Private Benjamin (TV series)

Private Benjamin
Genre	Sitcom
Directed by	William Asher Charles Beaumont Gabrielle Beaumont Alan Bergmann Bruce Bilson Alan Cooke William P. D'Angelo Marc Daniels Herbert Kenwith Leslie H. Martinson Tony Mordente Howard Morris Alan Myerson Bob Sweeney
Starring	Lorna Patterson Eileen Brennan Wendie Jo Sperber Hal Williams
Theme music composer	Bob Carroll, Jr. Madelyn Davis
Opening theme	"Judy's Theme"
Composer(s)	Barry De Vorzon Dennis McCarthy George Tipton
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	39 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Nick Arnold Bob Carroll, Jr. Madelyn Davis Leonard B. Kaufman Don Reo
Producer(s)	Judith D. Allison Hank Bradford Bob Illes Arnold Kane Linda Morris Vic Rauseo Elliot Schick James R. Stein
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company(s)	Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network	CBS
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	April 6, 1981 (1981-04-06) – January 10, 1983 (1983-01-10)
Chronology
Related shows	Private Benjamin

Private Benjamin is an American sitcom based on the movie of the same name that aired on CBS from April 6, 1981 to January 10, 1983. Eileen Brennan, who reprised her role from the film, won an Emmy and Golden Globe Award for her work on the series.

Synopsis

Like the movie, the series is about a spoiled young socialite named Judy Benjamin adjusting to life in the army. She's popular among her fellow enlisted personnel, but not with her superiors. Most of the humor in the series is derived from Benjamin and her friends' attempts to evade the watchful eye of their sergeant.

Although some of the actors from the film play the same characters on the TV show, (notably Eileen Brennan and Hal Williams, in their roles of Captain Doreen Lewis and Sgt. L.C. Ross respectively) the title role is acted by Lorna Patterson instead of Goldie Hawn.

While the series was initially shot on film and featured many outdoor scenes, later episodes were more like a standard sitcom, shot on video on soundstages and complete with a laugh track.

In the fall of 1982, Robert Mandan joined the cast as Colonel Lawrence Fielding, the pompous, well-meaning, but ineffectual, head of the camp. In late 1982, Eileen Brennan was struck by a car and Polly Holliday was brought in as Captain Amanda Allen, intended as a temporary replacement for Brennan's Captain Lewis character, but the show was cancelled shortly thereafter.

Cast and characters

• Lorna Patterson as Pvt. Judy Benjamin
• Eileen Brennan as Cpt. Doreen Lewis
• Joyce Little as Pvt. Rayleen White
• Robert Mandan as Col. Lawrence Fielding
• Ann Ryerson as Pvt. Carol Winter
• Wendie Jo Sperber as Pvt. Stacy Kouchalakas
• Lucy Webb as Pvt. Luanne Hubble
• Hal Williams as Sgt. Ted Ross
• Lisa Raggio as Pvt. Gianelli
• Damita Jo Freeman as Pvt. Jackie Sims

Episodes

Awards and nominations

External links

• Private Benjamin at the Internet Movie Database
• Private Benjamin at TV.com
• Private Benjamin at epguides.com