Free Spirit (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Free Spirit is an American fantasy
sitcom
series that ran on ABC
during the 1989-1990 television season. The series was originally produced by ELP Communications
. It ran from September 22, 1989 to January 14, 1990.
town. What Thomas doesn't know is that Winnie is actually a witch. The three children, oldest son Robb, daughter Jessie and youngest son Gene, already knew her secret, since it was Gene who was responsible for summoning her.
Although Winnie is a good witch and doesn't mean any harm, her powers do get her in hot water with the kids in more ways than one and Winnie has to scramble to get out of various situations while keeping Thomas from knowing the truth about her, and at times succeeding.
format. On September 24, the series moved into its regular time slot of Sunday at 8/7c, airing between two freshman series, Life Goes On
and Homeroom.
The series was canceled in January 1990, after 13 of the 14 episodes produced were aired. The show ranked #78 in the Nielsen ratings
that season.
and Corinne Bohrer
, the producers felt that Rich and Whipple were more replaceable. Only the second version of the pilot aired before the rest of the series, with Franc Luz
and Alyson Hannigan in their respective roles.
Fantasy television
Fantasy television is a genre of television programming featuring elements of the fantastic, often including magic, supernatural forces, or exotic fantasy worlds. Fantasy television programs are often based on tales from mythology and folklore, or are adapted from fantasy stories in other media...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
series that ran on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
during the 1989-1990 television season. The series was originally produced by ELP Communications
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
. It ran from September 22, 1989 to January 14, 1990.
Overview
Free Spirit followed the misadventures of a mischievous blonde named Winnie Goodwinn, who was hired by lawyer Thomas J. Harper as a live-in housekeeper to keep an eye on his three children after the family moved from New York to a suburban ConnecticutConnecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
town. What Thomas doesn't know is that Winnie is actually a witch. The three children, oldest son Robb, daughter Jessie and youngest son Gene, already knew her secret, since it was Gene who was responsible for summoning her.
Although Winnie is a good witch and doesn't mean any harm, her powers do get her in hot water with the kids in more ways than one and Winnie has to scramble to get out of various situations while keeping Thomas from knowing the truth about her, and at times succeeding.
Broadcast history
Free Spirit premiered as a preview broadcast on September 22, 1989, at 9:30/8:30c, on the very first night in which ABC's Friday lineup used the now-popular TGIFTGIF (ABC)
TGIF was the name of an American family-friendly prime time television programming block on the ABC network. The name comes from the initials of the popular phrase "Thank God It's Friday"...
format. On September 24, the series moved into its regular time slot of Sunday at 8/7c, airing between two freshman series, Life Goes On
Life Goes On (TV series)
Life Goes On is a television series that aired on ABC from September 12, 1989 to May 23, 1993. The show centers on the Thacher family living in suburban Chicago: Drew, his wife Elizabeth, and their children Paige, Rebecca, and Charles, who is known as Corky...
and Homeroom.
The series was canceled in January 1990, after 13 of the 14 episodes produced were aired. The show ranked #78 in the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
that season.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Corinne Bohrer Corinne Bohrer Corinne Vilhelma Bohrer is an American movie and television actress.-Early life:She grew up in Arlington, Texas, a suburb of the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex area, where she attended Lamar High School. She was active in drama, band, and student government... |
Winnie Goodwinn |
| Paul Scherrer | Robb Harper |
| Alyson Hannigan Alyson Hannigan Alyson Lee Hannigan is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Willow Rosenberg in the cult classic television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Michelle Flaherty in three American Pie films, and Lily Aldrin on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother.-Early life:Hannigan was born in... |
Jessie Harper |
| Edan Gross Edan Gross Edan Gross is a former child actor. He appeared in many guest spots on many popular television programs in the 1980s and 1990s including Cheers, Murphy Brown, The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, Newhart, Highway to Heaven, Married… with Children, Northern Exposure, and Herman's Head... |
Gene Harper |
| Franc Luz Franc Luz Franc Luz is an American actor of stage, film and television, seen in popular leading dramatic film roles in the 1980s and 1990s. These credits were supplemented with TV guest appearances and several regular roles in TV series... |
Thomas J. Harper |
Production notes
In the unaired pilot, clips of which were seen in the 1989 ABC Fall Preview Show, Christopher Rich played Thomas Harper and Shonda Whipple had the role of Jessie Harper. Since the show was originally conceived as a vehicle for Edan GrossEdan Gross
Edan Gross is a former child actor. He appeared in many guest spots on many popular television programs in the 1980s and 1990s including Cheers, Murphy Brown, The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, Newhart, Highway to Heaven, Married… with Children, Northern Exposure, and Herman's Head...
and Corinne Bohrer
Corinne Bohrer
Corinne Vilhelma Bohrer is an American movie and television actress.-Early life:She grew up in Arlington, Texas, a suburb of the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex area, where she attended Lamar High School. She was active in drama, band, and student government...
