Living Dolls

1 9 8 9  (USA)
12 x 30 minute episodes

Long before Halle Berry made a name for herself on the big screen, she starred in this short-lived spin-off from Who’s The Boss? featuring Michael Learned (best known as the mother on The Waltons) looking ill at ease as Trish Carlin, the head of a small modelling agency in New York.

Living with her in her brownstone were four of her beautiful young mannequins – brainy Emily (Berry) who was only modelling to earn enough money for medical school, shy and naive Martha from Idaho (Alison Elliott), spoiled and shallow redhead Caroline (Deborah Tucker) and Charlie (Leah Remini), who was a tough kid from the streets of Brooklyn.

David Moscow co-starred as Learned’s teenage son, Eric, and Who’s The Boss? stars Tony Danza and Alyssa Milano appeared from time to time.

The opening credits sported an MTV look designed to appeal to the younger crowd, but the show itself was a standard taped sitcom with a juiced-up laugh track to disguise the hopeless dialogue and stock adolescent-mischief situations.

Thick-witted and scrupulously non-titillating so as not to offend any prime-time viewers, the short-lived series debuted in September 1989, received a critical mauling, and was cancelled after only 12 episodes.

Trish Carlin
Michael Learned
Charlene ‘Charlie’ Briscoe
Leah Remini
Martha Lambert
Alison Elliott
Emily Franklin
Halle Berry
Caroline Weldon
Deborah Tucker
Eric Carlin
David Moscow
Samantha Micelli
Alyssa Milano
Marion
Marion Ross

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