Lewis & Clark (TV series)

Not to be confused with Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Lewis & Clark is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for one season from October 29, 1981, to July 30, 1982. The series stars Gabe Kaplan (who also created the series) and Guich Koock.^[1][2] The series was produced by Carson Productions and it was distributed by Columbia Pictures Television.^[3]

Lewis & Clark
Guich Koock (left) and Gabe Kaplan (right) as Lewis and Clark
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Gabe Kaplan
Written by	Hank Bradford Richard Gurman Gabe Kaplan
Starring	Gabe Kaplan Guich Koock Ilene Graff Aaron Fletcher Wendy Holcombe Clifton James Amy Linker David Hollander Michael McManus
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producers	George Shapiro Tom Tenowich
Producer	Ed Scharlach
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	25 mins.
Production company	Carson Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	October 29, 1981 (1981-10-29) – July 30, 1982 (1982-07-30)

Plot

For a native New Yorker, Stewart Lewis (Gabe Kaplan) has a strange—some would say twisted—ambition: he wants to own a country-music club. His wife and kids hate the idea. Despite their misgivings, Stewart moves his family to Luckenbach, Texas, where he bought the Nassau County Cafe, a joint that has had nine owners in the last six years and sports a sign that says "Always Under New Management". While his sidekick Roscoe Clark (Guich Koock) stands by, Stewart lets fly one-liners and bad puns.

The series featured an episode with guest appearances by Robert Hegyes and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, who were two of Kaplan's co-stars on Welcome Back, Kotter. At one point during the episode, Hegyes' character tells Lewis, "You should have been a teacher."

Cast

• Gabe Kaplan as Stewart Lewis
• Guich Koock as Roscoe Clark
• Ilene Graff as Alicia Lewis
• David Hollander as Keith Lewis
• Wendy Holcombe as Wendy
• Clifton James as Silas Jones
• Amy Linker as Kelly Lewis
• Michael McManus as John

Reception

The series was intended to be a comeback vehicle for Kaplan after the cancellation of the popular series Welcome Back, Kotter. Ratings for the series, however, were low and NBC canceled the series in January 1982 after eight episodes. The remaining five episodes were burned off in July 1982.^[2]

Broadcast history

The first four episodes aired Thursdays at 8:30-9:00 on NBC. The next four episodes aired Saturdays at 9:30-10:00. The last five episodes aired Fridays at 8:00-8:30.

Episodes

Nº	Title	Written by:	Original air date
1	"Welcome to Luckenbach"	Gabe Kaplan, Marc Sheffler	October 29, 1981 (1981-10-29)
Stewart aims to fire the saloon manager, Roscoe Clark.
2	"Opposites Attract"	Ed Scharlach, Tom Tenowich	November 5, 1981 (1981-11-05)
Roscoe falls for Alicia's friend, a fashion model from Paris.
3	"The Horse's Tale"	Richard Gurman	November 12, 1981 (1981-11-12)
Stu does not know what to tell Roscoe when his prize-winning rodeo horse dies — with Stu in the saddle.
4	"Alicia's New York Night"	Hank Bradford	November 19, 1981 (1981-11-19)
Roscoe turns the club into a slice of the Big Apple when Stu and Alicia have to cancel their trip to New York for their wedding anniversary.
5	"The Uptight End"	Gabe Kaplan	December 12, 1981 (1981-12-12)
Stu is the host of a luncheon for a Heisman trophy candidate (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs). Robert Hegyes also guest-stars.
6	"The Family Affair"	Richard Gurman	December 19, 1981 (1981-12-19)
Roscoe's father aims to remarry, but when Roscoe learns of the woman's past, he's dead set against it.
7	"Your Cheatin' Heart"	Laura Levine	December 26, 1981 (1981-12-26)
Roscoe suspects Stu and Wendy are having an affair.
8	"Oil!"	Hank Bradford, Richard Gurman	January 2, 1982 (1982-01-02)
A millionaire (Jay Garner) wants to buy Stu's club, believing it sits on top of a gusher.
9	"Dear John"	Jerry Ross	July 2, 1982 (1982-07-02)
10	"Friends"	Gabe Kaplan	July 9, 1982 (1982-07-09)
Kelly has to choose between her best friend and the girls on the cheerleading squad.
11	"Yellow Stu of Texas"	Bob Baublitz	July 16, 1982 (1982-07-16)
Stu gets pressed into a public match with Silas after Keith loses a fight to Silas's son.
12	"In Charm's Way"	Alan Myerson	July 23, 1982 (1982-07-23)
Roscoe's feelings are hurt when Stu tells him he is spending too much time around the Lewis house.
13	"Tex Hex"	*	July 30, 1982 (1982-07-30)
The crew at the Nassau County Cafe gets to perform when they lend the bar to a disc jockey for a live radio broadcast.

* Unknown

Production notes

The series was created by series star Gabe Kaplan, and produced by Johnny Carson's Carson Productions.^[4]