Love, Sidney

Infobox Television
show_name = Love, Sidney


caption =
format = Sitcom
camera =
picture_format =
audio_format =
runtime = 30 minutes
creator =
developer =
producer =
executive_producer = George Eckstein (1981-1982)
Rod Parker & Hal Cooper (1982-1983)
starring = Tony Randall
Swoosie Kurtz
Kaleena Kiff
Alan North
Chip Zien
Barbara Bryne
Lynne Thigpen
narrated =
opentheme = "Friends Forever" performed by Tony Randall, Swoosie Kurtz & Kaleena Kiff (1981-1982) then by Gladys Knight (1982-1983)
endtheme =
country = USA
language = English
network = NBC
first_aired = October 28, 1981
last_aired = June 6, 1983
num_episodes =
chronology =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
imdb_id =
tv_com_id =

"Love, Sidney" was an NBC comedy television series that starred Tony Randall, originating as a two-hour movie pilot which aired on October 5, 1981, followed by its regular run as a weekly series from October 28, 1981 until June 6, 1983. The show is remembered best as a milestone in the progress toward public acceptance of gay characters on television, but often regarded as a seriously flawed one.

ynopsis

The premise of the show was established in the TV movie entitled "Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend". Randall played the title character, a well-to-do gay New Yorker in his 50s, who befriends an unwed mother, Laurie Morgan (Lorna Patterson) and the daughter she gives birth to, and then becomes the daughter's guardian when the mother leaves for California. Laurie's daughter Patti is played in the later stages of the movie (once time lapses to her being 5 years old) by Kaleena Kiff, who retains the role in "Love, Sidney".

Once "Love, Sidney" premiered, the series' premise did not actively retcon that of the movie; not only was the character of Laurie Morgan part of the regular cast (now played by Swoosie Kurtz), but it was explained that she had returned to New York when her marriage in California didn't work out. Now Sidney, Laurie and Patti were all living under the same roof again, still in Sidney's rather luxurious Manhattan apartment, and settling in for more laughs, joy, and lessons in life. A centerpiece of many stories was the relationship between Sidney and Patti, and how the former indulged on the girl like a loving uncle. In comparison, Sidney's kinship with Laurie was that of close brother and sister. In the movie, viewers had seen Laurie work her way up in the ranks of show business; by the time frame of "Love, Sidney", she had already become a known actress, primarily in television and commercials. She resumed her acting career in New York, appearing as vixen Gloria Trenell on the (fictional) daytime soap opera "As Thus We Are". In a great irony, many of her fans would have been shocked to observe her real life role as a loving mother to Patti, due to the nature of Laurie's soap character.

More attention was paid in the series to Sidney's career as a professional illustrator; his frequent business deals were made with young ad agency director Jason Stoller (Chip Zien), who worked for Graham & Ludwig, Sidney's biggest account. Also showing up was Sidney's friend and neighbor in his building, local Judge Mort Harris (Alan North), who was dropped after the first season. At the start of the second season, the role of prominent neighbor was given to busybody Mrs. Gaffney (Barbara Bryne). She was the wife of the building's superintendent, and was out on a neverending quest to gain Sidney's affections. This is perhaps when the more obvious indications of Sidney's sexual orientation came to light, as for the rest of the run he remained disinterested and unresponsive to Mrs. Gaffney's moves (however, this was not the only occurrence of a more explicit hint in the 1982-83 season). Sidney also hired a personal secretary in Nancy (Lynne Thigpen) during the second year.

Thus, even though "Love, Sidney" was the first prime-time television series to have a gay character as its central lead -- as opposed to one lead in an ensemble cast, like the character of Jody on "Soap", or Vincent Schiavelli's character on the much earlier "The Corner Bar" -- the character's orientation was hidden in "the closet" for all forty episodes of the show's run. Thus, while the show is still remembered as a significant point in popular culture's portrayal of homosexuality, it is also remembered for the risks it did not take.

