"Our Family Honor" (1985) TV series 1985-1986

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

17 September 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

This series revolves around the lives of two families, the McKays and the Danzigs. The McKays are a...

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Daphne Ashbrook	...	Liz McKay / ... (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Georgann Johnson	...	Katherine McKay (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Michael Madsen	...	Augie Danzig (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Tom Mason	...	Det. Sgt. Frank McKay / ... (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Kenneth McMillan	...	Patrick McKay / ... (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Barbara Stuart	...	Marianne Danzig (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Eli Wallach	...	Vincent Danzig (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Sheree J. Wilson	...	Rita Danzig (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Michael Woods	...	Jerry Danzig / ... (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Ron Karabatsos	...	George Bennett (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Ray Liotta	...	Ed Santini / ... (10 episodes, 1985)
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Chief of Detectives Jonas Jones / ... (8 episodes, 1985)

Series Directed by
Martin Davidson		(4 episodes, 1985)
John Patterson		(2 episodes, 1985-1986)
Jerry Jameson		(2 episodes, 1985)
Guy Magar		(2 episodes, 1985)

Series Writing credits
Richard Freiman		(6 episodes, 1985-1986)
Peter Lefcourt		(3 episodes, 1985-1986)
Joseph Gunn		(2 episodes, 1985)
Howard Lakin		(2 episodes, 1985)

Series Produced by
Janice Cooke	....	associate producer (1 episode, 1985)
Chris Eguia	....	associate producer (1 episode, 1985)
Ronald E. Frazier	....	producer (1 episode, 1985)
Charles Gordon	....	executive producer (1 episode, 1985)
Lawrence Gordon	....	executive producer (1 episode, 1985)
Lynn Guthrie	....	associate producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Barry De Vorzon		(1 episode, 1985)
Doug Timm		(1 episode, 1985)

Series Cinematography by
Charles Correll		(1 episode, 1985)

Series Film Editing by
Alan L. Shefland		(1 episode, 1985)
Andrew Chulack		(unknown episodes)

Series Casting by
Susan Bluestein		(1 episode, 1985)
Renee Rousselot		(1 episode, 1985)

Series Art Direction by
Tommy Goetz		(1 episode, 1985)

Series Set Decoration by
Mary Ann Good		(1 episode, 1985)

Series Costume Design by
Philip Cozzo		(1 episode, 1985)

Series Makeup Department
Mario Gonzales	....	makeup artist (1 episode, 1985)
Joyce Morrison	....	hair stylist (1 episode, 1985)

Series Production Management
Edward O. Denault	....	executive in charge of production (1 episode, 1985)
Lee Haas	....	unit production manager: New York (1 episode, 1985)
William Saint John	....	unit production manager: Los Angeles (1 episode, 1985)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stephen A. Glanzrock	....	second assistant director: New York (1 episode, 1985)
Craig Huston	....	first assistant director (1 episode, 1985)
Robert J. Smawley	....	second assistant director (1 episode, 1985)

Series Art Department
Chris Eguia	....	property master (1 episode, 1985)

Series Sound Department
Michael Gramaglia	....	sound recordist (1 episode, 1985)
Richard Gramaglia	....	sound mixer (1 episode, 1985)
Robert Gramaglia	....	boom operator (1 episode, 1985)
Doug Grindstaff	....	sound supervisor (1 episode, 1985)
Dick Kupper	....	sound effects editor (1 episode, 1985)
John Speak	....	production sound mixer (1 episode, 1985)
John Asman	....	sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)
Ken S. Polk	....	sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)

Series Special Effects by
David Domeyer	....	special effects coordinator (1 episode, 1985)

Series Stunts
Richard Epper	....	stunts (3 episodes, 1985)
Charlie Picerni	....	stunts (3 episodes, 1985)

Series Casting Department
Jason La Padura	....	casting: New York (1 episode, 1985)
Stanley Soble	....	casting: New York (1 episode, 1985)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Hamer	....	costumer: men (1 episode, 1985)
Audrey Tannenbaum	....	costumer: women (1 episode, 1985)

Series Music Department
James Burt	....	music editor (13 episodes, 1985-1986)

Series Other crew
Tom Richer	....	location manager (12 episodes, 1985-1986)
Noel Tirsch	....	assistant production auditor (8 episodes, 1985)

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (original airing)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Movie Connections:

Follows "Our Family Honor: Pilot (#1.0)" (1985)

Good riddance to mafia garbage

The television series 'Our Family Honor' was obscene, in the true sense of that term. Rather than offering a few glimpses of nudity (which never hurt anybody), this TV series was obscene because of its calculated efforts to glorify mafia hoodlums, and to imply that the police are no better than the criminals. As its title suggests, 'Our Family Honor' went far out of its way to mythologise the non-violent aspects of mafiosi: their alleged strong ties of 'family' (both literal family and crime family) and their supposed code of 'honor'. I suspect that this immoral TV show would also have glorified another aspect of organised crime - the violence - if it had been able to do so on American television in the pre-'Sopranos' 1980s.

Most morally bankrupt of all was this series' total dishonesty about the ethnic makeup of the mafia. The gangster family in this TV series are named Danzig, and are played by non-Italian actors, but they have Italian forenames and are in every other way Italian-American stereotypes. A typical line of dialogue: 'Hey, Augie! Have some calamari!' Plus, we get all the usual Italian-American clichés - a big family, they love to eat, they love to celebrate, they throw elaborate dinners - disguised only by the non-Italian casting and that name 'Danzig'. The only explicitly Italian-American character in the cast is (of course) an honest cop, played by an Italian-American actor who had more success playing mafia goombahs: the overrated Ray Liotta.

Meanwhile, the actions of the 'honorable' gangster family the Danzigs are contrasted with the McKays, a family of cops who are depicted as being just as corrupt as the Danzigs. The McKays can't nail the Danzigs by following legal procedure and due process, so they 'bend' the rules and violate police procedure. I find this very offensive. Certainly there are bent cops and corrupt officials, and there are also instances of 'cop families': a family producing several generations of police officers. But it's difficult to see how a cop family could produce an ongoing history of corruption and rule violations, as the McKays are depicted here: in real life, such a family would attract too much attention within the police department.

Vincent Danzig, the patriarch of the crime family, was played by Eli Wallach: an actor better known for his work in live theatre. Shortly after 'Our Family Honor' was cancelled, Wallach did a series of TV commercials and print ads for Emigrant Savings Bank. When an interviewer asked why a serious actor would take such work, Wallach reasonably replied that the money he earned from a single TV commercial would finance an entire season of stage plays at Wallach's theatre in Long Island. Wallach is right to justify his commercials, but his work in 'Our Family Honor' is indefensible.

'Our Family Honor' didn't last very long (good riddance!), but it has been replaced by filth like 'The Sopranos', which is very successful indeed. As I write this, a cable network is airing a promo for the new series of 'Soprano' episodes which assures us that the new episodes will have more violence than before. How reassuring. 'The Sopranos' is produced by an Italian-American who anglicised his name, and who loudly complains about alleged prejudice against Italian-Americans. Meanwhile, he's getting rich off a TV series that exploits those same stereotypes.