Мистер Бельведер: Отбасылық комедия

American television sitcom (1985–1990)

Mr. Belvedere is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from March 15, 1985 to July 8, 1990. The series is based on the Lynn Aloysius Belvedere character created by Gwen Davenport for her 1947 novel Belvedere, which was later adapted into the 1948 film Sitting Pretty. The show stars Christopher Hewett as the title character, a butler for an American family headed by George Owens, played by Bob Uecker.

The series follows posh English butler Lynn Belvedere as he struggles to adapt to the Owens household in suburban Pittsburgh. The breadwinner, George (Bob Uecker), is a sportswriter (in the pilot he worked in construction). His wife Marsha (Ilene Graff) is attending law school. At the show's start, older son Kevin (Rob Stone) is a senior in high school, daughter Heather (Tracy Wells) is a freshman, and Wesley (Brice Beckham) is in elementary school. Over the course of the series, George becomes a sportscaster (a career shared with Uecker, who balanced his role as the longtime play by play announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers while starring in the series), Marsha graduates from law school and starts a career as a lawyer, Kevin leaves for college and gets his own apartment, Heather moves up in high school, and Wesley moves up to junior high. Several episodes deal with the relationship between Wesley and Mr. Belvedere, who are always at odds with each other, with Wesley constantly antagonizing Belvedere. Deep down, they are revealed to really love each other. In season two's "Wesley's Friend" – one of the series' many very special episodes – Danny, one of Wesley's classmates, contracts HIV via factor VIII treatment for hemophilia (the same way Ryan White contracted HIV). Danny is taken out of school due to the ignorance and uncertainty shared by the parents of many of the other children at Wesley's school. After hearing rumors from his friends about how HIV can be spread, leading them to shun him if he keeps spending time with Danny, Wesley begins to avoid Danny in fear of getting the disease himself. Mr. Belvedere is there for him and the child, and he helps Wesley to shed his fear of the boy and publicly accept him as his friend. Throughout the series, Mr. Belvedere serves as a mentor of sorts to Wesley, as well as to the other children. Being a cultured man with many skills and achievements (having even once worked for Winston Churchill), he also comes to serve as some sort of a "counselor" to the Owens clan, helping them solve their dilemmas and stay out of mischief. Belvedere is the only one who can tame Wesley. Each episode, except "Deportation Part 1" (season three) and "The Counselor" (season four), ends with Mr. Belvedere writing in his journal, recounting the events of the day (which is heard by the audience via his narration) with the Owens family and what he gets out of it in terms of a lesson. A frequent gag on the show involves Heather's air headed best friend Angela (Michele Matheson), who almost always mispronounces Mr. Belvedere's name (such as calling him "Mr. Bumpersticker", "Mr. Bellpepper", "Mr. Butterfinger" or "Mr. Velveeta"). Belvedere's penchant for junk food is shown in many episodes, often being playfully mocked by other characters. Another frequent gag involves George and Mr. Belvedere butting heads, with George being annoyed with his "nosy English housekeeper" always interfering. Yet another recurring gag features George always trying to be initiated into a local charity club, the "Happy Guys of Pittsburgh". Wesley's highly acrimonious relationship with the never seen next door neighbors, the Hufnagels (whose first names all began with the letter H), and the shenanigans he pulls on them is another recurring plot element.

The character of Lynn Belvedere was originally created by Gwen Leys Davenport in her 1947 novel Belvedere. The following year, the title character was portrayed by Clifton Webb in the film Sitting Pretty, which told the story of an arrogant genius who answers an employment advertisement for a babysitter for three bratty kids. He accepts the job because he is secretly writing a novel about a community of gossips and busybodies. Webb earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance and he reprised the role in two more films, Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949) and Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell (1951). in 1959 with Hans Conried

This sequence consisted of a purple family portrait book, with pictures of the cast (including a picture of George at his construction job), set to the original version of theme song. This version was only used on the original unaired version of the pilot; the broadcast version used the second variation. It surfaced on Antenna TV in 2015.

Similar to the original unaired pilot, but now with a beige family portrait book, some of the cast pictures changed (most notably, George at his construction job), and Leon Redbone singing the theme. The Redbone version would be used in all subsequent variations of the opening. On the Shout! Factory DVDs of seasons one & two, this was only seen on the broadcast version of the pilot.

The opening was overhauled completely beginning with this season. It begins with a stock photo of a British palace, and then zooms in to Mr. Belvedere himself. It was then followed by Belvedere as different people (including a Man on Safari), followed by photos and clips from season one episodes, as well as general photos of the cast from said season. On the Shout! Factory DVDs of seasons one & two, this version was kept as is on all the season two episodes, but plastered the season one opening on episodes 2–7. In addition, the show adopted its familiar logo.

The opening was overhauled completely once more in season three. Now, it began with Mr. Belvedere writing in his journal, followed by the camera zooming in to the fictional World Focus magazine, with Belvedere on the front cover for the title card. It was then followed by edited images of Belvedere with famous people from around the world. The photos were updated to reflect how the cast looked in season three, and most of the season one clips were now replaced with scenes from season two episodes. In season four, the opening was updated to feature new positions of Tracy Wells on the couch. In season six, it was updated once more to feature clips from season five episodes, and new positions of Brice Beckham on the couch. A short 30 second version was also created, as well. In early syndication reruns, the short season four/five opening was used on all the episodes, with the exception of season six; early reruns of season six used the short open from said season.

Mr. Belvedere did not place within Nielsen's Top 30 shows at any time during its six season run, but it did have a relatively solid ratings base, and often won its time slot. Its first season (1985) was exempt from the Nielsen ratings as it aired too few episodes before the end of April to be counted. In its second season (1985–86), the series ranked at #45 with a 14.8 rating. During season three (1986–87), the show fell to 51st place with a 13.7 rating. At the end of the 1986–87 season, ABC decided to cancel the show after three seasons, but negative feedback from fans of the series led the network to reverse its decision and order a fourth season that debuted in October 1987. In season four (1987–88), the show fell to 64th place and an 11.5 rating for the year. For its fifth season (1988–89), the show rose to a 12.2 rating, placing it at #47 for the season. For its sixth and final season (1989–90), Mr. Belvedere left its longtime Friday night slot (which began its evolution into the long running TGIF block that season) and was moved to 8:00 p. m. Eastern Time on Saturday nights. The move led Mr. Belvedere to suffer a steep ratings decline, falling to a 6.3 rating. The final episode to air before it was put on hiatus on December 30, 1989 ranked #70 out of 83 shows. ABC canceled the series for good in February 1990. The two part finale, which aired on July 1 and July 8, 1990, ranked #59 and #37, respectively, out of the 86 shows that aired during those weeks.