Frank's Place
Tim Reid (center) in Frank's Place
Format	Comedy-drama
Created by	Tim Reid, Hugh Wilson
Starring	Tim Reid Daphne Maxwell Reid Tony Burton Virginia Capers Robert Harper Lincoln Kilpatrick Charles Lampkin William Thomas, Jr. Frances E. Williams Don Yesso
Theme music composer	Eddie DeLange & Louis Alter
Opening theme	"Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" Performed by Louis Armstrong
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	22
Production
Running time	30 mins.
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	September 14, 1987 – March 22, 1988

Frank's Place is a CBS comedy-drama series which aired for 22 episodes in 1987 and 1988. The series was created by Hugh Wilson and executive-produced by Wilson and starred Tim Reid.

[edit] Plot

Set in New Orleans, Frank's Place chronicled the life of Frank Parrish (Tim Reid), a well-to-do professor at Brown University, an Ivy League university in Providence, who inherits a restaurant, Chez Louisiane. In the premiere, Frank travels to New Orleans intending to sell the restaurant. But when Frank returns to New England, the life he's known there suddenly goes inexplicably haywire. The viewers know the reason: Waitress Emeritus (she waits only on customers of twenty years or more of patronage) of Chez Louisiane, Miss Marie (Frances E. Williams) has a voodoo spin (curse) put on Frank ensuring that he will come back to carry on his family's business. Feeling he has no choice, Frank returns to New Orleans and makes many discoveries about Black culture in New Orleans, the differences between northern and southern lifestyles, and himself. On its surface, "Frank's Place" was a fish-out-of-water story, like "The Beverly Hillbillies" or "Green Acres." However, the characterizations and story lines of "Frank's Place" were far more sophisticated than these shows. In addition, "Frank's Place" dealt with race and class issues with more subtlety than most shows of its era.

[edit] Supporting cast

Daphne Maxwell Reid (Tim Reid's real-life wife) played Hanna Griffin, Frank's love interest. Tony Burton, Virginia Capers, Robert Harper, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Charles Lampkin, Francesca Roberts, Don Yesso, and William Thomas, Jr. rounded out the cast.

[edit] Look and feel

Unlike most sitcom productions which are videotaped, Frank's Place was filmed with a single camera and used no laugh track.

It used Louis Armstrong's classic "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?" as its theme song. The look of the restaurant and Tim Reid's character was inspired by Austin Leslie's Chez Helene restaurant in New Orleans.

[edit] Praise

Frank's Place received the Television Critics Association award for outstanding comedy series in 1987. In 1987, it won an Emmy for best writing in a comedy series. The show was praised for its realistic portrayal of black culture in New Orleans.

[edit] Possible DVD Release in the near future

On Oct. 6, 2008; CNN.com/Entertainment Marquee Blog with Showbiz Tonight article: Not Coming to a Store Near You. The reason why Frank's Place is not going to be released on DVD anytime soon, is because of the background music used on the program. In order to release the show on DVD, they would either have to pay a great many musicians a lot of money, or omit the music which would alter the programs impact on the viewer. Until the music licence fee issue is resolved, there will be no DVD release in spite of the numerous requests to do so. ^[1]

However, on November 11, 2008, it was reported on the web site TV Shows on DVD that plans are underway for an eventual DVD release, although Tim Reid has said that, due to the prohibitive costs of the music rights, a new musical score will be recorded that will "recreate the mood of the music." He adds, "it has to be the mood of the show or I'd rather not do it." ^[2] No date has been yet given for a release.

[edit] External links

• Frank's Place entry at The Museum of Broadcast Communications
• Frank's Place at the Internet Movie Database
• Frank's Place at TV.com

[edit] References