Shaping Up

This article is about the 1984 TV show. For the album and song by "The Sherbs", see Shaping Up (album).

Not to be confused with shape up (disambiguation).

Shaping Up is an American sitcom created by writer-producers Sam Simon and Ken Estin, which ran for five weeks on ABC from March 20 until April 17, 1984.

Shaping Up
Also known as	Welcome to the Club
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Ken Estin Sam Simon
Written by	Ken Estin Merrill Markoe Sam Simon
Directed by	Michael Lessac
Starring	Leslie Nielsen Michael Fontaine Jennifer Tilly Shawn Weatherly Jake Steinfeld
Composer	Fletcher Adams
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	5
Production
Executive producers	Ken Estin Sam Simon
Producer	Richard Sakai
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Estin-Simon Productions Paramount Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	March 20 (1984-03-20) – April 17, 1984 (1984-04-17)

Synopsis

A spring replacement in 1984, Shaping Up, originally titled Welcome to the Club, was given the 9:00 Tuesday slot following Three's Company. Leslie Nielsen played Buddy Fox, curmudgeonly owner of the Buddy Fox Health Club. Michael Fontaine played Ben, the club's manager who was like a son to Buddy and served as the show's voice of sanity. Other cast members included Jennifer Tilly, Shawn Weatherly and Jake Steinfeld of Body by Jake fame.

Five episodes were broadcast before the cancellation, leaving one unaired.^[1] The role of Ben was first played by Tim Robbins, whom the network replaced with Fontaine.

Cast

• Leslie Nielsen as Buddy Fox
• Cathie Shirriff as Zoya Antonova
• Michael Fontaine as Ben
• Jennifer Tilly as Shannon Winters
• Shawn Weatherly as Melissa McDonald

US television ratings

Episodes	Start Date	End Date	Nielsen Rank	Nielsen Rating[2]
5	March 20, 1984	April 17, 1984	53	15.0[a]

1. Tied with Silver Spoons and Maggie Briggs

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Baby Be Mine"	Michael Lessac	Sam Simon & Ken Estin[3]	March 20, 1984 (1984-03-20)
Buddy Fox's unfulfilled urge for fatherhood leads him to try purchasing a baby from a young pregnant woman in financial problems (Allyce Beasley), who only gives up on the deal after holding her newborn.[1]
2	"Ex Pede Herculem"	Michael Lessac	Sam Simon & Ken Estin[3]	March 27, 1984 (1984-03-27)
Ben suggests Buddy to perform a feat of strength as promotion, leading him to try lifting the front of a Volkswagen.[3]
3	"Defusing the Muse"	Michael Lessac	Ken Estin, Sam Simon, Merrill Markoe[3]	April 3, 1984 (1984-04-03)
Shannon discovers the latest recruit in the health club is an award-winning playwright.[3]
4	"I Should Have Danced All Night"	Michael Lessac	Ken Estin & Sam Simon[3]	April 10, 1984 (1984-04-10)
Melissa goes to her first Hollywood party while Ben and Buddy replace the shower tiles.[3]
5	"Mixed Nuts"	Michael Lessac	Ken Estin & Sam Simon[3]	April 17, 1984 (1984-04-17)
Buddy considers his own mortality after the death of a friend.