Check It Out! (Canadian TV series)
Mid-1980s CTV sitcom From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Check it Out! is a Canadian television sitcom, which aired on CTV from September 1985 to April 1988. The series also aired in the United States in syndication and on the USA Network.[1]
 |
| Check It Out! | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Brian Cooke |
| Developed by | Arne Sultan Stuart Gillard |
| Starring | Don Adams Dinah Christie |
| Composer | Russ Little |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 66 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Charles Falzon |
| Producers | Ben Gordon Frank Peppiatt |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | DLT Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | CTV (Canada) Syndication (United States) USA Network (United States) |
| Release | September 21, 1985 – April 1, 1988 |
| Related | |
| Tripper's Day Slinger's Day Full Frys | |
Based on the British series Tripper's Day, Check It Out! was set in a fictional supermarket called Cobb's, located in Brampton, Ontario and stars Don Adams as manager Howard Bannister. The cast also included Dinah Christie, Henry Beckman, Gordon Clapp, Barbara Hamilton, Elizabeth Hanna, Kathleen Laskey, Jeff Pustil, Simon Reynolds, Aaron Schwartz and Tonya Williams.[1] The series was taped in front of a studio audience at CFTO-TV in Toronto.
- Don Adams as Howard Bannister
- Dinah Christie as Edna Moseley
- Aaron Schwartz as Leslie Rappaport
- Elizabeth Hanna as T.C. Collingwood (season 3)
- Tonya Williams as Jennifer Woods (season 1)
- Jeff Pustil as Jack Christian
- Kathleen Laskey as Marlene Weimaraner
- Henry Beckman as Alf (season 1)
- Simon Reynolds as Murray Amherst (seasons 1–2)
- Gordon Clapp as Viker (seasons 2–3)
Season 1 (1985-86)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "No Security in Security" | October 2, 1985 | |
|
When Cobb's grocery store has a new video security system installed, Manager Howard Bannister must fire Alf, the store's security guard of fifty years. | ||||
| 2 | 2 | "Labor and Other Relations" | October 9, 1985 | |
|
After Cobb's institutes a policy to cut coffee breaks, Marlene threatens to start a strike. | ||||
| 3 | 3 | "No Cause for Alarm" | October 16, 1985 | |
|
Howard gets an interview to become an assistant manager at a luxury hotel, but has to deal with a faulty security alarm keeping him from getting sleep. | ||||
| 4 | 4 | "X-Ray Marks the Spot" | October 23, 1985 | |
|
The employees are scheduled to get a physical exam and everyone reacts in different ways. Meanwhile, Edna thinks she may be pregnant with Howard's baby. | ||||
| 5 | 5 | "Everyone's a Winner" | October 30, 1985 | |
|
When the store holds a promotional bingo game with a free trip to Greece for the winner, a printing error on the cards could give every participant the grand prize. | ||||
| 6 | 6 | "Seven Days Make One Week" | November 6, 1985 | |
|
A sexy woman giving away samples in the store has all the men drooling, even Howard, which leaves Edna jealous. | ||||
| 7 | 7 | "A Rosenbloom by Any Other Name" | November 13, 1985 | |
|
When Jennifer thinks she is being denied a raise because she is black, she hires an attorney to sue for discrimination. Meanwhile, Howard deals with an elderly woman waiting outside the store. | ||||
| 8 | 8 | "Or Get Off the Pot" | November 20, 1985 | |
|
When Edna thinks her relationship with Howard has hit a dead end, she convinces him to go to a group therapy session to put it back on track. | ||||
| 9 | 9 | "Phantom of the Market" | November 27, 1985 | |
|
Before Howard can take a Hawaiian vacation, he has to find the culprit behind the disappearance of several thousand dollars worth of gourmet food from the store. | ||||
| 10 | 10 | "Car Pool" | December 4, 1985 | |
|
When the head office takes away employee parking to make room for customers, Christian forms a carpool that leads to trouble. | ||||
| 11 | 11 | "Love on Sale" | December 11, 1985 | |
|
Murray starts a matchmaking service in the store to earn extra money for a used car, but his new venture lands Howard in jail before an important business meeting. | ||||
| 12 | 12 | "Skip to the Loo" | December 18, 1985 | |
|
When Howard is forced to give a job to the delinquent son of an old army buddy, he fears for his life when the young man is found dead in the meat locker. Meanwhile, a man tries breaking the jump rope record in the store. | ||||
| 13 | 13 | "Love is a Many Splendored Alf" | January 8, 1986 | |
|
Edna sets up Alf with an old friend of hers after the woman shows an interest in the security guard. Meanwhile, Howard has to deal with various electrical problems in the store and an inept electrician. | ||||
