Ball Four (TV series)
Ball Four | |
---|---|
Jim Bouton (left) as Jim Barton and Ben Davidson as 'Rhino' Rhinelander in the pilot episode
|
|
Genre | Situation comedy |
Created by | Jim Bouton Marvin Kitman Vic Ziegel |
Written by | Jim Bouton Marvin Kitman Vic Ziegel |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 5 |
Production | |
Running time | 25 min. |
Production company(s) | Time-Life Television |
Distributor | Warner Bros. Television |
Release | |
Original network | CBS |
Original release | September 22 – October 27, 1976 |
External links | |
[{{#property:P856}} Website] |
Ball Four is a 1976 American situation comedy that aired on CBS in 1976. The series is inspired by the 1970 book of the same name by Jim Bouton. Bouton co-created the show with humorist and television critic Marvin Kitman and sportswriter Vic Ziegel. Bouton also starred in the series.[1]
Ball Four followed the Washington Americans, a fictitious minor league baseball team, dealing with the fallout from a series of Sports Illustrated articles written by Americans player Jim Barton (Bouton).[2] Like the book, the series covered controversial subjects including womanizing players, drug use, homosexuality in sports and religion.[3] The series included a gay rookie ballplayer, one of the earliest regular gay characters on television.[4] The trio began developing the series in 1975, looking to other series like M*A*S*H and All in the Family as models. CBS expressed interest and the creative team developed a script. CBS shot the pilot episode and ultimately bought the series.[2]
Ball Four aired at 8:30 PM Eastern time, which was during the Family Viewing Hour, an FCC-mandated hour of early evening "family-friendly" broadcasting. Consequently the writers had some trouble with the network's Standards and Practices in their attempt to portray realistic locker room scenes, especially the language used by the players. Pseudo-profanity such as "bullpimp" was disallowed, while "horse-crock" and "bullhorse" were approved.[2]
Ball Four debuted on September 22. While Bouton and other members of the cast received praise for their performances, critics found the series uneven in quality.[1][2] The show was unsuccessful and CBS canceled it after just five episodes.
Contents
Cast
- Jim Bouton as Jim Barton
- Jack Somack as 'Cap' Capogrosso
- David James Carroll as Bill Westlake
- Ben Davidson as 'Rhino' Rhinelander
- Bill McCutcheon as Coach Pinky Pinkney
- Lenny Schultz as Lenny 'Birdman' Siegel
- Marco St. John as Rayford Plunkett
- Jaime Tirelli as Orlando Lopez
- Samuel E. Wright as C. B. Travis
Episodes
Title | Original air date |
---|---|
Work in Progress | September 22, 1976 |
The Unpractical Joke | September 29, 1976 |
High-Flying Rookie | October 13, 1976 |
A Quiet Day at the Iroquois Hotel | October 20, 1976 |
What's a Nice Watch Like You Doing in a Place Like This? | October 27, 1976 |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Ball Four at the Internet Movie Database
- 1970s American television series
- 1970s American comedy television series
- 1976 American television series debuts
- 1976 American television series endings
- American sports television series
- American television sitcoms
- American LGBT-related television programs
- Television programs based on books
- CBS network shows
- Television shows set in Washington, D.C.
- Television series by Warner Bros. Television