Occasional_Wife

Occasional Wife

Occasional Wife is a half-hour American sitcom that aired on NBC on September 13, 1966, and ran until May 9, 1967 (reruns aired through August 1967). It was originally on NBC's Tuesday night schedule; in the Eastern Time Zone it aired from 8:30-9:00 p.m.

Synopsis

The lead character was Peter Christopher, a bachelor who enjoyed the single life but was blocked from professional advancement by not having a wife. Peter's boss, baby-food manufacturer Max Brahms was, because of his product, a strong believer in marriage and family. Christopher asked a young painter, Greta Patterson, to pose as his wife at company functions. In return, Peter set up Greta in an apartment above his own in a Manhattan building. Greta would use the fire escape to slip in to Peter's 6th floor apartment from her apartment on the 8th floor whenever his boss would drop by unexpectedly. As a silent running gag, Brian O'Byrne played the "Man in the middle" who bemusedly watching the comings and goings of the two from his 7th floor vantage point. The sitcom's uncredited narrator was the well-known sports announcer Vin Scully.

The series first experienced good ratings, tying at #18 with The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in the Nielsen ratings. The series then fell to #64 in the ratings after having to compete against ABC's popular series The Invaders and the CBS staple The Red Skelton Show. Occasional Wife was canceled after one season.

Cast

Michael Callan.....Peter Christopher
Patricia Harty.....Greta Patterson
Jack Collins.....Max Brahms
Stuart Margolin.....Bernie Kramer
Chris Noel.....Marilyn
Bryan O'Byrne.....Man-in-the-Middle
Jack Riley.....Wally Frick
Sara Seegar.....Mrs. Christopher (Peter's mother)
Susan Silo.....Vera Frick
Joan Tompkins.....Mrs. Brahams

Episodes

Season 1

Episode #	Episode title	Original airdate
1	Pilot	September 13, 1966
2	"Occasional Trouble"	September 20, 1966
3	"The Rivalry"	September 27, 1966
4	"He Who Burns Bridges"	October 4, 1966
5	"I Do, We Don't"	October 11, 1966
6	"The Promotion"	October 18, 1966
7	"No Cookie for Dessert"	October 25, 1966
8	"Danger! Woman at Work"	November 1, 1966
9	"A Friend of the Family"	November 15, 1966
10	"Marriage Counselor"	November 22, 1966
11	"No Talent Scouts"	November 29, 1966
12	"That's How They Got Capone"	December 6, 1966
13	"GP Loves UU"	December 13, 1966
14	"Miss Greta Regrets"	December 20, 1966
15	"Peter by Moonlight"	December 27, 1966
16	"Alias Peter Patterson"	January 3, 1967
17	"Fair Play for Gypsies"	January 17, 1967
18	"A Couple of Home-Cooked Meals"	January 24, 1967
19	"One Plus One Equals Too Many"	January 31, 1967
20	"Kangaroo Kandidates"	February 7, 1967
21	"The New Secretary"	February 14, 1967
22	"The Business Trip"	February 21, 1967
23	"Engagement, Christopher Style"	February 28, 1967
24	"Instant Fatherhood"	March 21, 1967
25	"The Soft Spot"	March 28, 1967
26	"The Secret Powdered Milk Affair"	April 4, 1967
27	"My Occasional Brother's Keeper"	April 11, 1967
28	"An Affair To Forget"	April 18, 1967
29	"Oil Be Seeing You"	April 25, 1967
30	"So Little Time"	May 9, 1967

Footnotes

References

Brooks, T. & Marsh, E. (1979). The Complete Directory To Primetime Network TV Shows. New York: Ballantine Books, pp. 454-455
Brooks, T. (1987). The Complete Directory To Primetime TV Stars. New York: Ballantine Books, p. 141