"Bette" (2000) TV series 2000-2001

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

11 October 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Sitcom | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Bette Midler	...	Bette (18 episodes, 2000-2001)
Joanna Gleason	...	Connie Randolph (18 episodes, 2000-2001)
James Dreyfus	...	Oscar (18 episodes, 2000-2001)
Marina Malota	...	Rose (15 episodes, 2000-2001)
Kevin Dunn	...	Roy (11 episodes, 2000-2001)

Also Known As:

Bette! (USA) (pre-release title)
The Bette Show (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min (17 episode and 1 bonus episode) | Argentina:30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

All Girl Productions

Trivia:

In one episode Bette is re-doing a room and calls out for "Dave", who is never seen. In real life, Bette's personal architect/designer is named David.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Throughout the series when Bette's accompanist Oscar is playing piano it is frequently clear that is not actually playing because the position of his hands is nowhere near the actual range of what is being played.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Phone Booth (2002)

Soundtrack:

Nobody Else But You

Flashy fluff.

Bette Midler. A performer on the grand scale of things. Generally likeable, with some great roles behind her, and a successful musical career. So a sitcom based around her fabulous life and her equally fabulous ego should be a winner. But whilst Bette as a series isn't a disgrace all round, it still certainly isn't up there with the greats. It's simply colourful, flashy, but lacking in any substance. This could have never been produced and it wouldn't have made much difference. Sitcoms should be exciting when you watch them, leaving you wondering what's going to make you laugh next. Bette suffers from being predictable, tawdry and just that little bit patronising. Having said that, it isn't a complete disaster. Midler can be brilliant or just plain awful, but she was excellent for the most part. Her surprisingly constant spats of self-depreciation were refreshing, and made for some entertaining moments. Yet the situations that she found herself in completely ruined whatever gags were coming our way. Yes, she's a superstar, but it usually played out in a fashion more befitting a children's cartoon series at times. Also, her supporting cast weren't always sparkling when needed. Kevin Dunn was wasted as husband Roy, and Marina Malota had no more talent than the furniture in the room as daughter Rose. James Dreyfus, although excellent other roles, seemed like he got lost on the way to the airport back to the UK. His style was completely out of place amongst the chaos. Finally, Joanna Gleason provided some relief as Connie, proving to be a gifted comic performer. Whilst this could have been fantastic, and it had some glimmers of hope, Bette just wasn't up to the standards of being a classic comedy. This won't be the end of Midler, but I doubt that she'll be gracing television viewers again each week for a long time to come.