Shaping Up
{{about|the 1984 TV show|the album and song by "The Sherbs"|Shaping Up (album)}}
{{distinguish|shape up (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| caption =
| alt_name = Welcome to the Club
| genre = Sitcom
| creator = Ken Estin
Sam Simon
| writer = Ken Estin
Merrill Markoe
Sam Simon
| director = Michael Lessac
| starring = Leslie Nielsen
Michael Fontaine
Jennifer Tilly
Shawn Weatherly
Jake Steinfeld
| composer = Fletcher Adams
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes = 5
| executive_producer = Ken Estin
Sam Simon
| producer = Richard Sakai
| runtime = 30 minutes
| network = ABC
| company = Estin-Simon Productions
Paramount Television
| first_aired = {{Start date|1984|03|20}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1984|04|17}}
}}
Shaping Up is an American sitcom created by writer-producers Sam Simon and Ken Estin, which ran for five weeks on ABC from March 20 until April 17, 1984.
Synopsis
A spring replacement in 1984, Shaping Up, originally titled Welcome to the Club, was given the 9:00 Tuesday slot following Three's Company. Leslie Nielsen played Buddy Fox, curmudgeonly owner of the Buddy Fox Health Club. Michael Fontaine played Ben, the club's manager who was like a son to Buddy and served as the show's voice of sanity. Other cast members included Jennifer Tilly, Shawn Weatherly and Jake Steinfeld of Body by Jake fame.
Five episodes were broadcast before the cancellation, leaving one unaired. The role of Ben was first played by Tim Robbins, whom the network replaced with Fontaine.
Cast
- Leslie Nielsen as Buddy Fox
- Cathie Shirriff as Zoya Antonova
- Michael Fontaine as Ben
- Jennifer Tilly as Shannon Winters
- Shawn Weatherly as Melissa McDonald
US television ratings
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |
| Episodes
! Start Date ! End Date ! Nielsen Rank |
|---|
| style="text-align:center" | 5
| style="text-align:center" | March 20, 1984 | style="text-align:center" rowspan=6| April 17, 1984 | style="text-align:center: rowspan=8| 53 | style="text-align:center" | 15.0{{refn|Tied with Silver Spoons and Maggie Briggs|group=lower-alpha}} |
{{notelist}}
Episodes
{{Episode table |background= |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=1
| Title=Baby Be Mine
| DirectedBy=Michael Lessac
| WrittenBy=Sam Simon & Ken Estin[https://books.google.com/books?id=GqRWDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22shaping+up%22+leslie+nielsen&pg=PT500 Forgotten Laughs: An Episode Guide to 150 TV Sitcoms You Probably Never Saw ]
| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1984|03|20}}
| ShortSummary=Buddy Fox's unfulfilled urge for fatherhood leads him to try purchasing a baby from a young pregnant woman in financial problems (Allyce Beasley), who only gives up on the deal after holding her newborn.Leszczak, Bob. [https://books.google.com/books?id=70szDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA147 Single Season Sitcoms of the 1980s: A Complete Guide]
| LineColor=
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=2
| Title=Ex Pede Herculem
| DirectedBy=Michael Lessac
| WrittenBy=Sam Simon & Ken Estin
| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1984|03|27}}
| ShortSummary=Ben suggests Buddy to perform a feat of strength as promotion, leading him to try lifting the front of a Volkswagen.
| LineColor=
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=3
| Title=Defusing the Muse
| DirectedBy=Michael Lessac
| WrittenBy=Ken Estin, Sam Simon, Merrill Markoe
| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1984|04|03}}
| ShortSummary=Shannon discovers the latest recruit in the health club is an award-winning playwright.
| LineColor=
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=4
| Title=I Should Have Danced All Night
| DirectedBy=Michael Lessac
| WrittenBy=Ken Estin & Sam Simon
| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1984|04|10}}
| ShortSummary=Melissa goes to her first Hollywood party while Ben and Buddy replace the shower tiles.
| LineColor=
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=5
| Title=Mixed Nuts
| DirectedBy=Michael Lessac
| WrittenBy=Ken Estin & Sam Simon
| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1984|04|17}}
| ShortSummary=Buddy considers his own mortality after the death of a friend.
| LineColor=
}}
}}
References
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0086799}}
Category:1984 American television series debuts
Category:1984 American television series endings
Category:1980s American sitcoms
Category:American English-language television shows
Category:Television series by CBS Studios
Category:Television shows set in Los Angeles
Category:American Broadcasting Company sitcoms
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