Ahhhh, the early days of the Fox network, where they were trying to make their name by offering things that no other network had before. This paid off with "Married with Children" their first big hit, so they tried the formula a half dozen more times. "The Simpsons" came out of the deal, so it wasn't all bad.
"Women in Prison" was one of those things that fell somewhat flat, the story of Vicki (Julia Campbell) a housewife framed by her husband and the folks she meets while doing time in prison. There's Dawn, the murderer (played by the very talented CCH Pounder, who probably doesn't include this in her resume), Pam the computer thief (sitcom veteran Wendy Jo Sperber) and the guards played by Denny Dillon (the first I had heard of her but she's better known for "Dream On") and always working charactor actor Blake Clarke.
After 13 episodes in 1987, the Women in Prison were set free or so I imagine. I think Fox didn't realise that if you remove the shower scenes from these kinds of things, nobody wants to watch 'em.
In a weird bit of trivia, actor Blake Clarke can be seen in costume on the set of WIP in the Ramones "Something to believe in" video, lord knows why...
3 comments:
Is Denny Dillon the blond gaurd in the clip? I can remember being in countless things without being able to name one. For me, she's one of the character actors you immediately recognize but never know their real name.
Not a sitcon, but this made me flash on 'Prisoners of Cell Block H.' I remember getting sucked into this when it ran in syndications on some minor station in Philly. I thought I was the only one watching it until years later I discovered it had quite the following outside the U.S.
Denny Dillon was part of the sorry cast during SNL's aborted sixth season. At least she and Charles Rocket managed to get some acting jobs after that embarrassment. Other than Joe Piscopo, Eddie Murphy, and Gilbert Gottfried, the rest of the cast disappeared into the ether.
Denny Dillion and Wendy Jo Sperber in the same series? That's a lot...um...that takes up a lot of...er...
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