Day by Day (TV series)

This article is about the American sitcom. For the UK regional news magazine, see Southern Television.

Day By Day
Day by Day title screen
Format	Sitcom
Created by	Andy Borowitz Gary David Goldberg
Starring	Douglas Sheehan Linda Kelsey Christopher Daniel Barnes Julia Louis-Dreyfus Courtney Thorne-Smith Thora Birch
Theme music composer	Clydine Jackson
Opening theme	"Day by Day" by Sammy Cahn, Axel Stordahl and Paul Weston
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	33
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company(s)	Paramount Television
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Audio format	Monaural
Original run	February 29, 1988 (1988-02-29) – June 25, 1989 (1989-06-25)
Chronology
Related shows	Family Ties

Day by Day is an American sitcom starring Douglas Sheehan, Linda Kelsey, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Courtney Thorne-Smith (all in 33 episodes), and Thora Birch (21 episodes). Day by Day was telecast from February 29, 1988, through June 25, 1989, on NBC.

Synopsis

The show centers on Brian and Kate Harper, a married couple with two successful careers (Brian as a stockbroker, Kate as a lawyer) and a teenage son named Ross. After the couple had a second child, their daughter, Emily, they decided to quit their jobs because they had missed all the best times of Ross growing up and wasn't going to make the same mistake with Emily.

With that thought in mind, they decided to open a day care center in their home. The episodes mixed stories about the day care center with those about Ross and his friends. At first, Ross wasn't too enthused with the idea of his father and mother being at home all the time running the day care center, because he loved his independence and girl-chasing, and was more than a bit put out with all the bonding his dad wanted to do now.

Louis-Dreyfus played Eileen Swift, their materialistic next-door neighbor who was also once a business associate of Brian's. She didn't much like the idea of the Harpers running a day care center, and often tried to persuade them both to return to their former careers, always to no avail. Eileen, who was single and childless, was prone to make some very sarcastic quips about the children's activities, but Brian and Kate didn't let it bother them.

Thorne-Smith played the baby's nanny, Kristin, who also worked in the day care center, and Ross had a crush on. Kristin was perhaps the reason that Ross relented about his parents running the day care center.

Day by Day was connected to another NBC series, Family Ties. It was revealed that the family patriarch, Brian Harper (played by Sheehan) was a college roommate of Steven Keaton (Michael Gross). A total of 33 episodes were produced.

"A Very Brady Episode"

The episode titled "A Very Brady Episode" aired on February 5, 1989, and reunited six cast members from The Brady Bunch – Ann B. Davis, Florence Henderson, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, Maureen McCormick and Robert Reed.

In this episode, irresponsible teen-aged son Ross (Barnes) is lectured by his parents, Brian (Sheehan) and Kate (Kelsey) about his poor study habits. Ross's explanation that he was watching a Brady Bunch marathon only angers his parents more, and he is warned to shape up. Ross bemoans his predicament, noting Mike Brady would never yell at him because he had flagging grades.

Ross falls asleep, and finds himself in the opening credits of The Brady Bunch. Ross learns that he is the Bradys' long-lost son, Chuck. After he gets his hair permed at Mike's suggestion, he visits with the various family members, who reprise some of the scenes in the Bradys' most famous episodes ("Oooh, my nose!", the Buddy Hinton episode, etc.)

After "Chuck" gets some advice about his poor grades from Mike, the family begins to repeat their dialogue. "Chuck" wonders what's amiss, and Mike explains what he's seeing is a rerun. Everything becomes chaotic, and Ross wakes up, vowing to improve his study habits.

Barnes would later portray Greg Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie.

Cast

• Douglas Sheehan: Brian Harper
• Linda Kelsey: Kate Harper
• Christopher Daniel Barnes: Ross Harper
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus: Eileen Swift
• Courtney Thorne-Smith: Kristin Carlson
• Thora Birch: Molly
• Garrett Taylor: Blake
• Chris Finefrock: Justin O'Donnell
• Robert Chavez: Sammy Schrom
• Mark Gordon: Buddy Schrom
• Gino de Mauro: Stiv Miltman
• Catherine Donahue/Mary Donahue: Emily Harper

Syndication

After the show's initial run, reruns were shown on the Lifetime Television network for several years.

External links

• Day by Day at the Internet Movie Database
• Day by Day at TV.com