Sydney is an American sitcom television series starring Valerie Bertinelli, Matthew Perry, and Craig Bierko that aired on CBS from March 21 to June 25, 1990. It was created and written by Michael J. Wilson and Douglas Wyman. This series marked Valerie Bertnelli's return to a CBS series after One Day at a Time had ended in 1984.[1][2]
| Sydney | |
|---|---|
 Craig Bierko, Valerie Bertinelli, and Matthew Perry in Sydney | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Michael J. Wilson Douglas Wyman |
| Written by | Michael J. Wilson Billy Van Zandt Jane Milmore |
| Directed by | Lee Shallat-Chemel Iris Dugow Art Wolff Robert Berlinger John Ratzenberger |
| Starring | Valerie Bertinelli Matthew Perry Craig Bierko Daniel Baldwin Barney Martin |
| Theme music composer | Eddie Van Halen Alex Van Halen |
| Opening theme | "Finish What Ya Started" performed by Van Halen |
| Composer | Mason Cooper |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Pamela Grant |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22–24 min |
| Production companies | Oomp & Friends Productions Gold Hat Entertainment Grant/Tribune Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | March 21 – June 25, 1990 |
Synopsis
editSydney Kells (Valerie Bertinelli), a private investigator from a family of police officers, relocates her one-woman private detective agency from New York City to her small hometown. There, Sydney struggles to balance her personal and professional life. Her main client is an uptight lawyer, Matt Keating (Craig Bierko), with whom she shares sexual chemistry. Her over-protective brother Billy (Matthew Perry), a rookie officer, tries to help her when he can. Sydney and her best friend Jill (Rebeccah Bush) frequent a neighborhood bar run by Ray (Barney Martin), her father's old police partner.[3]
Cast
edit- Valerie Bertinelli as Sydney Kells
- Matthew Perry as Billy Kells
- Craig Bierko as Matt Keating
- Barney Martin as Ray
- Rebeccah Bush as Jill
- Perry Anzilotti as Perry
- Daniel Baldwin as Cheezy
- Georgia Brown as Linda Kells
Theme song
editBertinelli convinced then-husband Eddie Van Halen to grant permission for the Van Halen song "Finish What Ya Started" to be used as the opening theme song to Sydney.[4]
Guest appearances
editPat Harrington, Jr., who appeared with Bertinelli in the long-running CBS sitcom One Day at a Time, guest starred as a rival private investigator in the seventh episode of the season, which was directed by John Ratzenberger. Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore, who acted as creative consultants on the show, also made various guest appearances. Chazz Palminteri played Tony in the episode "Love Ya, Babe". Other guest actors included Yeardley Smith, Kevin Dunn, Annabelle Gurwitch, Tony Longo, Andy Dick and Michael E. Knight.[5]
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "You? You're a Private Eye?" | Lee Shallat | Michael J. Wilson | March 21, 1990 | 3105 |
| 2 | "Promises, Promises" | Iris Dugow | Michael Wilson | March 28, 1990 | 3107 |
| 3 | "Cliffhanger" | Lee Shallat | Michael Wilson | April 4, 1990 | 3106 |
| 4 | "Love Ya, Babe" | Lee Shallat | Story by : Michael Wilson & Douglas Wyman Teleplay by : Michael Wilson | April 11, 1990 | 3109 |
| 5 | "She Loves Me" | Lee Shallat | Michael Wilson | April 18, 1990 | 3107 |
| 6 | "I Gotta Be Me" | Lee Shallat | Michael Wilson | April 23, 1990 | 3110 |
| 7 | "Georgie" | John Ratzenberger | Michael Wilson & Barney Dunn & Maria A. Brown | April 25, 1990 | 3111 |
| 8 | "The Me Nobody Knows" | Iris Dugow | Michael Wilson | May 2, 1990 | 3104 |
| 9 | "Sydney's Mom" | Art Wolff | Michael Wilson & Douglas Wyman & Maria Brown | May 23, 1990 | 3103 |
| 10 | "36-24-36" | Art Wolff | Michael Wilson & Douglas Wyman & Maria Brown | June 4, 1990 | 3102 |
| 11 | "On a Claire Day" | Robert Berlinger | Billy Van Zandt & Jane Milmore | June 11, 1990 | 3112 |
| 12 | "Jake" | Ellen Falcon | Michael Wilson & Douglas Wyman | June 18, 1990 | 5001 |
| 13 | "Chicken a la Matt" | Lee Shallat | Michael Wilson | June 25, 1990 | 3113 |
References
edit- ^ "TV Review: Sydney". Entertainment Weekly. March 30, 1990.
- ^ "Sydney". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
- ^ "Valerie Bertinelli plays private eye 'Sydney' in new comedy". The Post and Courier. Charleston. April 11, 1990.[dead link]
- ^ "Bertinelli plays private detective". The Daily News. April 11, 1990.
- ^ "Sydney Kells". www.thrillingdetective.com. Retrieved 2020-06-02.