What's Alan Watching? Explained

Genre:Comedy
Creator:Bob Tischler
Director:Thomas Schlamme
Starring:Corin Nemec
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:1
Producer:Eddie Murphy
Company:Eddie Murphy Television
Paramount Television
Camera:Single-camera
Runtime:60 minutes
Network:CBS
First Aired:[1]

What's Alan Watching? was a 1989 CBS television series pilot.

Overview

Produced by Eddie Murphy and his company, Eddie Murphy Television, What's Alan Watching? starred Corin Nemec as Alan, a 17-year-old couch potato who views life, and his family, as if they were on television. Libby (Barbara Barrie) and Leo (Peter Michael Goetz) are his parents, Gail (future sitcom star Fran Drescher) is his sister, Jeff (David Packer) is his brother and Alyssa (Cheryl Pollak) is his girlfriend. Murphy also had a cameo in the episode, playing a protester decrying James Brown's incarceration, as well as Brown himself.

The episode was directed by Thomas Schlamme and aired on CBS on February 27, 1989. The network passed on making it a regular series,[1] [2] but What's Alan Watching? did win the Television Critics Association's TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials.

In popular culture

TV critic Alan Sepinwall named his personal television blog "What's Alan Watching?" after the television program.[3] [4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Los Angeles Times. TV REVIEW : 'What's Alan Watching? 'Eddie Murphy's Shot in the Arm for Ailing CBS. February 27, 1989. Terry. Atkinson.
  2. Web site: The New York Times. 1989. What's Alan Watching?.
  3. Web site: Sepinwall . Alan . What's Alan watching? Why, the 'What's Alan Watching?' pilot, of course! . . . 18 November 2022 . 2 December 2011.
  4. Web site: Herman . Alison . Previously On: How Recaps Changed the Way We Watch Television . . . 18 November 2022 . 31 July 2018.