The Baxters
1 9 7 9 - 1 9 8 1 (USA)
25 x 30 minute episodes
Surely one of the most unusual programs broadcast
nationally in the US - and possibly one of the first examples of
interactive television - this hybrid of sitcom and pseudo-game show
gave viewers the chance to decide how they would like the story to
end.
The format consisted of an 11-minute vignette about
the Baxter's, a middle-class family living in a suburb of St Louis, as
they faced a controversial issue. In one episode they had to decide
whether to commit Mother Baxter to a nursing home; in another they had
to assess whether the fact that John's teacher was a homosexual would
harm their son; in yet another, Fred faced a dilemma over whether to
turn a small, money-losing apartment house he owned into condominiums,
thus forcing out some of the tenants.
Each short episode was played as a sitcom, but always
ended with several options open to the family. A studio audience
assembled at the local station where the show was being carried, then
discussed what they thought should be done. In some cities,
viewers could phone in and give their views.
The program had begun as a local production at WCVB-TV
Boston in early 1977, where it had been created by an ex-divinity
student named Hubert Jessup as part of his Sunday morning public
affairs show. Jessup persuaded station management to try it in the
early evening and to everyone's surprise it attracted a loyal - if not
large - cult following.
Producer Norman Lear heard about the show and offered
to produce the program in Hollywood and put it into nationwide
syndication for the 1979/1980 season. Despite its good intentions, the
show came across as rather heavy-handed, and never reached a very
large audience. Coupled with the high cost of production, this was
enough to cause Lear to withdraw after a year, and for the 1980/1981
season the program reverted to its Boston originators who syndicated
it themselves.
The 1980/1981 episodes were produced in Toronto with
an all-new cast, and even new first-names for the Baxters.
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