Dave's World

Dave's World
Dave's World intertitle
Created by	Fred Barron
Based on	the books Dave Barry's Greatest Hits and Dave Barry Turns 40 by Dave Barry
Starring	Harry Anderson DeLane Matthews Zane Carney Andrew Ducote Shadoe Stevens Meshach Taylor J.C. Wendel
Opening theme	"You May Be Right" by Southside Johnny
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	98
Production
Executive producers	Jonathan Axelrod James Widdoes Fred Barron
Producer	Faye Oshima Belyeu
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	The Producers Entertainment Group Ltd. Axelrod-Widdoes Productions Fred Barron Productions (seasons 1–2) Livestock Productions (seasons 1–2) Kitten in the Oven Productions (seasons 3–4) CBS Productions
Distributor	Eyemark Entertainment
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 20, 1993 – June 20, 1997

Dave's World is an American sitcom television series created by Fred Barron, that aired on CBS from September 20, 1993 to June 20, 1997. The series is based on the writing of Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry.

Plot

The show focuses on the daily trials and tribulations of columnist Dave Barry (Harry Anderson) and his wife, Beth (DeLane Matthews) along with their sons, Tommy (Zane Carney) and Willie (Andrew Ducote). Dave worked at the Miami Record-Dispatch (a fictionalized version of The Miami Herald where Barry worked in real life) where Kenny Beckett (Shadoe Stevens) was his editor although Dave typically worked from home where Mia (J.C. Wendel) was his assistant. Neighbor Sheldon Baylor (Meshach Taylor) was a successful plastic surgeon and Dave's best friend from high school. Starting in the second season, the Barrys hired Eric (Patrick Warburton) to do some work on their house which led to Eric and Mia dating and eventually moving next door to the Barrys and getting married. Later in the series, Dave completes a book based on his and his friends' lives during the 1960s, and Shel loses all of his money when his business manager runs off. Kenny is also fired from the newspaper and becomes a weatherman.

Setting and background

The show was set in Miami, Florida (which is Barry's actual base of operations). It was based on Barry's books Dave Barry's Greatest Hits and Dave Barry Turns 40.^[1]

The show's theme song was a version of Billy Joel's "You May Be Right" sung by Southside Johnny; however, it is not used in the DVD releases (see below).

During the run of the show, the real Dave Barry divorced his wife, Beth.^[2]

Cast

Main

• Harry Anderson as Dave Barry
• DeLane Matthews as Beth Barry
• Shadoe Stevens as Kenny Beckett
• J.C. Wendel as Mia
• Zane Carney as Tommy Barry
• Andrew Ducote as Willie Barry
• Meshach Taylor as Dr. Sheldon "Shel" Baylor
• Patrick Warburton as Eric (seasons 3–4)

Recurring

• Tammy Lauren as Julie (season 1)
• Eugene Roche as Eric, Jr. (season 3)
• Bea Arthur as Mel Bloom (season 4)

Episodes

Season 1 (1993–94)

Season 2 (1994–95)

Season 3 (1995–96)

Season 4 (1996–97)

Home media

CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) released the first two seasons of Dave's World on DVD in Region 1 in 2008 and 2009.^[3][4] The theme song for the DVD releases has been replaced with a generic rock track.

On July 24, 2012, Season 3 was released as a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release via Amazon.com's CreateSpace program.^[5]

Ratings

The show was originally a hit for CBS when it aired on Monday night. However, by the third season, it was moved to Wednesdays, and the ratings declined. By the fourth season, the show had moved to the "Friday night death slot" and the resulting drop in ratings led to the program's cancellation.

References

External links

• Official website
• Dave's World at IMDb
• Dave's World at Rotten Tomatoes
• Dave's World at TV.com