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| Available at Amazon.com |
“Charles in Charge of our days and our nights. Charles in Charge of our wrongs, and our rights. And I sing…I want Charles in Charge of meeee!” I don’t care whether you liked the show, hated it, watched it, or didn’t watch it; you knew and probably still know those lyrics.
Charles in Charge was like almost every other sitcom from the eighties in that there wasn’t much to it. Charles is a college kid who needs some extra cash so he moves in with a lovely family known as Pembrokes and is their live-in nanny. Hey, can’t get a much better gig then that as a college student. Go to school during the day while the kids are in school. Come home and feed them and watch them. You also get paid for it and have a place to live. I would have loved that setup. But that was the first season; things changed a little bit by the third. Actually, in the second season the Pembrokes were gone and now the Powells had moved in. Otherwise, the series was exactly the same.
Charles lived with the Powells who consisted of Ellen and her three kids Jamie, Adam, and Sarah along with their grandfather Walter. Ellen’s husband was in the military so he wasn’t seen all too much. Charles had some fun times with the kids which usually made for “hilarious” outcomes. But there were serious moments as well when the elder Charles would have to step in and offer up his wisdom so that the young ones could stay on the right paths in life. Consider it a watered down version of The Brady Bunch with the whole lessons thing.
The brightest spot of the series is the only other character that was around from day one to the end and that’s Charles’ friend Buddy (Willie Aames). He is the wild and wacky friend that always happens to be around and is there strictly to get the laughs rolling. Buddy is Charles’ best friend and he is always there to also help out around the house in case Charles has a problem to deal with or a hot date to get to. It’s too bad (for them, not the viewers) that Buddy’s help always ends up causing more trouble then its worth. Throw in Walter’s classic one-liners and Charles in Charge is one damn funny sitcom that has withstood the tests of time and proves even today that it’s five year run was no fluke.
Episodes
Disc One:
Yule Laff
Piece Of Cake
Dorm Warnings
Speechless
Infatuation
Role Model
The Extremely Odd Couple
Poppa The Sailor Man
Bottle Baby
Disc Two:
Dear Charles
The Pickle Plot
The Buddy System
Sarah Steps Out
Trading Papers
Five Easy Pizzas
Getting In
Hero Today Gone Tomorrow
Dutiful Dreamer
Disc Three:
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Runaround Charles
Where The Auction Is
Barbellas
The Boy Who Loved Women
The Blackboard Bungle
The Heart Burglar
May The Best Man Loose
The episodes are shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and what more can you except from episodes that are twenty years old then what you get here. There are no glaring problems although they do look their age.
The episodes are heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound and this is all that’s needed for virtually any sitcom so no complaints here.
None
Charles in Charge is one of those series that produced genuine laughs because it really was, and still is, funny. After the first season which was sub par, things really began to come around for Charles and the whole Powell gang. It’s lessons being learned through the art of obvious comedy and a little bit of slapstick. I’m telling you, Walter and Buddy are going to have your sides aching after only a few episodes. Really kind of strange how time changes things though isn’t it? Scott Baio is now on a reality television show trying to find a girlfriend. Willie Aames is a born again Christian that does shows all over the place as Bible Man. Never would have thought that’s how those two would end up. Still, this series aired almost twenty years ago and makes for some throwback laughs that are great even today. No special features are included, but that doesn’t really surprise me any. This is a great set for anyone to pick up and you don’t even need to have the first two seasons to follow along.
Hmmm…I wonder if Scott knows Joanie’s whereabouts?
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Arts Alliance America presents Charles in Charge: The Complete Third Season. Created by: Michael Jacobs. Starring: Scott Baio, Willie Aames, James T. Callahan, Nicole Eggert, Josie Davis, Alexander Polinsky. Running time: 586 minutes on 3 discs. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: May 20, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
About Danny Cox
