Who's the Boss? (1984–1992)

Tony Micelli a retired baseball player becomes the housekeeper of Angela Bower, an NY advertising executive. Together they raise their kids Samantha Micelli and Jonathon Bower, with help from Mona Robinson, Angela's man-crazy mother.

Creators:

Martin Cohan, Blake Hunter

Stars:

Tony Danza, Judith Light, Alyssa Milano

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 16 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Tony Danza	...	Tony Micelli (196 episodes, 1984-1992)
Judith Light	...	Angela Bower (196 episodes, 1984-1992)
Alyssa Milano	...	Samantha Micelli (196 episodes, 1984-1992)
Danny Pintauro	...	Jonathan Bower (196 episodes, 1984-1992)
Katherine Helmond	...	Mona Robinson (196 episodes, 1984-1992)

Storyline

Former major-leaguer Tony Micelli and his daughter Samantha arrive at the Connecticut household of executive Angela Bower, where Tony has taken a job as live-in housekeeper. The Bowers are an interesting family, to say the least. Angela is uptight and obsessed with her work. Her son Jonathan is shy and lacks self-esteem, and her mother, Mona, is a man-hungry vixen. Tony soon wins them over with his laid-back style, and the Bowers soon begin to loosen up. Over time, romantic tensions begin to surface between Angela and Tony, and we see the children grow up.

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Plot Keywords:

housekeeper | children | advertising | advertising executive | connecticut | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Quién manda a quién?

Filming Locations:

13 Onandaga Street, Rye, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Embassy Television, Columbia Pictures Television, ELP Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tony Micelli played baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals.

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Quotes

Samantha Micelli: Now dad remember. Smile, be polite, and whatever you do don't tell the pig joke.
Tony: That one is the real ice breaker.

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Connections

Spoofed in Who's the Boss? A XXX Parody (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Brand New Life"
Music by Blake Hunter and Robert Kraft
Lyrics by Larry Carlton
Performed by Steve Wariner (Seasons 1 and 2), Larry Weiss (Seasons 3 - 5), Jonathan Wolff (Seasons 6 - 8)

User Reviews

Great writing and acting

This show is one of my favorites to watch in re-runs. The quality of acting among the main characters elevated this to a level close to that of a good stage play, rather than that of the throwaway sitcoms that are so prevalent in prime time nowadays. The writers and actors together did a wonderful job of creating and maintaining emotional and sexual tension between Angela and Tony. It's so effective that in certain parts of some episodes I can feel the heart-pounding, did-he-mean-what-I-thought-he-meant, oh-my-gosh-I-think-he-really-likes-me tension right along with the characters in the show. And that kind of emotional effect just doesn't happen often with TV shows. It shows especial skill that they were able to maintain the chemistry and tension over an eight-year period, without it wearing thin or becoming too predictable.

Judith Light is a wonderful actress. It is a mystery to me why she has been stuck in the realm of made-for-TV movies and infomercials since the end of this series. I think she belongs on the stage, personally. And to me, Tony Danza will always be Tony "oh hey, hey oh!" Micelli.

They never should have brought in Billy, though. He was a cute kid, but at that point the show foundered for a while. It did recover in the last season and the final episode actually leaves me in tears when I see it.