"Ivan the Terrible" (1976) TV series

Creator:

Herbert Sargent

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

21 August 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Ivan Petrovsky, a decent and hard-working blue-collar man, toils at his menial position as head-waiter...

Plot Keywords:

Sitcom

Cast

Nana Visitor

...

Svetlana Petrovsky (3 episodes, 1976)

Runtime:

30 min (5 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

CBS Broadcast Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

King-Hitzig Productions

Trivia:

The Petrovskys had a pet, never seen but often heard - a Russian wolfhound named "Rasputin" whose savage barks and growls emanated from behind an always-closed (though frequently-kicked) door. On at least one occasion, Rasputin was described to a visitor (in an historical in-joke) as "the mad dog of Russia".

funny, as I recall

I disagree with the majority: I enjoyed this series. I was also young when it aired. Two episodes stand out in my mind. In one, the government had chosen a family as a "model" to show off to some Western visitors. To this end, the familiar "KGB guy" showed up to move all sorts of fancy-shmancy furniture into the apartment--which was taken away as soon as the Westerners had completed their nickel tour. In another, the KGB investigated because Sasha scored a 99 on the state exam--something about science, math, transportation, etc. Re transportation in particular, he aced that section because his aunt--who lived with them--worked for the government train administration bureau or what-have-you. Oh, yeah, Ivan also had a dog that lived in the closet, and he kept kicking the closet door every now and then to shut the beast up.