Behind the scenes

In production during 1980, the film "Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend" was most likely delayed by the actors' strike later that year, which pushed its premiere date on NBC up by a while. The suits at the network took such a liking to the project that if it garnered large audiences upon its airing, they would turn it into a weekly series. However, after the film was complete, NBC continued to put off its premiere, to the extent that it did not even make it on the air during the 1980-81 season. By that time, the network decided to go ahead and begin development on the series, with the intention of airing the movie as a introductory to the new sitcom that would be on the 1981 fall schedule.

By the time the "Love, Sidney" series was being cast, Lorna Patterson was no longer available, as she had already begun starring on CBS' "Private Benjamin"; Swoosie Kurtz took over the role of Laurie Morgan. Tony Randall only agreed to do the series because it would provide him extra income that would go toward the financing of the community theatre he wanted to open and run in New York City. The salary he made over the show's two seasons eventually paid off when his National Actors Theatre opened at NYC's Pace University in 1991.

When the series was announced, NBC received complaints from special-interest groups upset about a positive portrayal of homosexuality, and so originally, nothing in the series referred to its lead character's sexuality except oblique, coded hints. Despite the rather ambiguous nature of Sidney's personal life aside from Laurie and Patti (some critics defined the character as a "confirmed bachelor" in the wake of the show's early downplay of homosexuality), "Love, Sidney" ended up being a notably big hit in New York City, since the show's premise mirrored real life in that area, especially among their gay population. Elsewhere however, the show's performance per market ran the gamut from at most moderately successful to poorly rated all through the run. As the network's concern over special interest groups waned, indications of Sidney Shorr's orientation remained hush until an overhaul in the show's creative team in 1982 changed all that.

George Eckstein was the original executive producer from the time of "Love, Sidney"'s premiere. While the series performed well enough for NBC to warrant it a second season, they pushed for changes in order to improve the show's chances for lasting success. At the start of the 1982-83 season, the network hired the veteran producing team of Rod Parker and Hal Cooper to take over the show. With the arrival of Parker and Cooper, Ken Hecht and Sandy Veith were added as associate producers. The new team made many alterations, including two new regular cast members, a remix of the theme music performed by Gladys Knight, and a switch to more meaningful, moralized stories which bordered on the "very special episode" format (however, not to the heavy-handed level seen on such shows as "Diff'rent Strokes"). In three particular episodes during the new season, somber stories occurred where Patti played with matches and set all of Sidney's apartment on fire; in another, Patti had an accident when she fell off a swingset Sidney built for her, and subsequently went into a coma; and later, Sidney and Patti both have an accident when they are temporarily blinded when building an indoor clubhouse.

However, there was one new aspect the producing team veered toward a little more gradually, mostly since it was still a new, uncharted topic on television at the time: the admittance of Sidney's sexuality. It was clear that they wanted to go for it, first with the addition of Mrs. Gaffney, who had designs on Sidney. More hints made their way into the stories until a few unprecedented episodes aired in May 1983. In a special hour-long episode aired on May 16th, Sidney decides to go out on some dates with new co-worker Allison (surprisingly played by Lynne Thigpen, whose regular role on the series as Nancy, Sidney's secretary, had been dropped a few months earlier). Their courtship ends up fizzling out because of Sidney's insisting that since his heart had been broken by his past long-time love so much, he could never love another again. When Allison breaks down into tears following their conversation, she cries "If only she [Sidney's past love] knew what she was missing." The camera then pans over to Sidney's fireplace, showing a man's photo. It was this same photo that, in the pilot movie, was that of Sidney's late lover Martin when it was more openly revealed. The fact that this episode ended with Martin's photo proved that "Love, Sidney" was on the verge of breaking out an open, realistic portrayal of homosexuality. The following episode, the next to last in the series, had an acknowledged gay character as a guest star, a shrink that befriends Sidney after the latter talks him out of suicide. Had the show been picked up for a third season, "Love, Sidney" may have well become a trailblazer in this lifestyle topic, instead of being remembered as a cutesy, standard "family hour" sitcom.

External links

*imdb title|id=0081896|title=Love, Sidney