Benson

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Benson
Genre	Situation Comedy
Running time	22 minutes
Starring	Robert Guillaume
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Original channel	ABC
Original run	1979–1986
No. of episodes	158

Benson was an American television series which aired from 1979 to 1986 on ABC. The character of butler Benson DuBois, played by Robert Guillaume, had originally appeared on the soap opera parody Soap. Benson currently reruns on TV Land.

Contents 1 Show description 2 Cast 3 Reruns 4 Episode List 4.1 Season 1 4.2 Season 2 5 External links

[edit] Show description

In the show, Benson had been hired to be the butler for the scatterbrained and widowed Governor of a never-specified U.S. state, Eugene Gatling (James Noble), and his daughter Katie (Missy Gold). Governor Gatling was cousin to Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond), a character on Soap.

Benson's housekeeping dilemmas, his fights with the German housekeeper Gretchen Kraus (Inga Swenson), and his interactions with Clayton Endicott III (Rene Auberjonois), who assisted Governor Gatling as Secretary of State, made up the bulk of the stories each week. Perhaps the best remembered gag of the series is when Benson calls out 'Where are you, Kraus?' which gets the reply 'I'm on the phone!' uttered in tone and manner as if she were on the toilet.

Benson worked his way up the ladder during the series, going from butler to head of the Governor's household staff, to state budget director, and eventually was elevated to the position of Lieutenant Governor. During the final episodes of the 1985-1986 season, Benson ran for Governor against Gatling.

The premise was that initially Gatling was prohibited from running for re-election due to term limits. Later it was revealed that he could run again if he did so as an independent candidate, which he decided to do. By this time, Benson had already won the nomination of Gatling's party, setting the stage for the two to go head-to-head in the general election.

At the end of the series' final episode (7th season finale), it was election night, and with the race still too close to call, Benson and Gatling, who had strained relations due to the race, made their peace with one another and sat down together to watch election returns on television. As the broadcaster began to announce that a winner in the election was at last being projected, the episode ended with that "Who won?" cliffhanger as the series ended.

Originally three endings had been shot involving either a Gatling win, a win by Benson, or a surprise win by a wildcard candidate in the form of a crooked Senator, putting both of them out of a job. None of these endings proved satisfactory to anyone involved, so the decision was made to keep the show's ending unresolved.

[edit] Cast

• Robert Guillaume as Lt. Governor Benson DuBois
• James Noble as Governor Gene Xavier Gatlin
• Inga Swenson as Gretchen Wilhelmina Kraus
• Rene Auberjonois as Clayton Runnymede Endicott III (1980-1986)
• Missy Gold as Katie Gatling
• Caroline McWilliams as Marcie Hill
• Ethan Phillips as Peter 'Pete' John Downey (1980-1986)
• Jerry Seinfeld as Frankie (1980-1981)
• Didi Conn as Denise Stevens Downey (1981-1985)
• Bob Fraser as Sen. Leonard Tyler (1983-1986)
• Billie Bird as Mrs. Cassidy (1984-1986)
• Donna LaBrie as Sen. Diane Hartford (1985-1986)

[edit] Reruns

In June 2006, TV Land began airing reruns of Benson starting with a weekend marathon on June 3 and 4, followed by its regular lineup after that. [1]

[edit] Episode List

[edit] Season 1

1. Benson (Pilot) (9/13/1979)
2. The President's Double (9/27/1979)
3. Trust Me (9/20/1979)
4. Benson in Love (10/4/1979)
5. Conflict of Interest (10/18/1979)
6. The Layoff (10/25/1979)
7. Snowbound (11/1/1979)
8. Jessica (11/8/1979)
9. Don't Quote Me (11/22/1979)
10. War Stories (11/29/1979)
11. Ghost Story (12/6/1979)
12. Taylor's Bid (12/13/1979)
13. One Strike, You're Out (12/27/1979)
14. Just Friends (1/3/1980)
15. Chain of Command (1/10/1980)
16. Bugging the Governor (1/24/1980)
17. Kraus Affair (1/31/1980)
18. Checkmate (2/7/1980)
19. Cold Storage (2/28/1980)
20. Old Man Gatlin' (3/6/1980)
21. Power Play (3/20/1980)
22. Takin' It to the Streets (3/27/1980)
23. The Army Wants You (5/1/1980)
24. Marcy's Vacation (5/8/1980)

[edit] Season 2

• 25. Thick as Thieves (10/31/1980)
• 26. Benson in the Hospital (11/7/1980)
• 27. Fool's Gold (11/14/1980)
• 28. Masquerade (11/21/1980)
• 29. First Lady (11/28/1980)
• 30. Citizen Kraus (12/12/1980)
• 31. Benson's Groupie (12/19/1980)
• 32. In High Places (1/9/1981)
• 33. Old School Ties (1/16/1981)
• 34. The Apartment (1/23/1981)
• 35. Big Buddy (2/6/1981)
• 36. Fireside Chat (2/13/1981)
• 37. Marcy's Wedding (2/20/1981)
• 38. Rivals (2/27/1981)
• 39. No Sad Songs (3/6/1981)
• 40. Clayton, Go Home (3/13/1981)
• 41. Easy Kid Stuff (3/20/1981)
• 42. Homework (4/3/1981)
• 43. Handwriting on the Wall (4/10/1981)
• 44. The Governor's House Call (5/8/1981)
• 45. All Shook Up (5/15/1981)
• 46. Lifesaver (5/22/1981)

[edit] External links

• TV Guide's Benson page, with TV Listings, Photos, Videos, Exclusive News and More.
• Benson Episode Guide
• Benson Fan Page
• Sitcoms Online message board

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