Billy

1 9 9 2 (USA)
13  x 30 minute episodes

Scotsman Billy MacGregor (Billy Connolly), a history teacher at Fillmore High School in New York City, moved to California to teach night school at Berkeley Community College. Unfortunately, he “forgot to renew his visa” and was about to be deported.

One of his students, Mary Springer (Marie Marshall), mentioned that she desperately needed a boarder for her basement apartment to make ends meet. She was a divorced mother of three with a large mortgage.

So Billy married Mary and got his green card, and she got her boarder. Her rules were that he stayed in the basement, and there was to be no drinking, no smoking, no pets and no sex.

Marrying an alien to avoid deportation may be illegal, but Mary’s three kids (girl-chasing David and musically-inclined Laura and Annie) thought the ebullient Billy was pretty neat, even as he provided a much-needed father figure and taught them little lessons in life.

David (a young Johnny Galecki) attended Berkeley High School and had an after-school job at the Chicken Pit restaurant. Laura (Natanya Ross) played the violin and attended the Debbie Daniels Tap Dance School. Annie (Clara Bryant), the youngest, had a security blanket (‘Blankey’) and a plush bear (‘Marty’). When she wanted attention, she hid.

The series was originally called Immediate Family and was a spinoff from Head of the Class. Episodes aired on Friday nights for two months (as part of ABC’s TGIF schedule) before moving to Saturday night to close out the 13-episode season.

Billy MacGregor
Billy Connolly
Mary Springer
Marie Marshall
Laura Springer
Natanya Ross
Annie Springer
Clara Bryant
David Springer
Johnny Galecki