When Pittsburgh sports columnist George Owens (Bob Uecker) and
wife Marsha (Ilene Graff), a new law school student, find
themselves with little time to spend with their three
rambunctious kids, Marsha places an ad for some household help.
Enter Mr. Belvedere (Christopher Hewett), a quick-witted,
refined, portly English housekeeper. Despite the objections of
George, Mr. Belvedere is hired and quickly sets about whipping
the Owens family into shape.
Mr. Belvedere premiered in 1985 and enjoyed a six season run, but
has endured ever since as a symbol of its time. The story of one
family trying to have it all, with some unlikely help, the show
was not afraid to deal with real issues and still make us laugh.
Affectionately remembered, Mr. Belvedere lives on as a cult
favorite and an icon of 80s suburbia.
Bonus Features:
* New Interviews With the Cast
* Saturday Night Live Mr. Belvedere Fan Club Sketch
.com
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The Owens household faces potential chaos: Two working parents
and three unsupervised children! In sweeps Mr. Belvedere, British
nanny/housekeeper, imposing order on America's suburban anarchy.
From this simple yet preous premise, a classic sitcom was
born. Though popular sportscaster Bob Uecker (Major League) was
the first actor cast (as hess her George), the success of
Mr. Belvedere rests on two sets of shoulders: Christopher Hewett,
as the snippy but affectionate Lynn Belvedere, and Brice Beckham,
as Wesley, the smallest, smartest, and wiliest of the Owens
children. The rest of the family--George, mother Marsha (Ilene
Graff), teenage brother and sister Kevin and Heather (Rob Stone
and Tracy Wells)--get to have their moments, but Hewett and
Beckham dominate the show, and deservedly so. Though ostensibly a
fish-out-of-water/culture-clash comedy, Mr. Belvedere is secretly
about the amoral drives of childhood slowly being shaped into the
civilized consciousness of adult life. Or, to put it another way,
Wesley is a cunning, self-serving brat being taught compassion
and thoughtfulness by the effective one-two punch of Mr.
Belvedere's barbed comments and gentle wisdom. What makes the
show delightful (and delightfully subversive) is that Mr.
Belvedere doesn't teach Wesley rigid notions of right and wrong,
as might happen in a more conventional sitcom. Instead of laying
down rules, Mr. Belvedere seeks to awaken Wesley's conscience; he
inspires the pint-sized schemer to look at the world, recognize
injustice, and make up his own mind what to do about it. This may
take the form of being nice to guests at a party or standing up
for a friend who's ostracized because he has AIDS. The AIDS
episode, which came out during the Reagan era, may have been a
cultural landmark, but Mr. Belvedere treated everyday social
conflicts with the same mixture of gravity and wit. Don't get the
wrong idea: This is a formulaic sitcom, with all the slapstick
and gags-per-minute that requires. But what keeps Mr. Belvedere
from being Alf with a plump Brit instead of a second-rate muppet
was this surprising sense of humane purpose. This, combined with
the great rapport of Hewett and Beckham, resulted in surprisingly
good television. Extras include some sweet reminiscences by the
cast and a sour Saturday Night Live sketch about a Mr. Belvedere
fan club. --Bret Fetzer