Pilot (31 Aug. 1976)

Alice works at Mel's Diner with Flo and Vera. A talent agent comes to town and Alice is hoping for a big break.

Director:

Paul Bogart

Writer:

Robert Getchell

Stars:

Linda Lavin, Alfred Lutter III, Vic Tayback

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Linda Lavin	...	Alice Hyatt
Alfred Lutter III	...	Tommy Hyatt
Vic Tayback	...	Mel Sharples
Beth Howland	...	Vera Louise Gorman
Polly Holliday	...	Florence Jean 'Flo' Castleberry
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dennis Dugan	...	Joel Snedeger
Arthur Space	...	Stuff Johnson

Storyline

Alice works at Mel's Diner with Flo and Vera. A talent agent comes to town and Alice is hoping for a big break.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 August 1976 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Studio 41, CBS Television City - 7800 Beverly Blvd., Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Florence Jean 'Flo' Castleberry: Whoops! Watch it! You're gonna blow that pacemaker.

User Reviews

Setting the stage for an enduring comedy series

This pilot episode introduces the beloved and sometimes quirky characters - Alice, Flo, Mel and Vera. Vera provided the slapstick, Flo the edginess, Mel as the lovable lug played the counterpoint to Alice, and Alice held it all together with her sincerity and general optimism. Aside from setting the stage for the long run of this series, the episode is pretty blah. In part, this is due to the character Tommy, Alice's son. The kid couldn't act worth beans and was fortunately replaced in succeeding episodes. The show does introduce Flo's iconic expression "Eat my grits." I loved that expression, and at the time, it seemed very edgy and colorful.