, the producers felt that Rich and Whipple were more replaceable. Only the second version of the pilot aired before the rest of the series, with Franc Luz
Franc Luz
Franc Luz is an American actor of stage, film and television, seen in popular leading dramatic film roles in the 1980s and 1990s. These credits were supplemented with TV guest appearances and several regular roles in TV series...
and Alyson Hannigan in their respective roles.
Episodes
| Ep # | Title | Airdate | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot | September 22, 1989 | A lawyer hires a inept witch to be a housekeeper for his three children, only to have the kids find out the truth about her. |
| 2 | "The Bosses Are Coming" | September 24, 1989 | Using the guise of Thomas' clients, Winnie's boss wants to take her back to the Witches Realm, prompting Winnie to make a deal to remain in the mortal world. |
| 3 | "Wedding Bell Blues" | October 1, 1989 | After Thomas' date backs out of a wedding invitation, he asks Winnie to go with him to the event, but she might want to check her attire before going. |
| 4 | "Too Much of a Good Thing" | October 8, 1989 | After Winnie casts a love spell on a girl that Robb has the hots for, Robb learns that he is the only one who can break the spell. |
| 5 | "Guess Who's Staying for Dinner?" | October 22, 1989 | A sexy client, whose 80-year-old husband has died, wants to be Thomas' next hubby, prompting a jealous Winnie to find out the real reason behind this sudden proposal. |
| 6 | "Hallowinnie" | October 29, 1989 | Jessie is hoping that she will join a clique on Halloween, a event Winnie despises. But when Thomas suggest that Jessie throw a party for the group, Winnie reluctantly gives in by performing a magic trick on Jessie, which comes in handy at the party as she finds out the group's true intentions. |
| 7 | "Two for the Road" | November 5, 1989 | After Thomas buys a convertible for Robb and Winnie to share, its an excited Winnie who really gets behind the wheel and a furious Robb ready to take the keys away from her. |
| 8 | "Not with My Sister You Don't" | November 19, 1989 | Winnie becomes concerned about Jessie's date in more ways than one. |
| 9 | "Love That Winnie" | December 3, 1989 | Winnie imagines herself in a episode of The Donna Reed Show The Donna Reed Show The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September... as a way to be the perfect homemaker, but she's about to discover in real life being one is not like a TV show. |
| 10 | "The New Secretary" | December 10, 1989 | Winnie is hired as Thomas' secretary and gets involved with a divorced couple (Florence Henderson Florence Henderson Florence Agnes Henderson is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role of Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974... and Robert Reed Robert Reed Robert Reed was a prolific American character actor of stage, film and television. In his first big break, he played Kenneth Preston on the popular 1960s TV legal drama, The Defenders, alongside E. G. Marshall. But he was best remembered for portraying the father, Mike Brady, on the popular... ), who still have feelings for each other. |
| 11 | "Radio Nights" | December 17, 1989 | Thomas is left stranded at a radio station after a thunderstorm causes a tree to block off a bridge. The Storm also strip Winnie of her powers while Gene fears that he will not see his father again. |
| 12 | "We Gotta Be Me" | January 7, 1990 | In a effort to stop his annoying, Jessie and Gene asks Winnie to split Robb into two guys... and they still get more annoyed by the results. |
| 13 | "Blast from the Past" | January 14, 1990 | After a courtship that spans 150 years, Winnie's warlock fiancee finally asks her to marry him. |
| 14 | "Love and Death" | Never aired | When Winnie's kid sister Cassandra visits, she sweeps Robb off his feet, prompting Winnie to dust off this spirited romance. |
Award nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Young Artist Awards | Nominated | Best New Television Series | |
| Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series | Alyson Hannigan | |||
| Best Young Actor Supporting Role in a Television Series | Paul Scherrer |