March 9, 2003 (2003-03-09) – September 12, 2004 (2004-09-12)
Oliver Beene is an American sitcom that aired on Fox from March 9, 2003 to September 12, 2004. The show was created by Howard Gewirtz. Set in 1962 and 1963, the show chronicled the trials and tribulations of the 11-to-12-year-old Oliver Beene (played by Grant Rosenmeyer), in first person perspective. Oliver Beene's other main characters are his parents Jerry and Charlotte Beene, his older brother Ted Beene, and his two friends Joyce and Michael. The narrator, an older Oliver reflecting on his experience, is voiced by David Cross. Often in episodes, the story is interrupted by flashbacks and flashforwards.
Premise
Oliver (born c. 1951), attempts to sustain normality in an often unpredictable family. Oliver's father Jerry spends his days drilling teeth as a dentist, while his mother attempts to play the traditional homemaker. Oliver's older brother, Ted is a sports nut and a womanizer. Oliver's life is often made more bearable with friends Michael, Joyce and his crush Bonnie, who appears at his most embarrassing moments. In the second season, both brothers have a crush on a Swedish girl, Elke, who moved into their apartment building.
Wednesday at 9:30 (Episode 1) Sunday at 7:30 (Episodes 2–6) Sunday at 7:00 (Episodes 7–14)
Episodes
The series first aired on March 9, 2003, as a Fox program to replace the animated series Futurama. The first season was relatively successful, and the show was brought back for a second season. However, poor ratings throughout the second season led to the show's cancellation in September 2004, with the two last episodes of the season being left unaired in America. (the last episode to air in the show's original timeslot was broadcast on September 12, 2004). In the UK and Ireland, Sky One broadcast both seasons, in their entirety. In Germany, Das Erste HD broadcast both seasons, in their entirety, twice, once in 2006, and once in 2010, dubbed in German. In The Czech Republic, ČT1 broadcast both seasons, in their entirety, dubbed in Czech.
Jerry and Charlotte visit Jerry's old college friend, Mitch (Kurt Fuller), While Ted's friend Harvey (A. J. Trauth), gets him and Oliver in trouble with a creepy neighbor.
Oliver may get in big trouble when he and Michael go looking for something in Michael's closet. They end up finding a porno mag belong to Michael's dad.
Oliver and Joyce try to get tickets to a TV show. Meanwhile, Oliver thinks his parents are getting a divorce after learning that Joyce's parents are headed for divorce.
Oliver and Ted have a crush on the new girl in the neighborhood, named Elke (Maggie Grace). Meanwhile, Jerry and Charlotte try to get into an old club unaware that it's all about jazz and marijuana.
Oliver orders X-Ray glasses from a comic book and finds out that they don't work. He decides to get revenge on Barnaby Rollins (Richard Kind) the company owner, in order to get his money back.
Oliver creates a door knocker that Mr. Stitt (Ethan Phillips) does not approve of and instructs that it be removed. Charlotte gets help from Carl the building Superintendent (Kenneth Mars) on how to beat Mr. Stitt in the upcoming election.
Oliver learns that he is going to the lowest level of the grade levels in his school because his former teacher Mrs. Heller punished him. So, Oliver tries to figure out how to get back to level one without taking the Iowa test. Meanwhile, Jerry tries to get people interested in his latest invention "The Disposa Toothbrush".
Note: This episode was originally produced for season 1.
Oliver forms his own band called "Oliver and the Otters" to impress Bonnie. Meanwhile, Jerry asks Charlotte to fill in as his dental assistant after his previous one got hurt.
Charlotte and Ted try to teach Jerry how to throw a ball... in a more manly fashion.
Note: Originally produced for season 1, this episode was seen only on West Coast stations as the 7:00 timeslot was pre-empted by NASCAR coverage on Fox.
Oliver tries out for the annual talent show hoping he can impress Bonnie. Meanwhile, Jerry turns the basement into a fallout shelter as a 15-anniversary present for Charlotte.
Jerry and his family decide to take a trip to Coney Island. The vacation causes a feud to spark between Jerry and his neighbor over a parking spot. Meanwhile, Oliver gets his dream job of being a paper boy, But realizes that it's not all that it's cracked up to be.
22
14
"Babysitting"
Howard Gewirtz
Brenda Hsueh
September 12, 2004 (2004-09-12)
211
N/A
Oliver is conned into baby-sitting for Joyce, but she gets more than she bargained for when Oliver steals her steady job.
Note: This episode was seen only on West Coast stations as the 7:00 timeslot was pre-empted by NFL coverage on Fox.
Oliver can never seem to take a good photo and therefore hates picture day. This year he is determined to take control of the situation and do things on his terms, so he wears a superhero costume as a method of protest. Meanwhile, Ted learns that his baseball coach (Sam Horrigan) is dating Elke.
