Wikipedia

Dharma & Greg

Dharma & Greg is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC for five seasons from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002, with a total of 119 episodes.[1]

Dharma & Greg
GenreSitcom
Created by
Starring
Opening theme"Dharma & Greg" by Dennis C. Brown
Ending theme"Dharma & Greg" (some episodes)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes119 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Chuck Lorre
  • Brian Medavoy
  • Erwin More (all; entire run)
  • Dottie Dartland (1997–1999)
  • Regina Stewart (1999–2000)
  • Bill Prady (1999–2002)
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running timeapprox. 22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 24, 1997 (1997-09-24) –
April 30, 2002 (2002-04-30)

The show starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who married on their first date despite being polar opposites. The series was co-produced by Chuck Lorre Productions, More-Medavoy Productions and 4 to 6 Foot Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television. The show's theme song was written and performed by composer Dennis C. Brown.

Created by executive producers Dottie Dartland and Chuck Lorre, the comedy took much of its inspiration from culture-clash "fish out of water" situations.[2] The show earned eight Golden Globe nominations, six Emmy Award nominations, and six Satellite Award nominations.[3] Elfman earned a Golden Globe in 1999 for Best Actress.

Show summary

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Free-spirited yoga instructor/dog trainer Dharma Finkelstein and strait-laced lawyer Greg Montgomery marry on their first date despite being complete opposites. Their conflicting views lead to comical situations. Greg is an Ivy League graduate who was raised by wealthy, conservative parents. After graduation from Harvard and Stanford, he went to work with the U.S. Attorney's Office as a federal prosecutor in San Francisco. He then meets Dharma, who was raised by hippie parents. They fall in love immediately and elope. Despite being totally different, their parents eventually learn to tolerate each other.

Cast

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Main

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  • Jenna Elfman as Dharma Freedom Montgomery
  • Thomas Gibson as Gregory Clifford "Greg" Montgomery
  • Susan Sullivan as Katherine "Kitty" Montgomery
  • Mitchell Ryan as Edward Montgomery
  • Mimi Kennedy as Abigail Kathleen "Abby" O'Neil
  • Alan Rachins as Myron Lawrence "Larry" Finkelstein
  • Shae D'lyn as Jane Deaux (seasons 1–4; guest season 5)
  • Joel Murray as Peter James "Pete" Cavanaugh
  • Helen Greenberg as Marcie (season 5; guest seasons 3–4)
  • Susan Chuang as Susan Wong (season 5; guest seasons 3–4)

Recurring

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Episodes

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See also: List of Dharma & Greg episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
123September 24, 1997 (1997-09-24)May 20, 1998 (1998-05-20)
224September 23, 1998 (1998-09-23)May 26, 1999 (1999-05-26)
324September 21, 1999 (1999-09-21)May 16, 2000 (2000-05-16)
424October 10, 2000 (2000-10-10)May 22, 2001 (2001-05-22)
524September 25, 2001 (2001-09-25)April 30, 2002 (2002-04-30)

Awards and nominations

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In 1998, the Online Film & Television Association Awards[4][5][6] nominated Elfman for Best Actress in a Comedy Series and the series itself as Best New Comedy Series.

Jenna Elfman was nominated three times for Best Television Actress – Musical/Comedy Series at the Golden Globes and won in 1999. Thomas Gibson and Susan Sullivan were both nominated for Golden Globes but neither ever won the award. The show itself was nominated for Best Best Musical/Comedy Series in 1998 and 1999.[7]

Ratings and cancellation

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The series was a top-25 fixture in the US during its first three seasons, first airing Wednesday at 8:30 p.m., then at 8:00. It was moved to Tuesdays at 9 p.m. during its third season where it experienced a dramatic ratings lift thanks to a lead-in of the then red-hot Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. As ratings for that series waned in 2000/2001, Dharma & Greg suffered a similar fate, compounded by NBC moving Frasier into the same time slot. As Millionaire fell even further and was moved off the night in the fall of 2001, ABC tried to rebuild a Tuesday night comedy block consisting of Dharma & Greg, What About Joan?, Bob Patterson, and Spin City. Bob Patterson and What About Joan? were quickly cancelled while Dharma & Greg and Spin City shared the 8 p.m. hour for the rest of the season.

The final episode aired on April 30, 2002, to 6.8 million viewers, compared to the 20 million the series had peaked two years previously. Along with Ally McBeal and Dawson's Creek, Dharma & Greg was one of the last three surviving shows to debut during the 1997–98 season (Dawson's Creek would remain for one more season in 2002–03).

