"Who's the Boss?" (1984) TV series 1984-1992

Creators:

Martin Cohan
Blake Hunter

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Release Date:

20 September 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Romance

Plot:

A TV show about Tony Micelli, the housekeeper, Angela Bauer, the career-woman, their kids Samantha and Jonathon, and Mona, Angela's man-crazy mother.

Plot Keywords:

Punctuation In Title | Family Relationships | Question In Title | Famous Opening Theme | Male Female Relationship

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 16 wins & 30 nominations

Cast

Tony Danza	...	Tony Micelli (196 episodes, 1984-1992)
Judith Light	...	Angela Bower (196 episodes, 1984-1992)
Alyssa Milano	...	Samantha Micelli (196 episodes, 1984-1992)
Danny Pintauro	...	Jonathan Bower (196 episodes, 1984-1992)
Katherine Helmond	...	Mona Robinson (196 episodes, 1984-1992)

Runtime:

30 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) (DVD) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

ABC Television Center - 4151 Prospect Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Embassy Television

Trivia:

German network RTL showed a German version of the show called "Ein Job für's Leben" (1993) ("A Life-Time Job"). The scripts and every single joke of the original's 1984-1985 season were translated, but it was canceled after one season. "Ein Job für's Leben" was preceded by a British version, "The Upper Hand" (1990), starring Honor Blackman, which fared somewhat better despite also being a direct translation instead of an adaptation or reinvention. It was canceled in 1996.

Quotes:

Tony: Ay-oh. Oh-ay.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Married with Children: Where's the Boss? (#1.12)" (1987)

Soundtrack:

Up On The Roof

Great writing and acting

This show is one of my favorites to watch in re-runs. The quality of acting among the main characters elevated this to a level close to that of a good stage play, rather than that of the throwaway sitcoms that are so prevalent in prime time nowadays. The writers and actors together did a wonderful job of creating and maintaining emotional and sexual tension between Angela and Tony. It's so effective that in certain parts of some episodes I can feel the heart-pounding, did-he-mean-what-I-thought-he-meant, oh-my-gosh-I-think-he-really-likes-me tension right along with the characters in the show. And that kind of emotional effect just doesn't happen often with TV shows. It shows especial skill that they were able to maintain the chemistry and tension over an eight-year period, without it wearing thin or becoming too predictable.

Judith Light is a wonderful actress. It is a mystery to me why she has been stuck in the realm of made-for-TV movies and infomercials since the end of this series. I think she belongs on the stage, personally. And to me, Tony Danza will always be Tony "oh hey, hey oh!" Micelli.

They never should have brought in Billy, though. He was a cute kid, but at that point the show foundered for a while. It did recover in the last season and the final episode actually leaves me in tears when I see it.