Babes

1 9 9 0 – 1 9 9 1 (USA)
22 x 30 minute episodes

Darlene, Charlene and Marlene Gilbert were three full-figured sisters living together in a studio apartment at 362 East 7th Street in Manhattan.

Cynical, divorced eldest sister, Darlene (Susan Peretz), worked as a dog groomer and had a puppy named Big Mike (who she called a “miniature Cujo”). In the spring of 1991, Darlene went to work at a day-care centre.

Charlene (Wendie Jo Sperber), the outgoing and vivacious middle sister, made her living as a makeup artist for a commercial photographer. Her boyfriend, Ronnie Underwood (Rick Overton), owned Ronnie’s Ribs take-out.

Charlene was the most adjusted to the fact that the sisters would always be heavy (each weighed over 200 pounds), though they had a pact never to say the word “overweight”.

The trusting and naive youngest sister, Marlene (Lesley Boone), had the least self-confidence of the three and was unsure of what she wanted to do. She initially worked as a model for the Merit, Barrett and Cole Ad Agency (she was “The Hefty Hose Girl”) and later as a video photographer for a dating service called Ideal Mates, Inc.

Episodes dealt with their social lives, their problems sharing a small apartment, and their working lives.

Mrs Florence Newman (Nedra Volz) lived in the same building as the sisters.

In stark contrast to the svelte women usually seen on television, all three actresses were considerably overweight, and early in its run, Babes made liberal use of fat jokes and situations that focused on girth.

This aspect of the show was eventually de-emphasised, and their size became incidental to the stories.

Charlene Gilbert
Wendie Jo Sperber
Marlene Gilbert
Lesley Boone
Darlene Gilbert
Susan Peretz
Ronnie Underwood
Rick Overton
Mrs Florence Newman
Nedra Volz