Benson (TV series)

Benson is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 13, 1979, to April 19, 1986. The series was a spin-off of Soap in which the character Benson, portrayed by Robert Guillaume, first appeared as the wise-cracking yet level-headed African-American butler for the highly dysfunctional Tate family. However, Benson eschewed the soap opera format of its parent series for a more conventional sitcom structure, and the lead character eventually moved from his service position to a role as lieutenant governor. The series was created by Susan Harris, and produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions. In 1985, Guillaume won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in the series.[2]

Plot
The main character was Benson DuBois (Robert Guillaume), who was hired to be the head of household affairs for scatterbrained and widowed Governor Eugene X. Gatling (James Noble) and his daughter Katie (Missy Gold). Governor Gatling was a cousin of sisters Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) and Mary Campbell (Cathryn Damon) from Soap. Although the state of which Gatling was governor remained unidentified throughout the series, Soap was situated in Connecticut, and the seal of the state of New York is visible when Benson wins the lieutenant governorship.[3]

The series revolved around Benson's housekeeping dilemmas, his squabbles with German cook Gretchen Wilomena Kraus (Inga Swenson, one of Guillaume's fellow alumni from Soap) and his interactions with John Taylor (David Hedison in the pilot episode, then Lewis J. Stadlen), who assisted Governor Gatling as chief of staff. After the first season, Taylor's job was filled by the pompous Clayton Endicott III (René Auberjonois). In spite of their adversarial relationship (during the early years, Kraus' trademark line was a loud "I hear you!" from off-stage), Benson and Kraus eventually became good friends. Benson also had good friendships with the governor's secretary, Marcy Hill (Caroline McWilliams) and her successor, Denise (Didi Conn). Marcy left after her second-season wedding. Jerry Seinfeld played a small role as Frankie, a delivery boy and unsuccessful comedian, for three episodes in 1980; he was asked to leave because of creative differences.[4]

Denise and Pete Downey (Ethan Phillips), the governor's press secretary (introduced in Season 2), met and later married, having a child in the show's fifth season. However, both were written out, with the reason given that Denise secured a job with NASA.

Benson worked his way up the ladder during the series, going from head of household affairs to state budget director (at which time his surname, DuBois, was revealed), and eventually was elevated to the position of lieutenant governor. During the final episodes of the 1985–86 season, Benson ran for governor against Gatling. Kraus (who had moved up to head of household affairs) proved to be Benson's strongest supporter, and he made her his personal assistant and campaign manager.

Series finale
The term-limited Governor Gatling ran for reelection as an independent candidate, with Benson securing the party nomination, setting the stage for the two to go head-to-head in the general election.

At the end of the series' final episode, Benson and Gatling, who had strained relations due to the race, made peace with each other and watched the tight election returns together on television. As the broadcaster began to announce that a winner was at last being projected, the episode ended on a freeze frame of Benson and Gatling, leaving the series with an unresolved cliffhanger. Coincidentally, Guillaume's previous series, and the one from which Benson spun off, Soap, was also canceled with unresolved cliffhangers, though Guillaume had moved on to Benson by that point.

In 2007, Benson show runner Bob Fraser said that the season ended on a cliffhanger at the request of the network. The show was canceled after the cliffhanger had aired. Fraser indicated that, had the show continued, Gatling would have won the election and Benson would have become a United States senator.[5]

According to Gary Brown, who directed the finale and 20 other episodes of Benson, three outcomes were filmed, with Benson winning, Gatling winning, and a tie. The intent was to decide over summer break which outcome to use. Brown also stated that, regardless of the outcome, the long-term intent for the next season was for Benson to become the governor.[6]

Cast and characters

 * Robert Guillaume as Benson DuBois, the main character, hired as head of household affairs for Governor Gatling and his daughter Katie. Quick-witted and quick-thinking, Benson has helped the governor on several issues, bailing him out of tight political and public situations.
 * James Noble as Eugene X. Gatling, the widowed and scatterbrained (but well-meaning) governor. Gatling had a penchant for telling off-the-wall stories, which Benson (and everyone else in the household) dreaded.
 * Missy Gold as Katie Gatling, the governor's pre-teen daughter.
 * Inga Swenson as Gretchen Kraus, the governor's chef. A fiercely proud German immigrant, she is often at odds with Benson and trades insults with him. A running gag in the series was whenever she would walk out of the room, Under his breath, Benson would cast one last barb toward Kraus, to which she shouted from off-stage, "I He-e-e-ear You-u-u-u!". Despite their rivalry, Benson and Kraus become close friends. She later became Benson's strongest supporter when he ran for governor against Gatling.
 * Lewis J. Stadlen as John Taylor, Governor Gatling's chief of staff (season 1 only), played by David Hedison in the pilot episode.
 * Caroline McWilliams as Marcy Hill, the governor's personal secretary (seasons 1 and 2). Frequently unlucky in love, Marcy eventually married toward the end of season 2.
 * Didi Conn as Denise Stevens, Marcy's replacement (seasons 3 through 5)
 * Ethan Phillips as Pete Downey, Gatling's press secretary. (seasons 2 through 5)
 * René Auberjonois as Clayton Endicott III; he replaced Taylor as Gatling's chief of staff beginning in season 2. Clayton is very snobbish and high-handed; he is also a hypochondriac.
 * Billie Bird as Rose Cassidy; she becomes Gatling's chef in season 6 when Kraus is promoted to Benson's administrative assistant.

Episodes
Main article: List of Benson episodes

Broadcast history[16]

 * September 1979 – July 1980, ABC Thursday 8:30–9:00
 * August 1980 – March 1983, ABC Friday 8:00–8:30
 * March 1983 – April 1983, ABC Thursday 8:00–8:30
 * May 1983 – March 1985, ABC Friday 8:00–8:30
 * March 1985 – September 1985, ABC Friday 9:00–9:30
 * October 1985 – January 1986, ABC Friday 9:30–10:00
 * January 1986 – August 1986, ABC Saturday 8:30–9:00

Home media
On July 24, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released Season 1 of Benson on DVD in Region 1 for the first time. The DVDs contain the episodes as they originally aired, including the longer opening sequence, which was significantly edited for syndication.

On April 3, 2012, Sony released season 2 on DVD under the Choice Collection label. This is a manufacture-on-demand release. The Complete Second Season DVD also includes two episodes from season three: "Benson's Appointment" and "The Grass Ain't Greener." Like the DVD of the previous season, this season DVD also contains the originally-aired uncut openings for each episode.

On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including Benson.[17] They re-released the first and second seasons on DVD on September 2, 2014.[18]

Setting
The exterior shots of the "governor's mansion" are actually of a private home located at 1365 South Oakland Avenue in Pasadena, California.[19] The same house was seen in the movie The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), in a 2006 U.S. television commercial for the RE/MAX real estate company, and the Columbo episode "Etude in Black".

The home has some Palladian and Neoclassical features.