In colonial Philadelphia, innkeeper Jeremy Proctor tries to keep the Cock and Hound Inn afloat with revolution lurking just around the corner. His middle daughter, Eliza, frets that her hair is becoming “less flaxen” and sees her hopes for a husband fading. Her bookish older sister, Maude, is more interested in spelling bees than dating and the youngest, Abby, is becoming far too involved with the local revolutionaries (especially the boys). Jeremy’s wife, Annabelle, decides what they need is to send the girls to the Free Mason’s Ball, but Jeremy lacks the necessary funds. Jeremy is also under pressure from the Colonial Governor, Massengill, who’s always looking for new things to tax. Thanks to the new candle tax (suggested by Maude), Jeremy swallows his pride and tries to borrow money from his wife’s brother-in-law, George Washington, but Jeremy refuses to pay George’s exorbitant interest. The future of the entire Proctor may be at stake…
written by Martin Rips and Joseph Staretski
directed by David Trainer
Cast: Ryan O’Neal (Jeremy Proctor), Lesley-Anne Down (Annabelle Proctor), Sarah Koskoff (Maude), Judith Jones (Eliza), Danielle Harris (Abby), Gregory Sporleder (Bert), Adam West (George Washington), Jeffrey Tambor (Governor Massengill)
Notes: This is the pilot episode for what was intended to be an American version of Blackadder. Produced in 1992 for CBS, the series was not picked up and the pilot remains unreleased commercially, although it did air once and is available for viewing online.
Ryan O’Neal went on from the TV drama Peyton Place to become one of the golden boys of 1970s cinema starring in such films as Paper Moon (1973) and A Bridge too Far (1977).
Lesley-Anne Down’s main forte has been costume dramas, including a stint on classic UK drama Upstairs, Downstairs and the three North & South miniseries. Genre work is minimal, but includes From Beyond the Grave (1973) and Beastmaster III (1996).
Sarah Koskoff appeared as Theresa Nemman in The X-Files (1993), the original pilot for the series. She returned several times in that role. She also made appearances on SeaQuest DSV and Millennium.
Judith Jones has made appearances on the genre series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Sabrina The Teenage Witch. She also portrayed Debbie Reynolds in Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story (1995).
Danielle Harris appeared as Jamie Lloyd in both Halloween 4 (1988) and Halloween 5 (1989). She also appeared on genre series Eerie, Indiana and Charmed. Since 1998 she has provided the voice for Debbie Thornberry on the TV series The Wild Thornberrys and in its spin-off movies.
Gregory Sporleder has made guest appearances on shows such as NYPD Blue, The Drew Carey Show and Smallville. His film work includes diverse projects such as A League of Their Own (1992), True Romance (1993) and I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998).
Jeffrey Tambor first made an impression with his scene-stealing performance in …And Justice for All (1979). He finally gained national recognition for his work as Hank Kingsley on the HBO sitcom The Larry Sanders Show and later as patriarch of the Bluth family on Arrested Development. He finally won award recognition for his lead role on the Amazon Prime series Transparent. Other successful His genre work includes Muppets from Space (1999), Hellboy (2004) and the forward-thinking sci-fi series Max Headroom.
Adam West is best known for the role of Batman, a part he portrayed (in live action and animation) from the 1966 TV series and movie through the 1985 cartoon show The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians. His numerous genre work includes appearances on The Outer Limits and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as well as in films such as Zombie Nightmare (1986) and Monster Island (2004).
LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey
written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