Ratings for Dharma & Greg
Season Season Premiere Season Finale TV Season Ranking Viewers
(in millions)
1st September 24, 1997 May 20, 1998 1997–1998 #25[8] 13.9[8]
2nd September 23, 1998 May 26, 1999 1998–1999 #25[9] 13.5[9]
3rd September 21, 1999 May 16, 2000 1999–2000 #19[10] 10.4[10]
4th October 10, 2000 May 22, 2001 2000–2001 #38[11] 12.3[11]
5th September 25, 2001 April 30, 2002 2001–2002 #82[12] 8.1[12]

Home media

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Season 2 was released in Australia as a Region 4 PAL on January 22, 2008, with a picture of Dharma and Greg dancing on the cover.[13] It is available in Japan as a Region 2 NTSC format with a picture of them sitting down for the cover art.[14] In the spring of 2008, the second season was released in Europe (Netherlands) as a Region 2 PAL as well. All countries have different covers, and all are using the "dance shot".

On November 11, 2014, 20th Century Fox released season 2 in Region 1 via Amazon.com's CreateSpace program. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Amazon.com.[15]

Overview
Season Release date
Region 1 Region 2
(UK) 		Region 2
(Germany) 		Region 4
Season 1 June 13, 2006[16] May 7, 2007[17] October 1, 2007[18] January 10, 2007[19]
Season 2 November 11, 2014[20] TBA February 11, 2008[21] January 23, 2008[22]

Vanity cards

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The vanity card for Chuck Lorre Productions at the end of each episode included a message written by producer and show co-creator Chuck Lorre, expressing his personal views on a variety of subjects. Because the card only appeared on the screen for a brief moment, it was usually readable only by those who recorded the program and paused it (although the complete collection of cards has now been posted on Lorre's website).[23]

Messages were also included on the vanity cards for later Chuck Lorre Productions shows, such as Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and Mike & Molly.

Crossovers

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Elfman and Gibson had a cameo appearance in the ninth season premiere of Two and a Half Men, "Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt". Their characters are not named either in the dialogue or the credits (possibly for legal reasons due to Men's being produced by a different studio),[24] but they appear to be based on Dharma and Greg. While the couple remain married, Greg seems overly tired of his responsibilities and marriage, even going so far as to sarcastically hint at divorce to Evelyn Harper (along with a self-inflicted gunshot gesture) when leaving. Joel Murray also makes a cameo appearance in the episode, although not as Pete but as a character named "Doug".[25] Elfman had also previously appeared on that show in its first season as the free-spirited Frankie in the two-part episodes "Round One to the Hot Crazy Chick" and "That Was Saliva, Alan."

References

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  1. ^ "BBC – Comedy Guide – Dharma and Greg". January 5, 2005. Archived from the original on January 5, 2005.
  2. ^ "Dharma & Greg trivia". IMDb. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
  3. ^ "Dharma & Greg awards". IMDb. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
  4. ^ "1997-98: The Season of Merlin". Online Film & Television Association. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  5. ^ "1998-99: The Season of The Practice". Online Film & Television Association. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  6. ^ "1999-2000: The Season of The West Wing". Online Film & Television Association. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  7. ^ "Dharma & Greg". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  8. ^ a b "What ranked and what tanked". Entertainment Weekly Published in issue No. 434 May 29, 1998. May 29, 1998. Archived from the original on October 13, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "TV Winners & Losers: Numbers Racket A Final Tally Of The Season's Show (from Nielsen Media Research)". GeoCities. June 4, 1999. Archived from the original on October 29, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  10. ^ a b "The TV Ratings Guide: 1999-2000 Ratings History". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "The Bitter End". Entertainment Weekly. No. 598. June 1, 2001. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  12. ^ a b "How did your favorite show rate?". USA Today. May 28, 2002. Archived from the original on July 30, 2004. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  13. ^ "Buy Dharma & Greg - Season 2 (3 Disc Set) on DVD-Video from". EzyDVD.com.au. Archived from the original on April 12, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  14. ^ "ダーマ＆グレッグ シーズン2 DVD-BOX DVD・ブルーレイ - ジェナ・エルフマン, トーマス・ギブソン, スーザン・サリバン, ミミ・ケネディ, ミッチェル・ライアン, アラン・レイキンズ". Amazon.co.jp. June 2, 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  15. ^ "Dharma & Greg DVD news: Announcement for Dharma & Greg - The Complete Season 2". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  16. ^ "Dharma and Greg - Season 1". dvdtalk.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  17. ^ "Dharma and Greg - Series 1 [1997]". amazon.co.uk. May 7, 2007. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  18. ^ "Dharma & Greg - Season 1 [3 DVDs]". amazon.de. October 2007. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  19. ^ "Dharma And Greg Season 1 [3 Discs] [Region 4]". fishpond.com.au. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  20. ^ "Dharma & Greg: The Complete Season 2". dvdtalk.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  21. ^ "Dharma & Greg - Season 2 [3 DVDs]". amazon.de. February 11, 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  22. ^ "Dharma and Greg [Region 4] Complete Season Two". fishpond.com.au. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  23. ^ "CLP - Vanity Cards". Chucklorre.com. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  24. ^ "What To Watch". Aoltv.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  25. ^ Carina MacKenzie (September 20, 2011). "Dharma & Greg reunite for 'Two and a Half Men' Season 9 premiere – Zap2It". Blog.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
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