 2. She has one son, named Howard.

To contrast with Stacey, Amanda is strong, well organized, and cynical in face of her sister's idealism. She is not afraid to speak her mind, to spout sarcastic or even rude remarks or to act aggressive, especially since she has a rather short temper.

She loves her husband, Eric, and often pushes him around, but most often she does this to make him stand up for himself or act on otherwise lost opportunities.

Eric Moyer

Eric (Greg Germann) is Stacey's brother-in-law, Amanda's husband, and Ned's best friend. He is an accountant at Ned's advertising firm. Called Rico by Ned, he is slightly nerdy in a good natured way; and his straight down-the-middle persona was often used to counter Ned's over-the-top antics.

Eric is sometimes jealous of Ned's close relationship with their shared parents-in-law. Whereas Ned was an instant hit, Eric has been unable to connect with them, even though he is the father of their only grandchild, Howard.

Eric is a mellow person, who is always being used by Ned in his personal schemes. He doesn't mind it since he idolizes his friend. He seldom stands up for himself; and, most often his wife, Amanda, has to step in when things threaten to get out of hand.

Syndication

The series has began airing in the UK on new channel Sony TV, which began airing the show on 7 April, 2011, the same day as the channel's launch. TV Guide Network began airing reruns of the show September 12, 2011. Oxygen also airs the show every now and then, usually on Thursday mornings at 6am EST.

DVD release

In September 2005, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season of Ned and Stacey on DVD in Region 1. Due to poor sales, it is currently unknown whether they will ever release the second and final season.

External links

• Ned & Stacey at the Internet Movie Database
• Ned & Stacey at TV.com