I Married Dora 

A widowed white collar professional marries his Hispanic housekeeper so she will not be deported. They had to do everything to keep everyone from discovering the truth.

Creator:

Michael Leeson

Stars:

Elizabeth Peña, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Sanford Jensen

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Elizabeth Peña	...	Dora Calderon 13 episodes, 1987-1988
Daniel Hugh Kelly	...	Peter Farrell 13 episodes, 1987-1988
Sanford Jensen	...	Dolf Menninger 13 episodes, 1987-1988
Juliette Lewis	...	Kate Farrell 13 episodes, 1987-1988
Jason Horst	...	Will Farrell 13 episodes, 1987-1988
Henry Jones	...	Hughes Whitney Lennox 13 episodes, 1987-1988

Storyline

A widowed white collar professional marries his Hispanic housekeeper so she will not be deported. They had to do everything to keep everyone from discovering the truth.

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Plot Keywords:

housekeeper | hispanic | sitcom | salvadoran | architect | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1987 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Reeves Entertainment Group, Welladay Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The series is remembered for its concluding scene in the final episode. In that scene, the characters are in an airport when Peter, the lead, suddenly notes that their series is canceled. The camera immediately pulls back to reveal the stage and the studio audience and the cast takes a bow.

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Quotes

Kate Farrell: [reading a speech assignment for her class] Values, by Kate Farrell. What's important to me is the classic and everlasting music of the Beastie Boys and having really thick hair. Thank you.

User Reviews

Recent comment about this show.

This week's NEW YORK MAGAZINE had a comment in the column by the television reviewer that reviewed (in a disparaging way) about this comedy that lasted only one season. The writer mentioned the conclusion of the series where they announced the series was canceled, But the reviewer also felt the show was deservedly forgotten.

Actually it was not a bad little comedy. But it suffered from a bad weekly spot. It was on Fridays, I believe. The plot line is based on the problems of avoiding Dora's deportation by any means necessary (which is like Lucille Ball's determination to get into show business by any means necessary on I LOVE LUCY). Dora's boss, a W.A.S.P., marries her, but her weekly attempts to please him and keep in the country always show that she is a little more with it due to street smarts.

There were other plot points that were never fully covered due to it's short run. The boss/husband was previously married (with children). His wife was on a plane that apparently was commandeered by terrorists four years before, and never heard from again - so there was a potential situation like Tennyson's ENOCH ARDEN of the missing person turning up again.

There was also a nice addition to the cast - Henry Jones, that dependable character actor. It was his first regular role on a comedy series since his two year stint on Cloris Leachman's PHYLLIS. Here he was a W.A.S.P. aristocrat, who constantly got to see that his fine contacts meant nothing. In one episode, Dora learns Jones knows Nancy Reagan (they are old friends). She convinces him to make a phone call asking the President (through Nancy) to kill some immigration problem. No problem to Henry, he insists. We watch him make a few calls, and he eventually does get Nancy. We hear a pleasant conversation (of course, only from Jones side) going on. After two minutes, a promise to see Nancy and Ronnie when they are back home, Henry hangs up. Dora is looking daggers at her, as he realizes he never got to ask Nancy for the favor!

Not a bad show really, which, with a better time slot, might have made it. But not one of the worst films - not by a long stretch.