Hardball (1994 TV series)

Hardball
Created byJeff Martin
Kevin Curran
StarringBruce Greenwood
Mike Starr
Joe Rogan
Phill Lewis
Dann Florek
ComposerJonathan Wolff
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes9
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesInterbang, Inc.
Magic Beans, Inc.
Touchstone Television
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseSeptember 4 (1994-09-04) –
November 4, 1994 (1994-11-04)

Hardball is an American baseball sitcom that aired Sunday nights at 8:30 pm on Fox from September 4, 1994 to November 4, 1994. The series premiered in the middle of the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike and was canceled around the time that the year's World Series would have been played.[1] YouTube channel "Baseball's Not Dead" published a 30 minute video detailing the series in September 2023 which caused a minor cult following of people revisiting the show.[2]

Premise

The series focused on the players and staff of the Pioneers, a fictional American League baseball team. Among those shown were pitcher Dave Logan, who has been largely overlooked by MLB, catcher Mike Widmer, who is past his prime, team owner Mitzi Balzer, who is sharp-tongued and trying to get her team out of last place, public relations girl Lee Emory, who has her hands full with Mitzi and the team, center fielder Frank Valente, whose cocky high-priced "superstar" ways put him at odds with Dave. The first episode showed Mitzi firing the manager and replacing him with a timid man named Ernest "Happy" Talbot, who is unsure how to get the Pioneers working as a team.

Cast

Episodes

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Pilot"John Whitesell & Peter BaldwinKevin Curran & Jeff MartinSeptember 4, 1994 (1994-09-04)
2"Mike's Release"Peter BaldwinTracy Newman & Jonathan StarkSeptember 11, 1994 (1994-09-11)
3"The Butt Winnick Story"Peter BaldwinBill FreibergerSeptember 18, 1994 (1994-09-18)
4"Whose Strike Is It Anyway?"Peter BaldwinMike Barker & Matt WeitzmanOctober 2, 1994 (1994-10-02)
5"Frank Buys an Island, Mike Pays the Price"Peter BaldwinLona WilliamsOctober 9, 1994 (1994-10-09)
6"Lee's Bad, Bad Day"Gil JungerLona WilliamsOctober 16, 1994 (1994-10-16)
7"My Name is Hard B."Gerry CohenBill FreibergerOctober 23, 1994 (1994-10-23)
8"See Spot Run"UnknownUnknownOctober 30, 1994 (1994-10-30)
9"The Rookie, the Batgirl, the Coach and His Wife"UnknownUnknownNovember 4, 1994 (1994-11-04)

References

  1. ^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 506. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
  2. ^ Russo, Jared (10 October 2023). "Joe Rogan's 1994 FOX Baseball Sitcom 'Hardball' Was So Bad It Got Axed After Seven Episodes". Digg.


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