| 14 | 14 | "Supermarket Superbowlers" | January 15, 1986 | |
|
The stores bowling team has made it to the league finals, but when their best bowler Murray breaks his arm, Howard must decide whether or not to let team alternate Edna play. | ||||
| 15 | 15 | "Otherwise Engaged" | January 22, 1986 | |
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Edna gets Marlene's new diamond ring stuck on her finger and her visiting mother thinks that she has become engaged. | ||||
| 16 | 16 | "Store Wars" | January 29, 1986 | |
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A new store opens up across from Cobbs which leads to a price war. Meanwhile, Howard becomes attracted to the temp filling in for a vacationing Edna. | ||||
| 17 | 17 | "Banzai" | February 1, 1986 | |
| 18 | 18 | "Dog Day After Dark" | February 8, 1986 | |
|
It's Howards birthday and the staff is planning a surprise party, but they're in for a bigger surprise when a group of protesters take them hostage. | ||||
| 19 | 19 | "My Darling Serpentine" | February 19, 1986 | |
|
It's the anniversary of Howard and Edna's first date and Howard sends Alf to get his present for her. Meanwhile, Murray becomes dejected when Marlene turns down his invitation to prom. | ||||
| 20 | 20 | "Edna's New Friend" | February 26, 1986 | |
| 21 | 21 | "Jack Be Numbskull" | March 5, 1986 | |
| 22 | 22 | "Sex Appeal" | March 12, 1986 | |
Season 2 (1986-87)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "Getting to Know You" | October 3, 1986 |
| 24 | 2 | "Edna's Phantom Romance" | October 10, 1986 |
| 25 | 3 | "Buddy Can You Spare a Job?" | October 17, 1986 |
| 26 | 4 | "Operation Bannister" | October 24, 1986 |
| 27 | 5 | "The Mis-Matchmaker" | October 31, 1986 |
| 28 | 6 | "The Bear Facts" | November 7, 1986 |
| 29 | 7 | "A Chocolate Chip Off the Old Block" | November 14, 1986 |
| 30 | 8 | "Homewrecker Howard" | November 21, 1986 |
| 31 | 9 | "Don't Take My Job, Please" | December 12, 1986 |
| 32 | 10 | "Edna Displays Talent" | December 19, 1986 |
| 33 | 11 | "Short One Jockey" | December 26, 1986 |
| 34 | 12 | "High Tech" | January 11, 1987 |
| 35 | 13 | "Love and Marriage" | January 18, 1987 |
| 36 | 14 | "Let's Get Metaphysical" | January 25, 1987 |
| 37 | 15 | "Tots 'R Us" | February 1, 1987 |
| 38 | 16 | "The Oddest Couple" | February 8, 1987 |
| 39 | 17 | "Chain Reaction" | February 15, 1987 |
| 40 | 18 | "My Girl Friday, Saturday, Sunday" | February 22, 1987 |
| 41 | 19 | "Only God Can Save a Tree" | March 1, 1987 |
| 42 | 20 | "The Son Also Rises" | March 8, 1987 |
| 43 | 21 | "Here Comes the Bribe" | March 15, 1987 |
| 44 | 22 | "Put Your Best Face Forward" | March 22, 1987 |
Season 3 (1987-88)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | 1 | "The Umpire Strikes Back" | October 4, 1987 |
| 46 | 2 | "Hey, Take Me Over" | October 10, 1987 |
| 47 | 3 | "Puppy Love" | October 11, 1987 |
| 48 | 4 | "I'm Okay, You're a Spy" | October 17, 1987 |
| 49 | 5 | "Not for Commercial Use" | October 18, 1987 |
| 50 | 6 | "Edna's Choice" | October 24, 1987 |
| 51 | 7 | "He's No Heavy, He's My Brother" | October 25, 1987 |
| 52 | 8 | "Mutiny on Mr. Christian" | November 7, 1987 |
| 53 | 9 | "Bannister & Dale" | November 14, 1987 |
| 54 | 10 | "Shrink from Sendrax" | November 15, 1987 |
| 55 | 11 | "The Naked Truth" | November 21, 1987 |
| 56 | 12 | "Howard Hemingway" | November 22, 1987 |
| 57 | 13 | "Edna, Howard, Cathy and Morty" | November 28, 1987 |
| 58 | 14 | "Marlene for Hire" | December 12, 1987 |
| 59 | 15 | "Make Room for Daddy Christian" | December 27, 1987 |
| 60 | 16 | "My Hero, Mr. Bannister" | January 3, 1988 |
| 61 | 17 | "Fatal Harassment" | January 10, 1988 |
| 62 | 18 | "Vote for Me" | January 16, 1988 |
| 63 | 19 | "Losing It" | January 30, 1988 |
| 64 | 20 | "Smotherly Love" | January 31, 1988 |
| 65 | 21 | "Educating Leslie" | February 7, 1988 |
| 66 | 22 | "For the Book" | February 14, 1988 |
In 2008, four episodes of the series were featured on WGN America's "Outta Sight Retro Night" programming block. As of 2013, the program is seen on Comedy Gold in Canada daily. In 2023, the show is available to watch on Tubi and Pluto TV for free.
In Latin America the show was called Supermercado 99 ("Supermarket 99"), a reference to Barbara Feldon's character in Get Smart, [2] while in Italy, the show was called Il supermercato più pazzo del mondo ("The craziest supermarket in the world").
In Sweden, comical duo Stefan & Krister star in Full Frys, a TV series largely based on Check it Out! and Tripper's Day.
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